Projects
Topos
Short Book (in-progress)
A short book-length work at the intersections of phenomenology and space. It pays special attention to the works of the phenomenologists Martin Heidegger and Maurice Merleau-Ponty in conversation with modern theoretical formulations of space: from Roland Barthes, Victor Turner, to Homi Bhabha.
Tracing an Itinerary of the Native Informant
Journal Article (under peer-review)
This article examines Gayatri Spivak’s conception of the Native Informant, and traces its trajectory and marks across postcolonial literature and writing. It disentangles the Native Informant from the subaltern and argues that the two operate in a chiasmatic relationship that frames the ambit of postcolonial subjectivity. It also reveals the implication of postcolonial studies in the issues of native informancy. It draws heavily on Gayatri Spivak, Neil Lazarus, and the subaltern studies group, through extensive research in these fields.
Totality-qua-Totality: (Re)thinking Totality Today
Journal Article (pending peer-review)
This article critically analyses the notion of ‘totality’ as it stands in the current day and age. It draws on the seminal works of Georg Lukacs and places them in conversation with multiple thinkers in the strain of these threads: from thinkers in the Frankfurt School, to poststructuralist thinkers, to modern-day studies in the field.
Janus-Faced Cosmopolitics, including the case of Singapore and some Counter-Readings
Literature Review (draft)
This literature review considers leading theories in the field of cosmopolitics and takes Singapore as a cosmopolitan centre ripe for engagement with these formulations. It was guided by Dr. May Hawas at the University of Cambridge. It concludes that cosmopolitics is two-faced and reveals two competing ideas: the ancient conception of cosmopolitanism as a world united, and the modern conception as one comprising micro-worlds contained in the nation-state, but which ironically creates a divided world.
Multiphrenia Revisited in the Digital Age
Journal Article (in-progress)
This is an exploration and review of Kenneth Gergen’s conception of multiphrenia in the digital age. It spans a wide literature review of work in the field and contemplates its pertinence in the 21st century. It is a joint project with Lilian Ing, psychotherapist, in Singapore.
