While previously seen as a taboo, talking about race in Singapore is becoming more common now especially with the rise of social media. However, while social media opens space for discourse, it also creates space for polarisation. So how can we talk about instances of racism? Do such conversations detract from the larger structural racism? Aren’t we tired from talking about racism?

On the first episode of the second season, host and Associate Director at the Institute of Policy Studies Liang Kaixin chats with two of our guests Daniel Goh, Associate Professor of Sociology, and Co-founder of Ministry of Funny Haresh Tilani about the pros and cons of using social media as a platform to talk about race, the idea of Chinese privilege and the changing attitudes towards discussions about race.

Find out more about conversations about race:
Today (17 November 2021): Understanding how Singapore’s youths feel about race and religion
The Straits Times (12 September 2021): Let’s talk about race, but not just about race
NDR 2021: PM Lee says ‘entirely baseless’ to claim that ‘Chinese privilege’ exists in Singapore https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/ndr-entirely-baseless-claim-chinese-privilege-exists-singapore-lee-hsien-loong-2143026
Channel News Asia (19 July 2021): The Big Read: High time to talk about racism, but Singapore society ill-equipped after decades of treating it as taboo
IPS-RSIS Forum on Race and Racism in Singapore (25 June 2021) https://lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/ips/events/details/ips-rsis-forum-on-race-and-racism-in-singapore
Academia SG (14 June 2020): How to talk about race in Singapore: a conversation with Mohd Imran Taib

About our guests:

Daniel Goh

Associate Professor of Sociology and Associate Provost of Undergraduate Education at National University of Singapore (NUS)

Daniel specialises in comparative-historical sociology and studies state formation, urbanism, postcolonialism, race and multiculturalism, and religion in Asia.

After graduating from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with a PhD in Sociology, he joined NUS as an Assistant Professor of Sociology in 2005. He is currently the Associate Professor of Sociology and the Associate Provost of Undergraduate Education at NUS where he enjoys teaching and learning from undergraduate and graduate students.

He was also a Workers’ Party Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) in the 13th Parliament of Singapore between 2016 and 2020. He has since retired from political service.

He has published many books, special issues, journal articles and book chapters. His more recent works include Regulating Religion: Norms, Modes and Challenges, ‘Chinese Privilege’ as Shortcut in Singapore and Protest and the Culture War in Singapore.

Haresh Tilani

Co-founder and Creative Director of Ministry of Funny

Haresh is a content creator, filmmaker, podcaster and digital marketer. He is the Co-founder and Creative Director of Ministry of Funny, a comedy brand that has produced viral content in the form of online videos, podcasts, live shows and an award-winning TV series.

He has produced videos that have garnered over 27 million views and his podcast “Yah Lah But…” is one of the top podcasts in Singapore. He has also been featured in international media including South China Morning Post, Variety and the Hollywood Reporter.

He is inspired by the power of comedy to make people laugh, think and drive social change and he was even one of YouTube’s 47 Creators for Change Global Ambassadors in 2018.

In 2019, he co-created, co-wrote and starred in “She’s a Terrorists & I Love Her”, a dark comedy TV series that won the “Best Original Program by a Streamer/OTT” at the 2019 Asian Academy Creative Awards and “Best Comedy Program” at the 2020 Asian Academy Creative Awards.

On Diversity is a podcast inspired by the Institute of Policy Studies Managing Diversities research programme. In each episode, we chat with guests to explore what diversity means to them, the changes they are making, and the changes they hope to see in an increasingly fragmented society.

More from On Diversity
Episode 1: The Cancelled and the Woke, with career journalist Lydia Lim and poet and writer, Theophilus Kwek
Episode 2: Reclaiming Dementia, with Dr Chen Shiling, dementia physician, and Johnson Soh, founder of SanCare Asia
Episode 3: What is Multiculturalism?, with Low Sze Wee, CEO of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre and singer-songwriter Jamiel Said
Episode 4: Diversity and the Singapore Media, with Mark Tan, founder and CEO of Rice Media, and Dr Chew Han Ei, Senior Research Fellow at IPS Social Lab
Episode 5: Sex and People with Disabilities, with Dr Lohsnah Jeevanandam, Director of the Clinical Psychology Programme at the National University Singapore, and Dr Justin Lee, Senior Research Fellow at the IPS Society and Culture Department.
Episode 6: Arts vs Culture, with Shaza Ishak, Managing Director of Teater Ekamatra, and Clarissa Oon, Head of Communications and Content at Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.
Episode 7: Empathy and Healthcare, with Dr Mohan Tiru, Senior Consultant Emergency Physician at Woodlands Health Campus and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, and Dr Maleena Suppiah Cavert Deputy Director of Clinical Education at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, NUHS
Episode 8: Of Marriage and Migration, with Dr Kalpana Vignehsa, Research Fellow at the Governance and Economy Department at IPS, and Colin Miles, Co-CEO of Zilliqa Research Pte Ltd
Episode 9: Tech and the Token Female, with Anna Gong, CEO and Founder of Perx Technologies, and Wynthia Goh, Head of NCS NEXT Digital

