Current Research Students
Master of Social Science
Benjamin Harris
M.Soc.Sci (Sociology)
Benjamin Harris
Research Interest: Anthropology of the Senses, Sound Studies, Phenomenology, Social Activism in Southeast Asia, Critical Theory
My name is Benjamin (he/they) and I am Master’s by Research candidate in Sociology at the National University of Singapore, where I have been awarded an NUS Research Scholarship. I am also a first generation university student. Prior to my foray into the social sciences, I graduated with a Bachelor of Music (Hons) with a Highest Distinction from the YST Conservatory of Music, NUS.
My current research interests include sound studies, the senses, and social movements. These are issues I look at through the lens of critical theory. In this vein, I believe that no body of research can truly be “neutral”. For my Master’s thesis, I aim to study how low-wage migrant workers in urban Singapore make “sense” of living as raced/gendered/othered bodies in the public/private sphere. This project will be supervised by Associate Professor Kelvin E.Y Low.
Keywords/Areas of Research:
Anthropology of Sound; Senses; Social Activism and Change; Ethnography; Critical Theory
Publications/Presentations:
- Harris, B. (2022). Dismantling Privilege, Widening Access: -Renegotiating Art-making In a Post-pandemic World. Esplanade Offstage.
https://www.esplanade.com/offstage/arts/dismantling-privilege-widening-access - Harris, B. (2024). The Thirdspace of Transient Migrant Music-making [Conference presentation]. 14th Asian Conference on Cultural Studies. Kyoto, Japan.
- Harris, B. (2023). Phenomenologies of Transient Migrant Music-making [Conference presentation]. Performers(‘) Present International Artistic Research Symposium 2023, Singapore.
Research and writing:
Listed Research Experiences
Research and Writing Assistant (August 2023 - Present)
Lepak Conversations
- Researching Malay-Muslim race relations in Singapore
Conducting literature reviews and writing social content based on research findings - Conducting semi-structured interviews for research study on the state of Malay Male Mental Health inSingapore
Intensive Music Engagement Practicum (August 2021 - December 2022)
Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore
- Wrote a capstone paper entitled Strains of Migration: Phenomenologies of Transient Migrant Music-
making - Conducted ethnographic fieldwork for a period of 6 months in a variety of field sites
- semi-structured interviews with 5 interlocutors
- Extensive experience navigating IRB applications, and coding fieldwork data independently
Geographies of Social Life (AY21/22)
Department of Geography, National University of Singapore
- Wrote a final paper in a group of 4 on the lived experiences of the elderly in public spaces in Singapore.
- Conducted fieldwork and interviews with interlocutors at Kampung Admiralty
- Coded fieldwork data along with a team
Qualitative Research Communication Methods (AY20/21)
Department of Communication and New Media, National University of Singapore
- Wrote a final paper on the online behavior of fans of 2SetViolin
- Gained research experience conducting digital ethnography
- Gained experience conducting and embarking on qualitative research projects
Biomedicine and the Singapore Society (AY20/21)
University Town College Programme, Tembusu College
- Conducted and embarked on a research project in a group of 3, exploring the role of the arts in mitigating
mental health issues among students at pre-tertiary institutions in Singapore - Formulated questions and subsequently conducted semi-structured interview questions
Education:
2024-2026
- M.Soc.Sci (Sociology), National University of Singapore
Proposed Thesis Key Words: Senses, Sound, Phenomenology, Migration
Supervisor: Associate Professor Kelvin E.Y. Low - BMus (Hons) National University of Singapore, Highest Distinction
Capstone Paper: Phenomenologies of Transient Migrant Music-making
Supervisor: Associate Professor Ho Chee Kong
Research Interest: Anthropology of the Senses, Sound Studies, Phenomenology, Social Activism in Southeast Asia, Critical Theory
Chek, Jamie (Yun Ning)
M.Soc.Sci (Sociology)
Jamie Chek
Research Interest: Jaime’s research interests are broadly in the sociology of deviance, criminal justice systems, the sociology of law, as well as in social capital, the sociology of education, and urban sociology.
