Asia Research Institute (ARI) is a university-level institute formed in July 2001 as one of the strategic initiatives of the NUS. The mission of the Institute is to produce and promote world-class research on Asia. ARI engages the social sciences and humanities broadly defined, and encourages especially multidisciplinary studies. Now home to six research clusters with a strong team of resident and visiting scholars, ARI works closely with the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, School of Business, Faculty of Law, and School of Design and Environment in NUS.
The Asia Research Institute is pleased to offer Ph.D. research scholarships from August 2011 in the following interdisciplinary areas:
– ASIAN MIGRATION
– CHANGING FAMILY IN ASIA
– CULTURAL STUDIES IN ASIA
– RELIGION & GLOBALISATION IN ASIAN CONTEXTS
– SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
– ASIAN URBANISMS
The PhD scholarship is to be taken up jointly with the appropriate discipline-based department. This would normally be with a department of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, but where appropriate could also be with the Faculty of Law, School of Business or School of Design & Environment at the National University of Singapore. Please note that some departments / Programmes only have one intake per year in August (Semester 1).
Interested applicants are required to submit their application by 15th November 2010, indicating clearly both which ARI interdisciplinary area they wish to join and which department they would be attached to. Application procedures and forms can be obtained from the NUS website via this URL: http://www.nus.edu.sg/registrar/edu/gd-applnres.html
Applicants must use the application forms in the respective Faculty websites depending on the Faculty to which they wish to seek admission. They should send their applications directly to their respective faculties, indicating their interest to be attached to ARI. Applicants should not send a duplicate copy to ARI.
The following interdisciplinary areas or “clusters” are offering scholarships:
1) The Asian Migration cluster (Research Leader: Professor Brenda Yeoh) explores the issues arising from increased levels of human mobility in the region, both within and across national borders. Mobility of high-level professional and managerial personnel, unskilled labour migration (both documented and undocumented), and human trafficking all raise methodological and theoretical questions and major policy issues, as does the role of migration in development and change.
2) The Changing Family in Asia cluster (Research Leader: Professor Gavin Jones) explores the dimensions of family change in the region, their causes and implications. These dimensions include rising ages at marriage, declining size of the nuclear family, increase in one-person households and alternative family forms, changing gender roles within families, and changes in family structures. They are studied in the context of the changing political-economic structures and changing state/family roles in provision of services and support.
3) The Cultural Studies in Asia cluster (Research Leader: Professor Chua Beng Huat) focuses on comparative and pan-Asian popular culture practices in different spheres of everyday life. It encourages the challenging of conventional disciplinary boundaries to rethink received knowledge on existing issues and addresses new topics and concerns thrown up by the rapid changes and impact on cultural practices, brought about by new technologies and the new phase of global capitalism.
4) The Religion and Globalisation in Asian Contexts cluster explores the changing patterns of religious belief, practice, and identity in recent times, particularly in Southeast Asia. The title implies a general interest in transnational and diasporic communities, engagement with modern technologies and values, as well as new global or “glocal” forms of religious activities and institutions. More specifically the cluster looks at modern forms of filial piety and the interactions between politics and religion. In addition to these substantive research areas, the cluster promotes the interdisciplinary research involving the study of social and cultural theories and diverse methodological approaches to the academic study of religion.
5) The Science, Technology, and Society cluster (Research Leader: Professor Gregory Clancey) explores techno-scientific institutions, practices, and knowledge-making regimes within Asian societies and cultures. The newest of the ARI research clusters, and thus still building critical mass, we are particularly interested in topics relating to biotechnology / bioscience / biomedicine and society; interactive and digital media; Asian techno-scientific cultures; interactions between Asian sites or projects and those elsewhere, and science & technology policy. By “Asia” we mean South, East, and Southeast Asia, but are particularly interested in projects with the potential to cross these sub-regional boundaries. Methodologically we are open to a range of approaches including historical, sociological, anthropological, geographical, and media or cultural studies based initiatives.
6) The Asian Urbanisms cluster (Research Leaders: Professor Heng Chye Kiang & Professor Chua Beng Huat) is targeted at examining emergent urban situations in which social-cultural and environmental sustainability require urgent attention. Issues under scrutiny include eco-urbanism, cultural preservation, and quality of social life. The following is an inclusive list of research expertise and ideas that would be welcome: sustainable architecture, urban management & governance, urban planning, urban design, urban place-making, land-use management, transport and communication modes, the interface between technology and society (for example, in relation to emerging environmental technologies, and water and energy resource use), industrial and landscape ecology, economics and finances of sustainability of quality human health and social life, regeneration of heritage areas in extant cities.
For enquiries, please contact:
Ms Kristy Won
Asia Research Institute
email: arisec@nus.edu.sg
Tel: (65) 6516 3810
Fax: (65) 6779 1428
Moreinfo: http://www.ari.nus.edu.sg/article_view.asp?id=10