NUS, College of Humanities and Sciences
HSA1000: Asian Interconnections
Session AY 2022/23, Semester 1
Module Description
This module adopts a multidisciplinary and comparative approach to the study of Asia and
its regions. Students will be introduced to diverse perspectives and challenges that affect
Singapore and other Asian societies such as ethnic and religious diversity, colonial histories,
migration and social inequalities.
The module equips students with conceptual and methodological tools to understand
regional production in Asia. It emphasizes group work as well as experiential learning
through field studies at various sites in Singapore. Students will leave the module with a
deep appreciation of the social, political and cultural diversity in Asia, as well as the critical
skills in thinking, reading, listening, and self-expression they need to succeed in future
courses at the university.
Timetable
Lecture Schedule:
• 4pm–6pm, Wednesdays
• ZOOM lectures, recordings will be made available through LumiNUS
Tutorial meetings will be held in-person once every two weeks.
Teaching Team
Name
E-mail
Dr. Clay Eaton
ck.eaton@nus.edu.sg
Dr. Nurhidayahti Miharja
nmm@nus.edu.sg
Kim Mi Jin
kim.mj@nus.edu.sg
Benjamin Goh
benji@nus.edu.sg
Faris Ridzuan
faris_ridzuan@u.nus.edu
Vani Swarupa Murali
vani@u.nus.edu
Hong Xincheng
hong_xincheng@u.nus.edu
Noorainn Aziz
e0979816@u.nus.edu
Fadiah Nadwa Fikri
fadiahnadwa@u.nus.edu
Satanik Pal
e0546073@u.nus.edu
Learning Outcomes
•
•
•
Acquire familiarity with the complexity and diversity of Asia, and its connections.
Develop skills in field-based approaches to understand Singapore and Asia.
Develop analytical tools to engage complex issues and challenges facing Singapore,
and other Asian societies, and adopt problem-solving approaches.
Course Assessment
This is a 100% CA module, and there is no final exam. There are FOUR elements in the
assessment of performance in the module.
Assessment
Weightage
Discussion Group (DG) Attendance and Class Participation
15%
Group Presentation in DG (ONE per semester)
15%
Individual Assignment (Week 6)
30%
Field-Based Project (Week 13)
40%
Lecture Schedule
Note that tutorials are listed with their units, not chronologically
Week
Lecture Topics
Week 1 Lecture
Introduction to the Module
Interrogating the Concept of Asia
Tutorial 1:
Week 3 or 4
Introductions, Group Assignments,
Different Conceptions of Asia
Unit 1: Race & Ethnicity
Week 2 Lecture
The Invention of Race in Asia
Week 3 Lecture
Grappling with Race and Ethnicity in Contemporary Asia
Tutorial 2:
Week 5 or 6
Discussion of Race & Ethnicity, Presentation 1
Week 4 Lecture
Approaches to Interviews and Narrative Writing
Unit 2: Migration & Diaspora
Week 5 Lecture
Migration, Mobility, and Restriction in Asian History
Positioning the Indian Diaspora in Southeast Asia
Week 6 Lecture
Lecture by Rajesh Rai
Tutorial 3:
Week 7 or 8
Discussion of Migration & Diaspora, Presentation 2
Individual Assignment due at the end of Week 6
Recess Week
Unit 3: Religion and Social Change
Week 7 Lecture
Religion in Asia – Diversity and Development
Guest Lecture by Hanisah Abdullah Sani
Week 8 Lecture
Traditional Values and Modernity
Tutorial 4:
Week 9 or 10
Discussion of Religion & Social Change, Presentation 3
Unit 4: Social Inequalities
Week 9 Lecture
Week 10 Lecture
Tutorial 5:
Week 11 or 12
This Is How We Speak About Inequality
Lecture by Nurhidayahti Miharja
Social Inequality: A Geographer’s Perspective
Guest Lecture by Chris McMorran
Discussion of Social Inequalities, Presentation 4
Concluding Unit
Week 11 Lecture
Society and the Built Environment
Week 12 Lecture
Society and Nature
Week 13 Lecture
Asian Studies as a Discipline, Conclusions and Goodbyes
Course Policies
1) Class Preparation and Attendance
Reading assignments should be completed BEFORE lecture or tutorial. You are only
obliged to read the required readings for each lecture, but the optional readings might aid in
your comprehension. All lectures will be recorded and may be viewed asynchronously, but
be sure to watch all lecture content from a unit before you attend that unit’s tutorial
meeting.
