Anonymous (1) AY25/26 Sem 1

About the Instructor (Dr Shivani Gupta):

Prof. Shivani is a very helpful and knowledgeable lecturer. She often presents critiques of real life example to help students learn the underlying concepts and applications. She like to push students beyond their comfort zone and think critically. 

She treat students like her own children, giving us snacks to encourage us through the course. She helped me a lot, especially when giving advice for the Viva Voce presentation and Final Project, which contributed towards my fruitful semester.

Content (Structure/Organization): 

I think overall the course structure is pretty solid and able to provide student a full framework on how sociology works in the Singaporean context. Some readings do take some time to grasp depending on the author writing style. I personally agree that topics like political power and legitimacy are relatively harder to understand with the readings since there are lots of jargon.

Manageability of Workload: 

Around 6 hours (4 hours seminar and 2 hours readings/assignments) for me it is quite easy workload since it is more to speaking and expressing opinions. Quizzes are not hard and I was able to get decent scores by studying the lecture notes. Overall, I rate the course with a 5/10 difficulty. 

Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades:

So far I think is easy, provided you willing to do an effort for yourself and the Prof. Do spend time to think and spend time to enhance any assignment or presentation. My Prof is fair when giving out grades, extra effort + understanding = higher grade than others

Learning Value/Recommendation: 

8/10. I don’t take social phenomena as granted anymore, where this course sparked my critical thinking a lot.

Anonymous (2) AY25/26 Sem 1

About the Instructor (Dr Shivani Gupta):

Prof Gupta was nice and approachable throughout the semester. I do have some critiques regarding her teaching style; I felt she could have reined in more talkative (talkative to the point of dominating every single chance to answer) students.  Of more concern to me with regard to the impartation of knowledge was that I found her biased and quick to shut down answers that were not necessarily ungrounded but that deviated from her own worldview or academic opinion.  

Content (Structure/Organization): 

I think the course was well-structured in that it allowed for the development of basic knowledge of sociology. 

Manageability of Workload: 

The workload was not heavy at all. 

Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades:

Like all others, this course is subject to grade quotas. we were told that the class average had to be a B+. make of that what you will in terms of how (statistically) achievable a good grade is. i found the (lack of proper and clear) rubrics quite an obstacle, but this might be applicable to all nsw sections. 

Learning Value/Recommendation: 

This course is not optional so there is not much point in answering this, but my two cents are that the content of the course is fine but one's experience is heavily dependent on the instructor and classmates.

Anonymous AY24/25 Sem 2

About the Instructor (Dr Shelley Guyton)

Could be more effective, generally only used miroboard and let the class discuss in groups to respond to each question. could have been more engaging

Content (Structure/Organization)

Topics each week was a good way of structuring the learning. 

Manageability of Workload

ngl i barely did any of the readings.

Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades

I think A- should be decently achievable.. I do think A could be hard since it depends on the prof and their preferences

Learning Value/Recommendation

not very useful, but kinda applies to alot of the courses in nus..

Anonymous (1) AY24/25 Sem 1

About the Instructor (Dr Lee Chee Keng)

I did my class under Professor Lee Chee Keng. His summaries for each topic were greatly insightful, helping to provide key learning points and insightful food for thought about each topic. I also believe after the presentations done by students, he is able to summarize the key points discussed and those are greatly insightful. However, during the class discussions without presentations, I do believe that the discussions are often messy and disorganized. Most of the time I do feel that I do not know what were the key learning pointers and thus, I would have to rely on the summary notes given by Prof in order to consolidate my learning. Some individuals do share that Prof Lee unfortunately does have biases to girls in the classroom, while I do not necessarily fully agree, I do feel it in the classroom when he responds to different individuals in the class as well. 

Content (Structure/Organization)

The NSW course serves as an effective gateway into the discipline of sociology. As students who have no sociology background, I appreciate the range of readings and variety of topics discussed. One area in which can be improved is the organization of the last lesson on how the professors do a summary and consolidation of the content learnt. While I do agree that the experience of the student largely depends on the professor, I believe that there can exist a baseline structure/summary in which professors can choose to use or not. I also believe that with regards to the quizzes, different professors have different modes and structures of assessment. One way we could possibly encourage everyone to complete the readings is to make the quizzes compulsory, and award credit through participation. The quizzes can be simple and not awarded based on content but on participation, similar to what is done on GEA1000N. 

