BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//pretalx//pretalx.com//wha-annual-meeting-korea-2026//talk//SBSCUL
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:KST
BEGIN:STANDARD
DTSTART:20000101T000000
RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=1
TZNAME:KST
TZOFFSETFROM:+0900
TZOFFSETTO:+0900
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:pretalx-wha-annual-meeting-korea-2026-SBSCUL@pretalx.com
DTSTART;TZID=KST:20260625T133500
DTEND;TZID=KST:20260625T135500
DESCRIPTION:World histories of cooling often highlight the emergence of air
 -conditioning as a dominant thermal technology\, depicting an inexorable 
 “progressive march” towards universal adoption that neglects the conti
 nued importance of electric fans in modern heat management. Singapore prov
 ides a critical intervention into these histories. Contrary to the “air-
 conditioned nation” discourse that equates Singapore’s modernisation w
 ith high AC reliance\, I observe that a dominant fan-mediated culture grad
 ually popularised in the island-nation since 1965. Drawing on 117 intervie
 ws from 39 households\, I demonstrate that electric fans enabled Singapore
 ans to maintain time-honoured tropical heat-management practices despite t
 he rise of residential AC from the 1980s.\n\nTwo arguments support this in
 terpretation. First\, the fan served as a foundational technological bridg
 e during Singapore’s transition from rural kampungs to high-rise housing
  (1960s–1990s). This shift reflects the global phenomenon of rapid urban
 isation where fans sustained time-honoured heat management practices—suc
 h as light dressing and consuming “cooling” foods—challenging the na
 rrative of AC domination. Second\, the Singapore case reveals a neglected 
 “fan-based” world history through transnational stories of migrants fr
 om India\, China\, and Indonesia who settled in Singapore. These narrative
 s highlight shared historical practices of electric fan usage with local-b
 orn Singaporeans\, such as the use of metallic-blade fans and strategic an
 gling to avoid direct fan-based ventilation on the body. These culturally-
 embedded practices illustrate the formation of an Asian transnational cult
 ure of fan usage distinct from Euro-American cooling approaches. Ultimatel
 y\, centring the electric fan in world history enables identification of c
 ulturally-relevant sustainable practices\, offering fresh insights for cli
 mate change mitigation.
DTSTAMP:20260412T140529Z
LOCATION:Room 208 (Seats 40)
SUMMARY:Fan-mediated Tropical Beings: A World History of Electric Fan Usage
  in Singapore’s Household Heat Management\, 1960s to the Present - Joshu
 a Dao-Wei Sim
URL:https://pretalx.com/wha-annual-meeting-korea-2026/talk/SBSCUL/
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR