SC1101E Critical Thinking Written Assignment 1

The critical thinking written assignment aims to promote reflection on theoretical perspectives and some of the concepts we have introduced thus far. This written assignment will be structured to discuss the contents from Week 1-4 of the course. This assignment will constitute 10 per cent of your continual assessment.

Answer only ONE question from the three provided below, indicating your selection clearly in the submission document, and limiting your response to a maximum of 500 words (including references).

NUS takes plagiarism offences seriously. Please provide citations and a bibliography for the sources used. Those unfamiliar with academic referencing, please refer to:

https://libguides.nus.edu.sg/citation/overview.  Lastly, if you use AI for any aspect of this assignment (or any assignment for this class) please declare it using the form found in the “AI declaration form” folder in Canvas.

All responses should be submitted on Canvas.

1. In 2023, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam remarked that “Singapore is ready any time for a non-Chinese Prime Minister.” But is Singapore ready for a non-Chinese, female Prime Minister? How do race and gender together influence public perceptions of political leadership in Singapore, or any country you may be familiar with?
2. Scams have been on the rise in Singapore. According to a Straits Times report in March 2025, a woman lost $1.2m to scammers who pretended to be officers from the police’s Anti-Scam Centre. Discuss online scams with reference to C. Wright Mills’ sociological imagination, which allows us to connect “personal troubles” with “public issues”.
3. Despite Singapore’s emphasis on multiculturalism and racial harmony, racism and discrimination towards ethnic minorities and foreign workers are prevalent in everyday social life. Analyze and detail this phenomenon through at least one sociological perspective, and in relation to the concepts of stereotypes, prejudice, and institutional racism. You may discuss this topic in any country you may be familiar with.