As concerns about income inequality become more prevalent, meritocracy – a common organising principle of education systems and job markets – has attracted criticism in recent years. In this conversation on the future of meritocracy, Daniel Markovits, Guido Calabresi Professor of Law at Yale Law School and author of The Meritocracy Trap; and Lynette Chua,…
Rising inequality presents policy makers with social, economic and political challenges and is linked to social ills like crime, poor health outcomes and radical nationalism. Over the past few decades, forces like globalisation and technological change have widened inequality but the recent coronavirus pandemic has intensified the acceleration of inequality between and within countries as…
Artist Beatrice Glow will share her creative processes involving research within collections and site-specific histories, as well as co-labouring with community stakeholders, historians, and creative technologists. In her current artistic research, she is tracing the impact of trade goods such as Chinese silk, gunpowder and porcelain, Bandanese nutmeg and Native American tobacco, that altogether weave…
Deans Jeannette Ickovics, Teo Yik Ying and Sten Vermund discuss opportunities and challenges to assure global health now and in the future. The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed our lives and may define a generation. Its reverberations continue to impact health, social and economic conditions worldwide. We have witnessed accelerated change in vaccine development and distribution,…
This symposium is being held to reflect upon the long history Chinese activity in Singapore, from the time of itinerant sea traders, to the era of more permanent settlement in colonial times, and on into the establishment of Singapore as an independent and prosperous nation. It will focus on such themes as the history of…
The 2020 United States presidential election was unprecedented in terms of voter turnout, number of votes cast and polarisation. The post-election period has been equally tumultuous with questions raised about the long-term consequences for the health and legitimacy of American democracy. Join us for a spirited discussion on the future of American democracy by noted…
Singaporean artist Sai (aka Chen Sai Hua Kuan) works in diverse media to create interactive sculptural and multimedia installation artworks that reflect his interest in the notion of play within daily life. His practice often challenges the habituated eye by deconstructing and transforming everyday objects, found materials and situations, so as to invite fresh interpretations…
The 2020 United States presidential election campaign has been run against an unprecedented backdrop of a global pandemic and economic disruption. Join us in the homestretch of the race as teams from the Yale-NUS College Debate Society face off in a mock debate. Hear the policy positions that Team Trump and Team Biden are running…
This talk is organised under the auspices of the Tan Chin Tuan Chinese Culture and Civilisation Programme ABSTRACT After a tumultuous 2018 year, we enter the New Year with China pursuing an ambitious development and reform programme while facing formidable domestic and international challenges. There is no doubt that developments this year will have major…
This talk is organised under the auspices of the Tan Chin Tuan Chinese Culture and Civilisation Programme ABSTRACT What can it mean, in the modern world, for Confucianism to be a way of life? I consider this question at both abstract and personal levels. What are the institutional contexts within which one might live a…
Ingrid “Indy” Burke is the Carl W Knobloch, Jr Dean and Professor of Ecosystem Ecology at Yale School of the Environment. William K Lauenroth is a Professor in the Practice at Yale School of the Environment. They spoke about their careers in environmental studies. Ingrid Burke is an ecosystem ecologist whose research has focused on…
Sten Vermund is the Dean of the Yale School of Public Health and the Anna M.R. Lauder Professor of Public Health, Professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases), and Professor of Pediatrics. He gave the opening address to the event titled ‘The Future of Public Health: Leadership Perspectives from East & West,’ hosted by Yale-NUS College. Dr…
Venue: Tan Chin Tuan Lecture Theatre, Elm College About Benjamin Cashore Professor Cashore’s research interests include the emergence of non-state, market-driven environmental governance; the impact of globalisation, internationalisation, and transnational networks on domestic policy choices; comparative environmental and forest policy development; and firm-level “beyond compliance” sustainability initiatives. His book, “Governing Through Markets: Forest Certification and…
About Jessica Brantley Jessica Brantley has taught in the Department of English at Yale University since 2000. Before that, she studied at Harvard University (AB), Cambridge University (MPhil), and UCLA (PhD). Her interests include Old and Middle English literatures, manuscript studies, text/image relations, and the history of the book. She teaches both undergraduate and graduate…
Venue: Performance Hall About Melvin Chin A native of Tennessee, pianist (as well as violinist and violist) Melvin Chen has performed as a soloist and chamber musician at major venues throughout the United States, Canada and Asia. His performances have been featured on radio and television stations around the globe, including KBS television and radio in Korea,…
Venue: NUS Physics Conference Room About Gary Brudvig A graduate of the University of Minnesota, Prof. Gary Brudvig earned his PhD at the California Institute of Technology. He joined the Yale faculty in 1982. In addition to serving as a professor in and chair of the Department of Chemistry, he is also Director of the…
