SOC205: Issues Singapore has been Confronted with during COVID-19: Singapore Society Assignment, SUSS, Singapore

Scan through the following for a sampling of issues Singapore has been confronted with during COVID-19, and as a starting point to this assignment:

Drawing upon the relevant materials from Singapore histories, the construction of nation-states, and nation-state building processes, sociologically discuss how these concepts apply to the understanding of the current situation Singapore finds itself in, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The essay should comprise an analysis of the sociological processes of nation-state building that are clearly observable during the pandemic, illustrating with relevant examples.

This assignment requires a demonstration of a basic understanding of the arguments put forth.

Additional research can be done via both academic and news databases in the SUSS library’s resources (e.g., JSTOR, Sage Sociology collection, SOCIndex for academic resources; Factiva for news).
It is important to recognize the sociological processes involved in the construction of a nation-state. The response should demonstrate understanding of the state- and nation-building processes at play; in particular, the task is to identify and analyze these as they apply in the current
context. A few initial guiding questions to help in thinking about the Singapore nation-state in a time of COVID-19:

What event/challenge that you have observed in Singapore’s response to the pandemic is a matter of ‘state-building as taught in the course? What kinds of institutions are involved?

What other event/issue is a matter of ‘nation-building’, for instance? If necessary, you can do a scan of news media for a sense of the points of discussion or issues that have surfaced in the past year, to give you some ideas. However, for a better focus, please be selective in examples, you choose to discuss when you write your essay.

How have these been framed in terms of (national) narratives?
Are there similarities or differences between the paths or strategies to nation-state building then (post-Independence) and now?

In responding to the question, to consider and bring into the discussion where relevant:

• The concepts ‘state’, ‘nation’, and ‘nation-state’ as used by sociologists and social scientists; the processes of state-building and nation-building – to be able to differentiate between the two
• Singapore as a secondary nation-state, and the way this contributed to the historical exigencies of post-independence nation-state construction
• The significance of Singapore’s founding myths and national interests as defined by the state; other relevant concepts such as ‘top-down’ etc
• A sociological critique of the said processes. The main purpose of this assignment is to understand the historical exigencies of Singapore’s nation-building and state-building and its related sociological concepts. It allows you to appreciate the nation-state as a social and cultural construction. It is essential to utilize the material and arguments from the academic materials for the assignment, and you demonstrate a sound sociological understanding of the topic.