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Around the Tok Panjang is a series of programmes organised by the NUS Baba House in collaboration with GEN, which will run from August to December 2022. The Tok Panjang (long table in Baba Malay) is an important feature in the Straits Chinese home. It has become a symbol of celebrations and more importantly, conversations in the Straits Chinese household. Join us for a two-hour programme as we seek to open up conversations surrounding gendered norms and practices in the Straits Chinese culture. The programme consists of a guided tour on Women and the Baba house, followed by a participatory discussion facilitated by NUS students designed around the tour content, using GEN’s Generally Speaking Cards.
Around the Tok Panjang: A Guided Tour on Women and the Baba House – Saturday, 6 August 2022 – 10.00am – 11.00am
Dominant discourses in popular culture often place Nonyas as authoritative and feisty matriarchs. Yet, some narratives speak of a strict patriarchal belief system deeply anchored in Chinese traditions that suggests the relegation of women to the domestic sphere. How do we make sense of these two seemingly contradictory positions?
Making use of the provenance, spaces, and artefacts of the Baba House, as well as contextualising gender relations within the wider historical contexts, we seek to open up conversations surrounding gendered norms and practices in the Straits Chinese culture. Rather than framing the Nonyas exclusively as powerless subjects shaped by the Patriarchal system, or on the extreme end of the spectrum -as forerunners in the emancipation of women- this one hour tour focuses on how Peranakan women exercise their agencies across different contexts and historical periods.
Around the Tok Panjang: Post-Tour Conversations – Saturday 6 August 2022 – 11.00am – 12.00noon
Organised in collaboration with The Idea Co, driver of brands behind TEDxSingapore and Gen, and facilitated by NUS student volunteers, the post-tour conversation provides an interactive and dialogic aspect to the tour. Here, participants will be able to articulate their thoughts and voices through the gameplay session using the Generally Speaking Card deck, as well as their written comments on the community wall. Discussions will pivot around the participants’ experiences and responses to the tour content, as well as the spaces, objects, and artefacts they encounter in the Baba House.
Please note that this is a two-part event. Participants will need to participate in both events. The age advisory is 17 years and above.