Jaime is currently pursuing their Master of Social Sciences (Sociology) degree at the National University of Singapore’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology. They recently graduated Summa cum laude from the University at Buffalo (SUNY) - Singapore Institute of Management (UB-SIM) with a major in Sociology and a minor in Communication, specializing in Crime, Law and Justice, and Global Sociology. During their undergraduate years, they spearheaded a research project and led a team of student researchers under the supervision of their professor, culminating in a successful conference presentation. Before starting their studies at NUS, they served as a Teaching Assistant with UB-SIM, while simultaneously serving as a Research Assistant for a professor-led research project.
Papers/Presentations:
- Chek, J., Lim, V., Ng, T., Goh, G., Oh, Y. E., Anderson, K. (2025). Rhythmic Entrainment: A Preliminary Laboratory Report on the Effects of Dalcroze Rhythmic Qualities on Persuasion [Conference presentation]. The 7th International Conference of Dalcroze Studies. Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.
- Harris, M. L., Chek, J. (2025). Notes from a Newbie: Sharing to Grow Team-Based Learning in Sociology [Conference presentation]. The 120th American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.
Teaching Experience:
University at Buffalo (SUNY) - Singapore Institute of Management:
- COM 490 (Social Media)
- COM 493 (Dark Side of the Internet)
- SOC 304 (Sociology of Aging)
- SOC 334 (Sociology of Popular Culture)
Education:
Master of Social Sciences (Sociology)
National University of Singapore
2025 – Present
Bachelor of Arts (Sociology)
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
2024
CGPA: 3.92/4.0
Specializations: Crime, Law and Justice; Global Sociology
Minor: Communication
Research Interest: Sociology of Deviance, Criminal Justice Systems, the Sociology of Law, Social Capital, the Sociology of Education, and Urban Sociology.
Chen Yansunan
M.Soc.Sci (Sociology)
Chen Yansunan
Research Interest: housing inequality; urban studies; gender; ethnic networks; international student studies
Sunan is currently pursuing her Master's degree at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, National University of Singapore. She recently graduated from the University of Toronto (UofT) with an Honours Bachelor’s degree in Arts, where she double-majored in Sociology and City Studies.
During her undergraduate years, Sunan worked as a research assistant for different professor-led projects at UofT and concurrently worked as a tutor for first-year students under the Office of Student Experience & Wellbeing at UofT. She is set to take on Teaching Assistant responsibilities for the course SC3206 (Urban Sociology) at NUS in the academic year 2024/2025.
Research:
Her current research is centered on the off-campus housing challenges faced by international students in Canada and the impacts of their social networks on their housing experiences. Her work specifically examines the "ethnic cage" concept introduced by Rocio Rosales, which elucidates the dual roles of co-ethnic networks in shielding and exploiting immigrant communities. In Sunan’s research, she focuses on the community of international students from China, exploring their house-seeking trajectories and housing experiences in Canada
Education:
2019 – 2023 University of Toronto Honours Bachelor of Arts (with High Distinction): Specializations in Sociology & City Studies
- Academic Accolades: Social Science In-Course Scholarship Recipient (2022)
- Dean's List (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
- Outstanding Academic Performance Award (2023)
2023 – 2025 (expected) National University of Singapore Master of Social Sciences: Specializations in Sociology
Teaching Experience:
Upcoming Teaching Experiences: SC3206 – Urban Sociology (AY2024/2025)
Research Interest: Housing inequality; urban studies; gender; ethnic networks; international student studies
Kawai Mirei
M.Soc.Sci (Sociology)
Kawai Mirei
Keywords/Areas of Research:
Labor Economics, Social Demography, Fertility, Sociology of Family, the Life Course and Aging, East Asia, Southeast Asia
Publications/Presentations:
- Mar 2023
Bachelor of International Economics; The Contents of Welfare Benefits Contributing to Productivity Improvement (Published in Graduates Theses by Faculty of Economics, Teikyo University)
Honors, Awards, Fellowships:
- Mar 2020
ECCP course (Selected as Outstanding student, honered by Dean of Faculty of Economics) Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan - Sep2020-Mar2021
Teikyo University’s Scholarship Recipient Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan - Sep 2021
Qualified for Accelerated Graduation Program (Selected as Outstanding student, honered by Dean of Faculty of Economics) Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan - Sep2022-Mar2023
Teikyo University’s Scholarship Recipient Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan
Education:
2024 – present
M.A. in Sociology, National University of Singapore, Singapore
2019 – 2023
B.A. (3.3/4.0) in Economics, Teikyo University, Japan
2024
Non-Degree in Labor Economics, Ochanomizu University, Japan
Publications:
• Hu Junhan. (2024). Meta-sign and Mind: Thinking with Sheep to Understand Social and Environmental Change in the Ganjia Grassland of Tibetan Plateau.Nature and Culture. (Submitted)
• Hu Junhan, Gao Yufang, Wei Yiran, & Sang Jie. (2023). Practicing Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Anthropocene: Case Studies of Ganjia Grassland. Science (Shanghai), 75(03), 30-34.
