Curriculum Vitae

(2016-present) Associate Professor (tenured), Department of Sociology & Anthropology,
                                National University of Singapore (NUS)

(2010-2016)         Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, NUS

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Ph.D. (Sociology)(summa cum laude)        Faculty of Sociology, Bielefeld University

M.Soc.Sci (Sociology)                                    National University of Singapore

B.Soc.Sci. Hons (Sociology)(First Class)    National University of Singapore

Sensory Studies; Migration and Transnationalism; Social Memory and Historiography; 
Food and Foodways

(10)     Head, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, NUS
  (2021-present)

(9)      NUS General Education Chief, Pillar for Cultures and Connections 

          (2024-2028)

(8)      Deputy Head, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, NUS
  (2016-2021)

(7)       Assistant Head, Department of Sociology & Anthropology
  (2015-2016)

(6)       Member, Faculty Promotion & Tenure Committee, NUS
    (2020-2021)

(5)      Member, Faculty Curriculum Review Committee, NUS
    (2019-2021)

(4)      Advisory Member, Heritage Research Panel,
    National Heritage Board, Singapore
    (2018-2019)
  

(3)      Member, Search Committee for Tenure Track and Educator Track
    Positions in NUS:
    a) Department of Sociology & Anthropology (2016-2021)
    b) South Asian Studies Program (2021; 2023)
    c) Department of Malay Studies (2022)

(2)      Steering Committee Member, Cities Research Cluster, NUS
    (2012-2018)

(1)     Steering Committee Member, Migration Research Cluster, NUS
    (2018-2020)

(14) Co-Editor, Current Sociology (International Sociological Association)(July 2024 onwards)

(13)  International Scientific Advisory Board, German Institute of Development &   
          Sustainability (2022-present)

(12)  Editorial Board, Sociology (British Sociological Association)(2023-present)

(11)  Editorial Board, Cultural Sociology (British Sociological Association)(2023-present)

(10)  Editorial Advisory Board, The Senses and Society (2018-present)

(9)    Editorial Advisory Board, Perspectives on Sensory History (book series), The
        Pennsylvania State University Press (2018-present)

(8)   Academic Editor-In-Chief, Social Sciences in Asia Book Series, Brill, Leiden
        (2009-present)

(7)   Core Academic Panel, National Museum of Singapore (2022-2025)

(6)   Co-founder/President (2012-2023) and Newsletter Editor (2012-2018) of
        Thematic Group on ‘Senses and Society’ (TG07), International Sociological Association

(5)   Editorial Board, Cogent Social Sciences (2016-2019)

(4)   Editor, International Sociological Association, Social Justice & Democratisation Space
        (2015-2022)

(3)   Book Review Editor, Asian Journal of Social Science (2015)

(2)   Editorial Board, Current Sociology Monograph Series (2015-2022)

(1)   Editor, International Sociological Association, E-Symposium (2013-2020).

BOOKS (sole-authored)

(4)   Bracketed Belonging: Gurkha Migrant Warriors and Transnational Lives.
Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press (in press).

(3)   Sensory Anthropology: Culture and Experience in Asia
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2023)

(2)   Remembering the Samsui Women: Migration and Social Memory in Singapore and China. Vancouver & Toronto: University of British Columbia Press (2014 hardback [ISBN: 9780774825757]; paperback published in 2015 [ISBN: 9780774825764];

* Asia edition later published separately by the National University of Singapore Press, 2015 [ISBN: 978-9971-69-858-4])

(1)   Scents and Scent-sibilities: Smell and Everyday Life Experiences. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009.
[ISBN (10): 1-4438-0215-8]

BOOKS (edited)

(3)   Coastal Urbanities: Mobilities, Meanings, Manouevrings, co-edited with R. Siriwardane-de Zoysa, N. Abdullah, and A.K. Hornidge. Brill: Leiden, 2022.

(2)   Senses in Cities: Experiences in Urban Settings, co-edited with D. Kalekin-Fishman. London: Routledge, 2017.

(1)   Everyday Life in Asia: Social Perspectives on the Senses, co-edited with D. Kalekin Fishman. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2010.

