National University of Singapore

This course explores language structure, in particular, patterns of sentence structure (syntax) and of meaning (semantics), from a cross-linguistic perspective. Concepts discussed include: grammatical categories, semantic relations, grammatical relations, constituency, and the relationship between grammar and the lexicon. A key feature of the course is its emphasis on the evidence and argumentation that bears upon the representation of structure and principles of grammar that we postulate. The course provides the foundation for the study of advanced courses investigating linguistic structure.

Drawing on the rich social science literature on the government and politics of contemporary Africa, the course addresses a set of critical questions that have important implications for the well-being of the people of the continent and the world in the 21st century. What have been the sources of political and economic crises in Africa? What has been the net impact of the regional and international interventions in the continent in response to these crises? What explains the revival of democracy and economic growth in some parts of the continent? Will it last?

This course introduces the variety of music in Southeast Asia, from traditional to pop, and contributes to students' understanding of the region. Lectures with audiovisual illustrations, which emphasize cultural and contextual approaches, are complemented by practical instruction in playing Javanese gamelan music. The course explores the different musical aesthetics, changing cultural and social contexts and functions (from village and palace rituals to arts academies, the cassette industry, and concerts), musical and cultural interaction, and the changing musical landscape of Southeast Asia.

This course introduces the world of digital platforms and helps understand what makes them click. From network effects to monetization strategies to metrics, students are exposed to the underlying nuts and bolts of creating successful digital platforms. Digital platforms – whose value proposition differs from the traditional pipeline business paradigm – still employ certain business fundamentals such as corporate governance, customer lifetime value, pricing, etc. The course also curates these fundamentals and applies them to a platform setting. Overall, the course aims to equip students to critically analyze digital platforms and serve as an impetus to creating their own. In this interdisciplinary course, students are exposed to the world of platform-based business models as well as the underlying fundamentals of finance and marketing. The course tries to answer interesting questions such as: what’s Airbnb’s business model, how much do you have to save every year for retirement, how do you read a company’s balance sheet, why is Starbucks successful, how do you price a product, etc. For the platforms section of this course, students learn about platform models of business and how they differ from a traditional pipeline model of business. Students learn how platforms generate value through network effects. Students are exposed to the types of metrics they should keep in mind during various phases of a platform: startup, growth, and maturity. Finally, students learn about the types of industries most susceptible to the platform revolution, and thus, the future of platforms. For the finance part, students learn four carefully curated topics: corporate governance, basics of financial accounting, financial statement analysis, and time value of money. These topics allow a student to easily grasp the fundamentals of modern corporate finance and help to critically analyze contemporary issues in the world of business. The marketing part of the course attempts to unravel the secrets of what it takes to be global leaders in various products and services. The course delves into the fundamentals of marketing and introduces the idea of customer lifetime value-a principle that’s indispensable in today’s world of platforms. Finally, the course explores the idea of pricing, and various pricing strategies that are used by successful companies.

Piracy, understood broadly as violence or crime at sea, is a present day phenomenon and yet one which has a history spanning centuries and across all the oceans of the world. From pirates to privateers, corsairs to raiders, maritime predators take various names and forms. This course explores the history of pirates and piracy. By examining case studies from the 1400s onwards and by placing pirates into the context of oceanic history and maritime studies, the course seeks to demystify the popular images often associated with pirates.

This module introduces the various standards and techniques of sketching, how to prepare engineering drawings and specifications, and how to interpret drawings. Students use advanced commercial CAD software to do 3D solid modeling. Above all, this module expands the students’ creative talent and enhances their ability to communicate their ideas in a meaningful manner. Major topics include: principles of projections; isometric; orthographic and isometric sketching; 3D solid modeling; sectioning and dimensioning; drawing standards; and limits, fits, and geometrical tolerances. This module provides the student with the fundamental knowledge to do calculations on design components like bolts, screws, fasteners, weld joints, springs, gears, material selection, fatigue, bearings, and shafts.

One of the main features of Asian politics and government is the complex nexus of ethnicity, religion, and the state. This course focuses on the colonial formation and postcolonial continuation of these ethno-religious features of politics, known as the politics of identity in Asia. The course explains some major ethnic and religious conflicts in Asia; their impacts on national politics, party systems, state structures, and government policies; and the role of the state in this regard.

This course is intended for students who wish to acquire a deep understanding of systems of many particles. The course considers the fundamentals of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics and is a prerequisite to advanced statistical mechanics. It covers topics including: the laws of thermodynamics, thermodynamic functions, ideal gases, and heat engines; microcanonical ensemble, canonical ensemble, Boltzmann distribution, and partition function; and an introduction to quantum gases.

This course introduces the study of martial arts in Southeast Asia from an academic and experiential perspective. Students analyze journal articles, books, and materials from social media to understand how various social, political, economic, and historical forces impacted on the production and performance of martial arts in the region. The course is complemented with hands-on sessions that further the understanding of complex historical, sociological, and cultural dimensions of various combat genres. Student assignments such as essays and group video projects reveal new ways in how Southeast Asia can be understood from multi-disciplinary perspectives.

What is “the contemporary”? How has contemporary literature since the turn of the twenty-first century engaged with some of the most pressing social, political, and cultural concerns of the current moment? This course takes the experience and representation of time as its central analytic for examining these questions. Through a range of novels written since the turn of the twenty-first century, the course introduces the emergent social, political, and cultural concerns currently occupying the contemporary imagination.