Finding a Fit for Life's Funcʃions
You’d think sociologists are best-equipped to debunk stereotypes. Surprise then, this semester, when ALL 3 of my NUS Sociology lecturers, in cordial but resigned tones, levelled essentially the same accusation at us students: That we are in it for the degree. The most subtle instance came during a Social Thought lecture on...
According to Gallup, Singapore is the least emotional country in the world. This is probably worth celebrating if you were Durkheim (Mestrovic, 1993), who believed individual desires are infinite and required social control, for the good of both society and individual. Yet the survey findings are deeply problematic. I will...
Step inside Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) for a breath of fresh air. Literally, because the buildings are designed with gaps and fins, allowing winds to ventilate all open spaces. And they were spacious indeed. Yet the first impressions were formed earlier. The fashionable glass exterior is fronted by potted...
Why take Sociology if you don’t exercise your agency? 4 factors at play: Timetable, Assessment, Curriculum, Self-Development.
In my introductory class to sociology, I was told that back in the 1960s, one needed higher grades to pursue an Arts/Social Sciences degree than a Law degree. Law? LOL are you kidding me? It drew gasps all around. I had no way to verify it, but basic sociological reasoning informs...
I have been working part-time for my school’s Commencement ceremony. The work is mundane – more on that another day – but the access to individual transcripts made me wonder about the differing trajectories, and also think about the journey I’m a year into. Here are 5 discoveries: You can...
