SENSES OF HOME AND IDENTITY: PROBLEMATIZING THE SENSORY WORLDS OF OVERSEAS SINGAPOREAN STUDENTS

Abstract

Food and materialities are underexplored areas in navigating how people relate to their identity, belonging and home through the senses. Here, we explore the narratives of overseas Singaporean students, examining the ways they sense and make sense of their positionalities in a foreign environment by connecting the past to present and making meaning out of new experiences. The emotions of overseas Singaporean students are largely embodied through food and the material as carriers of memories and nostalgia. They remind overseas Singaporean students of ‘home’ and the self, forming continuities across borders. Despite being distanced, home is where the heart is. This thesis thus unveils the lived experiences of overseas Singaporean students and how they conceptualise home culture and identity sensorially.