ARTICLES IN INTERNATIONAL REFEREED JOURNALS

(18)   ‘Fair or Fowl: Human-Animal Relations, Sensory Boundaries and Social Control.’ (in progress)

(17)   (with S. Suratman) 'Between Scientific and Sensory Knowledge: Exploring the Enactment of Clay Sensibilities among Clay Artists in Singapore.' American Behavioral Scientist (online first, April 2024)

(16)   ‘Of Sensory Infractions and Anthropomorphism Across Asian Urban Histories.’ History and Anthropology (online first, February 2024)

(15)   (with N. Abdullah) ‘The Crisis of Sensory Citizenship in Dense Urban Living.’ Zeitschrift fuer Ethnologie 147: 119-128 (2022)

(14)   (with N. Abdullah) ‘Senses as Mobile Actants: Sketching Conceptual and Comparative Possibilities.’ American Behavioral Scientist 64(10): 1430-1443, 2020.

(13)   ‘Gastropolitical Encounters and the Political Life of Sensation.’ The Sociological Review (online first, May 2020)
  

(12)   ‘Theorising Sensory Cultures in Asia: Sociohistorical Perspectives.’ Asian Studies Review 43(4): 618-636, 2019.

(11)   ‘Concrete Memories and Sensory Pasts: Everyday Heritage and the Politics of Nationhood.’ Pacific Affairs 90(2): 275-295, 2017.
(Shortlist for the William L. Holland Prize)

(10) ‘Migrant Warriors and Transnational Lives: Constructing a Gurkha Diaspora.’ Ethnic and Racial Studies 39(5): 840-857, 2016.

(9)  ‘The Sensuous City: Sensory Methodologies in Urban Ethnographic Research.’ Ethnography 16(3): 295-312, 2015.

      (8) ‘Chinese Migration and Entangled Histories: Broadening the Contours of Migratory Historiography.’ Journal of Historical Sociology 27(1): 75-102, 2014.

      (7) ‘Olfactive Frames of Remembering: Theorising Self, Senses, and Society.’ The Sociological Review 61(4): 688-708, 2013.

(6) ‘Sensing Cities: The Politics of Migrant Sensescapes.’ Social Identities: Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture 19(2): 221-237, 2013.

      (5) ‘The Social Life of the Senses: Charting Directions.’ Sociology Compass 6(3): 271-282, 2012.

      (4) ‘Presenting the Self, the Social Body and the Olfactory: Managing Smells in Everyday Life Experiences.’ Sociological Perspectives 49(4): 607-631, 2006.

      (3) ‘Money and Morality: Some Perspectives from Singapore.’ New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies 7: 37-62, 2005.

(2) ‘Ruminations on Smell as a Sociocultural Phenomenon.’ Current Sociology 53(3): 397-417, 2005.

(1) ‘Memories in Context via Cyber Reminiscing: The Case of Marilyn Monroe.’ Qualitative Report 8(4): 607-623, 2003.
  

CHAPTERS IN BOOK

(17)   (invited) 'Studying Urban Density and Human-Animal Relations as Sensory Phenomena.' for Lars Meier (ed.) The International Handbook of Urban Sociology. New York: Routledge (in progress). 

(16)   (invited) 'Taste, Senses and Memory: Outlining Methods, Themes and Prospects.' for Michael A. Di Giovine, Raul Matta, Psyche Williams-Forson (eds) Routledge Handbook on Food and Cultural Heritage. New York: Routledge (forthcoming).  

(15)   (with S. Camacho and J. Chieng) 'Sounding Things Out: Sonic Parameters and Possibilities.' for James Mannell and Sanne Krogh Groth (eds) Negotiating Noise. Lund: Lund University Press, pp.178-185, 2021.

(14)   'Sensory and Embodied Narratives of Sea Lives and Displacement: The Orang Laut in Singapore.' for Anna-Katharina Hornidge, Kelvin E.Y. Low, Noorman Abdullah, and Rapti Siriwardane-de Zoysa (eds.) Coastal Urbanities: Mobilities, Meanings, Manouevrings pp. 27-49 (2022).