Manageability of Workload

The workload for this course is not heavy, very manageable. Our Prof provided 5 quizzes, the last one being optional.

Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades

A for this course is achievable, however, one must ensure that they are consistent with their work so that they are able to tackle and discuss concepts during the Viva Voce and Site Visit Presentation.

Usefulness/Learning value of the Course

The course is useful for providing students outside a sociology major concepts and lens to view the world. After going through this course, I do believe that I am better equipped with social science concepts and am in fact able to to carry insightful conversations with my peers who major in sociology. Therefore, I do believe that this course is effective. 

Additional Comments

Choose your prof wisely!

Anonymous (2) AY24/25 Sem 1

About the Instructor (Dr Cheng Yi'En)

The prof is lively and interesting in every class!

Content (Structure/Organization)

Yes, the curriculum focuses broadly on many social concepts and assignments allow for greater demonstration on understanding. 

Manageability of Workload

The readings are pretty long and some concepts may be hard to grasp at the first read through. 

Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades

This prof is reasonable with his grading as long as you read the readings and participate in class, an A/A- is achievable. 

Usefulness/Learning value of the Course

It's very useful on understanding cultural and social phenomena and basically the world around you. 

Anonymous (3) AY24/25 Sem 1

About the Instructor (Dr Chand Somaiah)

Prof Chand was a superb instructor for this course! She is not only an expert in sociology (and migration issues, more specifically), but also an effective and creative teacher. I looked forward to each lesson because she always finds a way to introduce something new (a scenario-based activity, role-playing, group discussions, social experiments etc.). What I found particularly interesting is also how simple yet effective it is to introduce activities that require movement, objects etc. In this way, I find myself being able to not only remember concepts and ideas being taught better (cognitive), but I was also able to appreciate and internalise their relevance to my personal life (affective), something I had not experienced before in any of my other classes in NUS(C). Prof Chand is also kind, patient, open-minded to diverse or ill-crafted viewpoints and strives to push students to think more critically as much as possible by adding clarifying facts to students or offering critical prompts. In doing so, I admire how Prof Chand is firm in her values or views on various social issues yet maintains a safe and respectful space for other views to come into dialogue. Put differently, Prof Chand does not impose her views but offer prompts for students to exercise and arrive at their own independent judgements. Finally, Prof Chand is also very sensitive to students’ situations, emotions and well-being hence her classroom often feels like a safe space. 

Prof Chand is really great! Social science students should gain insights from her about sociological topics like migration and even social scientific methods. 

Content (Structure/Organization)

The course provides a broad introduction to sociology as common themes studied in the discipline. As a compulsory interdisciplinary course that serves to cater to students from various disciplinary backgrounds, I think this course was well-organised with each week introducing a new yet connected topic (to other weeks) in a manner that is relevant and engaging to students’ lived experiences and observations. With this level of accessibility, this course feels like a pre-course to SC1101. Not only were the topics relevant but the assessments were also effective: designed to introduce students to some skills in ethnography and observation; critical thinking; formulation, organisation and clarity of ideas; among others. Indeed (typically from STEM fields from what I observed in my section) may be less familiar with these skills but being open-minded, hardworking and curious goes a long way. There were STEM field students who came with critical and original ideas.  

