IVLE Module Outline Page 1 of 5

HY2254/SSA2221 CLOSE
POPULAR CULTURE IN SINGAPORE (2009/2010, Semester 2)

Module MODULE OUTLINE Created: 28-Dec-2009, Updated: 28-Dec-2009

Description
Text & Readings Module
HY2254/SSA2221
Code
Timetable
Module Title POPULAR CULTURE IN SINGAPORE
FAQ
Semester Semester 2, 2009/2010
Modular
HY2254 ( 4 ) / SSA2221 ( 4 )
Credits
Faculty Arts & Social Sciences
Department History
Teaching DR Mark Emmanuel
Staff
hismve@nus.edu.sg Lecturer

Mr Tan Chye Guan

hisv5@nus.edu.sg Tutor

LIAO BOLUN, EDGAR

g0700598@nus.edu.sg Tutor

HU WEN

g0600856@nus.edu.sg Tutor

BRANDON ALBERT LIM

brandon@nus.edu.sg Tutor

Weblinks http://www.lib.nus.edu.sg/bib/sh/ Reference

A select bibliography of Singapore history by NUS Library website
discussion
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/singaporeheritage/
group/
public discussion list for history and heritage issues in Singapore, moderated by Chua Ai Lin
mailing list
http://yesterday.sg/ Blog
heritage metablog run by enthusiasts, an initiative by the Museum Roundtable, supported by the National
Heritage Board.
http://blog.omy.sg/sgstory/ Blog
write-ups on various aspects of Singapore's past (in Chinese)
http://www.a2o.com.sg/a2o/public/html/ Reference
National Archives of Singapore database search website
http://cord.nhb.gov.sg/cord/public/internetSearch/advancedSearchForm.jsp Reference
Database search for the Oral History Centre of the National Archives of Singapore website
http://misas.nhb.gov.sg/avs/public/internetSearch/advancedSearchForm.jsprch/advancedSearchForm.jsp Reference
Database search for the Audio-Visual department of the National Archives of Singapore website
http://www.sgcool.sg/ Reference
'Singapore Collections Online or SGCOOL is the first online repository of artefacts and artworks in Website
Singapore which makes available highlights from National Heritage Board’s collections to the public.'
http://delicious.com/singaporestuff Reference
collection of references on Singapore history and culture website
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=563 Forum
Forum on heritage buildings, spaces & architecture
http://goodmorningyesterday.blogspot.com/ Blog
'Hi, my name is Lam Chun See. I was born in 1952. This site is for Singaporeans and friends of Singapore
of my generation to share stories of Singapore back in the kampong days when we were kids.'
http://www.victorkoo.blogspot.com/ Blog
Nostalgic reminiscences of Victor Koo
http://timesofmylife.wordpress.com/ Blog
Nostalgic reminiscences of 'laokokok'
http://www.bullockcartwater.blogspot.com/ Blog
tales of Chinatown life
http://modcentric.blogspot.com/ Blog
60s pop music including Singapore and other Asian music
http://mocamborainbow.blogspot.com/ Blog
'Singapore 60s Pop Music Hall of Fame'
http://www.myspace.com/singaporesixties MySpace
listen to 1960s Singapore and other Asian music page
http://www.museums.com.sg/ Organisational
Museum Roundtable - brings together 50 museums in Singapore website
http://jalankayutrail.blogspot.com/ Blog
by Pei Hwa Secondary School. 'The blog's purpose is to document our research on Jalan Kayu which is
near our school.'
http://www.singaporefoodhistory.com/ Personal
Singapore food history website
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/taoism-singapore/
Discussion group about Chinese temple festivals from a cultural and historical perspective
http://streetwayang.blogspot.com/ blog
blog on Chinese opera/wayang in Singapore today

Aims & Objectives | Prerequisites | Teaching Modes | Syllabus | Assessment | Readings & IVLE E-Reserves | Pre-Clusions | Workload | Text & Readings

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AIMS & OBJECTIVES Top

Popular Culture in Singapore is designed for both History and non-History students to look at the development of popular culture in Singapore from
the colonial period to the present day. By learning about street theatre, local films, and theme parks among others, students will explore thematic
issues like diasporic, immigrant and cosmopolitan communities; colonial impact; stratification of society by class, race and religion; surveillance;
gender and the body; family and social spaces (theme parks, social clubs, sports fields). Students are expected to gain a sensitivity to historical
contexts, and to better understand Singapore's rich cultural heritage what has been lost, what has been recovered, the politics of heritage as well as
the political, social and economic realities in Singapore's historical trajectory.

