At a recent workshop in Penang, which brought together researchers working on Penang and the region; the subject, Peranakan Chinese Networks, was explored. The underlying assumption is that as cultural hybrids, there are many types of Peranakan Chinese both historically and in contemporary times. This means that there is also an equally wide variety of political, economic, socio-cultural, linguistic and literary networks involving the community. Penang, in this case, anchors those networks and forms a basis for comparative studies. Historians, anthropologists, musicologists, literary theorists and cultural activists contributed papers to the workshop.

            The following topics will be part of the monograph:

• Hybrid Identities in the British Empire
• Cosmopolitanism and Globalization in the Age of Empire
• Penang as Commercial Centre: Trade and Shipping Networks
• Rangoon, Penang and Singapore Linkages
• The Phuket Baba in the Peranakan Network of Southeast Asia
• The Revitalization of Peranakan Performing Arts.
• Literature and Penang Straits Chinese Identities
• Peranakan Material Culture in the Northern Littoral of Southeast Asia
• Peranakan Associations in the 21^st Century
• A Resource Centre for Information and Documentation on Peranakan Chinese, SCPA

Posted by Loh Wei Leng

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