(13)   (with N. Abdullah) ‘Reconfiguring Coastal Urbanities: Discourse, Practice, and Theory.’ for Anna-Katharina Hornidge, Kelvin E.Y. Low, Noorman Abdullah, and Rapti Siriwardane-de Zoysa (eds.) Coastal Urbanities: Mobilities, Meanings, Manouevrings pp. 225-232 (2022).

(12)   (with Z. Trivic) 'Studying Multi-Sensory Neighbourhoods and Ageing-Friendly Design: Methodological Propositions.' for Xavier Bonnaud and Victor Fraigneau (eds) New Territories of the Olfactory Experience, Gollion: Infolio, pp. 179-196, 2021.

(11)   (invited/co-authored with N. Abdullah) ‘Qualitative Research and Sensory Bodies’ for Natalie Boero and Kate Mason (eds.) Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of the Body and Embodiment. Oxford: Oxford U.P.
(online first, December 2019).

(10)   (with N. Abdullah) 'Unpacking Emotion Regimes in Teaching and Fieldwork: Introduction.' for Thomas Stodulka, Samia Dinkelaker, and Ferdiansyah Thajib (eds.) Affective Dimensions of Fieldwork and Ethnography. New York: Springer, pp. 281-285, 2019.

(9)   ‘Belonging and Not-Belonging: Experiences of Nepali Gurkha Families.’ for David Gellner and Sondra Hausner (eds.) Global Nepalis: Religion and Culture in a New Diaspora. Delhi: Oxford U.P., pp. 163-187, 2018.

(8)   (with D. Kalekin-Fishman) ‘Sensory Urbanities: Excursions in the City’ for Kelvin E.Y. Low and D. Kalekin-Fishman (eds.) Senses in Cities: Experiences in Urban Settings. London: Routledge, pp. 1-8, 2017.

(7)   (with D. Kalekin-Fishman) ‘Expanding the Scope of a Sociology of the Senses.’ for Kelvin E.Y. Low and D. Kalekin-Fishman (eds.) Senses in Cities: Experiences in Urban Settings. London: Routledge, pp. 217-228, 2017.

(6)   ‘Tasting Memories, Cooking Heritage: A Sensuous Invitation to Remember.’ for Lily Kong and Vineeta Sinha (eds.) Food, Foodways and Foodscapes. Singapore: World Scientific, pp.61-82, 2015.

      (5) 'Songs for the Nation: Migrant Pasts and Global Futures in Singapore.' for Irial Glynn and Olaf Kleist (eds.) History, Memory and Migration: Perceptions of the Past and the Politics of Incorporation. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 214-236, 2012.

      (4) ‘Summoning the Senses in Heritage and Memory Making.’ for Devorah Kalekin-Fishman and Kelvin E.Y. Low (eds.) Everyday Life in Asia: Social Perspectives on the Senses. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing Limited, pp. 87-114, 2010.

      (3) (with Devorah Kalekin-Fishman) ‘Introduction.’  for Devorah Kalekin-Fishman and Kelvin E.Y. Low (eds.) Everyday Life in Asia: Social Perspectives on the Senses. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing Limited, pp. 1-18, 2010.

      (2) (with Devorah Kalekin-Fishman) ‘Afterword: Towards Transnational Sensescapes.’ for Devorah Kalekin-Fishman and Kelvin E.Y. Low (eds.) Everyday Life in Asia: Social Perspectives on the Senses. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing Limited, pp. 195-204, 2010.
 

      (1) ‘Researcher Positionalities, Moral Gatekeeping and Knowledge Production: Some Thoughts on Doing Research on the Samsui Women in Singapore.’ for Loh Kah Seng et al. (eds.) Makers and Keepers of Singapore History. Singapore: Singapore Heritage Society and Ethos Books, pp. 232-241, 2010.

 

EDITORIAL WORK ON JOURNALS

(3)   Special issue on 'Knowledge of/through the Senses: Learning, Doing, Maneuvering.' for American Behavioral Scientist, co-edited with N. Abdullah and Thomas Stodulka (in progress)

(2)   Special issue on ‘Shaping Mobile Worlds in Asia: Human and Non-Human Socialities.’ for American Behavioral Scientist, co-edited with N. Abdullah and Elaine Ho (online first, August 2020)
  

(3)   Special issue on ‘Eating in the City’ for Food, Culture and Society, co-edited with Elaine Ho. 21(1): 2018.

