Formation and Transformation of a Museum: The National Museum of Singapore from colonial period to nation-building era
Keywords:
The National Museum of Singapore, The Raffles Library and Museum, British coloniesAbstract
This article discusses the transition of the National Museum of Singapore as a cultural institution from colonial period to nation-building era. Drawing on the author’s literature review and surveys of the Museum’s exhibitions, this article looks at 3 phases in the Museum’s history. Firstly, the formation and early development under the auspice of the Raffles Library and Museum (from mid 19th century): it illustrates how museum was founded under colonial agenda or the “white burden”. Library and museum collection were apt to endorse the colonial rule as the center of knowledge formation and public administration. Secondly, the turn of the “National Museum” after Independence (1959 - end of 1980’s): Singaporean government struggled to overcome the paradox of museum as a colonial legacy before eventually set up various museums in support of the country’s industrial development. Finally, the National Museum of Singapore (1990’s - present): the successful transformation of the National Museum of Singapore gives a strong emphasis on nation building and tourism, while at the same time portrays Singapore as a cosmopolitan center in the age of globalization.
References
เอกสารภาษาไทย
ชีวสิทธิ์ บุณยเกียรติ. 2557. “การเมืองเรื่อง ‘ย่านประวัติศาสตร์’ ในสิงคโปร์.” หน้าจั่ว 11: 130–151.
ปณิตา สระวาสี. 2549. “มรดกสนทนา: เวลา พื้นที่ และวิสัยทัศน์ของพิพิธภัณฑสถานแห่งชาติสิงคโปร์.” จุลสารหอจดหมายเหตุธรรมศาสตร์ 9(2549): 56-71.
สมรักษ์ ชัยสิงห์กานานนท์. 2553. “ศูนย์มรดกวัฒนธรรมไชน่าทาวน์: ตำนานแห่งความทนทุกข์.” ใน พิพิธภัณฑ์สิงคโปร์, บรรณาธิการโดย ชีวสิทธิ์ บุณยเกียรติ, 18–41. กรุงเทพฯ: ศูนย์มานุษยวิทยาสิรินธร (องค์การมหาชน).
เอกสารภาษาอังกฤษ
Barnard, Timothy P. 2014. “The Raffles Museum and the Fate of Natural History in Singapore.” In Nature Contained: Environmental histories of Singapore, edited by Timothy P. Barnard, 184–211. Singapore: NUS Press.
Bloembergen, Marieke, and Beverley Jackson. 2006. Colonial Spectacles: The Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies at the world exhibitions, 1880-1931. Singapore: Singapore University Press.
Bouquet, Mary. 2012. Museums: A visual anthropology. London; New York: Berg.
Cohn, Bernard S. 1996. Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge: The British in India. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Errington, Shelly. 1998. The Death of Authentic Primitive Art and Other Tales of Progress. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Fischer-Tine, Harold. 2005. “Britain’s other Civilizing Mission: Class prejudice, European ‘loaferism’ and the workhouse-system in colonial India.” The Indian Economic and Social History Review 42(3): 295-338.
Gopinathan, Saravanan. 1988. “Being and Becoming: Education for values in Singapore.” In The Revival of Values Education in Asia and the West, edited by William K. Cummings, Saravanan Gopinathan, and Yasumasa Tomoda, 131–145. Comparative and International Education Series, v. 7. Oxford, England; New York: Pergamon Press.
Guan, Kwa Chong. 2011. “Transforming the National Museum of Singapore.” In Rethinking Cultural Resource Management in Southeast Asia: Preservation, development, and neglect, edited by John N. Miksic, Geok Yian Goh, and Sue O’Connor, 201–216. London; New York: Anthem Press.
Kathirithamby-Wells, Jeyamalar. 2009. “Peninsular Malaysia in the Context of Natural History and Colonial Science.” New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies 11(1): 337–374.
Kong, Lily, and Brenda S. A. Yeoh. 1996. “Social Constructions of Nature in Urban Singapore.” Southeast Asian Studies 34(2): 402–423.
Lidchi, Henrietta. 1997. “The Poetics and the Politics of Exhibiting Other Cultures.” In Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices, edited by Stuart Hall, 153–208. London; Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage in association with the Open University.