Attendance of tutorial meetings is compulsory. There are only five tutorial meetings this
semester, and each will make up a substantial proportion of your participation grade. If you
are absent for medical reasons (provide your tutorial instructor with an MC) or for other
exceptional circumstances (as determined in consultation with your tutorial instructor),
you may attend another tutorial meeting in the same unit (preferably with your same
tutorial instructor). Given the logistical issues inherent in our large module, outside of
these cases you may not be able to make up your absence.
2) Participation in Tutorial Meetings
Constructive discussion is the cornerstone of our tutorial meetings, and learning to articulate
your ideas while actively listening to those of others is one of the most important skills that
you will need in your future modules at the university, regardless of your major. Some of
you may be more familiar with speaking up during class discussions than others. It is
important to keep in mind that listening is as important a skill as speaking in a true
academic discussion. We all benefit when everyone is given a chance to bring their unique
perspectives to class discussion.
For those of you who are less familiar with class discussion, these tutorial meetings will give
you an opportunity to hone your academic voice. Feel free to approach your tutorial
instructor if you need any advice on joining in on the conversation. Discussion will take
many forms, including general discussions with the entire class and smaller group
discussions on particular topics.
There will be a brief mid-semester survey that will count toward your participation grade.
3) Mutual Respect
One of the skills that we will work on in this class is the ability to think through difficult and
sensitive issues both as individuals and in groups. You will invariably encounter arguments
that you do not agree with. We do not expect you to uncritically accept every new idea you
encounter in this course or in the university. Rather, we expect everyone (students and
instructors) to listen respectfully to each other in the spirit of understanding and, if we
disagree, to explain why.
To make this possible, we must be willing to allow others the time to articulate themselves,
and focus our comments on ideas and opinions, rather than on the people who voice
them. We must also respect cultural differences, especially when it comes to some of the
themes that we cover in this class. This course relies on everyone putting forward a good
faith effort to contribute to discussion.
4) Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
The University takes violations of academic integrity very seriously. Clause 4 of the NUS
Code of Student Conduct reads:
The University takes a strict view of cheating in any form, deceptive fabrication,
plagiarism and violation of intellectual property and copyright laws. Any
student who is found to have engaged in such misconduct will be subject to
disciplinary action by the University. (link available here)
Plagiarism occurs when you present someone’s work as your own, or incorporate
someone’s work into your own without full acknowledgement. This can occur either
intentionally or unintentionally, which is to say that ignorance is not an excuse for
plagiarism. In order to properly acknowledge the work of others, you must provide a full
and accurate citation following the instructions given on the assignment sheet. If you feel
any uncertainty about whether you are properly acknowledging your sources, it is your
responsibility to seek guidance from your tutorial instructor BEFORE you submit your
assignment.
For a detailed introduction to academic integrity and how to avoid plagiarism, please
consult this library guide.
LECTURE NOTES AND READINGS
Don’t forget tutorial readings, in the back!
Lecture 1 (10 August): Introduction, Interrogating Concepts of Asia
For the past few years leaders and thinkers have declared that we are living in an “Asian
Century”. But what does the term “Asia” mean? In this lecture, we will discuss how there is
no single answer to this seemingly straight-forward question: Asia has meant many
different things to many different people throughout history. Through this exercise and
throughout this module, we will practice some of the most important skills you will need
during your time at the university and beyond: the ability to push past generalizations and
recognize the complexity of the world around us, and to think through difficult questions
that do not have simple answers. We will also go through the structure of the module and
the crucial role that LumiNUS will play in it.
Required Reading:
•
Pillalamarri, Akhilesh. 2014. Kissinger is right: ‘Asia’ is a Western construct. The
Diplomat, 23 September. https://thediplomat.com/2014/09/kissinger-is-right-asia-is-awestern-construct/
Unit 1: Race & Ethnicity
Lecture 2 (17 August): The Invention of Race in Asia
In our lecture last week, we discussed how Asia is socially constructed: while it does not
physically exist as a separate continent from Europe, the idea of Asia has still had an
important impact on the world we live in. In this lecture, we will discuss two other concepts
that are also socially constructed: race and ethnicity. We will discuss how the term “race” is
a fairly modern invention, with roots in Western and Japanese imperialism We will focus
on particular on disagreements over what it meant to be “Malay” and “Chinese” before and
during the Second World War, and why these and other racial categories continue to hold
such significance in Malaysia and Singapore today.