WORKING PAPERS/SHORTER ARTICLES

(12)   (invited) 'Preface: Overlays Across Heritage, Mobility and the Senses.' for Karolina Nikielska-Sekuła and Magdalena Banaszkiewicz (eds.) Cultural Heritage and Mobility From a Multisensory Perspective. New York: Routledge (in press). 

(11)   (invited commentary) ‘Between the Hydraulic and the Infrastructural.’ Current Anthropology (submitted).

(10)   (invited op.ed; with Juliet Tempest) 'The Taste of Protein: Southeast Asia’s Fake Meats Grapple With Texture and Religious Taboos.' Southeast Asia Globe, (2022).

(9)   (with N. Abdullah and Q. Feng) 'Sensory Disability.' for Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging. Eds. Danan Gu and Matthew E. Dupre. Leiden: Springer.

(8)   ‘Smell’ encyclopedia entry for Hilary Callan (ed.) International Encyclopedia of Anthropology, Wiley Blackwell (invited entry; peer reviewed/2018).

(7)   (invited paper) 'Anthropology of the Senses' for Oxford Bibliographies in Anthropology. Ed. John Jackson. New York: Oxford U.P. (2018).

(6)   ‘Interpreting Media Constructions of Samsui Women in Singapore.’ BiblioAsia 5(3): 18-22, 2009.

(5)   ‘Moral Gatekeeping and Social Responsibility: Reflections on Doing Samsui Women Research’ (with Mandarin translation, '道德守护与社会责任：对三水妇女研究的思考') Tangent 6(2): 93-105. Special Issue on Engagements with the Makers and Keepers of Singapore History. Ed. Loh Kah Seng, 2007.

(4)   (with N. Abdullah) ‘An Interview with Joanna Pfaff-Czarnecka.’  International Sociological Association E-Bulletin, Issue 8, 2007.

(3)   ‘Olfactive Frames of Remembering: Notes on the Smells of Memories.’ National University of Singapore, Department of Sociology Working Paper Series, No. 179, 2007.

(2)  (with N. Abdullah) ‘Academic Colonialism, Corporate Intellectuals, and “Lost” Ideals: Reflections on the State of Sociology in the New Millennium.’ International Sociological Association E-Bulletin, Issue 2, 26-32, 2005.

(1) ‘Olfaction and the Presentation of Self.’ National University of Singapore, Department of Sociology Working Paper Series, No. 173, 2005.

BOOK REVIEWS

      (7) (Invited) Review of Kevin Blackburn. 'The Comfort Women of Singapore in History and Memory.' (NUS Press, 2022). Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 96:1 (2023): 169-170.

(6) (Invited) Review of Gregor Benton and Liu Hong. 'Dear China: Emigrant Letters and Remittances, 1820-1980.' (University of California Press, 2018) International Migration Review (online first, August 2019).

(5) Review of Christopher Nelson. ‘Dancing with the Dead: Memory, Performance, and Everyday Life in Postwar Okinawa.’ Asian Journal of Social Science 40(4): 532-534, 2012.

(4) Review of Hong Lysa and Huang Jianli. ‘The Scripting of a National History: Singapore and Its Pasts.’ Asian Journal of Social Science 38(3): 508-510, 2010.

(3) Review of Martina Plümacher and Peter Holz (eds) ‘Speaking of Colours and Odours.’ International Sociology. 24(5): 746-750, 2009.

(2)  Review of Howes, David. (ed) 'Empire of the Senses: The Sensual Culture Reader.' International Sociology 22(2): 231-234, 2007.

(1) Review of Pink, Sarah. ‘Home Truths: Gender, Domestic Objects and Everyday Life.’ International Sociology 21(3): 468-470, 2006.

(31) Keynote Speaker, 'Intersecting Urban Histories, Heritage-Making, and Sensory Approaches.' Studio WAT UNESCO Collaboration, University of Montreal, 7 May 2024. 

(30)   Invited Lecture (with S. Suratman) 'Conversations with Clay: Kairos as Conceptual Framing.' Transmutation ceramics exhibition, National Institute of Education, Singapore, 7 March 2024. 

