Social memory and street hawking in Singapore

Abstract

Historical records indicated that street hawking has been a prevalent activity. Official accounts regarded street hawking as detrimental to modernization and progress. Subsequently, street hawking was constructed as problematic. Solutions were derived to solve and counter the perceived ills and problems. A series of policy implementation and relocation exercises saw street hawking being eradicated.The invocation of social memory offered a challenge to the dominant discourse about street hawking and allowed multiple standpoints to be voiced. Memories of street hawking converged when certain aspects of the past was recalled. Research was undertaken to analyze and participate in workshops, activities and projects that attempted to revive and reconstruct street hawking. The current nostalgic fervour also centered on determining what the concepts of a??authenticitya?? and a??traditiona?? mean to different actors.The dissertation explores a variety of angles, both historical and contemporary, to extrapolate a more coherent understanding of street hawking in Singapore.