Manageability of Workload

The readings in my opinion are quite heavy (in amount) for a foundational-level 2K course. While I took this course not as a first year student, I can certainly see how some students (not used to academic reading) might find the readings daunting and time-consuming. For non-first year students, skimming the texts for key points (factors, causes, main argument, main case etc.) should be sufficient because the heavy work of thinking, discussing and debating typically happens in class with Prof’s expert guidance. For first-year students (and especially social science students), there are no shortcuts to readings in university. The best way to survive four years of readings is to just do it. Practice makes things easier and slowly you will find your own way to skim, scan etc. readings and know which courses to skim/scan readings for. But all social science students start somewhere - it’s either NSW or NTW or your own faculty courses :(

The assessments were standard across all NSW sections and were relatively straightforward. They do not take a lot of time but they take focused preparation. Viva voce and the video report are certainly way easier than writing essays in my opinion if you put in the work to prepare adequately. Prof Chand is also clear with what she expects (which is not too much: she only asks for basics such as clear/simple research question, a clear/simple argument, connection to any ideas discussed in class). If you are engaged in her class (not just paying attention but actively thinking, questioning, agreeing/disagreeing with what is being said, wondering “why or how” things happen as the lesson progresses), the assignments will feel relatively easy - all she expects you to do is apply them to what you observe in real life. 

Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades

Achievable is you listen to Prof Chand’s instructions, are actively engaged mentally in her class and show courage to try out an idea (and hence make mistakes). I notice (and I may be wrong) she does not mark you down for making mistakes / making a statement that is half-baked, sloppy if the idea you make is new or creative or original (rather than a repeat of what other people or scholars have mentioned before). In other words, she does not mark you down for showing courage to try something new (and may reward you for doing so). This again ties back to the sense of safety that Prof Chand creates in the classroom and around her: it encourages you to try without worry about getting it wrong (there is likely no impact on your grades).  

Usefulness/Learning value of the Course

Great learning value as a 2K course designed for students from diverse disciplinary backgrounds. As an intro-intro to sociology kind of course, I’m sure sociology will benefit from it before taking SC1101 (if you want to be strategic about grades). But even as a non-first year taking the course, there were new skills and challenges I learnt from this course through the novel (to me) assignments!  

Anonymous (4) AY24/25 Sem 1

About the Instructor (Dr Norman Vasu)

I was taught by Prof Norman Vasu! If anything the discussions are probably the most wonderful part of his classes. He gets some ideas on a whiteboard and mind maps different students' ideas together in a very freestyle manner. He is clearly very knowledgeable about the world in general and is able to offer many interesting anecdotes & insights, and he does give credit where it's due. The only problem I felt was that conversations would go off track every now and then.  For instance, you have 2 ppl dominating the conversation, one of whom possesses a very narrow field of analysis and he would kind of let it happen. It makes the discussion feel very dry and unfruitful at times. Otherwise, I do feel like he's really good at bridging knowledge gaps -- he'll approach various topics differently, sometimes through historical lens and sometimes through some current social observation depending on how well it can serve the class. Class discussions can get very insightful because of the way he steers certain conversations, so yeah i think he did a decent job! Although most of my feedback has been a mixed bag, I must say he's really approachable when it comes to asking about sociology related stuff beyond NSW. I feel like he's quite structure-averse sometimes, so my advice is try not to appear so uptight or tie him down in terms of like expectations wise because he'll probably feel like your concerns aren't relevant. It's not that he doesn't want to listen to you but more of like you have to phrase it very well, and he'll definitely take your point. He's quite friendly and likeable too!!! very cool guy.

Content (Structure/Organization)

I felt like the organization of the curriculum was decent! It makes sense to start with social norms >> language >> religion >> statehood, progressing in terms of relatability/technicality which allows students to make observations across the various weeks that would be helpful in them deepening their knowledge. As someone majoring in the social sciences felt like none of the topics were particularly hard to grasp...but I felt that I didn't fully see where our learning objectives were going. I felt like taking an introductory sociology mod might not have been super different from taking it as an NUSC mod, if that makes sense. 

Manageability of Workload

Honestly not much workload. It's the readings that do get taxing at times because of all the Sociology jargon but otherwise, there is not much to do in terms of studying for quizzes or course deliverables. The quizzes are all true/false questions. However, I would say that he is not the clearest at communicating course expectations. I felt quite in the dark while preparing for Viva Voce and my final assignment. As such, what i did felt like a carbon copy off the examples he gave us.

Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades

I feel like A is achievable, but also that Professor Norman is pretty strict when it comes to grading. It feels like a very like good-vibe-bad-vibe kind of situation instead of a certainty as to how i can improve. This isn't very helpful because I don't get a super good sense of course expectation. Although the quizzes are easy and the discussions are definitely very enjoyable, i don't think an 'A' feels very within reach when course expectations aren't clearly communicated. Otherwise do capitalize on the quizzes, class part and facilitation and you'll still do decently :) 

Usefulness/Learning value of the Course

It's pretty useful! I think it doesn't really add-value to my major but it complements what I'm already learning in Political Science, just from a more Sociological point of view. As a Political Science major, NSW to me is maybe what creative writing is to lit majors. I generally treated NSW as a bit of a mind break and the module that i didn't need to touch too much. There were some guiding social science principles which I picked up from the readings though, so those were quite helpful

Anonymous (5) AY24/25 Sem 1

About the Instructor (Dr Nurhidayahti Miharja)

I think my prof did well in facilitating classrooms discussions and most of the class was engaged in them. I liked that she provided mind maps or summaries of the key learning points of each topic at the end of class as it allowed me to make sure I really understood the theme properly. I also liked that she allowed international students to share their own experiences with each theme so they did not feel so alienated by the large focus on the Singapore context and it also allowed the class to gain a broader understanding of the theme when applied to different national and cultural contexts. I liked my prof a lot and liked that she was very approachable and easily reached as she allowed us to contact her on telegram as well. This made contacting her much easier and I liked that I could send her questions after class and outside formal consultation periods. She made the classroom environment feel very lively and welcoming through some fun class games and activities which I really liked.

Content (Structure/Organization)

I think it was quite well organized into different themes as it allowed me to pinpoint roughly what the readings are about. I do think that sometimes there were too many readings for each theme so the prof kind of covered some a bit too fast for me to grasp the concepts. A topic I found challenging was Political Power and Legitimacy.

Manageability of Workload

I think the readings got easier to complete over time as I began to get the hang of how to extract the main learning points of each reading so in terms of this its quite manageable. The quizzes were also easy to cope with as they were short and can be completed without very close reading of the text. The viva voce was a bit rushed in my opinion as it was near midterms week but still felt quite okay. The SVP was not very stressful in terms of the deadline and I appreciated that the prof informed us of how to do it very early on and felt that it greatly helped with the workload.

Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades

I think a decent grade is achievable because there are many low hanging fruit such as the quizzes, class participation and the group presentation. I feel that an A is a bit harder to achieve because its a bit hard to be unique in the viva voce and SVP and these two assignments were a bit tough to organize in a coherent manner such that the learning objectives are achieved.

Usefulness/Learning value of the Course

Quite useful in understanding the Singapore context more and hearing people’s differing opinions on it.

Anonymous (6) AY24/25 Sem 1

About the Instructor (Dr Nurhidayahti Miharja)

She does a great job making the class active, the discussions were very beginner-friendly, and the workload increases over the weeks, making it very easy to adapt to her class regardless of background. She doesn't shoot down any ideas you pose, instead working around your ideas to tackle the assessments.

Content (Structure/Organization)

It was quite well organised until the second half of the semester, each week with readings that she's able to connect the main theme of the week to. She prioritised the final assessment over several readings for the second half of the semester, which was good in my opinion. She willingly answers questions you asked. Quizzes given are closed book. Class participation is not forceful, everyone seems to voice out their opinions whenever they want to.

Manageability of Workload

Workload is lesser than other NSW classes, as she separates the class in 2 groups, with each group reading 1 paper, and discussing it during class time. Some readings were really tough to understand, but she boils it down during class.

Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades

A is generally achievable. As long as your assessments show that u understood the topics covered in this module, you will do well. She is more lenient in terms of grading in my opinion.

Usefulness/Learning value of the Course

It doesn't add-value to my major, but it was nice to hear more about different perspectives in Singapore, including topics that are usually avoided.

Additional Comments:

Start your assessments early, so you have more time to make amendments!

