PS3236: Ethnicity and Religion in Asian Politics

Sem: AY20/21 Semester 1

Lecturer: A/P Jamie Davidson

*note: all classes were conducted online due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Overview: This was one of the more intensive PS mods I’ve taken so far. That said, I really enjoyed this mod as I learnt a lot about the different theories underpinning ethnic and religious sentiments in the politics of Asian countries. We explored whether these ethnic and religious sentiments are simply a result of sociopolitical actions, or are they a consequence of other phenomena. As a result, concepts such as primordialism, situationism and constructivism were introduced to help us gain a better understanding of how ethnicity is conceptualised and concretised over time. I liked how these sociological concepts of identity were weaved together with the political outcomes of ethnicity and religion using examples from a wide range of Asian countries. Issues such as religious fundamentalism, ethno-religious violence and indigenous peoples were also covered. Would say that this module is quite interdisciplinary in nature, as one needs has to adopt sociological, political and historical lenses, in order to better appreciate the different ethnic and religious issues present in Asian countries today.

Based on the content, one can probably guess that weekly readings are on the heavy side. One cannot just have a surface-level understanding of the readings and expect to do well in tutorial discussions, as Prof Jamie will challenge you to reflect on why the author says something in a certain way, and why you would agree or disagree with the author. You’ll quite likely be tongue-tied if you didn’t prepare well enough. That said, his lectures (pre-recorded for my sem) were really easy to follow as he takes time to explain the important points and offer some background context for the readings. In fact, this is more than enough in giving you a surface-level understanding of your readings. Do also note though that Prof Jamie is a rather strict marker who’s really particular about certain things in your assignments (word choice and sentence structure included), but as Y3 NUS PS students, one should already have a certain level of writing proficiency. His comments were really detailed and were really helpful in pointing out the blind spots in my essays. This gave me a better idea of what to look out for when writing essays for future mods.

Assessment:

Tutorial Participation (20%): Prof Jamie will send the tutorial questions a few days before the tutorial for you to prepare. During the tutorial, we were split into breakout rooms to discuss your allocated question(s) before coming back to the main room to present our discussion points. Do ensure that you contribute to the discussion as he does take note of when you speak.

Short Writing Assignment (10%): A 500 word essay that invites you to place your personal experiences of ethnic identity in conversation with one of the readings. It is an academic paper and personal reflection combined into one. Was actually quite an enjoyable assignment, as it made me realise that ethnicity plays a greater role in my life than I previously thought.

Long Writing Assignment (40%): A 3000-3500 word essay. Our research question had to be devised in consultation with Prof Jamie (i.e. we had to email him our ideas and he will either approve or reject them). It had to be linked to one of the four given weekly topics and requires extensive use of the required readings. As mentioned, Prof Jamie is quite particular in his marking so please follow the assignment instructions closely to avoid losing marks unnecessarily.

Take-Home Final Exam (30%): This was a 24 hour take-home, open-book final. We had to choose 2 out of 4 short-answer questions and analyse the significance of the stated concept to the ethnic and religious revival in Asia. There was also a compulsory essay question with a word limit of 1500 words. Tiring (due more to end-of-sem vibes than anything), but overall manageable :)