National University of Singapore

This course provides a broad foundation for the study of human social behavior. Topics such as attitudes, social cognition, interpersonal relations and group processes are discussed. One aim of this course is to introduce students to the theories and research of social psychology. A second aim is to help students appreciate how the findings of social psychologists are relevant and applicable to the day-to-day situations in our lives.

This course introduces contemporary South Asia in terms of the significant features of social, cultural, and economic life. It discusses the physical and human resources of the region and provides an overview of developments at the outset of the new century. Through the films, literature, and arts of the region, the course illustrates the changing patterns of life of the people of South Asia.

This course provides an introduction to gender and sexuality issues in Singapore from a historical perspective. It examines how our everyday understandings of gender have been formed in a long, complex process of negotiation over the twentieth century. In five themes 1) religion and marriage, 2) non-binary histories, 3) state morality, 4) queer stories and 5) gender troubles, it traces how state and religious authorities have shaped sexual behaviors and gender identities, with varying degrees of conformity and contestation from groups and individuals. Throughout history, gender remained fluid despite multiple attempts at restraining sexuality.

This course gives an introduction to the design of sample surveys and estimation procedures, with emphasis on practical applications in survey sampling. Topics include planning of surveys, questionnaire construction, methods of data collection, fieldwork procedures, sources of errors, basic ideas of sampling, simple random sampling, stratified, systematic, replicated, cluster and quota sampling, sample size determination, and cost. This course is targeted at students who are interested in Statistics and are able to meet the pre-requisites.

Evolutionary biology covers the history of life on our planet and the processes that produced the multiple life forms of Earth. Topics include: the origins of life, the eukaryotic cell, and multicellularity; the generation of genetic variation and the sorting of that variation through random processes and through natural and sexual selection; the origin of new traits, new life histories, and new species; the origins of sex, sociality, and altruism; the evolution of humans; and applications of evolutionary biology to solving modern-day problems.