Jeremy Hor AY24/25 Sem 1

About the Instructor (Dr Shaun Lin)

Prof Shaun is very good at facilitating the class discussion, he always tries to get the students to think beyond the current topic and link to others. For international students, he will also provide context to the Singapore based content discussed so that they are able to follow the argument. he will also get the international students to share about their home countries to compare with Singapore. he also has a good sense of humor, so class is lively and engaging. Prof is quite chill and can yap with you. he is very knowledgeable in terms of Singaporean politics and society, so he can provide a lot of background information that helps your learning. 

Content (Structure/Organization)

The course is structured into themes by week, where the first lesson discusses the topic in general, and the second lesson in a Singaporean context. Course readings are given for each lesson. Assignments include class quizzes, a viva voce mid-semester, and a video essay as the final project. 

Manageability of Workload

Just have to read the course readings, or find a way to summarize the arguments. Class discussions is where you really learn. Other than that, the assignments are not that taxing, can be completed easily

Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades

Generally quite standard, as with NUSC mods, don't expect an A unless your work is really exemplary.

Usefulness/Learning value of the Course

In terms of content, its nothing mind-blowing. If you grew up in Singapore most of the topics discussed would be familiar to you, but there are still certain topics that are rarely discussed like urban renewal which are quite interesting. the viva voce does train you on presenting your arguments, and being able to respond to questions on the fly. 

Additional Comments

I would really recommend taking under Professor Shaun, his class is fun and engaging.

Anonymous AY23/24 Sem 1

About the Instructor (Dr Yong Han Poh)

She usually refrains from giving too much guidance with the projects, preferring only to give brief suggestions/feedback over email. Nevertheless, she is quite approachable.  

Content (Structure/Organization)

I think the curriculum achieves its objective of building oral communication as all the assessments require speaking. The viva voce was particularly rewarding because it enabled us to apply the theoretical concepts to a real life media source in Singapore, and tested our ability to execute critical thinking on the spot. The presentation also enabled us to take ownership of our understanding of the readings. Starting the course with Berger's "Man in Society" was helpful because it introduced us to important concepts like the tensions in sociological studies and social control which we could apply to all the other readings.In my opinion, the course structure is rich in both depth and breadth. However, the heavy reading load is a challenge in itself. The most challenging concepts to grasp were the economic concepts. 

Accessibility and Assessment

Prof was very open-minded with the discussion, and welcomed all of us to share personal insights and perspectives, even if they differed from the readings or her personal views. She opened up the space for a very organic discussion style, which allowed us to engage deeply with the material, but also led to final discussions being cut short due to time limitations. I wouldn't consider her teaching style very accessible for those without prior background: sometimes the discussion questions she posed were too challenging and the slides were lengthy and unsimplified.  

Manageability of Workload

I spent about 1 hour on each reading. I would recommend shortening the process by not reading word-for-word, but instead getting a feel of the main arguments/ideas, opposing viewpoints if any, and author's writing style.  

Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades

I think Prof was quite nice with the grading, A- or even A is quite achievable. I think she looks for accurate understanding + application of the concepts posed in the readings. Also, during lessons, she emphasizes the tensions between structure and agency, and the consideration of how policies can change over time and space. If you incorporate these in your projects, you might have a higher chance of scoring well. 

Learning Value/Recommendation

As someone with not much prior knowledge, this course was eye-opening. Although I felt like I was drowning in the readings/assignments many times, I now appreciate the exposure to the nuances of Singapore's social and political sphere. 

Additional Comments/Word of Advice

I would recommend working continuously on the site visit project from the time your prof approves your idea, because:

• • Collecting data may require some planning in terms of logistics

  • The general workload will just pile up in week 13  

Anonymous AY22/23 Sem 2

About the Instructor (Dr Lee Chee Keng)

He is very approachable, but can be moody and very fast at shutting you down. For me my comments were "Dont need try so hard la"😭😭 

Content (Structure/Organization)

Course wide they segment by social topic, such as governance, race and religion. I think its quite organized. The topics can be complex and its up to your professor to break it down for you 

Accessibility and Assessment

Terrible, this prof has no structure to his lessons, no slides, no order and even he himself admits he is on autopilot and dont know what hes saying 😭 

Manageability of Workload

Weekly, spend no time at all LOL. Graded Quizzes once every 3/4 weeks, I believe he just scans through, and he allowed classmates to submit more than 5 weeks past deadline, but might just be exception. Viva voce and final site presentation, you just need to sound confident, fluent and use right terminology, the content is v fluffable 

Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades

In the course, should be achievable but not easy. For this prof specifically, I think its easy if you are confident and comfortable with public speaking and know how to fluff your way just name dropping terminology like "meritocratic narrative" Once he hears these type of terms, he thinks you know what youre talking about. 

