About

 

Hi! I’m Kelly Anne Tay Qi-Wen, an undergraduate majoring in English Literature at the National University of Singapore (NUS), with an especial interest in postcolonial, especially Singapore and Irish, literature. I’m also a student in the University Scholars Programme (USP).

As I state in my first post, I started this blog as a way in which I could keep myself engaged with issues concerning criminal justice and prison systems, often with an interest in relating it back to the Singaporean context.

I got interested in all things prison-related after my stint at the University of Oregon (UO) during the terms Winter, Spring and Summer 2008. In Spring, I applied for and was selected for the course, “Literature and Ethics: Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov“, which was part of a larger programme, the Inside-Out Prison Exchange. This was a joint venture between the UO’s Clark Honors College and Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP), and was taught by Professor Steven Shankman.

A class of 26 was formed, with an equal number of students from the Inside and Outside. Being an Inside student meant that you were from OSP, and being an Outside student meant that you were from the UO. We met every week on Wednesday in OSP for 3 hours, reading Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel, The Brothers Karamazov, alongside Emmanuel Levinas’ philosphy on The Other in the book, Ethics and Infinity.

The course was life-changing and has impinged on my consciousness ever since. This blog was set up in an effort to create a space in which I could share my thoughts on issues surrounding criminal justice with others, and hear others’ in return. The other two ways in which I hope to continue this interest in prison systems are to a) volunteer with the Singapore Prison Service and b) construct an Advanced Curriculum module with NUS’ USP.

Apart from this, I was a student at Singapore Chinese Girls’ School (SCGS) for both Primary and Secondary school, and attended Junior College (JC) at Saint Andrew’s Junior College (SAJC). In Primary school I was a dancer, in Secondary school, a gymnast, and in JC, a dancer again. I’m currently performer with Attitude Dance Studio’s performance team, Salseros with Attitude.

I’m also an avid traveler and local food-eater.

With that, please feel free to comment or send me an e-mail (kellyqwtay@gmail.com) with any thoughts you might have. Thanks and I hope you’re prodded to thought while perusing.

*Note: This is not a blog for a module, but one created and sustained through personal interest. I am neither graded nor sponsored for this blog.