 

 

While previously seen as a taboo, talking about race in Singapore is becoming more common now especially with the rise of social media. However, while social media opens space for discourse, it also creates space for polarisation. So how can we talk about instances of racism? Do such conversations detract from the larger structural racism? Aren&rsquo;t we tired from talking about racism?
On the first episode of the second season, host and Associate Director at the Institute of Policy Studies Liang Kaixin chats with two of our guests Daniel Goh, Associate Professor of Sociology, and Co-founder of Ministry of Funny Haresh Tilani about the pros and cons of using social media as a platform to talk about race, the idea of Chinese privilege and the changing attitudes towards discussions about race.
Find out more about conversations about race:
<ul>
<li>Today (17 November 2021): <a href="https://www.todayonline.com/commentary/listening-how-singapores-youth-feel-about-race-and-religion">Understanding how Singapore&rsquo;s youths feel about race and religion</a></li>
<li>The Straits Times (12 September 2021): <a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/lets-talk-about-race-but-not-just-about-race-0?close=true">Let&rsquo;s talk about race, but not just about race</a></li>
<li>NDR 2021: PM Lee says &lsquo;entirely baseless&rsquo; to claim that &lsquo;Chinese privilege&rsquo; exists in Singapore <a href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/ndr-entirely-baseless-claim-chinese-privilege-exists-singapore-lee-hsien-loong-2143026">https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/ndr-entirely-baseless-claim-chinese-privilege-exists-singapore-lee-hsien-loong-2143026</a></li>
<li>Channel News Asia (19 July 2021): <a href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/the-big-read-racism-singapore-society-race-interracial-1955501">The Big Read: High time to talk about racism, but Singapore society ill-equipped after decades of treating it as taboo</a></li>
<li>IPS-RSIS Forum on Race and Racism in Singapore (25 June 2021) <a href="https://lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/ips/events/details/ips-rsis-forum-on-race-and-racism-in-singapore">https://lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/ips/events/details/ips-rsis-forum-on-race-and-racism-in-singapore</a></li>
<li>Academia SG (14 June 2020): <a href="https://www.academia.sg/interviews/imran-taib/">How to talk about race in Singapore: a conversation with Mohd Imran Taib</a></li>
</ul>
About our guests:
Daniel Goh
Associate Professor of Sociology and Associate Provost of Undergraduate Education at National University of Singapore (NUS)
Daniel specialises in comparative-historical sociology and studies state formation, urbanism, postcolonialism, race and multiculturalism, and religion in Asia.
After graduating from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with a PhD in Sociology, he joined NUS as an Assistant Professor of Sociology in 2005. He is currently the Associate Professor of Sociology and the Associate Provost of Undergraduate Education at NUS where he enjoys teaching and learning from undergraduate and graduate students.
He was also a Workers&rsquo; Party Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) in the 13th Parliament of Singapore between 2016 and 2020. He has since retired from political service.
He has published many books, special issues, journal articles and book chapters. His more recent works include Regulating Religion: Norms, Modes and Challenges, &lsquo;Chinese Privilege&rsquo; as Shortcut in Singapore and Protest and the Culture War in Singapore.
Haresh Tilani
Co-founder and Creative Director of Ministry of Funny
Haresh is a content creator, filmmaker, podcaster and digital marketer. He is the Co-founder and Creative Director of Ministry of Funny, a comedy brand that has produced viral content in the form of online videos, podcasts, live shows and an award-winning TV series.
He has produced videos that have garnered over 27 million views and his podcast &ldquo;Yah Lah But&hellip;&rdquo; is one of the top podcasts in Singapore. He has also been featured in international media including South China Morning Post, Variety and the Hollywood Reporter.
He is inspired by the power of comedy to make people laugh, think and drive social change and he was even one of YouTube&rsquo;s 47 Creators for Change Global Ambassadors in 2018.
In 2019, he co-created, co-wrote and starred in &ldquo;She&rsquo;s a Terrorists &amp; I Love Her&rdquo;, a dark comedy TV series that won the &ldquo;Best Original Program by a Streamer/OTT&rdquo; at the 2019 Asian Academy Creative Awards and &ldquo;Best Comedy Program&rdquo; at the 2020 Asian Academy Creative Awards.
