English

This is a challenging interdisciplinary first-year course, based on a series of high-profile, evening lectures given by prominent members of staff from the three Colleges. The course engages students in thinking about the global challenges that confront society, and makes them aware of the role of academic research and scholarship in meeting these challenges. Students are expected to address key global issues across discipline boundaries, and develop an understanding of the relevance and impact of their own subject in the broader context. Students in the course attend the public lectures, research the topics in depth, participate in facilitated group discussions on each topic, work in small groups to produce a collaborative project on a chosen topic, and produce an individual research report on an aspect which may be closer to their own subject area. Our Changing World is a pass/fail grade-only course.

In this course, students gain an in-depth understanding of what makes consumers buy some products and not others, how various psychological characteristics influence our consumer behaviors, how companies can best try to meet consumers' wants and needs, among other topics. Building on a general understanding of marketing, this course develops a useful, conceptual understanding of psychological theories relevant to the study of consumer behavior.

This course introduces students to the forging of the Chinese Singaporean community by observing the changes in linguistic data over time. Drawing linguistic data from different aspects of society and entertainment (eg. food, movies, theatre, and so on), the course aims to reveal to students how the Chinese community has evolved from being a community with multiple languages to a single, unified language. Influential professionals in their field of expertise will also share from their personal experience the evolution of the Chinese community, and how the Chinese Singaporean community fits into Singapore’s multiracial society.

This course provides an overview of natural hazards such as floods, severe storms, droughts, multi-hazard interrelationships, the perception of natural hazards, and the complex relationship that exists between natural hazards and society. Lectures on specific hazards are addressing the basic theory for the creation and/or existence of each hazards, along with an understanding of some of the primary and secondary effectives (both negative and positive) of each hazard, including case study examples. 

This course explores the fundamentals of structure and energetics that underpin materials science. An appreciation of structure underlies nearly every design and application of materials to a greater or lesser extent and many fascinating materials phenomena. The course discusses how to describe the structure of crystalline and non-crystalline states, and the various (e.g., point, line, and surface) imperfections in materials. The course also discusses how to determine the structure using diffraction techniques. The subject matter of this course can be applied to many real-world examples such as materials for fuel cells and batteries, engineered alloys, electronic and magnetic materials, polymers, and biomaterials. The course examines topics including: materials structure, how it is influenced by the interatomic bonding and processing parameters, and how materials properties are determined by the structure; metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites; how to describe the structure of materials using structural descriptors and understanding the difference between gasses, liquids, amorphous, and crystalline solids; defects in crystalline materials: point defects in solids, line defects, slip planes, and dislocations; equilibrium phase diagrams; electronic, mechanical, magnetic, and optical properties of materials; and the structure-processing-properties relationship and the life-cycle assessment for selection of materials and development of sustainable materials in the design of parts, structures, and products.

This course examines recent Latin American films, which are critically analyzed in social, political and cultural context. The course enables students to develop their skills of analysis in an audiovisual, rather than purely literary, context, as well as deepening understanding of the Hispanic world through engagement with its cinematic production. 

One of the primary functions literature serves is as a vehicle for memory. From the portrayal of national histories, to the embodiment of collective myths, to the expression of individual identities, literature has both lent authority to and constructed contentious arguments for our image of our past. The literature of central and eastern Europe is particularly rich in explorations of history and memory. While in earlier times literature was called upon to lend social and historical legitimacy to communities without nation-states, more recent literature of the region has played a major role in attempts to come to terms with the catastrophes of the 20th century.

The course introduces a variety of concepts and theories to analyze global governance, with a focus on organizations and institutions including international and regional organizations, firms, and NGOs. Course materials discuss topics from international relations, political science, economics, sociology, and anthropology. Substantively, the course covers diverse issues such as security, development, and science.   

Drawing on the seminar style, the course requires each person to contribute through discussion, presentation, and a written research proposal on topics of their choice.   

This course must be taken simultaneously with CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE ECONOMY B. This course names and addresses the causes of economic problems that emerged in Japan within the last few decades.