MAJU Modular Experience

Module code: TL101

The MAJU Modular Experience (MME) Programme prepares students to meaningfully engage in policy discussion and evaluation. It offers a glimpse into various facets of policymaking,including stakeholder engagement, trade-offs and implementation mechanisms. Through the module, students develop critical thinking skills as they learn about the broader considerations that shape governance and public decision-making.

NOTE: Students who have taken this module in 2025 are not eligible. 

Monsters and Monstrosity 

Module code: TL102

This module explores monsters in mythology, literature and films to understand people's fascination with monsters, and their polical and social significance of throughout history to today and across cultures, even in hyper modern societies including Singapore. Monsters as a way of expressing surpressed/ taboo desires and subverting dominant narratives such as patriarchy, rationality and scientific thinking will be studied. Curated movie clips will be screened, so this module is not for the squeamish; if you are spooked by horror, do not sign up.

Hegemony: Lead your Class to Victory 

Module code: TL103

(Board game, Max 16 pax)

Get an in-depth look at how policies affect economics by playing a asymmetrical board game titled "Hegemony". (https://hegemonicproject.com/games/hegemony/hegemony/) In this game, you will play a specific class (working, middle, capitalist or the state) with its own specific agenda and end game goals. By playing this game, you will start thinking (and feeling) like different classes in society and start to understand why different classes act the way they do. You will be required to watch a how-to-play video (1.5hrs) before the start of the module, and each session will only end at 7pm.

Rage against the machine : Know Your Enemy (SLAM)

Module code: SL104

In our module, Rage against the machine : Know Your Enemy we will be exploring the  seemingly unlimited power technocorporations have been given over our individual behaviour, economies, societies and political structures and how this has influenced and affected our collective future. Our project explores the impact of technocapitalism, drawing parallels between reality and Detroit: Become Human. We aim to analyse whether our present trajectory is leading us toward a dystopian future (much like the one in Detroit: Become Human) or if there’s still an opportunity to change course.

MAJU Modular Experience

Module code: TL201

The MAJU Modular Experience (MME) Programme prepares students to meaningfully engage in policy discussion and evaluation. It offers a glimpse into various facets of policymaking, including stakeholder engagement, trade-offs and implementation mechanisms. Through the module, students develop critical thinking skills as they learn about the broader considerations that shape governance and public decision-making.

NOTE: Students who have taken this module in 2025 are not eligible.

Spies and Spycraft (SLAM)

Module code: SL202

This module explores the evolution of espionage through three defining cases. We begin with the Cambridge Five, where ideology and class loyalty betrayed state secrets in the Cold War's shadow war. We then fast-forward to the digital age with NSO Group's Pegasus, examining how a private Israeli company weaponizes code, turning smartphones into global surveillance tools and challenging national sovereignty. Finally, we dissect the stealthiest modern tactic: Social Engineering on LinkedIn, where spies forge professional trust to extract secrets without a single line of malware. Each case reveals a different vulnerability ideological, technological, and psychological while asking the core Humanities question: In the pursuit of security and power where should the lines of ethics, trust and morality be drawn? 

Mr Chin's Scripts of the World

Module code: TL203

This module explores the journey that language has taken in evolving alongside with human societies. We will explore the stories of both written and spoken languages, how they intertwine with human migration, trade, and history. We also take a special look at the relationship between language and cognition, and think about whether all languages are equal. Students will either: create a writing script, or write an essay exploring word etymologies or language features. This module will be led by a guest lecturer (and a former student) who is interested in language, thought and cognition. 

The power to remember. (SLAM)

Module code: SL204

Why do you learn about certain historical events while students in other countries learn something entirely different? Who decides which stories are remembered and which are left out? In this module, you will explore the idea of collective memory and discover how it is formed, challenged, and shaped through the politics of memory. Along the way, you will learn how societies choose to remember certain historical events while downplaying or forgetting others, and how political actors influence these memories to serve social, ideological, or political goals.

Session 1 (30/3): Collective vs Politics of Memories - comparative case studies on how different countries confront their past through approaches such as transitional justice, historical revisionism, and denial.

Session 2 (6/4): Learning Journey to The Albatross Files Exhibition @ National Library. Note: the chartered bus will leave RV at 3.15pm (dismissal ~6pm), please only sign up for this module if you are able to attend the LJ.

Session 3 (13/4): Group presentation and feedback. 

Note: Maximum 18 pax 

Behind the Box: Why We Can't Resist the Surprise (SLAM)

Module code: SL205

Blind boxes have been all the talk lately. Regardless of the type of blind boxes, be it Labubus or Pokémon cards, the thrill of unboxing one is undeniable. But what exactly is fueling the people of our age to consume these products? Is it to be the first amongst your friends to collect the secret, or just purely for that surge of adrenaline? Perhaps, there is more to this craze than meets the eye.

Students will take a deep dive into the world of blind boxes— its origins, rise to fame, and constant appeal— to understand why we simply cannot resist stepping into a Popmart store and grabbing a few of these products for ourselves (and our ever-growing collection).

This module also offers students a chance to dabble into the world of blind boxes by designing merchandise for HSSLA Now! 

Tracing Power, People and Place: Preparing for our Germany OELP Journey 

Module code: TL206

Through this module, students will learn and prepare material tracing the history of Germany from the Romantics (1800s) to the modern era (1900s) and today. Research and sharing on the culture, geography, and literary and economic development of Germany will be ventured into. Students can also look forward to samplings food commonly eaten in Germany, and bop to famous modern German pop bands or be serenaded by classical German music! This module is mandatory for students going on the OELP Germany trip as an essential preparation course, but is also open to other interested students, up to 20 pax. 

Note: Maximum 20 pax

Criminology: Psychology of the Criminal Mind (SLAM)

Module code: SL207

This module aims to help students better understand the reasons behind criminal actions, including social, psychological, and environmental factors, and will challenge them to consider how societal structures contribute to crime. The module will cover the various factors that may influence people to commit crimes, the psychology of false convictions, as well as real-life case studies. By discussing the ethical complexities of justice systems, including issues such as rehabilitation versus punishment and the potential for systemic injustice, students will be prompted to question the fairness and effectiveness of the current criminal justice system. Through role-playing a mock trial, the module pushes RVians to think further and stretch themselves as they research for evidence to support their stands. 

CONTENT WARNING: This module contains content that might be distressing to some (references to murder, nudity, sexual assault etc.) 

Villains (SLAM) 

Module code: SL208

This module examines why people feel drawn to villains and true crime stories. It looks at the psychological, cultural plus media factors that feed this interest. Students study how writers and filmmakers build fictional villains who show sympathy, charisma but also complexity. They then place those invented figures next to the real life stories told about serial killers.

The course shows how film, television, documentaries and podcasts guide the way the public sees offenders as well as how those formats spark strong emotional reactions. It also asks whether it is right to turn real pain into entertainment.

Insights come from psychology, criminology, media studies and sociology. Students use those fields to judge why audiences seek tales of violence or moral rule breaking. By the end of the module, students must decide whether fascination means approval and must trace how repeated stories shape what a culture remembers.

Work in Progress: A sociological and anthropological take on work in recent history

Module code: TL209

“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life." This module will examine human relationships with work and how they evolve through the first to current industrial revolution via the film, No other choice, Hu An Yan's novel, I deliver parcels in Beijing, and various sociological/anthropoligical readings. Students will engage in 'soft' social science research skils to arrive at their own conclusions about whether work is humanity's curse or deliverance.