Required Reading:
•
Shamsul A. B. 2001. A history of an identity, and identity of a history: The idea and
practice of 'Malayness' in Malaysia reconsidered. In Journal of Southeast Asian Studies
32, no. 3 (October): 355–366.
Optional Reading:
•
Manickam, Sandra Khor. 2009. Common ground: Race and the colonial universe in
British Malaya. In Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 40, no. 3 (October): 593–612.
Lecture 3 (24 August): Grappling with Race and Ethnicity in Contemporary Asia
In this lecture we continue our discussion of race and ethnicity by focusing on contemporary
Asia, with a particular focus on how states have dealt with racial and ethnic difference.
Building off of our last lecture, we will discuss race-based social policy in contemporary
Singapore, with a focus on people who do not fit neatly within the CMIO (Chinese-MalayIndian-Other) framework. We will discuss the creation of the fifty-six ethnic categories used
in the People’s Republic of China, and end with the case of Japanese-Brazilian immigration
to Japan in recent decades. All of these cases help us to understand the limits of racial or
ethnic categories, as well as why some states continue to use them.
Required Reading:
•
Rocha, Zarine L. and Brenda S.A. Yeoh. 2021. Managing the complexities of race:
Eurasians, classification, and mixed racial identities in Singapore. Journal of Ethnic
and Migration Studies 47, no. 4: 878–894.
Independent Lecture
Lecture 4 (31 August): Approaches to Interviews and Narrative Writing
In anticipation of our first assignment (due end of Week 6), we will take a break from our
regular thematic lectures and instead focus on two important skills that you will need to
write your personal history: interviewing and writing. We will discuss how to conduct an
effective interview, how to avoid pitfalls in your writing (including proper citations), and
the resources available on campus that may help you with your assignment. And, while it
will be due at the end of the semester, we will also touch briefly on the Field-Based Group
Project and how you may want to begin planning for this assignment in the coming weeks.
This lecture will include a special video presentation from A/P Chris McMorran, who will
explain how a geographer views a landscape in multiple ways, via a walking tour of Dakota.
Required Reading:
•
Vadaketh, Sudhir Thomas. 2021. Separations. Mekong Review 6, no. 4 (August–
October): 15.
•
Wang Gungwu. 2018. A taste of China / Empire’s end and other spheres. In Home is
not here, 37–50. Singapore: NUS Press.
Optional Reading:
•
Meinig, D. W. 1979. The beholding eye: Ten versions of the same scene. In The
interpretation of ordinary landscapes: Geographical essays, ed. by D. W. Meinig, 33–48.
New York, Oxford University Press.
Unit 2: Migration & Diaspora
Lecture 5 (7 September): Migration, Mobility, and Restriction in Asian History
Despite the old stereotypes of the continent as stagnant and unchanging, more than half of
the world’s population can be found in Asia and its people have been constantly on the
move. This lecture will introduce key concepts related to migration and diaspora, as well as
the many reasons that people have moved tens, hundreds, or thousands of miles away from
home in Asian history. This lecture will also concept of the ‘nation’, a theme that is brought
into stark relief by migration. We will discuss how movement across national borders has
changed over the past century, and ask who determines who ‘belongs’ in a certain place.
Required Reading/Viewing:
•
Swift, Olivia. 2011. Seafaring citizenship: What being Filipino means at sea and what
seafaring means to the Philippines. In Mediated diasporas: Material translations of
the Philippines in a globalized world, ed. Mark Johnson and Deidre McKay. Special
issue, South East Asia Research 19, no. 2 (June): 273–291.
Optional Reading:
•
Amrith, Sunil. 2011. Introduction. In Migration and diaspora in modern Asia, 1–17.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
•
Invisible stories. 2020. Sayeed. Episode 5. 2 February.
Lecture 6 (14 September): The Indian Diaspora Across Southeast Asia
Lecture by Rajesh Rai
Have you ever wondered why Indian communities are ubiquitous around the globe? In this
lecture, we explore the factors that inform Indian migration and settlement beyond South
Asia. In so doing, we consider the usefulness of the concept of diaspora in making sense of
their experiences. Specifically, the lecture analyses the formation and development of Indian
communities in Southeast Asia, primarily Singapore and Malaysia. What are the political,
economic and social challenges they face in these countries? How are they positioned, and
what accounts for differences? A broader question underpinning the lecture relates to our
understanding of Asia’s boundaries. How does large scale migration and mobility from Asia
to Europe, North America and beyond, disrupt our understanding of Asia?
Required Reading:
•
Rai, Rajesh. 2008. 'Positioning' the Indian diaspora: The South-east Asian experience.
