Academia.SG

‼️ New Sharing ‼️

What does politics in Singapore look like after more than 20 years of Lee Hsien Loong’s leadership?

During the recent Politics in Action 2026 forum by the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre (The University of Sydney), Michael Barr (Flinders University) examines Singapore’s leadership transition, Lawrence Wong’s leadership and what this new political era means for the country.

Watch the sharing here ⬇️
https://youtu.be/POjxmwwacgY?si=jxDlM4vMSomL9ALL

Don’t miss the panel discussion he also took part in ⬇️
https://youtu.be/9PuXkzztoOY?si=ko8IcwyOtls6XRkb

Politics in Action 2026 Part 5: Panel discussion Panel discussion: What do these transitions mean for Australia and ASEANModerator: Professor Justin Hastings, School of Social and Political SciencesPanel: P...

AcademiaSG would like to extend our warmest congratulations to our editor, Teo You Yenn (Nanyang Technological University), whose books ranked #1 and #2 on The Straits Times Weekly Bestsellers list (May 16) for non-fiction writing.

As we celebrate this incredible achievement, we invite everyone to read her essay, “How I’ve Managed to Stay an Academic (Thus Far)”, published in 2024 as part of our Occupational Hazards series. In the essay, she reflects on her journey in academia, the challenges she faced and how she found meaning in her work as a public sociologist.

🔗 Read her essay in our Occupational Hazards series at knowledgepraxis.academia.sg

‼️ New Article ‼️
*Subscription required to read the full article.

The latest volume of the Mekong Review explores the award-winning historical book “The Albatross File: Inside Separation” edited by Susan Sim. By compiling formerly classified documents and records regarding Singapore’s separation from Malaysia, the book offers a comprehensive look into the secret negotiations that led to Singapore’s unexpected independence.

Read the full review ⬇️

Keeping secrets - Mekong Review The publication of The Albatross File is very welcome for those with an interest in the Singapore story—though less for the hitherto secret documents it reproduces and more for the hitherto secret oral histories.

Seven years ago, AcademiaSG was launched to promote public-facing scholarship about Singapore. What started as a group of academics who came together to advocate against the government’s plan to regulate what ministers considered online falsehoods (i.e. POFMA) eventually led to the formation of AcademiaSG and its work in the years since.

In our newest article, AcademiaSG editors Linda Lim (University of Michigan), Cherian George (Hong Kong Baptist University), Teo You Yenn (Nanyang Technological University) and Chong Ja Ian (National University of Singapore) reflect on the collective’s growth, beliefs and impact.

🔗 Read the full article at academia.sg

The rest of us at AcademiaSG congratulate Teo You Yenn on this unprecedented achievement in nonfiction writing.

Curious about You Yenn's backstory? In 2024, she wrote an essay about the ups and downs of her work as a sociologist in a Singaporean public university. She shared her doubts about academia: "No one chooses this path — staying a student well past the point of reasonable, putting life on hold while watching peers move forward, endless work and self-doubt both daily constants — simply to pursue ‘publications,’ ‘citation counts,’ and ‘teaching indices’ as if they are ends in themselves." Read her essay to find out how she found meaning in her role as an academic and found the voice that is appreciated by so many readers. – Link in the comments.

WE'RE 7. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.

Seven years since the launch of AcademiaSG, Linda Lim (University of Michigan), Cherian George (Hong Kong Baptist University), Teo You Yenn (Nanyang Technological University) and Chong Ja Ian (National University of Singapore) reflect on the collective’s growth, beliefs and impact.

Don’t miss it ⬇️

We’re 7. Thank you for your support. - Academia | SG Seven years ago, we launched the website Academia.SG to promote public-facing scholarship about Singapore. Seven years on, our volunteer collective of Singaporean scholars continues to be encouraged by the support we’ve received from fellow academics, students, and the wider community of socially ...

‼️ New Video ‼️

In the newest episode ( #816) of Yah Lah But, AcademiaSG editor Teo You Yenn (Nanyang Technological University) discusses the findings from her latest book, Unease: Life in Singapore Families.

Through her book, which is built on 92 cross-class interviews, she argues that inequality traps both the rich and the poor alike through competition, kiasu parenting and the loss of ethical agency.

Watch it here ⬇️

The Problem With SG’s Education System & Why Parents Feel Helpless | Prof. Teo You Yenn | #816 Prof. Teo You Yenn’s first book "This Is What Inequality Looks Like" sold 43,000 copies, spent 80 weeks on The Straits Times' bestsellers list and drew rebut...

‼️ New Publication ‼️

AcademiaSG editor Joanne Leow (Simon Fraser University) recently published her new book titled Exhumations!

Exhumations catalogues the many things that are produced under pressure in the city-state of Singapore, a country that has long been admired on the global stage as a lush utopia, a well-connected trade port and the jewel of Southeast Asia.

In searing yet lyrically gorgeous prose, Exhumations exposes the petrofiction at the heart of Singapore’s being and traces the unruliness of thought daily growing within the author, difficult to ignore and impossible to repress.

Check it out today ⬇️

Exhumations by Joanne Leow: 9781039057272 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books Featured in Quill and Quire’s 2026 Spring Preview • A Globe and Mail Spring 2026 Read Singaporean-Canadian author Joanne Leow sheds light on the underbelly of Singapore's history and the human...

WHY THERE IS ONLY ONE TEO YOU YENN

Sociologist Teo You Yenn’s previous book was an academic publishing phenomenon; her latest appears to be following suit. Cherian George (Hong Kong Baptist University) puts Singapore's universities under the microscope to explain the structural conditions that make her an exception in Singapore academia. Link in comments.

New, from AcademiaSG

Why there is only one Teo You Yenn: Academia under the microsope - Academia | SG Sociologist Teo You Yenn’s previous book was an academic publishing phenomenon; her latest appears to be following suit. CHERIAN GEORGE (Hong Kong Baptist University) explains the structural conditions that make her an exception in Singapore academia.