(29)   Co-Keynote (with S. Suratman) ‘Talking with Clay.’ Singapore Clay Festival, 2 November 2023.

(28)   Invited Speaker, 'Between Smell and Sensory Anthropology.' Smell Studies Group, Brown University, 13 July 2023.

(27)   Keynote Speaker, 'Crafting Sensory Anthropology: The Senses and Social Life in Asia.' Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland, 19 April 2023.

(26)   Invited Speaker, 'Eating Heritage through Time: Foodways, Sensory Encounters and Everyday Life Experiences.' Asian Civilisations Museum, 27 March 2023. 

(25)   Keynote Speaker, 'Sensoria In/Of Asia: Directions, Themes, and Methodologies.' Translating Sensory Experience workshop, RMIT Vietnam, 29 September 2022.

(24)   Invited Lecture for workshop on Academic Publications, 9th International Conference on Arts and Humanities, 15-16 September 2022. 

(23)   Invited Panelist, ‘Olfactive Othering and Sensory Jurisprudence in Urban Life.’ for ‘What is Smell Studies’ workshop, CRASSH, University of Cambridge, 31 May 2022.

(22)   Invited Panelist, Forum on ‘Research Design and How to Craft a Strong Research Proposal’, Singapore University of Social Sciences, 23 May 2022.

(21)   Invited Panelist, ‘Of Senses and Gastropolitics: Exploring Singapore’s Food Heritage.’ National Library Board, Singapore, 18 May 2022.

(20)   Invited Lecture, 'Sensory Worlds and Ethnographic Inquiry.' Winter School on "Doing Ethnographic Research", Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, 4-8 April 2022.

(19)   Keynote Speaker, ‘Society through the Senses.’ Ministry of Education, Singapore, 4 February 2022.

(18)   Invited Speaker, 'Making Space for Hawker Heritage Stories.' Hawker Culture and Social Spaces in Singapore Webinar Series, National Heritage Board, Singapore, 10 June 2021.

(17)   Keynote Speaker, 'How to Eat Heritage: The Sensorial, The Familial, and The Political.' Food Culture and Intangible Cultural Heritage Symposium, Bureau of Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture (Taiwan), and Taipei National University of the Arts, 8-9 November 2019.

(16)  Invited Speaker, (with N. Abdullah) 'The Mobile Life of the Senses in Migratory-Urban Contexts.' Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Freie Universitaet Berlin, 9 July 2019.

(15)  Invited Speaker, 'Theorising Sensory Cultures in Asia: Sociohistorical Perspectives.' Understanding Asia Seminar Series, Faculty of Sociology, University of Bielefeld, 17 June 2019.

(14) Invited Speaker (with N. Abdullah) 'Senses on the Move: Unpacking Migrant Encounters in Urban Spaces.' Department of Sociology, Hong Kong University, 30 April 2019.

(13) Invited Speaker, 'The Politics of Edible Heritage: Outlining Sensory and Gastronomic Approaches.' Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology, University of Bremen, 9 January 2019.

(12) Keynote Speaker, 'Theorising Senses and Social Life in Asian Contexts.' 6th Annual International Conference on Contemporary Cultural Studies, 26-27 November 2018.

(11) Invited Speaker, 'Heritage-making through the Lens of Food and the Senses.' Symposium on Intangible Cultural Heritage in Cities: Communities, Connections, and Challenges, National Heritage Board, Singapore, 29-30 October 2018.

(10) Invited Speaker, 'Spaces of Migration through Historical and Sensorial Dimensions.' Raffles Institution, Singapore, 16 January 2018.

(9) Invited Speaker, 'Remembering the Samsui Women: Asia's First Feminists?' Humanities and Social Sciences Leaders Academy lecture series, River Valley High School, Singapore, 20 April 2017.

(8) Invited Speaker, 'Ethnography and the Sensorium.' Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Universität Luzern, 1 June 2016.

(7) Invited Speaker, 'Sensory Socialities: Theoretical and Methodological Propositions.' Center for Diversity and Gender Studies, University of Iceland, 23 September 2015.