Learning Value/Recommendation

I only learnt from the readings and friends comments, little from the prof 

Additional Comments/Word of Advice

Great if you just want a laidback course with no learning curve, terrible if you actually want to learn 

Anonymous (1) AY22/23 Sem 1

About the Instructor (Dr Alberto Pérez Pereiro)

Fun, really fun & highly recommended 👍🔥👑

Content (Structure/Organization)

We live in a society. There's a structure, but if you make sense all's gucci.

Accessibility and Assessment

If you've watched or read about Marx and co you'll breeze, but otherwise be prepared to read and think.

Manageability of Workload

If you like reading or have interacted with similar material in the past, it's really light.

Ease/Difficulty of attaining grades

If you are not afraid to talk and question, if the flow makes sense, you're good. Even if you turn out 'wrong'.

Learning Value/Recommendation

I found out that I live in a society 

Additional Comments/Word of Advice

Ask about his personal beliefs

Anonymous (2) AY22/23 Sem 1

About the Instructor (Dr Alberto Pérez Pereiro)

Professor was very knowledgeable, was able to pull related texts and quote them out of thin air(even in discussion) and knows the readings well. Communicates clearly and is charismatic in leading the class. 

Content (Structure/Organization)

Not very structured, concepts are not very interlinked, but rather each week has a general topic which the 3 articles are focused on. Discussion while lead by the prof is quite open, though prof generally has some ideas to bring through.

Accessibility and Assessment

Pretty accessible, most papers are not hard to understand, just need some focus when reading. Discussion is also fairly simple, even for a person not following the current social issues and news.

Manageability of Workload

I felt it was fairly light in the sense that there is little to do outside of the readings every week and projects around reading week and end of sem. Can be time intensive but fairly light work. Generally did not feel tired doing the work, but took time to grind through. 

Ease/Difficulty of attaining grades

I felt it was very easy to score in this module. If you actually read the articles and think about the topics at hand, it is not hard to score full marks on the quizzes. Viva Voce was fairly straight forward as well and required just some research and script writing, can be done in a day. Project was slightly harder, likely requires at least half a day for site visit, 1 day is recommended for better data collection but YMMV. Video can be done in a day. Overall, felt like one of the easier of my mods this sem.

Learning Value/Recommendation

Not useful for my major(accountancy) but I think the readings were insightful for personal learning and have helped me gain a better view of the world. 

Additional Comments/Word of Advice

Ask about his personal beliefs

Anonymous (3) AY22/23 Sem 1

About the Instructor (Dr Bjorn Gomes)

Prof Bjorn is a political theorist which enables him to use examples in politics (which everyone can relate with) to explain the concepts, making the class highly interesting and enriching. Additionally, Prof Bjorn does an excellent job in communicating the key concepts within the readings to us in a way everyone can understand (even though it may feel overwhelming at first). I would say that the only reason this module is enjoyable is because Prof Bjorn does such an excellent job in clearing any doubts we might have about the concepts within the readings and explains them to us in the most relatable ways.

Content (Structure/Organization)

While there are weekly sociological themes, I would consider the module to be somewhat lacking in structure as there are no concrete lesson objectives or points we are supposed to take away from the class. Prof Bjorn is more concerned with our ability to understand and critically interpret the text given to us, and does so by semi-guiding the class discussion whilst calling to attention the portions of the text that are of particular interest

Accessibility and Assessment

Readings are very tough and the objectives of each lesson are not very clear. Prof Bjorn claims that the main purpose of our lessons is to develop the intellectual capability to account for social phenomena in a critical manner. With no background in the social sciences, this module is definitely somewhat inaccessible, with the class readings already overwhelming but providing only a small glimpse into the discourse surrounding the various sociological themes covered in the module.