PREREQUISITES Top
Nil

TEACHING MODES Top

The module will be taught via:

1) compulsory lectures (2 hours per week, Mondays 1000h-1200h, no webcast).

2) online discussion forum in small discussion groups of 10 students each.
3) regular writing assignments.
4) a class test

**There will be no classroom tutorials, only online discussions.**

Please see section 'Assessment' for more details of the Continual Assessment (CA).

Feedback for Discussion Forums and Response Papers

Some students have complained in the past about feedback issues. This is understandable and I would like to explain why you will not be able to get
as much feedback as you like on response papers and discussion forums as some students might like.

This is a large module of more than 350 people and the teaching team will be reviewing 10 pieces of writing from each of you. There is a lot of
marking to be done in a very short period of time because we will strive to get each response paper back to you as quickly as we can. As such, we
will not be able to provide you with detailed feedback for each piece of writing. Instead for the Response Papers, you will be given a table of general
comments which reflects the marking criteria. This will enable you to see where you might improve your work or bear in mind things that have
garnered you good grades.

As for the discussion forums, the teaching team will monitor the discussions closely and if you are going off track, we will intervene. If not, I have
told the team to intervene as little as possible because this is really a forum for you to express yourself freely but intelligently.

However, you will receive more feedback on your term projects/final paper as we will have more time to mark these projects.

SYLLABUS Top
HY2254/SSA2221 POPULAR CULTURE IN SINGAPORE
AY 2009/10, Semester 2

This syllabus has been updated and is correct as at 5 Jan 2010.

All readings will be available in IVLE E-Reserves or NUS Digital Library E-journals. Please note that some readings are used in more than one lesson.

This is a 100% CA module and requires you to complete more writing assignments than modules with an exam component.

WEEK DATE LECTURE ASSIGNMENT

Wk 1 11 Jan Introductory Lecture: Pop Culture and Singapore History
Readings:
Storey, John. An Introductory Guide to Cultural Theory and
Popular Culture. New York ; London: Harvester Wheatsheaf,
1993, pp.6-17.

Chandra Mukerji & Michael Schudson, Rethinking Popular

Culture, California: UCLA Press, 1991, pp.1-18
Wk 2 18 Jan Ethnic and Diasporic Identities: The Introduction of New
Communities and Early Forms of Popular Culture in
Singapore
Readings:
Mohd Ghouse Nasaruddin, The Malay Dance, Chapter 1,
pp.1-9.

Chan Kwok-Bun, and Yung Sai-Shing. "Chinese

Entertainment, Ethnicity and Pleasure." Visual Anthropology
18, no. 2 (2005): 106-113, section entitled ‘In the Streets’.
[NUS Digital Library E-journals]
Wk 3 25 Jan The Colonial Impact: Social Clubs and Associational 1st IVLE Discussion:
Activity
Popular Culture as a Historical Text: Is this
Dr Chua Ai Lin REALLY History?

Readings: Additional Reading:

Margaret Shennan, Out in the Midday Sun, London, John
Murray, 2000, pp.56-72
Wk 4 1 Feb Cosmopolitan Society: Bangsawan and the Three Worlds
Amusement Parks
Readings:
Tan Sooi Beng, “From Popular to "Traditional" Theater: The
Dynamics of Change in Bangsawan of Malaysia”,
Ethnomusicology, vol.33, no.2, Spring-Summer 1989, pp.229-
237 & 248-256. [NUS Digital Library E-journals]
Mary Kilcline Cody, “A Paler Shade of White”,
Lost Times and Untold Tales from the Malay
World, ed. Jan van der Putten & Mary Kilcline-
Cody, pp.83-96.
1st Response Paper due (Friday, 5 Feb 2010)
If pop culture is a historical text, what type
of pop culture would you choose and what
would it say about Singapore’s history?

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Wong Yunn Chii, and Tan Kar Lin. "Emergence of a

Cosmopolitan Space for Culture and Consumption: The New
World Amusement Park-Singapore (1923-70) in the Inter-War
Years." Inter-Asia Cultural Studies 5, no. 2 (2004): 279-304.
[NUS Digital Library E-journals]
Wk 5 8 Feb New Technologies in the Early 20th Century: Radio, 2nd IVLE Discussion:
Gramophone And Rediffusion Technology and its transformative effects
Dr Chua Ai Lin

Readings:
Chen Ai Yen. "The Mass Media, 1819-1980." In A History of
Singapore, edited by Ernest C. T. Chew and Edwin Lee, 288-
311. Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1991, relevant
sections on films and broadcasting, pp. 300-301.