Luyt, Brendan. 2006. “Imagining the User in the Raffles Library and Museum, Singapore: 1874 to 1900.” Paper presented at the World Library and Information Congress: 72nd IFLA General Conference and Council, 20-24 August 2006, Seoul.
Luyt, Brendan. 2010. “Collectors and Collecting for the Raffles Museum in Singapore: 1920–1940.” Library & Information History 26(3): 183–195.
National Museum (Singapore), and Eng-Lee Seok Chee (eds.) 1987. Treasures from the National Museum, Singapore. Singapore: The Museum.
Osborne, Megan S. 2008. “Early Collectors and Their Impact on the Raffles Museum and Library.” The Heritage Journal 3: 1–15.
Pearce, Susan M. 1993. Museums, Objects, and Collections: A cultural study. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Sherman, Daniel J., and Irit Rogoff, eds. 1994. Museum Culture: Histories, discourses, spectacles. Media & Society series(6). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Simpson, Moira G. 1996. Making Representations: Museums in the post-colonial era. London; New York: Routledge.
Suryadinata, Leo. 1990. “National Ideology and Nation-Building in Multi-Ethnic States.” In In Search of Singapore’s National Values, edited by Jon S. T. Quah, 91–105. Singapore: Institute of Policy Studies.
Tan, Kevin Y. L. 2010. “The National Museum as Maker and Keeper of Singapore History.” In The Makers & Keepers of Singapore History, edited by Kah Seng Loh, Kai Khiun Liew, and Singapore Heritage Society, 122–136. Singapore: Ethos Books and the Singapore Heritage Society.
Tantow, David. 2009. “Globalisation, Identity and Heritage Tourism: A Case Study of Singapore’s Kampong Glam.” PhD thesis, National University of Singapore.
Taylor, Paul Michael. 2002. “A Collector and His Museum: William Louis Abbott (1860-1936) and the Smithsonian.” In Treasure Hunting?, edited by Reimer Schefold and Han F. Vermeulen. Leiden: CNWS.
Ting, Kennie. 2015a. Singapore Chronicles: Heritage. Singapore: Institute of Policy Studies & Straits Times Press.
Ting, Kennie. 2015b. “Museums in Singapore: A short history.” MuseSG 8(2): 18–25.
Vergo, Peter, ed. 1989. The New Museology. London: Reaktion Books.
Yeo, George. 1989. “Importance of Heritage and Identity.” In Speeches: A bimonthly selections of ministers speeches, Vol. 131. Singapore: Ministry of Communications and Information.
Yeoh, Brenda, and Lily Kong. 2003. The Politics of Landscapes in Singapore: Constructions of “nation”. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.
ชีวสิทธิ์ บุณยเกียรติ. 2557. “การเมืองเรื่อง ‘ย่านประวัติศาสตร์’ ในสิงคโปร์.” หน้าจั่ว 11: 130–151.
ปณิตา สระวาสี. 2549. “มรดกสนทนา: เวลา พื้นที่ และวิสัยทัศน์ของพิพิธภัณฑสถานแห่งชาติสิงคโปร์.” จุลสารหอจดหมายเหตุธรรมศาสตร์ 9(2549): 56-71.
สมรักษ์ ชัยสิงห์กานานนท์. 2553. “ศูนย์มรดกวัฒนธรรมไชน่าทาวน์: ตำนานแห่งความทนทุกข์.” ใน พิพิธภัณฑ์สิงคโปร์, บรรณาธิการโดย ชีวสิทธิ์ บุณยเกียรติ, 18–41. กรุงเทพฯ: ศูนย์มานุษยวิทยาสิรินธร (องค์การมหาชน).
เอกสารภาษาอังกฤษ
Barnard, Timothy P. 2014. “The Raffles Museum and the Fate of Natural History in Singapore.” In Nature Contained: Environmental histories of Singapore, edited by Timothy P. Barnard, 184–211. Singapore: NUS Press.
Bloembergen, Marieke, and Beverley Jackson. 2006. Colonial Spectacles: The Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies at the world exhibitions, 1880-1931. Singapore: Singapore University Press.
Bouquet, Mary. 2012. Museums: A visual anthropology. London; New York: Berg.