On Diversity is a podcast inspired by the Institute of Policy Studies Managing Diversities research programme. In each episode, we chat with guests to explore what diversity means to them, the changes they are making, and the changes they hope to see in an increasingly fragmented society.
More from On Diversity
<ul>
<li><a href="https://ipscommons.sg/ips-on-diversity-podcast-s1e1-the-cancelled-the-woke/">Episode 1: The Cancelled and the Woke, with career journalist Lydia Lim and poet and writer, Theophilus Kwek</a></li>
<li><a href="https://ipscommons.sg/ips-on-diversity-podcast-s1e2-reclaiming-dementia/">Episode 2: Reclaiming Dementia, with Dr Chen&nbsp;Shiling, dementia physician, and Johnson Soh, founder of&nbsp;SanCare&nbsp;Asia</a></li>
<li><a href="https://ipscommons.sg/ips-on-diversity-podcast-s1e3-what-is-multiculturalism/">Episode 3: What is Multiculturalism?, with&nbsp;Low Sze Wee, CEO of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre and singer-songwriter Jamiel Said</a></li>
<li><a href="https://ipscommons.sg/ips-on-diversity-podcast-s1e4-diversity-and-the-singapore-media/">Episode 4: Diversity and the Singapore Media, with Mark Tan, founder and CEO of Rice Media, and Dr Chew Han Ei, Senior Research Fellow at IPS Social Lab</a></li>
<li><a href="https://ipscommons.sg/ips-on-diversity-podcast-s1e5-sex-and-people-with-disabilities/">Episode 5: Sex and People with Disabilities, with Dr Lohsnah Jeevanandam, Director of the Clinical Psychology Programme at the National University Singapore, and Dr Justin Lee, Senior Research Fellow at the IPS Society and Culture Department</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://ipscommons.sg/ips-on-diversity-podcast-s1e6-art-vs-culture/">Episode 6: Arts vs Culture, with Shaza Ishak, Managing Director of Teater Ekamatra, and Clarissa Oon, Head of Communications and Content at Esplanade &ndash; Theatres on the Bay.</a></li>
<li><a href="https://ipscommons.sg/ips-on-diversity-podcast-s1e7-empathy-healthcare/">Episode 7: Empathy and Healthcare, with Dr Mohan Tiru, Senior Consultant Emergency Physician at Woodlands Health Campus and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, and Dr Maleena Suppiah Cavert Deputy Director of Clinical Education at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, NUHS</a></li>
<li><a href="https://ipscommons.sg/ips-on-diversity-podcast-s1e8-of-marriage-and-migration/">Episode 8: Of Marriage and Migration, with Dr Kalpana Vignehsa, Research Fellow at the Governance and Economy Department at IPS, and Colin Miles, Co-CEO of Zilliqa Research Pte Ltd</a></li>
<li><a href="https://ipscommons.sg/ips-on-diversity-podcast-s1e9-tech-and-the-token-female/">Episode 9: Tech and the Token Female, with Anna Gong, CEO and Founder of Perx Technologies, and Wynthia Goh, Head of NCS NEXT Digital</a></li>
</ul>
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"On Diversity" is a podcast series of new insights and fresh discussions, inspired by IPS’ Managing Diversities research programme.

In each episode, IPS Associate Director Liang Kaixin will chat with guests to explore what diversity means to them, the changes they are making and the changes they hope to see in an increasingly fragmented society.

On Diversity features new episodes every week.

"On Diversity" is a podcast series of new insights and fresh discussions, inspired by IPS’ Managing Diversities research programme.
In each episode, IPS Associate Director Liang Kaixin will chat with guests to explore what diversity means to them, the changes they are making and the changes they hope to see in an increasingly fragmented society.
On Diversity features new episodes every week.

IPS On Diversity Podcast

"On Diversity" is a podcast series of new insights and fresh discussions, inspired by IPS’ Managing Diversities research programme. In each episode, IPS Associate Director Liang Kaixin will chat with guests to explore what diversity means to them, the changes they are making and the changes they hope to see in an increasingly fragmented society. On Diversity features new episodes every week.

"On Diversity" is a podcast series of new insights and fresh discussions, inspired by IPS’ Managing Diversities research programme. In each episode, IPS Associate Director Liang Kaixin will chat with guests to explore what diversity means to them, the changes they are making and the changes they hope to see in an increasingly fragmented society. On Diversity features new episodes every week.

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