McDaniel, Drew O. Broadcasting in the Malay World: Radio,

Television, and Video in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and
Singapore. Norwood, N.J: Ablex Publishing, 1994, pp.21-38,
41-47.

Tan Sooi Beng. "The 78 Rpm Record Industry in Malaya Prior

to World War Ii." Asian Music 28, no. 1 (1996/97): 14-19.
[NUS Digital Library E-journals]
Recess NO CLASS Please work on your project proposals or
Week essay ideas

Wk 6 22 Feb Print as popular culture Project proposals due 22 Feb at the lecture
Readings:
Timothy P. Barnard & Jan van der Putten, “Malay 2nd Response Paper is due (Friday, 26 Feb
Cosmopolitan Activism in Postwar Singapore”, in Paths Not 2010)
Taken, Singapore: NUS Press, 2008, pp.132-153.
Colonialism had a tremendous impact in
shaping identity, culture and values in
Singapore. What role did popular culture
pay in this process?

Wk 7 1 Mar Connections with the Homeland: Chinese cinema and the 3rd IVLE Discussion:
Diaspora
Reflections on Singapore’s History:
A/P Yung Sai-shing, Dept of Chinese Studies reviewing the prism of popular culture?
Readings: Film Screenings of “Forever Fever”
TBA at a later date 1. Mon, 1 Mar, 4-6pm, Library
Theatrette
2. Tues, 2 Mar, 12-2pm, Library
Theatrette 2

Wk 8 8 Mar Localisation and Adaptation: The Local Film Industry 3rd Response Paper is due
A/P Timothy P. Barnard (Friday, 12 March 2010)
Reading: Film review: “Forever Fever” [alternative
Timothy P. Barnard, "The Shaw Brothers' Malay Films", China title, “That's the Way I Like It”] (1998)
Forever: The Shaw Brothers and Diasporic Cinema, ed.
Poshek Fu, pp. 154-73.
Film Screenings of “Forever Fever”
1. Mon, 8 Mar, 2-4pm, Library
Theatrette 2
2. Tues, 9 Mar, 2-4pm, Library
Theatrette 2
3. Thu, 11 Mar, 4-6pm, Library
Theatrette 2
Wk 9 15 Mar Politics and Popular Culture: Yellow Culture and
Television
Readings:
Yao, Souchou. “’Yellow Culture’, White Peril” in Singapore:
The State and the Culture of Excess, Asia's Transformations.
London: Routledge, 2007, pp.50-68.

Kenneth Paul Tan, Cinema and Television in Singapore,

Chapter 4, pp.107-144

Wk 10 22 Mar English Language Theatre, the State and Society

Reading:
William Peterson, “Singapore’s Festival of Arts”, Asian
Theatre Journal, vol 13, no.1, Spring 1996, pp.112-124. [NUS
Digital Library E-journals]

Audrey Wong, “Companies and Audiences: Developments in

Recent Singapore Theatre”, Interlogue: Studies in Singapore

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Literature: Drama, ed. Kirpal Singh, pp.19-35.

Wk 11 29 Mar From Talentime to Singapore Idol: Localising the Global Essay/Term Project due on 29 March at the
in Popular Music lecture
Dr Chua Ai Lin
(Tentatively, there will also be a performance and talk by Jack
& Rai – a local band)
Reading:
Pereira, Joseph C. Legends of the Golden Venus Singapore:
Times Editions, 1999, interview with Siva Choy.
Pereira, Joseph.C. "'60s Singaporean Bands."
http://60spunk.m78.com/singaporean.html.
http://60spunk.m78.com/singaporean2.html
Wk 12 5 Apr National Imagining and Sports: From the Olympics to the
Malaysia Cup
Reading:
Peter A Horton, “Shackling the Lion: Sport in Independent
Singapore”, The International Journal of the History of Sport,
vol. 19, nos. 2-3, July 1, 2002, pp 243-274. [NUS Digital
Library E-journals]
Wk 13 12 Apr Overview Lecture IN-CLASS TEST

ASSESSMENT Top

**There will be no classroom tutorials or examination for this module.**

The module will be graded 100% by Continual Assessment:

1) Participation in 3 online discussions on the IVLE forum : 30% [each discussion is 10% of your grade]

2) Response papers (3 papers of 600-800 words each) : 30% [each paper is 10% of your grade]

3) Class Test (Week 13) : 20%

4) Term paper (2,000 words) OR Group Project: 20%

Further explanatory notes

Online Discussion Forums:

Each student is expected to contribute to 3 online discussions.

