Hi Everyone, I signed the 2013 Harvard Berkman statement cautioning Internet researchers that the signatories did not believe NTU meets international norms for the protection of academic freedom. http://cheriangeorgestatement.tumblr.com/ Although the statement was speculative in 2013, since then a former NTU Dean admitted that the controversial firing was not an NTU decision and was imposed on the university by the government. http://bit.ly/1S8hYxT Why would a bunch of international Internet researchers take a stand on this issue? It's not as though the signatures on that letter are all people who are deeply involved in Singaporean academic life. (I'm not.) I'm sure many of those who signed knew almost nothing about Singapore. And why Singapore? The world is full of injustice. The answer is that many Singaporean academics at a variety of levels have asked for or supported international pressure on this issue. Some of them may not feel comfortable posting publicly about it with a viewpoint opposite to Patrick's. Singapore is a rich country with excellent PR. It is a realistic concern that foreign academics studying the Internet, media and/or communication (people who tend to have intellectual commitments to the freedom of information) may not know that they are applying to what Human Rights Watch calls a "textbook example" of a repressive state. Christian On Wed, Aug 5, 2015 at 10:37 AM, Patrick Williams <subcultures@gmail.com> wrote:

I saw Philip Howard's response to the NTU jobs on the CITASA and AoIR listservs. Just to follow up on it.

I'm not sure where the information that the president of the country overturned Cherian George's tenure decision came from, but my understanding (and FYI I'm an associate professor at NTU) is that NTU's board denied his tenure; there was no overturning. Certainly there were many faculty, including me, who were shocked by the incident, but there were probably just as many who were not surprised. I learned very quickly after moving to NTU that engaging in actions (whether through activism, publishing research, etc.) that directly criticize government policies could have dire consequences. But I would disagree that "it is a bit early, and a bit risky, to invest your academic career in Singapore." The research environment is lively and active, the faculty is internationally diverse, and faculty are supported in their work....as long as they don't bite the hand that feeds them. [Yes, that may feel like a slap in the face to a liberal academic, but it's also increasingly a reality in higher education everywhere.]

The Cherian George case was political, but then again people are denied tenure or fired every year at universities for political reasons. You didn't do what your dean asked asked you to do once and got on her/his bad side....you didn't collaborate with the 'right' people in a lab or department or wherever....you told your students God doesn't exist....such stories circulate in the US, UK, Europe, and elsewhere as well. Even tenured professors in the US feel unsafe at some institutions, from teaching on sensitive issues to not securing 'enough' grant money...Singapore is nothing special in this regard.

There are many people who don't get tenure at NTU, but many who do. I would agree that scholars doing advocacy or activist work that would target Singaporean public policy might very well do better elsewhere. But there are many scholars in the humanities, social sciences, and communication who do great work otherwise. Therefore I would add a caveat to Philip's statement: "If you study communication, technology, journalism, media, or have domains of inquiry that are culturally, politically, or economically sensitive, this is probably not a good place for you." A more accurate statement would be: If you study any of those things and plan to critique Singapore governmental policy, this is probably not a place for you." Folks interested in a job in Singapore can begin by looking at faculty profiles and seeing what kinds of things profs here are publishing, for one thing. Or just apply and, if you get a campus interview, ask good questions about your concerns during your visit. If you don't get a good feeling, you don't have to take the job.

Cheers,

patrick.

On Wed, Jul 29, 2015 at 7:42 AM, Philip N. Howard <pnhoward@uw.edu> wrote:

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Alas I don't believe these jobs will be good for many people on this list.

Unfortunately NTU, and Singapore, has a bad reputation for academic freedoms. Very recently the president of the country overturned a tenure decision involving one of our colleagues, Dr. Cherian George (phd Stanford), and neither his department nor his university were able to stand by him. I was one of his external reviewers and got drawn into the campaign to have the university and government respect the usual system of peer assessment.

http://techpresident.com/news/23575/op-ed-singapore-doesnt-always-need-inter...

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christian-sandvig/internet-freedom-prof-den_b_...

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http://blogs.wsj.com/indonesiarealtime/2013/03/01/singapore-professor-denied...

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If you study communication, technology, journalism, media, or have

domains

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of inquiry that are culturally, politically, or economically sensitive, this is probably not a good place for you. Singapore as a country may open up in time, but you probably don't want to be the next test case for academic freedom! It is a bit early, and a bit risky, to invest your academic career in Singapore. p.

Dr. Philip N. Howard Professor, University of Washington Professor, Central European University GPG Key: 9CAAEABC www.philhoward.org @pnhoward

**New Book** Pax Technica: How the Internet of Things May Set Us Free or Lock Us Up. Yale University Press, 2015, www.paxtechnica.org

-----Original Message----- From: CITASA [mailto:citasa-bounces@list.citasa.org] On Behalf Of Barry Wellman Sent: Sunday, July 26, 2015 3:29 PM To: communication and information technology section asa < citasa@list.citasa.org> Subject: [CITASA] 3 positions at Nanying Tech U Singapore

As Rich sez, a great dept. Barry Wellman _______________________________________________________________________ FRSC INSNA Founder University of Toronto http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman twitter: @barrywellman NETWORKED:The New Social Operating System. Lee Rainie & Barry Wellman MIT Press http://amzn.to/zXZg39 Print $14 Kindle $9

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Message: 1 Date: Sun, 26 Jul 2015 19:06:34 +0200 From: Rich Ling <riseling@gmail.com> To: AoIR mailing list <air-l@listserv.aoir.org> Subject: [Air-L] Three positions in Comm School at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Message-ID: < CAO5RENCvT+mAsfUcwA5oTtOUAfydYGRVdP16dbD62r5ZeJ1Xiw@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Dear all,

There are three positions open at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. There is a Full and an Asst. Prof. position in the area of ICT and an Asst. position in Integrated Marketing Communication.

http://www.ntu.edu.sg/ohr/career/CurrentOpenings/FacultyOpenings/WKWSCI/Page...

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The University is very dynamic. It is rising in the rankings and it is a great place to work.

-- Rich L.

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