NUS (FASS) Module Reviews - AY15/16 Sem 1
Hi everyone who still visits this (I'm sorry for not posting very often ><")! This post'll be a little bit different from my other posts; I'll be reviewing some modules I took in my first semester at the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences (FASS). Click on the module code/name to read the review for it ^^
A/N 1: All views are entirely my own and may not be fully representative of how you will fare in these modules, so I feel that ultimately it's up to you to decide if you want to take them out of interest/ability to score/for whatever reasons you may have ^^
A/N 2: Sorry for the length; brevity was never my strength unless I have a word limit to adhere to hahA
A/N 3: The reviews for EN1101E and SE1101E are still in progress but I thought I'd just post what I have first since the other 3 are more or less done ^^
EL1101E: The Nature of Language
Lecturer(s): Dr Rebecca Lurie Starr
Grade components:
10% Tutorial attendance
10% Group presentation (based on one tutorial assignment)
20% Take-home group project
30% Mid-terms (closed-book MCQs)
30% Finals (closed-book MCQs)
This module can be used to clear the Humanities basket; I took it because I want to major in English Language (Linguistics) and it's one of the compulsory modules. It covers the basics of Linguistics (phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics). Highly recommended by a lot of people as a lightweight, easy to score module to clear the Humanities basket, although I (and others too) find it kinda 'sciencey' since it can be quite technical (no full-length essays at all for this module), so you probably wouldn't want to take this module if you're the very 'artsy' kind of student. I found this to be my lightest module for that semester though ^^;
Lectures usually end at least 30 minutes earlier; some of my friends skipped them since Dr Starr's slides are pretty comprehensive and sufficient for revision (I made my own summarized notes though, since there were so. Many. Slides x_x). She speaks a whooping 7 languages so her lectures were peppered with examples from Japanese, Chinese, Malay etc. One time she said something in Hokkien and there was this mass "Whoa" from the lecture theatre. Lectures were also kept interesting with pop culture references/applications (like Mean Girls, Sherlock etc) and videos, but I think I mostly only attended them because I really liked Dr Starr heh.
Tutorials are 1 hour every week, and are mainly for going through the answers for a problem set based on one topic. The groups for the presentation and the project are formed in the first tutorial; my tutor let us choose but most of us just formed groups with whoever we were sitting with. Each group will present their answers for 1 problem set/topic, so we take turns each week. For the project (unlike the previous years I think?), we had to search through the Hardware Zone forums for examples of 'already' and 'ever' used in Singapore English, and Rap Genius for examples of 'done' and 'been done' used in African American Vernacular English. The other components were short write-ups like writing a short lesson to explain to a non-Singaporean English speaker how 'ever' and 'already' are used in Singapore English. I felt like it was a good application of what we learnt, and relatively light ^^
The mid-terms and finals were all MCQs (60 each if I remember correctly) and you have 2 hours, although a lot of people finish them within an hour. Here's where the 'sciencey' aspect of it is, I suppose - if you can remember the technical stuff/linguistics-specific terms/concepts you're good to go!
EN1101E: An Introduction to Literary Studies
Lecturer(s): Dr Susan Ang, Prof John Richardson
Grade components:
10% Tutorial participation
10% First essay (1000 - 1200 words)
20% Second essay (1500 words)
20% Mid-terms (1 essay based on unseen poetry)
40% Finals (1 essay based on unseen poetry, 1 essay based on the set texts)
I took this module to fulfill my Humanities basket requirement, but also because Literature's a subject I've enjoyed since secondary school. The texts vary from semester to semester, but you can search for the module in IVLE to see if the list of texts have been posted for the semester you intend to take it in. I feel like it does help a little bit if you took Literature in secondary school and/or JC, but as long as you like/are good at writing essays this is the module for you ^^
For the semester I took it in (AY15/16 Sem 1), we studied a novel (Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys), a play (Arcadia by Tom Stoppard), a film (Hero by Zhang Yimou), a collection of short stories (The Oxford Book of English Short Stories Ed. A.S. Byatt) and a collection of poetry (The Oxford Anthology of English Poetry Vol 2: Blake to Heaney). (TBC)
SE1101E: Southeast Asia: A Changing Region
Lecturer(s): Dr Irving Chan Johnson
Grade components:
10% Tutorial participation
20% Mid-terms (MCQs and short answer questions)
30% Group essay project
40% Finals (Short answer questions and 1 essay)
(TBC)
SC1101E: Making Sense of Society
I was typing my review for this module when I found this review on NUSMods which is pretty comprehensive and mostly similar to my own experience/thoughts on the module, so go go read it!
