My Research.
Currently I am researching the development of two colonial port cities, Malacca and Havana, from the early sixteenth century to 1900, and examining the idea of the colonial metropolis.
Previously I worked on the colonial history of Malacca as a Lee Kong Chian Research Fellow at the National Library of Singapore. My focus was how this city reveals contrasting colonial philosophies between the Portuguese, Dutch and British.
My doctoral research focused on the idea of the Modern Woman in China and Japan between the wars. I examined the ways in which this concept was created and projected by different women. I took a case study approach to this, looking at four women each in China and Japan, writers and artists whose work reflects different responses to the enormous social changes taking place, particularly with regard to the status of women. I did my PhD at Cambridge University where I was supervised by Hans van de Ven.
For my Masters research, I worked on the idea of "going native" and racial liminality in colonial societies. I am fascinated by histories of cultural exchange and this is a key theme in all my work.
Latest.
Read my most recent article in the Journal of Chinese Overseas [Project Muse subscription required].
