Cities in Motion: Urban Life And Cosmopolitanism In Southeast Asia, 1920-1940 (Asian Connections )

Synopsis

In the 1920s and 1930s, the port-cities of Southeast Asia were staging grounds for diverse groups of ordinary citizens to experiment with modernity, as a rising Japan and American capitalism challenged the predominance of European empires after the First World War. Both migrants and locals played a pivotal role in shaping civic culture.

Moving away from a nationalist reading of the period, Su Lin Lewis explores layers of cross-cultural interaction in various spheres: the urban built environment, civic associations, print media, education, popular culture and the emergence of the modern woman.

While the book focuses on Penang, Rangoon and Bangkok - three cities born amidst British expansion to the region - it explores connected experiences across Asia and in Asian intellectual enclaves in Europe. Cosmopolitan sensibilities were severely tested in the era of post-colonial nationalism, but are undergoing a resurgence in Southeast Asia's civil society and creative class today.

Highlights the role of the cosmopolitan port city in Asian modernity.

Focuses on the role of neglected communities, such as migrants and modern girls, whose stories are not often told.

Provides a reading of cosmopolitanism rooted in Asia rather than in Europe.

Copyright:

2016

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

ISBN-13:

9781316718957

Publisher:

Cambridge University Press

Date of Addition:

03/20/18

Copyrighted By:

Su Lin Lewis

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

History, Nonfiction, Sociology

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.