Writing and Critical Thinking: Religion in Public Life

Introduction

Introduction

This course concerns the intersection of religion and society and the role of religion in the officially secular state of Singapore. Students will study how religion is discussed in both academic and popular literatures and examine how religious organizations present themselves in order to participate in discussions of social, political or economic importance. The module will include a fieldwork component that will provide students with the data needed to write research papers based on their own research.

Course objectives

Students in this module will develop their skills in academic writing. They will become proficient in argumentation, rhetorical organization, and persuasion strategies that can be applied to academic writing in various disciplines.

By the end of the course, the student will be able to:

Effectively deploy the conventions of academic writing in their own work.
Critically engage texts and evaluate the merits of their arguments.
Identify sources needed to ground arguments in evidence.
Detect faults in reasoning, argumentation, and the use of sources.
Work productively with others to improve the quality of a text by giving and receiving feedback and editing the work of their peers.

Assessment

Assessment

1. Classwork and Participation (20%)

Active student participation is an essential aspect of the course.

Attendance will be taken. Contact me if you are unable to attend for any reason.
Two unexcused absences will result in the loss of half a letter grade.
Students are expected to have completed the assigned readings before coming to class and demonstrate engagement by participating in class discussions.

2. Writing Assignments (80%)

Assignment 1: Analysis Paper (1,000 words) (20% of grade)

The Analysis Paper will focus on a piece of journalistic writing that deals with the management of religion in the Singaporean context. It will provide an opportunity for the student to express his or her opinion on the matter, however, as the objective of the assignment is to demonstrate an ability to reveal the apparent and underlying arguments contained in a text, it must also be rooted in a critical reading.

Assignment 2: Research Proposal (1,500 – 2,000 words) (20% of grade)

The Research Proposal will introduce the intended topic of the Research Paper. A successful proposal will locate the topic within the academic literature and demonstrate the relevance of the research to a wider audience.

Assignment 3: Research Paper (3,000 – 3,500 words) (40% of grade)

The final Research Paper will integrate class readings with, outside sources selected by the student as well as data gathered on site during the Semester Break. The paper will develop an argument grounded in the data and readings that will speak to the issue of religion in the public sphere in Singapore or another country.

Readings

Required Texts (Students are expected to acquire these books)

Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. 2008. The Craft of Research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Harvey, Gordon. 2017. Writing with Sources: A Guide for Students. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company.

Class Readings (These will be posted on IVLE)

Bülow, Hans-Henrik, Charles L. Sprung, Konrad Reinhart, Shirish Prayag, Bin Du, Apostolos Armaganidis, Fekri Abroug, and Mitchell M. Levy. 2008. The world’s major religions’ points of view on end-of-life decisions in the intensive care unit. Intensive Care Med 34:423-430.

Goh, Daniel P. S. 2009. Chinese Religion and the Challenge of Modernity in Malaysia and Singapore: Syncretism, Hybridisation and Transfiguration. Asian Journal of Social Science 37:107-137.

Hill, Michael, and Lian Kwen Fee. 1995. The Politics of Nation Building and Citizenship in Singapore. London: Routledge.

Kluver, Randolph, and Pauline Hope Cheong. 2007. Technological Modernization, the Internet, and Religion in Singapore. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 12:1122-1142.

Mathews, Mathew. 2009. Christianity in Singapore: The Voice of Moral Conscience to the State. Journal of Contemporary Religion 24 (1):53-65.

Nasir, Kamaludeen Mohamed. 2008. Defensive dining: Notes on the public dining experiences in Singapore. Contemporary Islam 2:61-73.

Nasir, Kamaludeen Mohamed, Alexius A. Pereira, and Bryan S. Turner. 2010. Muslims in Singapore: Piety, politics and policies. New York: Routledge.

Sinha, Vineeta. 2011. Religion-State Encounters in Hindu Domains: Form the Straits Settlements to Singapore. New York: Springer.

Steiner, Kerstin. 2011. Religion and Politics in Singapore: Matters of National Identity and Security? A Case Study of the Muslim Minority in a Secular State. Osaka University Law Review 58:107-134.

Sykes, Jim. 2015. Sound Studies, Religion and Urban Space: Tamil Music and the Ethical Life in Singapore. Ethnomusicology Forum 24 (3):380-413.

Tamney, Joseph B. 1992. Conservative Government and Support for the Religious Institution in Singapore: An Uneasy Alliance. Sociological Analysis 53 (2):201-217.

Tan, Eugene K. B. 2007. Norming "Moderation" in an "Iconic Target": Public and Policy and the Regulation of Religious Anxieties in Singapore. Terrorism and Political Violence 19 (4):443-462.

———. 2008. Keeping God in Place: The Management of Religion in Singapore. In Religious Diversity in Singapore, edited by L. A. Eng. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

Tan, Kenneth Paul. 2010. Pragmatic Secularism, Civil Religion, and Political Legitimacy in Singapore. In State and Secularism: Perspectives from Asia, edited by M. H. Siam-Heng and T. C. Liew. Singapore: World Scientific.

Tong, Chee Kiong. 2007. Rationalizing Religion: Religious Conversion, Revivalism and Competition in Singapore Society. Leiden: Brill.

Warner, Michael. 2005. Publics and Counterpublics. New York: Zone Books.

Yates, Melissa. 2007. Rawls and Habermas on Religion in the Public Sphere. Philosophy and Social Criticism 33 (7):880-891.

Supplementary Sources (To be posted on IVLE)

Aziz, Johannis bin Abdul, Gillian Koh, Mathew Mathews, and Tan Min-Wei. 2016. SG50 and Beyond: Protecting the Public Space in the New Era of Singaporean Pluralism. In IPS Working Papers. Singapore: Institute for Policy Studies.

Mathews, Mathew, Mohammad Khamsya bin Khidzer, and Teo Kay Key. 2014. Religiosity and the Management of Religious Harmony: Responses from the IPS Survey on Race, Religion and Language. In IPS Working Papers. Singapore: Institute for Policy Studies.

Mathews, Mathew, Leonard Lim, S. Shantini, and Nicole Cheung. 2017. CNA-IPS Survey on Ethnic Identity in Singapore. In IPS Working Papers. Singapore: Institute for Policy Studies.

Mathews, Mathew, Leonard Lim, and Shanthini Selvarajan. 2018. Community Relations amidst the Threat of Terror. In IPS Working Papers. Singapore: Institute for Policy Studies.

Mathews, Mathew, Leonard Lim, and Shantini Selvarajan. 2019. Religion in Singapore: The Private and Public Spheres. In IPS Working Papers. Singapore: Institute for Policy Studies.

Mathews, Mathew, Leonard Lim, and Shantini Selvarajan. 2019. Religion, Morality and Conservatism in Singapore. In IPS Working Papers. Singapore: Institute for Policy Studies.