Venue: LT 1, Saga College About Shawkat Toorawa Professor Shawkat M. Toorawa received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He has taught Arabic at Duke University, medieval French literature and Indian Ocean studies at the University of Mauritius, and Arabic and other literatures at Cornell University. He has also worked in…
With relative power of states shifting from the West to the East and South, the US-led liberal order is challenged. What are the key analytical frameworks to capture the dynamic processes of cooperation under power transition? Professor Prantl argues the ongoing changes transform global governance as we know it. There is growing recourse to alternative…
This talk is organised under the auspices of the Tan Chin Tuan Chinese Culture and Civilisation Programme When Wan Zhang asked Mencius about how Yi Yin sought an introduction to Tang, Mencius replied that he had done so by “plowing the wilderness of the Youxin Clan, delighting in the principles of Yao and Shun.” Mencius…
12 April 2017 (Wednesday), 6:30pm to 7:45pm Tan Chin Tuan Lecture Theatre, Yale-NUS College Steven Smith, Alfred Cowles Professor of Political Science at Yale University In his talk, ‘Politics and the Problem of ‘Towering Ambition” Yale University Professor, Steven Smith, will address the topic of grand ambition in politics and how it has fallen on…
This talk is organised under the auspices of the Tan Chin Tuan Chinese Culture and Civilisation Programme Venue: Yale-NUS College, Tan Chin Tuan Lecture Theatre Rising China has been reshaping international order for the last two decades. Yet, we cannot assume that growing resources and capabilities automatically allow China to cause other states to change their…
This talk is organised under the auspices of the Tan Chin Tuan Chinese Culture and Civilisation Programme Venue: RC4, Level 1, Common Lounge 1 Confucius in the Analects never ceases to surprise the reader, and this is particularly true for Books Twelve, Thirteen, and Fourteen. Fresh and forceful are his comments in those chapters regarding politics and the…
Venue: University Town Auditorium 3, College of Alice & Peter Tan, University Town, NUS Many futuristic movies have scenes where people are put in brain scanners to reveal secrets of the mind. Are such capabilities in the realm of science fiction, or are they technically feasible in modern day? Recent advances in medical imaging, such as…
Venue: RC4, Level 1, Common Lounge 1 About Steven Wilkinson Steven I. Wilkinson is Nilekani Professor of India and South Asian Studies and Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at Yale University. He has worked on the causes of ethnic violence, and his book, Votes and Violence: electoral competition and ethnic riots in India (Cambridge, 2004),…
Venue: RC4, Level 1, Common Lounge 1 About Paul Sabin Paul Sabin teaches United States environmental history, energy politics, and political, legal, and economic history. He coordinates the Yale Environmental History working group, and serves as Director of Undergraduate Studies for Yale’s undergraduate Environmental Studies major. Professor Sabin is the author of The Bet: Paul Ehrlich, Julian Simon, and…
Venue: U Town Auditorium 2 @ Stephen Riady Centre This talk is organised under the auspices of the Tan Chin Tuan Chinese Culture and Civilisation Programme Join Professor Jonathan Spence as he reflects on the history of modern China since the 17th century. The talk will focus on how Chinese history seemed to be constantly changing…
Venue: RC4, Level B1, Seminar Rooms 1/2 In the framework of modern cosmology, massive galaxies such as our Milky Way form hierarchically through the merging and accretion of small dwarf galaxies. All students are invited to join Professor Geha as she explains the fascination of galaxies, unpacks the mysteries of ‘Dark Matter’, and demonstrates how…
Venue: RC4, Level B1, Seminar Room 4 This is an interdisciplinary lecture course that will broadly explore aesthetics and beauty from the perspective of evolutionary biology, human biology, human arts, and culture. The course will begin with a survey of the mechanisms and processes of aesthetic evolution in plants and animals, including the evolution of…
Venue: RC4, Level B1, Seminar Rooms 1/2 All on campus are invited to join Professor Mazzotta as he presents and discusses a central theme of his research; hosted by Professor Andrew Hui. About Giuseppe Mazzotta Giuseppe Mazzotta is the Sterling Professor of Humanities for Italian. A Sterling Professorship is the highest academic rank at Yale…
Venue: RC4, Level B1, Seminar Rooms 1/2 In his latest book Political Philosophy Professor Smith asks: Who ought to govern? Why should I obey the law? How should conflict be controlled? What is the proper education for a citizen and a statesman? These questions probe some of the deepest and most enduring problems that every…
Venue: RC4, Level B1, Seminar Rooms 1/2 All on campus are invited to hear Dr. Conekin present her latest book, Lee Miller In Fashion and to join a discussion hosted by Professor Rajeev Patke. Lee Miller was the ‘it girl’ of 1927, a gorgeous model who embodied elegance, refinement, and flapper chic. She moved to…
Bryan Garsten is Professor of Political Science at Yale University. He is the author of Saving Persuasion: A Defense of Rhetoric and Judgment, as well as articles on political rhetoric and deliberation, the meaning of representative government, the relationship of politics and religion, and the place of emotions in political life. Professor Garsten is now finishing…
Deborah S. Davis’s primary teaching interests are inequality and stratification, contemporary Chinese society, and methods of fieldwork. In addition to teaching at Yale, she runs a summer fieldwork seminar where Yale students work collaboratively with students from Hong Kong and China. Davis is currently a member of the National Committee on US China Relations, Associate…