NTU Sociology Seminar Series
Date: 11 September 2026 (Friday)
Time: 2:00 - 4:00 PM 

Place: HSS Seminar Room 9 (SHHK Building)

Title: Plants and Singaporean History

Abstract:
Plants are everywhere in Singapore. Fruits and vegetables are eaten with meals; flowers are grown in pots; shrubs and trees fill building atria; and this is just indoors. Once a Singaporean ventures outside plants overwhelm the senses. There are grasses, bushes, trees and even orchids growing seemingly everywhere, even in the most urban of spaces, while seaweeds and algae are found in the waters along the shores. Plants have been interlinked with human activities in Singapore for centuries, making flora ever-present objects that have been cultivated, curated and consumed, often reflecting important historical changes in the society. This talk will focus on how stories of species in the taxonomic kingdom Plantae provide insight into a “Garden City” and its past, allowing for new approaches on how we can study the landscape and history of the island nation.

About Speaker:
Timothy P. Barnard is an Associate Professor in the Department of History, where he focuses on the cultural and environmental history of the Straits of Melaka. He is the author of Nature’s Colony (2016), a history of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, and Imperial Creatures (2019), a history of animals in colonial Singapore, as well as the editor of Nature Contained (2014) and Singaporean Creatures (2024), both collections focusing on environmental history in Singapore.