Manageability of Workload

Some of the concepts within the readings are highly abstract and you can burn hours not remotely comprehending the text. However, when it comes to the graded assignments, both the viva voce and site visit can be done in relatively short time if you know what you are looking for. I would say that if you view the module from the perspective of formal assignments, this is actually a pretty light module in terms of workload. However, if you are interested in the full scope of content and ideas, it can be very taxing especially if you do not have any background in the social sciences.

Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades

Quite achievable - Prof Bjorn goes into the class with the expectation that we know nothing and grades us based on how well we can utilise the concepts in class as well as the work and effort we put into the assignments. Its probably more important to demonstrate effort in your work and generally Prof Bjorn hands out grades accordingly.

Learning Value/Recommendation

This module has completely reshaped how I view political discourse and prompted me to extend my ideas further when I visit places which may seem extremely boring at the first glance. 

Anonymous (4) AY22/23 Sem 1

About the Instructor (Dr Nurhidayahti Miharja)

Prof Yahti is very knowledgable, always approachable and willing to discuss things with you, and she does appreciate effort put into the module. She explains concepts well and doesn't expect us to be a sociological genius coming in to the class, and she herself does understand that the readings sometimes are very hard and don't make too much sense

Content (Structure/Organization)

Organised well - can kind of see a structure where we discuss different issues in a sociological context, followed by analysis through a viva voce and a site visit project.

Accessibility and Assessment

Quite accessible - just requires you to do the readings and apply critical thinking in the class. Prof also helped to explain how our analysis should be and gave us tips to make it better. 

Manageability of Workload

Quite low workload as opposed to NGN honestly - I spent maybe 30 min - 1h doing the readings although honestly that was me skimming. The readings can be very long, sometimes north of 30 pages - make sure to ask the prof for advice on how to cover these readings, especially since some of them use very technical language that is hard to process. Viva voce hardly took me a couple hours, although that resulted in it not being a very thorough analysis and I didn't do too well. My final grade was pretty good so I'm assuming that I did well on the site visit project, but that took quite a bit of time. I literally had to do my site visit the weekend before reading week, so I was already stressed from exams and had to be out and about interviewing people at the same time. I recommend to finish site visit AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE. But overall, the workload is quite chill.

Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades

Depends on the prof I guess - also I don't know the grade distribution in my class. I kind of half-a**ed my way through the viva voce but put quite a bit of effort into the site visit, so i think if you put in the effort you should get a good grade

Learning Value/Recommendation

Quite a useful module, at the very least it gave me some interesting insights into the way our society works

Anonymous (5) AY22/23 Sem 1

About the Instructor (Pareena Gupta Lawrence)

Prof Lawrence is extremely knowledgeable-- I admire her a lot as she's a prof that engages with work on the ground. During our Semester breaks, she may be off doing work on social policy in India. Moreover, she's really dedicated to improving the class as she collects feedback at certain points, and uses Canvas to collect any questions we might have.

Content (Structure/Organization)

This module seems to be an introduction to Sociology, so the main takeaway (at least for me) was the sociological imagination-- thinking of occurences in terms of wider social forces instead of individual decisions. Nonetheless, there is quite a lot of flexibility as the concepts taught can be applied to many different domains (e.g. the different dimensions of power can be used to analyse markets, politics, social interactions etc.).

Accessibility and Assessment

Prof Lawrence makes the module really accessible by avoiding complicated economic concepts. However, note that the final project involves a video essay, which may make it less accessible to those without experience in video editing.

Manageability of Workload

I focused on this module as I was really fascinated by the content. Thus I did all the readings, which could be really intense on certain weeks (e.g. 60 pages in one week). Prof Lawrence did mention that they were continually updating the reading list though.

Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades

I'm not sure how my classmates did, but from my experience prof Lawrence was quite liberal in awarding grades. That may be because I had prior experience in sociology from my own reading, and from learning about social construction in knowledge and inquiry.

