Humanities Elective Writeup

Geographers study the natural and social processes that form our environments and interpret the changing interrelationships between environment and society. Given the diverse nature of geography, it is an integrative discipline, where the natural sciences and the humanities will provide an understanding on the interaction between humans and their environment.

In order to appreciate the complexities of the human experiences in a rapid changing world,  the Geography  curriculum  explores  the  interaction  processes  between people and their environment through inquiry.  The focus will be on current physical and human  geographical  topics.   As  such,  investigation,  collection  of  data,  fieldwork, reasoning and reflective thinking will be crucial to understand the issues affecting the environment and people’s lives both now and in the future.

Course Outline:

Sec 3

Weather, Climatic Disasters and Management; Health and Diseases

• Factors affecting weather

• Changing Global Climate

   - Climatic disasters and hazard management

   - Impact on Flora and Fauna

   - Health and Diseases

Coastal Studies

• Coastal Processes (Geographical Investigation: Fieldwork)

• Coastal Management

Tectonic Processes and Resultant Landforms

• Volcanicity

• Earthquakes

Sec 4

Development

Models of Development and measures of productivity

• Concepts of development

• Strategies for development

• Uneven levels of development (Geographical Investigation: Fieldwork)

• Sustainability

Trends in food consumption, production and distribution

Variations in food production and distribution

• Factors affecting food production/distribution

Variations in food consumption between Developed and Less Developed Countries

• Changes in food preferences and accessibility

• Factors affecting trends in food consumption

Globalization of food consumption, production and distribution

• Global food

   - Food and culture: diversity of food across the continents

• Balancing food consumption and production: technology

• Food safety

• Food security

Global Economy

• Industrialization

• Globalization of Tourism (Geographical Investigation: Fieldwork)

The Making of the 20th Century Modern World, 1910s–1991 

After World War I 

• Overview of World War I  

• Aims and terms of the Paris Peace Conference and its immediate impact on Europe in the 1920s 

Rise of Authoritarian Regimes 

• Overview of the attempts at establishing viable political systems after World War I 

• Case Study of Nazi Germany 

• Case Study of Militarist Japan, 1920s–1930s 

War in Europe and the Asia-Pacific 

• Key developments leading to the outbreak of World War II in Europe

• Key developments leading to the outbreak of World War II in Asia-Pacific 

• Reasons for the end of World War II  

The Cold War 

• Origins and development of the Cold War in Europe 

• Extension of the Cold War outside Europe: Case study of Korean War, 1950–1953 and Vietnam War, 1954–1975  

End of the Cold War 

• Overview of different phases of thawing and rising tensions between the USA and the USSR in the 1960s and 1970s 

• Decline of the USSR and the end of Cold War  

Sec 3

Singapore and Other Literatures: Study of Literature across the regions

Singaporean Literature

The Singaporean Literature module allows students to explore and, at the same time, question the representations and conceptions of the Singapore identity, nationhood, and

society. Topics to be discussed include the political, cultural, and social context within which Singaporean texts are produced, the notion of what a ‘Singaporean’ text is, and

what it means to be Singaporean. 

Students will closely analyse short stories from Hook and Eye: Stories from the Margins. Through the study of Singaporean texts, students will develop a critical understanding of

how notions of gender, race/ethnicity, and social class are represented and constructed in Singaporean culture.

American Literature

 The Dreamer’s valuation of a thing lost—not another man’s—is the only standard to measure it by, and his grief for it makes it large and great and fine, and is worthy of our

reverence in all cases. --- Mark Twain, My Boyhood Dreams.

This exciting module explores the intersections, interactions, and interweaving of Literature, History, and Sociology in a rich study of key themes and concepts central to

the unique cultural imagination and fabric of the United States of America, the Land of the Free, and where Dreams are made. Students will read John Steinbeck’s Of Mice

and Men. A story of commitment, loneliness, hope and loss, Of Mice and Men is a powerful and moving portrayal of two men striving to understand their own unique place

in the world.

Major themes in the novella are loneliness as well as companionship, alienation, mercy, compassion, and the importance of dreams. The novella can also be read through a

historical lens as a study of migratory workers during the Great Depression. This book, despite being written in 1937, remains controversial today because of the issue of

euthanasia, a taboo issue for that era.

Sec 4

Life is a Tragedy to Those Who Feel: Tragedy through the Years

The Secondary Four Literature in English Elective explores the evolution of tragedy, including literary dramas and contemporary novels. 

“This is so tragic.” We often hear this statement bandied around by those around us. What is tragedy? How does something qualify as ‘tragic’? Must it happen on a grand

scale, and to royalty, for it to be considered a tragedy?

