IMPERIAL CUSTODIANS: THE RAFFLES MUSEUM AND THE CARNEGIE CORPORATION IN INTERWAR SINGAPORE

Abstract

The Carnegie Corporation of New York’s grants to the Raffles Museum are a connective thread through which we can understand how the Museum underwent rapid revitalisation and achieved new heights in projecting British scientific authority in the region in the 1930s. In this thesis, I analyse how Carnegie’s two grants provided critical financial support for the Museum’s exhibition strategy, increasing emphasis on education and culture, and pioneering prehistoric research. These initiatives influenced local elites and the government to deepen their engagement with the Museum to gain symbolic capital, and for education and war propaganda efforts. I ultimately argue that American non-governmental organisations, such as Carnegie, played a crucial role in upholding British imperialism in Southeast Asia.