Cohn, Bernard S. 1996. Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge: The British in India. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Errington, Shelly. 1998. The Death of Authentic Primitive Art and Other Tales of Progress. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Fischer-Tine, Harold. 2005. “Britain’s other Civilizing Mission: Class prejudice, European ‘loaferism’ and the workhouse-system in colonial India.” The Indian Economic and Social History Review 42(3): 295-338.
Gopinathan, Saravanan. 1988. “Being and Becoming: Education for values in Singapore.” In The Revival of Values Education in Asia and the West, edited by William K. Cummings, Saravanan Gopinathan, and Yasumasa Tomoda, 131–145. Comparative and International Education Series, v. 7. Oxford, England; New York: Pergamon Press.
Guan, Kwa Chong. 2011. “Transforming the National Museum of Singapore.” In Rethinking Cultural Resource Management in Southeast Asia: Preservation, development, and neglect, edited by John N. Miksic, Geok Yian Goh, and Sue O’Connor, 201–216. London; New York: Anthem Press.
Kathirithamby-Wells, Jeyamalar. 2009. “Peninsular Malaysia in the Context of Natural History and Colonial Science.” New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies 11(1): 337–374.
Kong, Lily, and Brenda S. A. Yeoh. 1996. “Social Constructions of Nature in Urban Singapore.” Southeast Asian Studies 34(2): 402–423.
Lidchi, Henrietta. 1997. “The Poetics and the Politics of Exhibiting Other Cultures.” In Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices, edited by Stuart Hall, 153–208. London; Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage in association with the Open University.
Luyt, Brendan. 2006. “Imagining the User in the Raffles Library and Museum, Singapore: 1874 to 1900.” Paper presented at the World Library and Information Congress: 72nd IFLA General Conference and Council, 20-24 August 2006, Seoul.
Luyt, Brendan. 2010. “Collectors and Collecting for the Raffles Museum in Singapore: 1920–1940.” Library & Information History 26(3): 183–195.
National Museum (Singapore), and Eng-Lee Seok Chee (eds.) 1987. Treasures from the National Museum, Singapore. Singapore: The Museum.
Osborne, Megan S. 2008. “Early Collectors and Their Impact on the Raffles Museum and Library.” The Heritage Journal 3: 1–15.
Pearce, Susan M. 1993. Museums, Objects, and Collections: A cultural study. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Sherman, Daniel J., and Irit Rogoff, eds. 1994. Museum Culture: Histories, discourses, spectacles. Media & Society series(6). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Simpson, Moira G. 1996. Making Representations: Museums in the post-colonial era. London; New York: Routledge.
Suryadinata, Leo. 1990. “National Ideology and Nation-Building in Multi-Ethnic States.” In In Search of Singapore’s National Values, edited by Jon S. T. Quah, 91–105. Singapore: Institute of Policy Studies.
Tan, Kevin Y. L. 2010. “The National Museum as Maker and Keeper of Singapore History.” In The Makers & Keepers of Singapore History, edited by Kah Seng Loh, Kai Khiun Liew, and Singapore Heritage Society, 122–136. Singapore: Ethos Books and the Singapore Heritage Society.
Tantow, David. 2009. “Globalisation, Identity and Heritage Tourism: A Case Study of Singapore’s Kampong Glam.” PhD thesis, National University of Singapore.
Taylor, Paul Michael. 2002. “A Collector and His Museum: William Louis Abbott (1860-1936) and the Smithsonian.” In Treasure Hunting?, edited by Reimer Schefold and Han F. Vermeulen. Leiden: CNWS.
Ting, Kennie. 2015a. Singapore Chronicles: Heritage. Singapore: Institute of Policy Studies & Straits Times Press.
Ting, Kennie. 2015b. “Museums in Singapore: A short history.” MuseSG 8(2): 18–25.
Vergo, Peter, ed. 1989. The New Museology. London: Reaktion Books.
Yeo, George. 1989. “Importance of Heritage and Identity.” In Speeches: A bimonthly selections of ministers speeches, Vol. 131. Singapore: Ministry of Communications and Information.
Yeoh, Brenda, and Lily Kong. 2003. The Politics of Landscapes in Singapore: Constructions of “nation”. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.
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2019-08-27
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