(6) Invited Speaker, 'Sensory Excursions in the Production of the Everyday.' Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology, University of Bremen, 28 May 2015.

(5) Invited Speaker, 'Between the Ordinary and the Extraordinary: Abject Bodies as Spectacles.' Singapore Art Museum, 21 June 2014.

(4) Invited Speaker, 'Constructing a Gurkha Diaspora in Asia?' University of Bielefeld, 21 May 2014.

(3) Invited Speaker, 'City Life and the Senses.' Singapore Biennale 2013, The Mapping Series, National Heritage Board & Singapore Art Museum, 15 Feb 2014.

(2) Invited Speaker, 'Global Warriors: Tracing Migratory Paths of Gurkhas in Southeast Asia and Beyond.' Seoul National University, 6 December 2013.

(1) Invited Speaker, 'The Politics of Migrant Presences in Historical and Contemporary Contexts.' Social Science Capstone Seminar, Singapore Management University, 23 January 2013.

(8) Juror, EuroSeas Book Prize, 2023 

(7) Juror, SAGE Prize for Innovation/Excellence, 2023

(6)  Grant Reviewer for Social Science Research Thematic Grant,
Ministry of Education (Singapore), 2023.

(5)  Grant Reviewer for Erwin Schrödinger Fellowship, Austrian Science

Fund, 2022.

(4) Grant Reviewer for German Research Foundation (DFG) project
applications (2019 - 2023)

(3)  External Reviewer for Tenure application candidate,
Department of Sociology, University of Pittsburgh, 2019.

(2) External Reviewer for Tenure application candidate,

Yale-NUS College, 2017. 

(1) Adhoc reviewer for book publishers and international refereed journals including Routledge; Springer; Oxford University Press, Ashgate; Palgrave; Bloomsbury; Social Problems; Rural Sociology; Social Forces, Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies; Current Sociology; American Ethnologist; The Sociological Review; Ethnography; Asian Journal of Social Science; positions: asia critique; Gastronomica; Global Food History; Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers; Geoforum; International Development Planning Review; Landscape Research; Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography; History of the Human Sciences; International Sociology; Sociology Compass; Journal of Contemporary Ethnography; Journal of Communication Inquiry; International Quarterly for Asian Studies; Asian and Pacific Migration Journal; Emotion, Space and Society; Journal of Global Nepali Diaspora; East European Politics & Societies and Cultures; Cultural Sociology; Contemporary South Asia; Sociological Forum; International Political Sociology; Canadian Journal of Law & Society; The Senses and Society, Body & Society, Social Anthropology.  

(20)     NUS FASS Award for Excellent Researcher, 2023

(19)     P.I., Research Project on ‘Pottering Around: The Sensory Lives and   Biographies of Clay Artists.’  Collaborator – Suriani Suratman, National University of Singapore
Funded by NUS HDRSS, (2022-2024; S$30,800)

(18)     P.I., Research Project on ‘Edible Heritage: Foodscapes and Sensory Heritage Making in Chinatown and Little India.’
Collaborator – Hui Yew-Foong, Shue Yan University, Hong Kong
Funded by National Heritage Board, Singapore (2018-2020; S$90,000)

(17)     Collaborator, Research Project on ‘Multi-Sensory Approach to Ageing-Friendly Design in High Density Contexts.’  P.I. – Zdravko Trivic, NUS School of Design & Environment;
Other collaborators – Raymond Lucas, University of Manchester; and Darko Radovic, Keio University. Funded by Ministry of Education, Singapore. Approx. S$180,000, 2017-2019.

(16)     Collaborator, Research Project on ‘Epistemic Mobilities and the Governance of Environmental Risks in Island Southeast Asia.’
P.I.s – Anna Katharina-Hornidge and Michael Flitner, University of Bremen, funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), 294,800 Euros, 2016-2019.

