HL0201: Images of Singapore: Literature, Film and Culture: Balete@ntu - Edu.sg
HL0201: Images of Singapore: Literature, Film and Culture: Balete@ntu - Edu.sg
HL0201: Images of Singapore: Literature, Film and Culture: Balete@ntu - Edu.sg
Academic Unit: 3 AU
Pre-requisite: NIL
Course Description:
Especially in today’s digital world, images proliferate our screens and our lives, indubitably influencing
our understanding of societal events. The question that then follows is, to what extent do
representations of Singapore (be it visual or textual) further inform one’s understanding of Singapore
society? In the same vein, to what extent can one’s understanding of contemporary Singapore add
value to one’s appreciation and engagement with literary and filmic representations of Singapore, and
by extension, the (trans)national, socio-political, and historical contexts in which they are produced?
Based on these lines of inquiry, this course explores various depictions and representations of
Singapore through the reading of literary and filmic texts, and investigates how these representations
either inform or challenge our understanding of the predominant narratives of Singapore's culture
and identity.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Identify and engage with representations of Singapore in literary and filmic texts.
2. Produce informed critical responses through close-reading and analysis, as well as application
of secondary research, to their chosen text(s).
Course Assessment:
1. Midterm essay (1300 words, ±15% upper and lower limit): 50% (due Week 10, March 25)
2. Final Examination: 50% (Apr 27, 5-7pm)
1. Hook and Eye: Stories from the Margins (2018), Philip Holden (ed.)
(https://www.ethosbooks.com.sg/products/hook-and-eye-stories-from-the-margins)
2. Sugarbread (2016) by Balli Kaur Jaswal (https://shop.epigrambooks.sg/products/sugarbread)
3. The Riot Act (2018) by Sebastian Sim (https://shop.epigrambooks.sg/products/the-riot-act)
Texts may be purchased from Booklink at NTU or from the publisher’s website (either hardcopy or e-
book). Poetry readings will be uploaded on NTULearn. Details on film screenings will be announced
via NTULearn.
Course Schedule:
Week Reading
Week 1 (Jan 14) Introduction/ Selected Poetry Readings
(To be uploaded on NTULearn)
Week 2 (Jan 21) Selected Poetry Readings
(To be uploaded on NTULearn)
Week 3 (Jan 28) Selected Short Stories from Hook and Eye: • “Everest” by Balli Kaur
Stories from the Margins (2018) Jaswal
• “The Borrowed Boy” by
Alfian Sa’at
Week 4 (Feb 4) Selected Short Stories from Hook and Eye: • “The Boy with the
Stories from the Margins (2018) Missing Thumb” by Felix
Cheong
• “Cave Man” by Clara
Chow
Week 5 (Feb 11) Film: Singapore Dreaming (2006)
Week 9 (Mar 18) Selected Short Stories from Hook and Eye: • “Identity” by Latha
Stories from the Margins (2018) • “Rich Man Country” by
Leonora Liow
Week 10 (Mar 25) Novel: The Riot Act (2018) by Sebastian Sim Midterm essay due