• Hu Junhan, Sang Jie, & Gao Yufang. (2021). Ganjia Grassland, Gansu Province: Nature- and CommunityBased Grassland Ecological Governance. Science (Shanghai), 73(05), 16-21.
• Gao Yufang, Hu Junhan, & Dangzhou Zhaxi. (2020). Ecological Conservation and Poverty Reduction: Attempts and Reflections of Local People in Three-Rivers-Source. China Environment, 77(12), 50-53.
• Gao Yufang, Hu Junhan, & Chen Yufei. (2020). Status and Suggestions for the Development of Local Environmental NGOs in Three-Rivers-Source. China Environment, 71(06), 55-58.
• Gao Yufang, Hu Junhan, & Li Tianti. (2020). Wild Animal Conservation Requires Broader Public Participation. China Environment, 68(03), 32–35.
Education:
2017-2021
Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu, China
BA in Ecology
• Relevant Coursework: GIS (92), Evolutionary Ecology (94), Field Practice in Ecology (100) • Undergraduate Thesis: Cryptic biodiversity on the Tibetan Plateau: Integrated DNA barcoding technology and morphology methods used in soil fauna species identification. (Advisor: Dr. Daoyuan Yu) • Honors and Awards: Won Progress Scholarship in 2019 and 2020.
2022-2024
Yale University, Connecticut, U.S.
Candidate for Master of Environmental Science, 2022-2024
• Focus: environmental anthropology, political ecology, conservation science • Relevant Coursework: Elementary Modern Tibetan I & II (H), Qualitative Social Science Research Methods (H), Power, Knowledge, and the Environment (H), Biopolitics of Human-nonhuman Relations (H), Strategy and Grand Strategy in Large Scale Conservation (H), Sociology of Sacred Values (H), Climate and Society (In progress), Meaning and Materiality (In progress) • Master’s Thesis: Human-nature relationships and coexistence from the indigenous perspective: Nomadic ways of life, grassroots conservation, and eco-tourism on the Tibetan Plateau (Advisor: Dr. Michael Dove) • Honors and Awards: Won research funding of $19,950 from five fellowships and grants: YSE Dean’s Scholarship, Yale Environmental Humanities Grant Program, Firebird Foundation Research Grants, RITM Research and Conference Travel Award, Mobley Family Environmental Humanities Grants.
Teaching Experience:
August 2022 - present
Yale University
Teaching Fellow
• Served as the Teaching Fellow for three graduate courses: ENV 759 Power, Knowledge, and the Environment: Social Science Theory and Method, by Dr. Michael Dove; ENV 685 Engaging Landholders and Communities in Conserving and Restoring Tropical Forest Landscapes, by Dr. Eva Garen; ENV 619 Philosophical Environmental Ethics, by Dr. Stephan Latham. • Led student discussions and answered reading-related questions, gave feedback and grades for student assignments, selected course materials with Professors, and provided administrative support in class.
April 2019 - June 2021 (Online)
Interdisciplinary Conservation Group
on Group Online R
• Cultivated 20 conservation talents of diverse ages by organizing sessions twice with conservationists. • Promoted environmental storytelling by publishing a report of local conservationists in Ideal Homeland Magazine.
