SSA2211The Evolution of a Global City-State

Administration Matters

TEACHING TEAM

Lecturer: Dr Donna Brunero Module Coordinator: Mr Tan Chye Guan Tutors: Mr Han Ming Guang, Ms. Ho Hui Lin

and Mr Tan Xu En Guest Lecturers: A/P Kwa Chong Guan and

Dr Chua Ai Lin

MODULE REGISTRATION An SS module. No HY or GE code- History and FASS majors can take this

module to fulfill your SS requirement- Cannot take to fulfill major requirements- Can S/U Hari Raya Puasa will affect lecture. Tutorials

not affected by public holidays Exam: Wed evening 23 Nov 2011 Appeals process for a place in SSA2211 is

over UNLESS someone withdraws

TUTORIAL REGISTRATION

Tutorials x 4 (2 hrs)- Register via CORS. Add-swap tomorrow

- D, GO Groups: Odd weeks 3, 5, 7 and 9

- E, GE Groups: Even weeks 4, 6, 8 and 10

- Timetable clash, cannot secure a place? Appeal to the History Department General Office at AS1/05-27

- Attendance is compulsory and essential: those who skip tend to do badly

LECTURES

LT11; Tuesdays, 6 pm – 8 pm

Lecture topics and reading lists are on IVLE under Module Diary

Webcast will be available after the lecture

Videos screened during lectures will not be available on Webcast for copyright reasons

10 lectures + 1 revision lecture

Powerpoint slides uploaded by Tuesday morning at the latest

LECTURE SERIES BREAKDOWN Lecture 1: Introduction Lectures 2-7: Long Duree, global view of

Singapore’s past from founding of Temasek to present day

Lectures 8-10: Historical themes covering whole 700 years (Security, Economic and Social aspects)

Lecture 11: Exam Revision

LECTURE READINGS Good news: Virtually all in 1 textbook!- Available outside LT 11 now at discount price

of $15 Lecture or textbook alone will not be enough

for most undergrads As with watching TV series, those who keep

up become familiar with characters, places and storylines and do not have to memorise as much

WHY NOT USE INTERNET SOURCES?

SSA2211 content is cutting edge. Few/no web sources good enough.

- Insufficient research, authors credentials unknown

- Purpose other than university education See articles on Wikipedia problems loaded in

IVLE Weblinks

READINGS IVLE Module Diary: If its not in your textbook, it will be

in the IVLE E-reserve Extra readings/Recommended books

Early Singapore: Evidence in Texts, Maps and Artefacts A History of Singapore, 1819-2005

Other sources of information Central Library RBR Singapore-Malaysia Collection

CONTINUAL ASSESSMENTGRADE BREAKDOWN

Essay 1 - 20%

Essay 2 - 20%

Tutorial attendance & participation -20%DO NOT SWITCH without permission!If reason legitimate, we will arrange switch

Examination - 40%

IVLE Participation - 0%

ESSAY ASSIGNMENTS Essay 1 : Play historian (due on 27 Sep) Essay 2 : Take-home source-based questions

(due on 1 Nov)- Details to be posted on IVLE Workbin Submit a soft copy through Turnitin at

http://www.cit.nus.edu.sg/plagiarism-prevention/

Submit a hard copy to your tutor during lecture

Late submission will be penalised by the deduction of grades

See History Dept website’s guide to writing essays (in IVLE Weblinks). More advice later

TUTORIALS Worksheets, questions and readings to be

posted in IVLE workbin Read and do before class. Please bring them

along for lessons. Research, reasoning and argument skills Exam questions largely based on tutorial-

type questions Grades: 20% of grand total. 10% for

attendance, 10% for participation

HELP! Look through available information to find

the answer- Module Webpage, FAQs, IVLE Admin: - General: Post question on IVLE forum under

admin section- Personal: Send to module coordinator Academic:- Post on IVLE under academic section- Ask your question during tutorials- Email your tutor or lecturer – remember the

proper email etiquette- Make an appointment with your tutor via

email

PRAISE

Got webcast! Easy to pass A lot of help from tutors Blew my mind away …Singapore was never

really strategic in a constant sense. Trade determines if places were strategic, not the other way round. It is not a given that we were made important.

1819- Present day: Singapore, the most strategic place in SE Asia

Go further back in history: Other ports in SE Asia took turns being the most strategic

Factors other than physical position

-Technology

-Changes in global trade

-Wars and conflicts

-Presence/absence of great leadership

ADVICE

…don't be intimidated by the dates, you don't have to memorise them all. This module focuses on you and why you choose to regard certain historical events or figures as more important than the other.

WARNING

SSA(2211)…… 可怕的东西啊…… 所有的 SS 只要认真学都是可以 S 的，其实就是态度

问题。。。 如果认真学的话，是可以不 S 的 . 如果拿了 B+ 或

A- ，可别傻乎乎的 S 掉呀

COMPLAINTS Lecture timing Hard to score: If you stick to pre-university

mindsets Too much reading to do!- Much reduced- Helpful summaries accumulated from

previous batches of students I have this feeling that students are

supposed to answer in a certain way- Not at all! We teach you how to critique our

own arguments! Not the final answer but how you arrived at it that counts.

LAMENT

其实学学新加坡历史也没有之前像的那么可恶那么难，只怪自己当时实在是态度及不端正。

Translation: Actually, learning about Singapore’s history was not as irksome as I thought. I can only blame myself for my own negative attitude at the time.

GENERAL ADVICE FROM US

If you like being challenged to think and learn about new people, places and ideas, join us!

If you are looking to cruise or are overloaded this semester, please try something else.