Remembering under the Mnemonic State: The Timeline Approach and the Communicating of Political and Personal Memories in Singapore

DOI: 10.5176/2301-3710_JMComm17.24

Authors: Janelle Kang Xiaoting,  Liew Khai Khiun

Abstract: From the year-long Golden Jubilee events commemorating fifty years of sovereignty, to the passing of its former statesman Lee Kuan Yew, and to the General Elections, 2015 can be considered a significant year for Singapore. Given the magnitude of resources invested into shaping citizenry through these events, the deeper social impact of such efforts remains to be gauged. Using a timeline-mapping approach, 50 respondents of a relatively young and highly-educated profile plotted their most memorable events in 2015, and six were further interviewed. The findings saw a low recollection of public-political memories amid a multitude of personal-domestic memories, despite Mr Lee’s passing was the most remembered national event. This paper offers that Singaporeans value memories of personal life more than public events; however, both sets of recall could be more complementary than separate, as Singaporeans’ sense of nationhood seems to lie amid day-to-day experiences rather than in grand-scale national events.

Keywords: Golden Jubilee; Lee Kuan Yew; Singapore; citizenry; memories; timeline-mapping