(15)     William Lim Siew Wai Fellowship in Cultural Studies, NUS
(2017/18; with a research grant awarded – S$10,000)

(14)     NUS ODPRT (Office of Deputy President [Research & Technology])
Grant for Research Excellence, S$5,000, for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2023, 2024 (awarded to top 10% of the faculty)

(13)    NUS Promising Researcher Award, S$5,000, November 2015

(12)    NUS ODPRT (Office of Deputy President (Research & Technology))
Grant, S$15,000 for workshop on ‘Food and the Global Asian City’, 2014

(11)   NUS-FASS Writing Fellowship for Assistant Professors, Aug-Dec 2013

(10)   Book Grant, US$5000, Chiang Ching Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, 2012

(9)    NUS-FASS Faculty Teaching Excellence Award for 2011; 2012; 2013; 2015; and 2017 (awarded to top 10% of the faculty)

(8)    Collaborator, Ministry of Education (Singapore) Tier 2 research grant, S$634,997, for inter-disciplinary team project on Aspirations, Urban Governance, and the Remaking of Asian Cities (2012-2016)

(7)    NUS-FASS Staff Research Support Scheme, S$5,000 for book project on Sensory History of Asia (2011/2012)

(6)    NUS-FASS Start-Up Research Grant, S$30,232.64 for individual research project on Migrant Lifeworlds and Transnational Interfaces: A Multi-sited Ethnography of Gurkha Migratory Experiences (2011-2013)

(5)    NUS Long Service Award, 2011 (for 10 years); 2016 (for 15 years); 2021 (for 20 years)

(4)    Lee Kong Chian Research Fellowship, S$9600, National Library Board, Singapore (for Ph.D. archival research)(2008-2009)

(3)    National University of Singapore paid study leave (Staff Development Scheme) for Ph.D. studies at University of Bielefeld (2005-2009)

(2)    Graduate Research Scholarship (for Masters candidature), National University of Singapore (rescinded as I converted to part-time student status in lieu of full-time Teaching Assistantship), 2002

(1)    Sociology Gold Medal (First Class Honours), National University of Singapore, 2002

In progress

(2) Khadeeja Amenda, Ph.D. in Cultural Studies (2023-present)
Sounds, Senses and Hyderabad: Listening to the Past and Present of a City. 

(1) Norazim Azami, M.Soc.Sci. (2022-present)
From Chaos into Confidence: The Deeper Meanings of Stroke Caregiving in Singapore.

Completed degrees

(10) Radhika Chakraborty, Ph.D. (2023), Valedictorian
Diaspora and Nodal Mobilities: The Hindu Sindhi Community in Hong Kong.  

(9) Sanjay Sharma, Ph.D. (2022)
Patriarchy on the Move: Transnational Experiences of Gurkha Women. 

(8) Adhvaidha Kalidasan, Ph.D. (2022)
Understanding Contemporary Craft Businesses as Neoliberal Growth: A Study from Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India.
[current placement: Lecturer, RMIT-Vietnam]

(7) Thian Wen Li, M.Soc.Sci. (2020)
Hard Work for Life: Work, Life and Inequalities of the Local Working Class in Singapore

(6) Nursyazwani Bte Jamaludin, M.Soc.Sci. (2019)
Assembling the Legible Refugee: A Case Study of Rohingyas in Klang Valley, Malaysia
[current placement: PhD candidate, UPenn Anthropology with scholarship]

(5) Nur Aisyah Kotarumalos, Ph.D. (2019)
Crafting Multiple Forms of Belonging Among the Bugis in Malaysia.
[current placement: Visiting Scholar, Seoul National University Asia Centre] 

(4) Shelley Mae Jalandoon Sibya, Ph.D. (2018)
Ship to Shore and Back Again: Filipino Seafarers, Cyclical Migration and Family Life in the Philippines.

(3) Tan Junbin, M.Soc.Sci (2016)
Minding Precarious Minds: Ethics and Politics of Dementia Care Work in Singapore.
[current placement: PhD candidate, Princeton Anthropology with scholarship]

(2) Bubbles Beverly Asor, Ph.D. (2016)
"No Longer Strangers?": The Catholic Church as a Migrant-Serving Mediating Structure in South Korea.
[current placement: Assistant Professor, University of the Philippines Diliman]

(1) Fiona-Katharina Seiger, Ph.D. (2014)
Claiming Birthright: Japanese-Filipino Children and the Mobilisation of Descent.
[current placement: Researcher, Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Rotterdam] 

(3)   British Sociological Association

(2)   American Sociological Association

(1)   International Sociological Association