Yeo, Dennis Kah Sin

The Gothic and the Postmodern both encourage an attitude of scepticism and pluralism that produce indeterminacy and irresolution. This dissertation studies filmic texts at the turn of the last millennium to suggest a zeitgeist of Gothic horror and paranoia brought about by postmodern relativity. Anchoring its argument on the themes of the monster, the spectacle and the simulacra, it explores how the hesitation of the Gothic evokes an epistemological and ontological vertigo that interrogates our notions of reality, identity and narrative. At the core of the Gothic is an examination of our humanness – our being, becoming and the inevitability of non-being. The arbitrary constructedness of normalcy hides the protean multiplicity of ideology and perspective. The anxiety is that the façade of carnivalised surfaces hides the chaos and entropy of existential emptiness. By the distortion and defamiliarisation of perception, the hyperreality of film presents alternate worlds and selves while self-reflexively displaying its artifice. The proliferation of signs and the slippage of meaning indicate that the quest for any monologic closure is futile.

The thesis of the dissertation is that, like a ghost, the proliferation of signification in the Gothic alludes to the existence of some objective meaning but this promise reveals itself to be a mirage as the spectrality of textuality defers any referential certainty or interpretative closure. In its production of the simulacra of reality and identity, film presents a heterotopia of virtual replication. Beyond the aesthetics and semantics of the Gothic text is the relativity of perspective and representation. The unreliability of memory influences the authenticity of history and narrative. The surface of performance and simulation further encourages a suspicion of knowledge and a scepticism of the narrator and the narrative. Reading is rendered paranoid and schizophrenic, characterized by an over determination of semiotics and a playful self-referentiality.

Bakhtin’s theory of the carnivalesque explains the Gothic preoccupation with alienation, excess and the subversion of the constructedness of ideology. Transgression is mandatory in overcoming predictability and mediocrity and to penetrate the inexplicable nature of the random logic of life. The absent presence of the ghost is thus symbolic of the nullity of postmodern meaninglessness.

The status of Singlish in Singapore media is a site of conflict between the government and the populace. Linguistic control in Singapore, as a strategy for managing national identity and cohesion, is not new. However, understanding the regulation of Singlish in television and cinema elucidates the media’s role in Singapore’s language policy. Singlish validates the lived experience of Singaporeans in media representations, yet the government discourages its use. This paper examines the language use in the first two seasons of the adult animated series Downstairs (Han) to explore Singlish’s role in local media as a conduit of cohesion, division and transgression. Brief comparisons are made to three prominent movies released in the same period: A Land Imagined (Yeo), A Long Long Time Ago 3: Diam Diam Era and A Long Long Time Ago 4: Diam Diam Era 2 (Neo). Singlish neutralizes identity markers like ethnicity, culture and nationality but emphasizes boundaries of class, education and perceived success. Singlish, as a language of disempowerment and marginalization, symbolizes anti-establishment attitudes and solidarity against English-speaking status. Downstairs demonstrates how language differentiates class, expresses cultural values and addresses social issues, empowering its satire in interrogating the typical Singapore experience.

The Inspiring Teacher of English Award and the President’s Award for Teachers are national awards that recognize outstanding Singapore educators. This paper delves into the practices and philosophies of six award-winning teachers, unravelling the intricacies that distinguish their pedagogical approaches. The study is centred around three pivotal themes: Student-centred instructional approach, Optimization of Curriculum Materials, and Heart for students. The teaching philosophy undergirds and informs the other two themes, providing the guiding principles that ensure a consistent, student-centred, and resource-effective approach in the classroom. Highlighting the adaptability of these educators in tailoring their methods to individual student needs, the paper emphasizes the significance of a sound educational philosophy as their guiding principle. Furthermore, it explores the adept integration of curriculum materials in their teaching. This analysis offers valuable insights into the unique qualities and teaching methodologies that contribute to the success of award-winning teachers, providing a nuanced understanding of their contribution to educational excellence. Additionally, this analysis suggests significant implications for teacher education and in-service professional development, highlighting the need for programmes that foster these key attributes and approaches, thereby enhancing teacher effectiveness and student learning outcomes across educational settings.

Since the late 20th century, scholars have called for a need to broaden the aims of teaching English Literature away from its Eurocentric focus. Much effort has also been invested in making the subject more relevant through diversifying the texts studied and connecting texts to current social and global issues. It is pertinent now to ask what the significant role of Literature is in a globally interconnected age. In particular, what do teachers believe are key philosophical objectives of teaching literature, and how does this influence the texts they select, the instructional strategies they employ, and the values they seek to cultivate in the classroom? In this article, we report on the first National Survey of Literature Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices in Singapore schools. First, we review four key pedagogical movements that have underpinned the teaching of literature in schools around the world: New Criticism, Reader-Response Criticism, Poststructuralist Criticism, and Ethical Criticism. These respectively represent four key constructs (text, reader, culture, and other) used in the design and analysis of our survey instrument. Next, we report on the survey findings, focusing on Singapore as a barometer of current trends given its identity as an Anglophone country negotiating conflicting global and postcolonial identities with an education system that inhabits colonial traditions. We highlight key tensions arising from the impetus to develop national and cosmopolitan identities through Literature, and reflect on the implications for future directions in teaching.