TS2238/GES1029: Singapore Film: Performance of Identity
Lecturer(s): Dr Edna Lim
Grade components:
10% Group film response (1000 words)
15% Tutorial participation
20% "Mid-terms" (2 'guided' essays)
30% Group creative project (a 5-minute short film & a 2000-word report)
5% Participation in voting and review of group projects
20% "Finals" (2 short essays)
I took this module mostly because I really love film, and partially because only one other module from the Singapore Studies basket appealed to me (I can't remember the code, but it was on Singapore Literature). For the AY15/16 batch and after, you can use this module to fulfill either your General Education requirement or your TS major requirement, i.e. you can't double count it. You also can't take this module as a UE, so if you're interested in finding out more about Singapore's film scene, how to do some basic film analysis, and want to clear your Singapore Studies requirement, I would definitely recommend taking this module. However, I'd advise against taking this module if you're taking other heavy modules in the same semester, as I found that a lot of my time in that semester was spent on the film project.
The films we studied for the semester I took it in (AY15/16 Sem 1) were P. Ramlee's Bujang Lapok, Peter Bogdanovich's Saint Jack, Eric Khoo's 12 Storeys, Jack Neo's Money No Enough, Glenn Goei's Forever Fever, Kelvin Tong's Eating Air, Royston Tan's 15, Tan Pin Pin's Singapore Gaga, and selected Singapore short films (The Call Home, My Secret Heaven, Birthday, and Autograph Book from Singapore Shorts DVD). When I was first planning my timetable with NUSMods I freaked out when I saw the 4-hour lecture slot but it turns out that 2 hours were for the lecture and the other 2 hours were for screenings of the films we were studying ahaha (#freshieproblems). If you don't want to/can't stay for the screening, you can watch them in your own time since they're all uploaded onto IVLE, as long as you do so before the tutorials since you discuss different films each tutorial. The lectures were on film style, the different 'eras'/'phases' of the Singapore film industry (like its early days, "Golden Age", decline, revival etc) and on the topics of language in film, 'alternative' visions, commercialization of film, politics and history through documentary...personally I felt like the lectures were more of for 'general knowledge' on Singapore film; the 'meat' (i.e. stuff you want to write in the exams) were mainly from the tutorial discussions.
Tutorials were 2 hours every 2 weeks, and each tutorial started with a discussion of the film response done by the group who signed up for that week's topic) followed by a more general discussion of the film(s) for that week. Like I mentioned before, the stuff that you'll want to write in the tests are mostly from your tutorial discussions, so try not to miss them and pay attention/prepare things to say too! The tutorials are great in that they're where you can voice out for e.g. an opinion you have on the films, and get feedback/pointers from your tutor and the other students taking the class with you. I learnt a lot from my tutorial mates!
There aren't any exams for this module, but 2 tests that were slightly earlier than the mid-term and finals periods. The first had 'guided' essays - 2 essays that were split into parts with guiding questions (e.g. 1. Identify elements of film style used in xxx. 2. Give examples of the elements you identified in (1). 3. How do these elements contribute to xxx?). The second wasn't guided since there was feedback that the 'guided' essay question format was confusing (??). The film project was what took up most of my time that semester and made me consider this to be my heaviest module. We had to make a 5-minute short film based on the theme "SG50" (I know, we all groaned too and Dr Lim responded with something like "C'mon guys, I had to do it; I can't do this any other year"), and write a report explaining why it fits the theme + what film elements/techniques we used. The projects were all compiled in an album on Vimeo where we had to watch and vote for certain categories online, and the last lecture was a screening of the short films that won in each category. Overall I found this to be a pretty time-consuming but rewarding module. I've embedded my group's short film project below, if you want to watch it *^^*