Research Interest: Labor Economics, Social Demography, Fertility, Sociology of Family, the Life Course and Aging, East Asia, Southeast Asia
Khaw Mei Shan Nicole Alethea
M.Soc.Sci (Sociology)
Alethea Khaw
Research Interest: Body & senses; Sports; Gender & Sexuality; Medical Anthropology; Ethnography
Nicole recently graduated with a Bachelors in Social Sciences from the Department of Cultural Anthropology at Yonsei University. Her personal involvement in competitive sport led to her interest in looking into the lifestyle of Singaporean student-athletes and bodily autonomy of females in performative sports.
Research:
My research intends to look into themes of embodiment across the lived experiences and journey of the elite athlete's body, being in a performative sport at a national level. I intend to do this through engaging in ethnography and incorporating aspects of athletes' senses in articulating the intentional and selective process of shaping the body in conscious, and the shaping of the body in unconscious ways.
Education:
2016 01 — 2018 02
RAFFLES INSTITUTION (YR 5-6)
GCE ‘A’ Levels - [H2] Biology A, Chemistry B, Mathematics A, Economics B; [H1] General Paper A, Project Work A) Raffles Diploma (Distinction for Sports & Health)
2019 03 - 2023 08
YONSEI UNIVERSITY 연세대학교
Cultural Anthropology, Social Sciences Dept. (문화인류학, 사회과학대) Cumulative GPA: 3.98/4.5
Teaching Experience:
2018 01 - 2018 03
TEACHING INTERN
Company: MOE JC Teaching Program - Coral Primary School [SGP] Class planning and teaching Primary 4-5 students in English and Mathematics. Assisted teaching supervisor in Music lessons.
Research Interest: Body & senses; Sports; Gender & Sexuality; Medical Anthropology; Ethnography
Lew Fiona
M.Soc.Sci (Sociology)
Lew Fiona
Fiona current research interests lie in the sociology of family, children, and parenting, with a particular focus on how different family structures and dynamics shape parent-child interactions and child outcomes. More broadly, she is curious about how social and spatial contexts shape everyday family life and intergenerational relationships, highlighting the complex ways in which families adapt and sustain connections within changing social environments.
Fiona holds a bachelor’s degree with a double major in Sociology and Global Studies from the National University of Singapore, where she developed a keen interest in understanding how families and communities function across different contexts.
Outside of her academic work, she enjoys people-watching and exploring neighbourhoods—activities that spark her curiosity about how spaces bring people together, foster a sense of belonging, and are used in diverse and meaningful ways.
Publications/Presentations:
Education:
Bachelors of Social Science at NUS (Double Major in Sociology and Global Studies)
Teaching Experience:
SC1101E Making Sense of Society (AY25/26)
Research Interest: Sociology of Family, Children, and Parenting
Liu Yihan
M.Soc.Sci (Sociology)
Liu Yihan
Research Interest: Gerontology, population studies, caregiving, minor ethnicity and religion in China (exploring)
I obtained my Bachelor’s degree in Sociology with Honours from the National University of Singapore, where my undergraduate dissertation examined intergenerational caregiving practices in four-generation families. This work inspired my interest in how family structures and cultural norms shape caregiving responsibilities and well-being across the life course. Building on this foundation, my research focuses on intergenerational support systems, caregiving arrangements, and health and social outcomes in later life, particularly within East and Southeast Asian contexts undergoing rapid demographic transition. I am especially interested in how ageing, family obligation, and gendered care labor intersect with social policies and institutional support systems. Currently, I am working on a paper investigating the mental-health consequences of spousal caregiving among older adults in China.
