Pearson Education South Asia will soon be publishing a book containing a chapter from Than Than Nwe, lecturer in Geography in CQU's School of Humanities.

Ms Nwe was invited to submit a chapter for this publication after she presented at the 7th SEAGA International Conference.

This geography conference, hosted by the University of Khon Kaen in Thailand, explored the theme of 'Development and change in an era of globalisation'.

The book will follow this same theme, with the working title of 'Change and Development in Southeast Asia in an Era of Globalisation'.

Ms Nwe has been researching urbanisation in Myanmar for many years now and already has an impressive body of publications in this area.

This latest chapter, to be called ‘Pagodas and soldiers: Culture, identity, and the built environment in contemporary Myanmar’, examines contemporary cultural processes shaping nation and community.

The manner in which these impact on heritage sites and built forms is also explored. The chapter evaluates the underlying ideologies that strengthen and reaffirm traditional cultural norms in the context of urbanising and globalising forces taking place extensively in Myanmar in recent years.

It critically evaluates identity construction that perpetuates and reinforces dominant power structures existing today and the spatial significance and layers of meaning in the cultural landscape.

Ms Nwe says: “It is important to be aware of the relationship between the social and built environment if we are to try to improve how we live today and preserve our heritage for future generations to enjoy. The process of urbanisation is not just about how a city is built or planned, but also how the people in that city live and work everyday".