Representation and Media
Undergraduate
The course introduces basic concepts in representation. Concepts that will be examined in this course include the representation of gender, race, politics, celebrities, communities, and otherness in the media. By uncovering how the media frames, portrays, and shapes our ideas of groups of people in society and how audiences engage with popular culture in this digital age, it attunes students to the strategies and subtleties involved in media representation and equips them with the skills to engage and examine them critically.
Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice
Undergraduate
This capstone course introduces students to some of the major theoretical traditions in Cultural Studies ranging from studies of mass culture, to feminist, ethnographic, postcolonial, and digital Cultural Studies. These theoretical traditions will be used by students to produce detailed and specific studies of contemporary cultural practices. By understanding diverse national and international tendencies in Cultural Studies, students will engage with some of the significant problems of the cultures we inhabit.
Visual Cultures
Undergraduate
This capstone course for the Visual Cultures Minor is co-taught with the NUS Museum, introducing students to visual research methods, issues, and theories. These include the theory and practice of object-study and collections development, institutional heritage and museum management, exhibition coordination and display strategies, alongside digital humanities and visual cultures interpretation. Students will apply theoretical knowledge and skills to produce group project-based installations within a guided ‘live’ curatorial exhibition hosted by NUS Museum. They will examine the significance of the visual and the politics of visuality across heritage, environmental humanities, philosophy, spatial practices, design, architecture, visual art and performance.
Communications, Culture, and Sustainability
Undergraduate
As businesses shift towards greater environmental accountability, transparent communication of sustainability-related issues and data has become increasingly important. This course introduces students to communications infrastructure, media environments, culture, and sustainability as purposive forces that create, and sometimes pollute and reshape the environment. Students will develop a critical vocabulary and practical skills to evaluate and create impactful communications across media and cultural contexts, supporting emerging areas such as environmental management, green infrastructure, mobility, and resource circularity. By demonstrating how ethical communication drives engagement, innovation, and cultural transformation, the course prepares students to be communicators who innovate and influence eco-conscious behaviours.
Cultural Policy
Post-Graduate
This course introduces cultural policy studies as a distinct domain of cultural studies. It examines the stakes involved in defining and operating within cultural policy studies by analysing the practices of cultural industries, art institutions, cultural planning and participation, and creative economies. Students will evaluate specific instances of cultural policy development, and produce studies of cultural practices in order to re-think perceived notions of identity, representation and power. Students will appreciate the relationship between critical analysis and policy orientation in cultural studies and be familiar with specific instances of cultural policy development at national and international levels.
Sustainability and Creativity
Post-Graduate
The syllabus is structured into three blocks that introduce students to conceptual frameworks for understanding the connections between culture, creativity and sustainability; the cultural and creative sites and practices in which students and industry workers will encounter sustainability problems; and critical approaches to policy and advocacy, where they will learn about ethical dilemmas and decision-making as sustainability leaders. The course covers a wide range of case studies, from art, film, tourism, fashion, museums, and creative placemaking. The syllabus is theoretically rigorous, drawing from the extensive scholarship in environmental humanities and cultural policy.