These contributions will centre around questions about the readings provided by the lecturers.

Group members will be graded according to their responses and contributions to the discussion.

This constitutes 30% of their grade -- 10% for each of the discussion rounds.

Response Papers:

Students are required to submit 3 response papers during the course, which will be graded by the teaching team. A response paper is a short
paper of 600-800 words.

Questions will be provided to you at the start of the semester.

These response papers require students to demonstrate their understanding of the major themes of the course and how each theme
connects with the larger historical issues.

This component will make up 30% of the overall grade.

Class Test:

Will be held in the final week of the class, Week 13 (Monday 12 April 2007)

The test will test your knowledge of lecture material

The format will require you to match statements, and provide short answers for key terms/ events.

This is worth 20% of your final grade

Final term paper/project:

We want students to be able to express their ideas in different formats. In other words, students can choose to hand in an 2,000 word essay
(individual work), OR choose to work in groups of between 2-4 people) on other formats which might include projects such as preparing a
website, or even constructing a magazine or comic book.

This approach seems more meaningful for a course that deals with popular culture, different mediums of expression and the use of new
technologies as well as allows students to use different cognitive skills in assembling such a project.

The term paper is relatively straightforward proposition. You can answer from a list of questions provided by the lecturer or come up with
your own question. Students who want to formulate their own question MUST consult with the lecturer in advance.

If you are working on a term project with a group of friends, you must submit a one-page proposal to your lecturer on Monday 22 Feb (the
Monday after Recess Week). I will then meet up with you to discuss your project in further detail.

All projects must reflects an understanding of the themes of the course.

This project will constitute 20% of their grade.

READINGS & IVLE E-RESERVES Top

All required readings for lectures and discussions will be available in IVLE.

If you have problems downloading readings from IVLE E-Reserves or need to download the items again, please email your request & feedback
to NUS Library's E-Reserves Department <rbrersv@nus.edu.sg> with full details of:
a) module code
b) your matriculation no.
c) title of the file(s) you require to re-download
d) or a description of the problem.

PRE-CLUSIONS Top
SSA2221

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WORKLOAD Top
2-1-0-2-5

TEXT & READINGS Top

ADDITIONAL REFERENCE READINGS

For those new to studying History:

"On Writing Essays" by NUS History Dept:

http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/hist/doc/onwritingessays.pdf

Storey, William Kelleher. Writing history: A Guide for Students. New York : Oxford University Press, 2009.

General references on Singapore history:

Turnbull, C. M . A History of Singapore, 1819-1988. 2nd ed. Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1989.

Chew, Ernest and Edwin Lee. A History of Singapore. Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1991.

Trocki, Carl A. Singapore: Wealth, Power and the Culture of Control, Asia's Great Cities. London: Routledge, 2006.

Lee, Edwin. Singapore: The Unexpected Nation. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2008.

Liu, Gretchen. Singapore: A Pictorial History 1819-2000. Singapore: Archipelago Press published in association with the National Heritage Board,
1999.

General books on the field of Popular Culture:

Fiske, John. Reading the Popular. Boston: Unwin Hyman, 1989.

Guins, Raiford, and Omayra Zaragoza Cruz. Popular Culture : A Reader. London: Sage, 2005.

Harrington, C. Lee, and Denise D. Bielby. Popular Culture: Production and Consumption, Blackwell Readers in Sociology. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell
Publishers, 2001.

Hinds, Harold E., Marilyn Ferris Motz, and Angela M. S. Nelson. Popular Culture Theory and Methodology: A Basic Introduction. Madison, Wis.:
University of Wisconsin Press/Popular Press, 2006.

Mukerji, Chandra, and Michael Schudson. Rethinking Popular Culture : Contemporary Perspectives in Cultural Studies. Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1991.

Storey, John. An Introductory Guide to Cultural Theory and Popular Culture. New York ; London: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1993.

Storey, John. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture : A Reader. 3rd ed. Harlow ; New York: Pearson Education, 2006.

Storey, John. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture : An Introduction. 4th ed. Harlow ; New York: Pearson Education, 2006.

Aims & Objectives | Prerequisites | Teaching Modes | Syllabus | Assessment | Readings & IVLE E-Reserves | Pre-Clusions | Workload | Text & Readings

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