In Tracing an Indian diaspora: contexts, memories, representations, ed. Parvati Raghuram,
Ajaya Kumar Sahoo, Brij Maharaj, and Dave Sangha, 29–51. New Delhi: Sage
Publications India.
Individual Assignment due on Friday, 16 September, at 10:00pm
Unit 3: Religion and Social Change
Lecture 7 (28 September): Religion in Asia – Diversity and Development
Guest Lecture by Hanisah Abdullah Sani
As one of the most religiously diverse regions of the world, religion plays a key role in the
development of Asia. Even as modernization theories foretold the demise of religion,
religion has anything but waned, but has only steadily grown in prominence. Religion’s
resurgence affects how we live our lives, how communities are structured, and how nationstates are governed. It can be a wellspring of social good but also a source of deep discord
and divisions. In this lecture, we examine the role of religion and how it drives social change
and development in Asia.
Required Reading:
•
Hefner, Robert W. 2010. Religious resurgence in contemporary Asia: Southeast Asian
perspectives on capitalism, the state, and the new piety. In Journal of Asian Studies 69,
no. 4 (November): 1031–1047.
Lecture 8 (5 October): Traditional Values and Modernity
In this lecture, we expand our discussion of religion to discuss other cultural systems in
Asia, which are often described as ‘traditions’. We begin our discussion with a tradition that
some argue is a religion, while others reject that label: Confucianism. As we investigate how
different actors in Asia have adapted Confucianism to fit their historical and social contexts,
we will also ask how the term ‘religion’ has been used in Asia and discuss the complexities
of translation, a critical topic in Asian Studies. We will then discuss other traditions that
have transformed to fit their historical moment, and ask if ‘traditions’ are necessarily
opposed to ‘modernity’ or social change.
Required Reading:
•
Ching, Julia. 1993. Metaphysics and spirituality: Neo-Confucianism as a response to
Buddhism. In Chinese Religions, 153–169. London: Palgrave MacMillan.
Unit 4: Social Inequalities
Lecture 9 (12 October): This Is How We Speak about Inequality
Lecture by Nurhidayahti Miharja
Teo (2019: 41–42) writes “how we see a problem, the questions we ask about it, shape our
solutions. If we misrecognize our problems, we cannot be surprised when we cannot come
up with solutions that solve”. This session will discuss the nature of social inequality in
Singapore. How are racial/ethnic and gender inequalities connected to other types of
structural social and class inequalities? Building on this foundation, we will then consider
the factors which may prevent or promote social inequality, with a focus on housing in
Singapore.
Required Reading:
•
Teo You Yenn. 2019. Step 1: Disrupt the narrative. In This is what inequality looks like,
25–46. Singapore: Ethos Books.
Lecture 10 (19 October): Social Inequality: A Geographer’s Perspective
Guest Lecture by Chris McMorran
What does social inequality look like in Japan, a country widely believed to be modern,
developed, and middle class? In this session we will discuss the complex idea of "class" in
Japan and explain some of Japan’s sources of inequality. We will discuss the historical
origins of Japan's postwar middleclass identity, elements of male breadwinner/female
housewife model, Japan's gendered division of labour, and ways Japan might create a more
blended society. We will also hear "voices from the margins": intimate reflections from
people struggling in contemporary Japan whose stories and voices are often invisible to the
outside world.
Required Reading:
•
Allison, Anne. 2015. Precarity and hope: Social connectedness in postcapitalist Japan.
In Japan: The precarious future, ed. Frank Baldwin and Anne Allison, 36–57. New York:
New York University Press.
Group Component of Field-Based Project (Neighbourhood Poster) due during
final tutorials, Weeks 11–12
Lecture 11 (26 October): Society and the Built Environment
Featuring Special Presentation by NUS Libraries
With the conclusion of our formal units, our final lectures will be focused on discussion of
the relationship between people and the spaces we inhabit. These themes relate directly to
the individual component of the Field-Based Project, which you will be submitting at the
end of Week 13. In this lecture, we look specifically at the relationship between various
Asian societies and the built environment. Our reading focuses on the (sometimes
inaccurate) meanings that people attach to the built environment (e.g. architecture), and our
lecture will also touch on the role of heritage and historic preservation in Asia today. A
portion of this lecture will also involve a special presentation from NUS Libraries about
academic integrity and resources available through the libraries that might help you with
your final submission.
