Description

Abstract:

“The employers provided everything”—wages, housing, post office, parks, canteens. Such a model of the “company town,” where a single corporation dominates in multiple capacity as employer, landlord, service provider, and quasi-regulator has endured across borders and time. It can just as fittingly portray textile mills in 18^th century England, coal and steel towns in early 20th century America, as it does today’s Foxconn and other “supply chain cities” in China, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere. No matter the setting, certain features remain constant, notably the expansive articulation of corporate power and blurring lines between work and personal space. This talk anchors the business model of company towns as a window into various moments of economic development and draws lessons on its symbiotic relationship with law.

Speaker: Associate Professor Trang (Mae) Nguyen, Temple University Beasley School of Law

Moderator: Associate Professor Umakanth Varottil, National University of Singapore

Venue: Lee Sheridan Conference Room, NUS Faculty of Law (Bukit Timah Campus)

Register here: https://tinyurl.com/cals231120 (seminar will be presented in-person)

Registration Deadline: 14 November 2023

View the event flyer here.

This Seminar is proudly organised by the Centre for Asian Legal Studies (CALS), Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore.

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