Drawing on her monograph, Becoming Global Asia: Contemporary Genres of Postcolonial Capitalism in Singapore (UC Press, 2023), and co-edited volume, Detours: A Decolonial Guide to Singapore (under contract, Duke UP), a subversive travel guide comprised of creative and critical contributions, Cheryl Narumi Naruse discusses the legibility politics of how Singapore has been aestheticized as a site of imperial Anglo-American desire, a celebrated postcolonial model nation, and an alibi for the continued subjugation of the so-called Third World. She argues that Singapore’s representation is not simply an issue of inaccuracy or stereotype, however, but a case that calls to problems and transnational investments in Eurocentric habits of reading.

Dr. Naruse will also be holding a graduate student chat on Friday, January 24 from 12:00-1:00pm in CMU 202/204. Please RSVP to dsishii@uw.edu.