Required Reading:
•
Imran bin Tajudeen. 2012. Beyond racialized representation: Architectural linguæ
francæ and urban histories in the kampung houses and shophouses of Melaka and
Singapore. In Colonial Frames, Nationalist Histories, edited by Madhuri Desai and
Mrinalini Rajagopalan. Burlington, VT: Ashgate. READ EXCERPT: 225–244
Lecture 12 (2 November): Society and Nature
What is the proper relationship between humans and nature? As Asian societies have grown
and changed, how has their relationship with the natural world changed? How have
developments in both rural and urban Asia shaped the natural world, and what will be the
consequences of climate change in the region? For our last lecture on people and the spaces
we inhabit we turn our attention to the dynamic relationship between human societies and
the natural world, with a focus on different parts of Southeast Asia.
Required Reading:
•
Powell, Miles Alexander. 2021. Singapore’s lost coast: Land reclamation, national
development, and the erasure of human and ecological communities, 1822–present.
Environment & History. 27, issue 4 (November): 635–663.
Lecture 13 (9 November): Asian Studies as a Discipline, Conclusions
In this final lecture we will review what we have learned over the course of the semester and
return to a few dominant themes from our earlier lectures. We will discuss how you may
apply the soft skills that you have learned in this class over the next few years and beyond,
and how you can continue to investigate some of the themes we covered in other modules.
Individual Component of Field-Based Project (Site Analysis) due Friday, 11
November, at 10:00pm
TUTORIAL NOTES AND READINGS
Tutorial 1 (Weeks 3–4): Self-Introductions, Interrogating the Concept of Asia
Most of our tutorials will begin with group presentations, but our first tutorial will begin
with self-introductions and an activity. Please also review our first lecture reading before
attending tutorial.
Tutorial assignment:
•
Bring an object that you see as “Asian” (no, you can’t bring “yourself”). Explain to
the group why you see the object in this way. How does this relate to your own
personal definition of “Asia”?
Required Reading:
•
Review Pillalamarri, Akhilesh. 2014. Kissinger is right: ‘Asia’ is a Western construct.
The Diplomat, 23 September. https://thediplomat.com/2014/09/kissinger-is-right-asiais-a-western-construct/
Tutorial 2 (Weeks 5–6): Race & Ethnicity
In this tutorial, Group 1 will present on a televised forum on race in Singapore that ran on
Channel News Asia last year. All students are expected to have watched this material
(which is available on YouTube) before attending tutorial.
Required Viewing:
•
Regardless of race: Will we ever get there? 2021. CNA Insider. 9 July.
https://youtu.be/_naIuX0JgRM
Tutorial 3 (Weeks 7–8): Migration & Diaspora
In this tutorial, Group 2 will present on the accounts of two women who are members of the
Chinese diaspora in the United States. All students are expected to have read this material
(which is available through NUS Libraries) before attending tutorial.
Required Reading:
•
Fu Lee. 2006. Immigrant women speak out on garment industry abuse (1993). In
Chinese American voices: From the gold rush to the present, ed. Judy Yung, Gordon H.
Chang, and Him Mark Lai. Berkeley: University of California Press.
•
Wu, Ellen D. 2006. The best tofu in the world comes from… Indiana? (1998). In
Chinese American voices: From the gold rush to the present, ed. Judy Yung, Gordon H.
Chang, and Him Mark Lai. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Tutorial 4 (Weeks 9–10): Religion & Social Change
In this tutorial, Group 3 will present on the following article by A.K. Ramanujan on the rich
history of the Indian epic, the Rāmāyaṇa. All students are expected to have read this material
(which will be uploaded to our LumiNUS page) before attending tutorial.
Required Reading:
•
Ramanujan, A.K. 1999. Three hundred Rāmāyaṇas: Five examples and three
thoughts on translation. In The collected essays of A.K. Ramanujan, ed. Vinay
Dharwadker. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. 131-160.
Tutorial 5 (Weeks 11–12): Social Inequalities
In this tutorial, Group 4 will present on the recent Japanese film Shoplifters, which focuses on
a poor family living in the Tokyo area. All students are expected to have watched this
material (which is available through NUS Libraries) before attending tutorial.
Required Viewing:
•
Shoplifters. 2018. Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda. Magnolia Home Entertainment.
o This film contains a few brief suggestive scenes. If you would like to avoid
them, you may skip the timestamps 29:00–31:05, 59:29–1:00:25, and
1:02:28–1:08:50. Doing so will not affect your understanding of the plot or
the major themes we will discuss in class.
Group Component of Field-Based Project (Neighbourhood Poster) due during
final tutorials, Weeks 11–12