Thinking and Reasoning, CCO101
In CCO101, Thinking and Reasoning, I learnt about fallacies – how they weaken an argument, argument mapping, how mass man affects the thinking of society, what is propaganda and hegemony and how media is used to create such influences, conspiracy theories; and Rawls’ and Nozicks’ theories of justice.
Throughout the course of CCO101, I was taught how to write better arguments and counter-arguments, learnt how to apply critical thinking skills in the real world using the theories. As a project director in my service learning club, it is important for me to have these critical thinking skills which allows me to critically evaluate the possible suggestions and ideas that other members from the club give.
Furthermore, I believe that this course has equipped me with the skills I need in the future when I join the workforce.
Critical Reading, CCO103
In CCO103, Critical Reading, I learnt what is a prose and what is a satire. I also had the chance to read “Oedipus, King of Thebes” which is a drama, “The Ballad of Reading Gaol”- a poetry, and “Life of Pi” which is a fiction.
Other than just reading the books or poetry, I learnt how to understand the details and feelings when writing a poet, and the different thoughts and feeling of each character in the stories. I was also taught how to apply arguments by using different point of views and also map arguments just like what was taught in CCO101.
This has taught me that we should not always jump into conclusions, we should always put ourselves in the shoes of others and see the situation from the perspective, not just in the stories but also in the real world.
This allows me to access the situation whenever something happens without jumping into conclusions. I know that this would benefit me a lot in everything I do. I am able to apply this in my service learning as well. As we are working with children, it is important to understand them before doing anything as the children might be quite sensitive and we should evaluate what we want to do in order not to be insensitive.
Social Research, CCO105
In CCO105, Social Research, I realized that doing research is not as easy as I thought. It is far more complicated. In the past, when I do research for my assignments, it was a very simple approach and I did not know that there is so much more to doing a research.
I learnt about the process of doing social research – which method to collect data, what kind of presentation, the ethics and limitations to a research. Also, I was able to differentiate between conflict theorists, symbolic interactionist and structural functionalist.
The skills that I have acquired in this course would definitely benefit me greatly as I am able to observe my surroundings better. I have also gained better interviewing skills and I am better at creating a good survey questionnaire which will be useful to me.
World History & Issues, CCO107
In CCO107, World Histories & Issues, I learnt about the Empires in world history, World Trade Networks such as the Silk Road, Slavery, Nations and Nation Building and the new Global Age.
One of the assignments was a task to a site of memory in Singapore. My group went to the Japanese Cemetery in Singapore which is unknown to many and we learnt a lot. Furthermore, as we have to create a documentary of the site, I was able to learn new skills such as video making, editing and the filming process. It is a valuable skill learnt since not many can do it.
I also learnt that human trafficking such as child slavery is still happening in many countries in our modern society. Learning about the world histories also taught me to be more sensitive towards some things and realized the importance of knowing the history so as to prevent the same things from happening again.
Culture & Diversity, CCO201
In CCO201, Culture & Diversity, I gained knowledge on Culture, Gender, Ethnicity, Language, Religion and Globalization.
These allows me to understand culture from the perspective of an anthropologists and that we should adopt a cultural relativism approach whereby we stand in the shoes of others and understand why is their culture the way it is, instead of being ethnocentric and judge other cultures based on our own culture. More importantly, we should embrace diversity and not divide ourselves into our own cultures. It is only when we accept the differences between each other, then we can live happily and have peace.
In my service learning, most of the children are Malay while minority are Chinese. There will definitely be differences amongst the children and us (my fellow club members and I). However, if we embrace the differences, we can all have fun together. Furthermore, there will be an upcoming session where we will be teaching the children about the difference in culture. This is where the things I have learnt in this course will help me.
Sustainability, Technology and Society, CCO203
In CCO203, Sustainability, Technology and Society, I learnt that society can shape a technology and the different parts and driving forces of a technology.
As humans, we rely heavily on technology, causing the advancement in technology in recent years. Even though technology brings about convenience and many advantages to us, it has been a disadvantage to the environment as it cause pollution. Other than society shaping technologies, the evolution of technology also has an effect in society such as the perspectives, behavior, practices and habits.
Technologies will be always evolving due to globalization.