Bachelor’s degree in Sociology with Honours from the National University of Singapore
Teaching Experience:
TA of SC1101E Making Sense of Society (Sem 1 AY25/26)
Research Interest: Gerontology, population studies, caregiving, minor ethnicity and religion in China (exploring)
Nah Mei Chu Samantha Rachel
M.Soc.Sci (Sociology)
Samantha Nah
Research Interest: Human-Animal Relations, Urban Sociology, Ethnography
Samantha is currently a master’s candidate in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. She obtained her bachelor’s degree, majoring in English Literature with an emphasis on independent research projects, jointly from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Australian National University (ANU). After graduation, she worked as a news editor and producer for CNA938 under Mediacorp, and then as a research assistant at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Social Lab, where she was involved in quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods studies.
Research:
For her master’s thesis, Samantha will adopt an ethnographic approach to study the phenomenon of stray/community cat feeding in Singapore. Broadly, she is interested in multispecies coexistence in urban settings, including how spaces are co-constructed and how discourses around animals’ embodied presence are managed and contested. While at IPS, Samantha undertook research relating to a range of topics, including race and religion, immigrant integration, disability services provision, and youth financial attitudes and behaviours, among others.
Publications:
Teo, K. K., Mathew, M., & Nah, S. (2024, April 15). Not quite impulsive spenders: Key findings from the IPS-CNA Survey on Financing Behaviours among Young Singaporeans. IPS Working Papers No. 55. https://lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/ips/news/details/ips-working-papers-no.-55-not-quite-impulsive-spenders-key-findings-from-the-ips-cna-survey-on-financing-behaviours-among-younger-singaporeans
Mathew, M., Teo, K. K., & Nah. S. (2022, April 2). Attitudes, actions and aspirations: Key findings from the CNA-IPS Survey on Race Relations 2021. IPS Exchange Series No. 22. https://lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/ips/news/details/attitudes-actions-and-aspirations-key-findings-from-the-cna-ips-survey-on-race-relations-2021
Education:
2024 – present
M.Soc.Sci (Sociology), National University of Singapore
Recipient of NUS Research Scholarship
2015 – 2019
B.A. (Honours, Highest Distinction in English Literature), National University of Singapore and Australian National University
Winner of NUS Society Medal and Prize (Gold) and University Scholars Programme (USP) President’s Honour Roll
Recipient of NUS Undergraduate (Merit) Scholarship
Research Interest: Human-Animal Relations, Urban Sociology, Ethnography
Ng Wan Ying Gwendaline
M.Soc.Sci (Sociology)
Gwendaline Ng
Research Interest: Political Sociology, Political Economy, Social Movements
Gwendaline is currently a master’s candidate in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. She had obtained her bachelor’s degree from the same department in 2019 and thereafter worked as a research officer in the Singapore Prison Service and as a teaching assistant at NUS prior to her candidature.
Research:
Her research interests lie in how politics, policies and the economy affect the experiences of the society. Specifically, her thesis research focuses on the housing policies and economy in Singapore and how they affect single youths under 35 years old in relation to their attainment and perceptions of adulthood milestones such as marriage and parenthood and how it affects their self-identities and familial relationships.
Education:
2015 to 2019
B.A. (Honours) in Sociology, National University of Singapore
Independent Study Thesis: Understanding Politics and Morality in Singapore Supervisor: Dr Kurtuluş Gemici
Teaching Experience:
Jul 2022 to May 2024
Teaching Assistant, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, National University of Singapore
• HSS1000 Understanding Social Complexity under the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHS) Common Curriculum
• SC1101E Making Sense of Society
• SC3230 Civil Society and Civic Engagement
• SC4101 Practising Anthropology and Sociology
Research Interest: Political Sociology, Political Economy, Social Movements
Ng Zu Xiang
M.Soc.Sci (Sociology)
Ng Zu Xiang
Thesis/ research topic: Discretionary accountability among energy experts in Singapore
Zu Xiang is currently pursuing a part-time Masters in Sociology while working as a research assistant at the Energy Studies Institute, NUS. His current work studies decarbonisation policies of key economies to propose policy recommendations for Singapore. The energy sector, despite its importance in dealing with issues like climate change, energy security and politics, seems to be underrepresented by sociologists working in the field. There is a rich social world of meanings and relations that Zu Xiang hopes to explore in the Singapore context through his Masters research by studying up at energy experts, particularly with their notions of accountability. Prior to this, he graduated from NUS with a Bachelors in Environmental Studies and has worked several research assistant roles, always with a keen interest in how the environmental and social interact.
