Special Topics in Community Development & Leadership is specifically tailored for students to explore specific hot button issues pertaining to community development. This may include topics like migration, inequality, ageing, diversity, integrated care issues, and so on. The course aims to advance knowledge and skills on key issues of local interest and aims to offer students a wide range of topics relevant for students interested in pursuing praxis-oriented research and service for communities.

CLC3304A: City, Culture and Community

Units: 4 (elective)
Workload: 3-0-0-4-3
Pre-requisite(s): Nil
Preclusion(s): Nil

How does life in a city affect our sense of community and personal well-being? What are the problems and possible solutions to community-related problems in cities?
Presently, more than half of the world’s communities live in cities. The lives of many people, therefore, are often tied to the various spaces that they encounter within the confines of a city. Adopting an introductory and accessible approach that combines scholarly perspectives with everyday examples, this course examines the relationship between urban settings in a city and the communities existing within it. Particular attention on the social-cultural and economic dimensions that influence a person’s lived experience will be explored as part of integration and engagement issues within a community. This will be complemented by case studies in Singapore and beyond whenever relevant, providing a practical and comparative approach to understanding the challenges of community building in cities.

This course is also offered as a General Education course under the Communities and Engagement pillar from AY2023-24 Semester 2.

CLC3306: Community Development Practicum II
[Please note that this course is only applicable to cohorts 2020/2021 onwards]

Units: 8 (elective)
Workload: 0-0-0-16-4
Pre-requisite(s): CLC2203 Community Development Practicum I; For CLC Minor students only
Preclusion(s): Nil

This course is a follow-up from CLC2203 Community Development Practicum I, that offers students the opportunity to partner with specific organisations to conduct field research on community or social issues. Students interested either in exploring a different issue, or extending their research in CLC2203 may undertake this course. Practicum II may be a separate project addressing a different issue from Practicum I; OR may be an extension (Phase 2) to Practicum I.

This course takes place over 2 semesters, from August each year till May the following year.

CLC3307: Learning for Social Change

Units: 4 (elective)
Workload: 0-3-0-4-3
Pre-requisite(s): Nil
Preclusion(s): Nil

What does it mean to be literate in order to participate meaningfully in contemporary society? How does one facilitate such literacy learning in the community to promote inclusivity and empowerment? This course addresses these issues, by focusing on Singapore and introducing students to various community-based approaches to literacy. We will examine different communities’ experiences, knowledge, spaces and power relations, and consider the implications of these contextual factors for participatory literacy education and partnerships. Apart from English literacy, we shall explore other literacies, including digital literacy, financial literacy and death literacy. 

This course is also offered as a General Education course under the Communities and Engagement pillar from AY2023-24 Semester 2.

CLC3308: Entering the Field: People, Places & Practices

Units: 4 (elective)
Workload: 0-3-0-3-4
Pre-requisite(s): Nil
Preclusion(s): Nil

This course focuses on applying a grounded approach to study community issues in Singapore through ethnographic methods. Students will be introduced to key concepts, and will learn through observations of public spaces to acquire an understanding of the lived realities, dynamics, challenges and resources that define specific (sub) communities in Singapore.