Learning Value/Recommendation

I enjoyed the classes, but it did concern me that class discussions were limited as we were continually jumping between different questions/topics. Nonetheless since this is meant to be an introductory course, I guess that's to be expected.

Ng Shang Wen (@shangwenn) AY22/23 Sem 2

About the Instructor (Dr Shivani Gupta)

I think Prof Shivani generally understands and explains the sociological concepts well, but for a course that has the words "Singapore and Beyond" in the title, I would have expected her to talk more about Singapore than she did. She seems to be more in tune / interested in what is happening in the West as well as India (she did her PhD on women's lives in Banaras).  Also, she seems to hold strong opinions on certain topics and when it comes to her Q&A, there is a right or wrong answer -- you can sense this in class discussions and your Viva Voce Q&A. That makes it a little pressurising to answer her questions. As explained earlier, she also has some peculiar requirements when it comes to assignments. I don't think she is a bad Prof by any measure but I would also not actively recommend her -- I think she's an okay Prof.

Content (Structure/Organization)

The course is structured by theme / sociological concept -- every week, a new concept such as "gender", "race" and "heritage" is covered. There is usually one reading (or two short readings) for each seminar. The reading for the first seminar tends to broadly cover the concept for that week, while the reading for the second seminar tends to more specifically show how the concept can be applied in the local context.

Accessibility and Assessment

While some knowledge of sociological concepts as well as local current affairs would be useful, it is not necessary to understand the course material. The assignments are designed such that they can be completed solely using the course material for analysis. Moreover, despite this module leaning more heavily towards the humanities/social sciences, such students do not necessarily have an advantage, given that almost all assessments are oral and not written.

Manageability of Workload

If you read the readings, you would probably have to spend about 4-5h weekly on this course, excluding the two major assessments. But the key is the word "if" -- you don't need to read all the readings to complete the assessments. At most, you may sacrifice your quiz scores but tbh the weightage is not very high. The assessment breakdown is as follows:

• • Class Participation (10%) -- just talk lol I think you can say something about Singapore even if you didn't read the readings so.

  • Class Presentation(s) (10%) -- present and facilitate a class discussion on one of the readings in a group. Depending on your Prof, there may be one/two presentations, but generally the workload is not too heavy, you probably just have to read your group's reading and then meet up once to coordinate.

  • Quizzes (10%) -- 5 MCQ quizzes spread across the entire course that test content knowledge from the readings. You probably have to read the readings if you want to score 9-10/10 for each quiz but otherwise I wouldn't bother too much studying for this.

  • Viva Voce (25%) -- analyse an issue in Singapore using the class readings as a lens in a 15-min oral presentation 1-to-1 to your Prof (mine was over Zoom) with a 5-min Q&A. We were only allowed to have 6 slides so the presentation largely relied on oral delivery rather than the visuals. Again, given the limited time, you probably only have time to really look at 2-4 readings, and you also have to try and apply rather than just repeat the reading. So this doesn't require knowledge from all readings.

  • Site Visit Proposal (10%)

  • Site Visit Presentation (35%) -- select a site in Singapore to analyse using the class readings as a lens, and submit a 10-min recording. Most people do some sort of documentary or ppt voiceover. So you probably have to set aside a day or two to go down to your site and capture sufficient footage, then spend more time on your own to edit the video (how long this takes is a skill issue).

Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades

I think if you read and understand at least 50% of the readings and also apply them appropriately in your assignments, you can probably easily get a B+ if not an A-. However I'm not too sure what's the standard to get an A, I think this really depends on the individual preference of your Prof., For example, our Prof discouraged us from doing mere ppt voiceovers, whereas I know other Profs who gave As for ppt voiceovers. Similarly, our Prof also told us that we would be penalised for not using Berger/Marx/Weber in our presentations so that's another quirk that you probably have to discover yourself.

Learning Value/Recommendation

As someone who already was interested in social issues in Singapore, I did not feel this course added much in particular to my knowledge of Singapore. Nevertheless, I appreciated the sociological frameworks taught to help me better frame my understanding of certain issues.