Education:
Bachelors in Environmental Studies, National University of Singapore
Research Interest: Discretionary accountability among energy experts in Singapore
Nur Munira Binte Gailani
M.Soc.Sci (Sociology)
Nur Munira Binte Gailani
Research Interest: Criminology, desistance, criminalised women, qualitative methods
I am a Master’s student in Sociology at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, National University of Singapore (NUS). I graduated from NUS with a Bachelor of Social Science (Honours with Highest Distinction) in Sociology and a Minor in Public Health. Prior to my graduate studies, I worked as a research assistant on a project examining religion and reintegration among former residents of faith-based halfway homes.
Thesis / Research topic:
My thesis explores the lived experiences of formerly incarcerated women in Singapore, focusing on how they navigate the process of desisting from crime and rebuilding their lives after release. I draw on Nugent and Schinkel’s framework of act, identity, and relational desistance to examine how gender compounds many of the challenges women encounter in their desistance journeys. Using qualitative, life-course narrative methods, I seek to capture the dynamic and non-linear nature of desistance while examining the broader structural contexts in which offending and change take place.
Education:
NUS with a Bachelor of Social Science (Honours with Highest Distinction) in Sociology and a Minor in Public Health
Teaching Experience:
· SC1101E Making Sense of Society
· SC2212 Sociology of Deviance
· SC4101 / SC4101HM Practising Anthropology and Sociology
· GES1035 / GESS1025 Singapore: Imagining the Next 50 Years
Research Interest: Criminology, desistance, criminalised women, qualitative methods
Tan Yu Juin, Bryan
M.Soc.Sci (Sociology)
Bryan Tan
Research Interest: Ageing, Health, Life Course
Bryan is currently a Master’s student at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, National University of Singapore. He obtained a Bachelor of Social Sciences from the same department in 2023. Prior to beginning his candidature, he was a teaching assistant at the department and have also assisted in various research institutes in the University.
Research:
He is broadly interested in the ageing process, health, and the life course. He is currently working on the Lifelong Education for Aging Productively (LEAP) in Singapore project. His work examines the plurality of views towards ageing amongst Singaporean older adults, its impacts, as well as associated demographic and health factors.
Education:
2024 - PRESENT
Master of Social Sciences (Sociology), National University of Singapore
Advisor: Associate Professor Feng Qiushi Recipient of Research Scholarship
2019 - 2023
Bachelor of Social Sciences (Sociology), National University of Singapore
Advisor: Associate Professor Feng Qiushi Thesis title: “When age is not just a number: Factors affecting Ageism amongst youths in Singapore” Graduated with Honours (Distinction); Second major in Philosophy Exchange student at Nanyang Technological University, Winter Programme at Yonsei University
Teaching Experience:
National University of Singapore
SC3225 Social Capital AY2023/24 Semester 2
SC2211 Medical Sociology AY2023/24 Semester 2
SC2204 Social Inequalities: Who Gets Ahead? AY2023/24 Semester 1
SC1101E Making Sense of Society (Introduction to Sociology) AY2023/24 Semester 1
Research Interest: Ageing, Health, Life Course
Wang Liurong
M.Soc.Sci (Sociology)
Wang Liurong
Research Interest: Gender & education; articulation/discourse; affect theory; identity/personhood; lifestyle & expression; autonomous knowledge production
Liurong is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Sociology at the National University of Singapore (NUS), where she also completed her undergraduate studies in Sociology with a minor in Translation. She is presently a full-time Teaching Assistant at the department.
Prior to her graduate studies, she worked as a research assistant on projects related to migrant parenting (National Institute of Education), intergenerational value transmission, and Singapore–Africa knowledge mobility and smart city modelling at the NUS Department of Geography, as well as research on migrant families at the Asia Research Institute (NUS).
