Sociology

This course examines issues concerning South Asians in Singapore through a study of the historical and socio-economic development of these communities, and issues pertaining to their identity. Topics include the migration and establishment of South Asian communities in Singapore during the colonial period, from the early 19th century to the middle of the 20th century, and the new movement of ‘professional’ migrants from the sub-continent in the late 20th century; the interplay of state policies in Singapore, local conditions, and linkages with South Asia and their impact on the social, economic and political development of these communities in Singapore; aspects of the everyday life of South Asians in Singapore including language, religion, and popular culture; and how South Asians in Singapore are portrayed and how they perceive and present themselves.

This course provides a foundation in holistic health care, addressing physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs. It covers the meaning of aesthetics and the relationship between art and humanity in different fields, namely visual arts, music, performing arts and architecture.

The course analyzes culture as an ethical construction, and ethics as cultural production. Topics include: culture, identity, and processes of subjectivation; ideology; hegemony, culture, and common sense; cultural criticism and emancipation; cultural distinction and exclusion; normative potential of the awareness of injustice in subordinate groups; ethical and epistemic decolonization processes; the multiculturalist program and its failures; interculturality and intersectionality.

This course examines the concepts and theories from the social sciences to analyze contemporary Chinese society with an integrated disciplinary perspective, including China's economic reforms, political systems and changes, rural and urban development, social stratification and mobility, wealth inequality, family and marriage, culture and ideology, and other institutional changes since the reform and opening up of China in 1978.

This course examines major mental health conditions and significant social, philosophical, and historical influences on health care service delivery and reform to provide a context for contemporary rehabilitation practice. It covers the goals, values and guiding principles of psychiatric rehabilitation and practices that aim to address the culture of stigma and low expectations by society of people with mental health conditions. Rehabilitation interventions that have demonstrated efficacy in promoting recovery by reducing obstacles to participation for people with mental health conditions will also be examined. Local and international research underpinning best practice in rehabilitation management and service delivery will be reviewed and consumer perspectives and experiences explored.

This course contemplates the unfolding ecological crisis of modern industrial society, from a sociological perspective, as the central conflict of our times. It explores key theoretical and substantive concerns in a critical evaluation of the relationship between human beings and the natural world, the interactions between society and environment, and the linkages between social issues and environmental problems. To do so, the course introduces students to the subfield of environmental sociology, to its central themes and foci, as well as to environmental and ecological thought more generally. It considers historical and sociological dimensions of the environmental movement and explores important debates and contrasting perspectives in ecological politics. Given its salience at the contemporary conjuncture, particular attention is given to the problem of anthropogenic climate change. The course seeks to explore the societal dimensions of this problem and consider the sociological concerns of power and conflict in an assessment of the challenges it poses and the practical and ethical questions it raises.

Situated within the field of the sociology of sexualities, this course addresses the historical, cultural, and social construction of sexuality. Part 1 of the course investigates conceptual foundations of the social construction of sexuality. Part 2 of the course looks at the changing historical meanings of sexual categories and at the ways in which LGBT social movements have sought to politicize them. Part 3 examines the social regulation of sexuality through an analysis of topics such as sexual violence and harassment, women's sexualized imagery in the media, and controversies around same-sex marriage. At the end of the course, students have a solid knowledge of the core concepts in the field of sociology of sexualities, they are able to apply these concepts to contemporary controversies about sex and sexualities, and they understand the ways in which sexuality shapes our social world.