NTU refreshes the way history is taught  |
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| 13 January 2012 |
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| The writer, Ke Mu Lin (transliteration), a local historian, has welcomed NTU's announcement that it will start a new history course this year which aims to help students better understand how Singapore's history is shaped by various socio-political factors. Ke believes this is a significant move by NTU and the university deserves credit for coming up with such an original syllabus. The writer said that history is often an ignored subject as people associate it with memorising various dates of historical events. But in his opinion, there are many lessons to be learned from history and he applauds NTU for not only starting a history programme, but he is glad that it will teach its students to look at history from various angles to understand how history is made. |
Read more in:
Lianhe Zaobao, Commentary, page 35 |
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| Hope here for the poor to move up in life |
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| 13 January 2012 |
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| A study from the Finance Ministry shows that children from poor Singaporean families, born between 1969 and 1978, stand a good chance of moving up in life. But this may not apply to younger generations born later than the study's sample group of Singaporeans born between 1969 and 1978. It also found that the level of mobility in Singapore is better than that of the United States and United Kingdom, similar to that of Germany, but worse than that of Canada and some Nordic countries. The study also notes its findings show a relatively higher income mobility than that of two recent studies: a 2007 paper by Asst Prof Irene Ng of NUS, and a 2009 one by Dr Ng, Ms Shen Xiaoyi of NUS and Dr Ho Kong Weng of NTU. |
Read more in:
The Straits Times, page A1 |
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| New way to study history at NTU |
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| 12 January 2012 |
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| NTU's School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) has rolled out a new history course that helps students better understand how Singapore's history is shaped by various socio-political factors. Professor Liu Hong, Chair of HSS, said that he hopes the new course will enable participants to see how Singapore society has developed over the years. For example, Prof Liu cited the example of how Singapore's early national defence policy is influenced by events in the Cold War and Singapore's relationship with China today. Prof Liu added that he hopes students do not need to rely on rote learning for this course. NTU will accept 40 students majoring in history for this course, which will start this August. It is hoped that the class will expand to 200 students in the next four years. One of the lecturers in the course is Asst Prof Hallam Stevens, who had previously lectured in Harvard. He is an expert on the history of the Internet, the history of computing, nanotechnology, and the interaction between science, technology, and science fiction, and will apply his expertise on how phenomenon like the Internet has changed society. |
Read more in:
Lianhe Zaobao, page 23 |
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| Trendy teen lingo or alienspeak? |
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| 8 January 2012 |
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| Teenagers are using new terms, some derived from video games, to set themselves apart from adults. Assistant Professor Tan Ying Ying, from NTU's Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies, said that trendy net-speak is a sign of creativity and teenagers are pretty smart to be able to come up with such terms. Even though the use of some of the words is not even grammatically correct, you can still understand the meaning. When people stop inventing, that's when language starts to die. She added that she does not see this as a decimation of the English language, rather, it's an addition. |
Read more in:
The Sunday Times, Lifestyle, page 2 |
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| The end is nay |
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| 8 January 2012 |
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| Some are buying into the popular belief that the world will end on Dec 21, 2012. The date marks the end of more than 5,000 years of the long-count Mayan calendar leading doomsayers to predict that the world will end. Curiosity about Armageddon is inevitable, say some experts. Sociologist Associate Professor Xiao Hong from NTU's School of Humanities and Social Sciences, said it is human nature 'to think about our fate'. Much has happened in the past year, in the political landscape and the economic situation. These factors might have led to so much publicity about the Mayan calendar, she said. |
Read more in:
The Sunday Times, Lifestyle, page 4 |
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| Dreams bloom for arts stars in 2012 |
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| 3 January 2012 |
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| Several artistes were profiled, one of whom is NTU graduate Liang Hai Bin (transliteration). He says, “Although I have taken a tough route, I will persevere.” Two years ago, 26 year-old Liang graduated from the division of Chinese, school of humanities and social sciences, NTU and he took up drama as his career without hesitation. Besides occasionally teaching in tutoring centres and performing in schools, he puts all his time and energy into drama. In this new year, the budding star will continue to pursue his journey in drama. |
Read more in:
Lianhe Zaobao, ZBnow page 1 |
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