First ever prize devoted to Singapore history

Singapore, 13 November 2014 – The Department of History at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences has introduced the NUS Singapore History Prize, the first ever prize devoted entirely to Singapore history. Created in support of the national SG50 programme to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Singapore’s independence, the NUS Singapore History Prize will be awarded to an outstanding publication that will make a lasting impact on our understanding of the history of Singapore.

Mooted by Professor Kishore Mahbubani, Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS, the Prize aims to invigorate research relating to the history of Singapore. It seeks also to inspire the highest scholarly standards in research and publications that address the history of Singapore and also to promote critical interest in studying the history of Singapore.

Prof Mahbubani said, “History, contrary to conventional wisdom, is not dead. It re-surfaces politically from time to time, influencing both international affairs (for example, China-Japan relations) and domestic debates (for example, the struggle against the communists). Even as Singapore celebrates fifty years of peace and prosperity in 2015, there will be debates about Singapore’s history. The goal of this prize is to inspire new historical studies of Singapore and generate an informed historical discussion which will help future generations understand what was truly unique and special about Singapore’s history.

Professor Brenda Yeoh, Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, hopes that the Prize will create a “multipier” effect that will spawn more research in all aspects of Singapore history, especial in the “histories of the people and ordinary lives of people”.

The NUS Singapore History Prize will be awarded every three years and the author of the winning publication will receive a cash award of S$50,000, which makes it the largest prize devoted to Singapore history.  The winner of the Prize will also speak at a public lecture hosted by the Department of History, during which the Prize will be presented. Nominations for the Prize will open from 1 January 2015 onwards, and the inaugural award will be presented in late 2017.

The Prize will be an open global competition and will accept nominations from any author or publisher of any work, published anywhere in English (written or translated). Nominations will have to be a book-length work of non-fiction; be authored or co-authored, rather than edited. The work should address any time period, theme, or field of Singapore history, or include a substantial analysis of any aspect of Singapore history as part of a wider story. The work will also need to be published at any time between when nomination opens and the final date for submission of nominations.

For the 2015-2017 competition, the Department of History has invited eminent Singaporeans and scholars to serve on the Jury Panel that will determine the winning publication. They are Ms Claire Chiang (Senior Vice President, Banyan Tree Holdings); Professor Peter Coclanis (Director, Global Research Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill); Professor Wang Gungwu (Chairman, East Asian Institute at NUS); and Professor Kishore Mahbubani. The Jury Panel will be chaired ex-officio by Prof Brian Farrell, the Head of the Department of History.

The NUS Singapore History Prize website will be available on 1 January 2015, which will provide further details on the Prize, nomination criteria, forms and other information. 

The NUS Singapore History Prize is now open for submission. Click here to access the page.

Islam, ISIS and the violence against Christianity

Tuesday, 11 November 2014

The Malay Mail Online

 This was an article contribution by Associate Professor Syed Farid Alatas from the Departments of Sociology and Malay Studies at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, on the barbaric acts of violence against Christians and other religious minorities by forces fighting under the self-proclaimed caliph of ISIS, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi. He noted that a proper approach to the interpretation of Qur’anic texts, involving a correct contextual understanding of its meanings, and the study of Islamic history, will reveal that tolerance and acceptance of Christians and other non-Muslim minorities were the norm.

Click here to read full article.

Islam’s tolerance of religious minorities (Opinion, Page A21)

Tuesday, 11 November 2014

The Straits Times

 In today’s edition of The Straits Times, there was an article contribution by Associate Professor Syed Farid Alatas from the Departments of Sociology and Malay Studies at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Assoc Prof Alatas discussed about the reconciliation of the idea of Islam as a religion of peace, with the verses of the Quran that appear to support the violence perpetrated against Christians, such as those during the reigns of Al-Hakim and Al-Baghdadi. He pointed out that a proper approach to the interpretation of Quranic texts, involving a correct contextual understanding of its meanings, and the study of Islamic history, will reveal that tolerance and acceptance of non-Muslim minorities were the norm.

Click here to read full article.

The politics behind ‘natural disasters’ (Opinion, Page A20)

 Monday, 10 November 2014

The Straits Times

This was an article contribution by Professor Jonathan Rigg from the Department of Geography at NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and Dr Katie Oven from Durham University. The authors noted that a hazard becomes a disaster because of the ways that social, political and the economic environments and processes make people vulnerable. While hazards are often framed as physical problems requiring technological solutions, they opined that disasters, however, require that we think politically about hazards. They added that we need to recognise that poor people’s multiple vulnerabilities are also reflected in their exposure to hazards; that there is a usually a keen logic to their living with risk; and that social injustice often underpins vulnerability in the first place.

Click here to read full article.

New challenges in shift to aspirational economy: ESM Goh (Home, Page B2)

Saturday, 8 November 2014

The Straits Times

This was a report on the gala dinner to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Department of Economics at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Speaking at the gala dinner, Emeritus Senior Minister Mr Goh Chok Tong said that as Singapore runs up against new social challenges, it will need more local social science researchers to understand the country’s situation, conduct applied research and offer possible policy solutions.

Professor Julian Wright, Head of the Department, said that it is critical that what the Department teaches is differentiated, locally relevant and more interactive. From next year, economics honours students will for the first time be able to specialise in a topic, in areas such as quantitative economics or financial and monetary economics. The Department will also introduce a compulsory module where award-winning lecturers from different fields are invited to address real-world economic questions.

Mr Goh also launched a student-led economics mentorship programme, a collaboration between the NUS Economics Alumni and the NUS Economics Society, at the event.

Click here to read full article.

Calling all Graduate and Undergraduate Students!

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In 2015, we are offering a variety of  2 and 4-week programs in Cape Town, South Africa! Programs Offered: April 20 – November 6, 2015.

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