The central concern of the module is with questions about tragedy as they emerge from literary texts, such as the quintessential Greek tragedy, Sophocles’ Oedipus the King,

and Kamila Shamsie’s Home Fire (2017). The latter is a modern re-telling of Antigone, the third play in the trilogy, Oedipus Rex. It is a contemporary tragedy about a British-

Pakistani family, living under the shadow of a jihadi father, and the choices they make out of love, belonging, and faith.

When we examine tragedy, who can forget William Shakespeare? “To be or not to be” is a question that has been oft-repeated in literature and song, a resounding testament

to how Shakespeare’s influence has long integrated itself with the global consciousness. 

To ensure that we do not strut about full of sound and fury, signifying nothing, this elective offers an opportunity to intellectually engage with the Bard himself through an

introductory foray into his life and works. A close reading of Shakespeare’s tragedy of Macbeth will offer an entry point into a world where fair is foul and foul is fair. Did Lady

Macbeth really push Macbeth to murder Duncan or was it Macbeth’s own “vaulting ambition”? The play shows us characters in different worlds, compelling varied reader

responses and diverse interpretations. If you are interested in exploring some of the “big questions” about life and the world through literary analysis, then this module should

satisfy your curiosity.

课程宗旨：

中学华文文学课程理想的教育成果是要将学生培养成华文文学的爱好者、善省思的读者、具有批判性思维的学习者、具有全球化视野的思辨者和具有创造力的创作者。（《中学华文文学课程标准》新加坡教育部，2019）

华文文学是华侨中学语文特选课程的核心学科，课程旨在：

• 引导学生走进中华文学和历史精粹，拓展思路，增进人文情怀；

• 引导学生在文学、历史、哲学的世界里领悟不同的人生；

• 培养学生高尚的道德情操、人生观和价值观；

• 培养具有环球视野的双语人才。

课程特色：

• 与高中A水准H2华文与文学（H2 Chinese Language and Literature）课程高度连贯与一致，衔接紧密，有利于学生日后的延伸选修与学习；

• 通过本土与区域华文文学作品，彰显本土人文情怀；

• 通过多元化评鉴与协作性学习，激发学生自主学习。

课程内容：

• 现当代长篇小说：《放逐与追逐》【谢裕民】（新加坡）

• 现当代短篇和微型小说：《孔乙己》【鲁迅】

• 现当代短篇和微型小说：《陈小手》【汪曾祺】

• 现当代短篇和微型小说：《像我这样的一个女子》【西西】

• 现当代短篇和微型小说：《拉子妇》【李永平】

• 现当代短篇和微型小说：《回不去的候车站》【小寒】（新加坡）

• 诗歌：《渡荆门送别》【李白】

• 诗歌：《春夜喜雨》【杜甫】

• 诗歌：《水调歌头》（明月几时有）【苏轼】

• 诗歌：《如梦令》（昨夜雨疏风骤）【李清照】

• 诗歌：《偶然》【徐志摩】

• 诗歌：《珍珠项链》【余光中】

• 诗歌：《传灯》【杜南发】（新加坡）

• 诗歌：《彩窗》【林得楠】（新加坡）

• 现当代华文文学作品选读

• 古代中华文学作品选读

框架说明

双文化课程框架主要教导学生以新加坡视角和批判性思维了解当代中国的发展与挑战，以及以上四大板块所代表的国家/区域的历史渊源，当代发展以及彼此间的合作关系，从而引导学生发掘当代与未来的新契机，搭建更多的合作桥梁，日后为新加坡在国际局势中开拓具有竞争力的新定位，并为世界未来发展做出贡献。

课程宗旨:

华侨中学双文化课程旨在：

• 加深学生对本土文化的了解；

• 拓展学生对当代中国的认识；

• 提高学生对东西文化的热爱；

• 培育学贯中西的双文化精英；

• 培养学生掌握21世纪技能及全球视野。
  
  
  

课程目标:

学生在完成两年的中学课程后，能够就新加坡、中国、西方、东南亚：

• 认识其基本历史发展及现当代代国情（理解）；

• 掌握其文化生态、政治、经济与社会体系的特征（分析）；

• 运用所学知识进行独立思考（综合、对比、总结），表达自身观点（评价、再创）

课程内容:

核心课题：

• 新加坡与中国的历史渊源（海外华人、华侨历史、身份认同、文化追溯）

• 中国近代历史重大事件（1840-1978）

• 中国现当代走向与趋势（1979-迄今）

o   经济发展

o   社会变化

o   内部政治

o   未来展望

• 中国政治体系

• 中国与亚细安的关系

海外浸濡:

• 中国浸濡：4星期

• 亚细安浸濡：1星期

• 英国浸濡：2星期
  
  
  

活动:

• 教育部双文化研讨会 MOE BSP Symposium

• 教育部双文化营 MOE BSP camp

• 海外浸濡 Overseas Immersion

• 座谈会Seminars（学校或教育部主办）

• 亚洲青年华语论坛 （Asian Youth Chinese Forum）

• 华中南洋两校交流