SMU Thinks Big

Aidan Wong is the Deputy Director of Wee Kim Wee Centre and Office of Core Curriculum at Singapore Management University. Trained as Geographer, Aidan’s research interests include debates on the politics of heritage, global economic change and public geographies. In addition to this, Aidan has been researching on waste and the politics and practices of electronic waste management for more than a decade, and is more recently engaged in qualifying and quantifying the impact of the extended producer responsibility framework in Singapore. Within SMU, he has researched on the impact of online teaching and learning on the core curriculum, particularly at how better collaboration, inclusivity and scalability can be adopted.
 

"It's Not My Problem" - Reflections on War, Peace and Climate Change

Debates surrounding climate change often involve an element of attributing blame for the state of the environment; often this blame is outward, with an (un)known “other” taking the fall for our declining condition. Several governments and NGOs have gone to great pains to emphasize the importance of individual responsibility for the environment, otherwise known as environmental or ecological citizenship. But how successful has this been in changing social behaviour and perceptions of responsibility? This presentation draws on some preliminary studies on social behaviour related to the management of electronic waste in Singapore, and posits that much more needs to be done to nudge people towards becoming active environmental citizens.

Emily Soon is a Lecturer of Humanities in the Office of Core Curriculum and School of Social Sciences at Singapore Management University. Her research focuses on cross-cultural literary engagement between Asia and Europe in the premodern and modern eras. Her work on cultural inclusivity and student Shakespeare performances in late-colonial Singapore has appeared in Shakespeare Survey. Her research on early modern literature has been published in England’s Asian Renaissance and is forthcoming in Modern Philology. In addition to Big Questions, she teaches the modules ‘Asia and World Literature: Beyond Orientalism’ and ‘Imagining the Self: Literature, Ethnicity and Gender in Asia’.
 

War and Peace: Writing the Human Story

Humans have long created songs and stories to explore issues that matter to us. Yet literature does more than just provide us with entertainment or food for thought. This talk explores how literature has, and continues to be, used as a weapon of war and instrument of peace. It begins by tracing the ways English literary texts functioned as ‘masks of conquest’ that facilitated British colonial domination of Asia, to quote Gauri Viswanathan. Next, it considers how Asian writers have used their creative talents to fight back against Western hegemony and create a more inclusive global cultural landscape. Finally, it asks what we, as individuals, can do to contribute to our human story of war and peace.

Dr. Yuanto Kusnadi is an Associate Professor (Education) at the School of Accountancy of the Singapore Management University. Dr. Kusnadi has over ten years of teaching experience in accounting and finance. His research interest is in corporate governance issues and experiential learning pedagogy. His research papers have been published in Journal of Business, Journal of Corporate Finance, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, and Finance Research Letters. His SMU-X collaborations have also been profiled in Asian Management Insights, Perspectives@SMU, the Straits Times, the Business Times, and Lianhe Zaobao.
 

Digital Disruption - The New War in Accounting; and We Make Peace With It!

Digital disruption is the new war in accounting and finance! In this talk, I will share about how businesses and individuals can react to circumvent the digital disruption and make peace with it. I will also share what are the skill-sets that future accountants will need to acquire to stay relevant in the industry.