Her current research examines intergenerational (mother–daughter) affective experiences within transnational migrant-marriage families in Singapore, focusing on how emotions such as shame, aspiration, and care shape women’s emergence of personhood through the discourse of education. She seeks to unpack how education functions simultaneously as a disciplinary public institution, a booming monetized market, and a private horizon of aspiration—probing how the promise of education comes to animate hope, desire, and imagined social futures.
Publications/Presentations:
Education:
Bachelor of Social Sciences in Sociology & Chinese Translation (Minor)
Teaching experience:
GEN2008 - Active and Productive Ageing in the Community (AY25/26)
Research Interest: Gender & education; articulation/discourse; affect theory; identity/personhood; lifestyle & expression; autonomous knowledge production
Yu Jia Jia
M.Soc.Sci (Sociology)
Yu Jia Jia
Jiajia is currently a Masters candidate with the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, National University of Singapore. She obtained a BSocSc (Honours, Highest distinction) from the NUS University where she majored in Sociology.
Inspired by Foucault’s work on discourse and power, her honours dissertation focuses on those who are empowered to define and represent the poor, and to care for the poor. At the same time, she looks at the lived realities of the poor.
Research:
Currently, for her Masters dissertation, she is exploring both the concepts of infrastructure and of care to scrutinise the ways care is being provided for “the poor” in Singapore. In turn, she aims to discuss the power effects of the infrastructure of care in the constitution of “the poor” as subjects.
Education:
Aug 2019 – Dec 2022
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE
Faculty of Arts & Social Science Bachelor of Arts/Social Sciences (Honours, Highest Distinction), Majoring in Sociology Winner of Chng Heng Lay Memorial Prize (Sociology)
Mar 2016 – May 2019
SINGAPORE POLYTECHNIC
Diploma in Business Administration
• Relevant Coursework: Marketing Intelligence & Research, Brand Management, Retail Management, Customer Service & Sales Management, Consumer Psychology, Fundamentals of Marketing, Statistics for Business, Communicating for Professional Effectiveness
• Worked efficiently and effectively in a team for client-based projects with brands such as Gatsby, DesignINN and Barcook Bakery
• Represented my class and won 3rd place for the DBA Marketing Competition
Mar 2015 - Mar 2016
POLYTECHNIC FOUNDATION PROGRAMME
Relevant Coursework: Fundamentals of Enterprise Development
Teaching Experience:
GES1028 Singapore Society
SC2211 Medical Society
SC2220 Gender Studies
SC3228 Senses and Society
Research Interest: Poverty, Power and Discourse, Infrastructure, Sociology of Care, Ethnography
Zhang Qianyu (Bella)
M.Soc.Sci (Sociology)
Bella Zhang
Research Topic: Family division of paid and unpaid work and gender dynamics
I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Family Studies (with high distinction) from the University of British Columbia. During my undergraduate studies, I worked as a research assistant on projects about trust, international students’ experiences, digital labor, and care and work policies in Canada, respectively. My current research interests are how men and women in Chinese families divide paid and unpaid work in relation to their beliefs and values in family, career, child-rearing, and personal life, as well as how people’s time use and multitasking patterns in daily life affect their overall satisfaction.
I worked as a teaching assistant in Family Studies courses at the University of British Columbia for one academic year.
Education:
Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Family Studies (with high distinction) from the University of British Columbia
Research Interest: Family division of paid and unpaid work and gender dynamics
Zhou Jimin
M.Soc.Sci (Sociology)
Zhou Jimin
Research topic: Migrant Women and Gendered Labor in Beauty Industry
ZHOU Jimin (Lilly) has studied in Shanghai, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong, experiences that have shaped her transnational academic and professional outlook. She holds a BA in linguistics and education from Shanghai International Studies University and an MA in Anthropology from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. During undergraduate years, she was funded by China Scholarship Council to study in the United States for a year. Before pursuing research, she worked as a journalist at a television station and later as a marketing director in the field of international education. Her research interests lie at the intersection of gender, migration, marriage, and law, with a focus on underprivileged women in precarious labor.
Education:
BA in linguistics and education from Shanghai International Studies University
MA in Anthropology from The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Research Interest: Migrant Women and Gendered Labor in Beauty Industry