National University of Singapore

This course introduces economic analysis of the government sector using microeconomic tools. It covers principles and policies concerning both tax and expenditure and analyzes the effects of fiscal actions on efficiency in resource allocation and on equity. The course also examines analytical tools and policy applications particularly as they relate to budgetary policies in Singapore. 

This course introduces the issues of digital ethics and AI faced by individuals and organizations. It covers the ethical principles governing the behaviors and beliefs about how we use technology, and how we collect and process personal information in a manner that aligns with individual and organizational expectations for security and confidentiality. It addresses challenges in balancing technological desirability with social desirability while developing digital products and services. Key topics include Professional Ethics, Artificial Intelligence Ethics and Governance, Automation and Autonomous Systems, Digital Ethics by Design, Data Protection in ICT, Human Machine Interaction, Computing for Social Good, Digital Intellectual Property Rights, and Digital Divide, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion.

This course examines the evolving economic linkages between Singapore and India in a post-Cold War setting and attempts to explain the factors that have led to their enhanced economic collaboration. It uses concepts such as economic regionalism, Singapore's regionalization policy, and India's ''Look East'' policies to explain the confluence of national interests that has enhanced bilateral economic ties between both countries. In particular, it examines bilateral collaboration in infrastructure developments such as ports and telecommunications and service industries such as airline and tourism to explain the successes and problems of bilateral economic collaboration. 

This course introduces how games serve as a medium for communicating philosophical ideas. The course answers questions such as what is freedom? Are moral dilemmas possible? and What is reality? Equally, philosophy can shed light on the nature of games. For instance, can games be art? What is skill and luck? What is the nature of artificial intelligence? This course serves to explore some of these issues, using games and philosophical texts in tandem to explore various issues about what it is to be a human, and what it is to be a gamer.

Epidemiology is the study of the patterns, causes, and effects of health and disease conditions in defined human populations. It is the cornerstone of public health, and provides evidence that impact on both personal decisions about our lives and public policy for preventing and controlling diseases in the population. This module course covers key concepts in epidemiology, including how we measure disease burden, how we study risk factors for disease, how we evaluate interventions like new vaccines and therapies, and how to critically appraise research evidence to inform public health policy.

This course surveys the history of Indian philosophy both classical and modern. The course begins with lectures on the Rig Veda and the Upanishads, followed by a presentation of the main metaphysical and epistemological doctrines of some of the major schools of classical Indian philosophy such as Vedanta, Samkhya, Nyaya, Jainism, and Buddhism. The course concludes by considering the philosophical contributions of some of the architects of modern India such as Rammohan Ray, Rabindrananth Tagore, and Mohandas Gandhi.

This course focuses on the political evolution of the US. The pre-eminence of the US in world affairs suggests that knowledge of the evolution of American society and its culture is crucial to understanding American motivations and actions. In tracing how Americans have, from 1776, resolved issues and debates regarding the role of the federal government, racial and economic justice, gender roles, and political participation, budget and resource allocation and environmental concerns, students will gain insight into the historical processes which have shaped the US. By the end of the semester, students would have the necessary perspectives and contexts to assess and interpret American cultural, social and economic developments, as well as the continuing dialogue that Americans have about the nature of their society and democracy. This course is designed for students throughout NUS with an interest in American history.

This course introduces contemporary debates in population from a geographical perspective. It focuses on the ways that geography contributes to, and is reinforced, in the processes and meanings of life and death. Besides examining historical and contemporary population trends and demographic transitions, this course also investigates the discourses and politics of fertility and women's bodies, migration and transnational life, disease and health-care, and ageing, death and dying. The course provides understanding of contemporary population problems and solutions, and analyzes how these influence policies and everyday lives.

This course introduces contemporary geography, involving processes and problems, socio-economic and environmental issues/processes shaping our world, and the geographical perspectives needed to understand them better. Starting with how geographers view the world, the course offers a spatial lens to analyze such issues as climate change, urban flooding, human-environment relations, challenges of migration, economic production and consumption, and so forth. Each lecture discuss contemporary scenarios that students are familiar with alongside geographical analyses of and approaches to the issues. Students are also exposed to field work techniques, mapping skills and strategies of project management in small group discussions and project assignments.

The Roman empire was one of the longest-lasting in global history. Its enduring impact can be seen, heard and felt today, from language and architecture to film and video. This course examines Rome’s rise and fall, and asks how it successfully ruled over so many peoples for so long, in comparison with other world empires. It considers who made up empire emperors, ‘barbarians’, slaves and ordinary people. It also uncovers the background to early Christianity, Roman legacies inherited through European colonialism, and the numerous references to Rome in both high and popular culture today.