Dr Tan Ern Ser is Associate Professor, Department of Sociology; Academic Convener, Singapore Studies, and Chair, Social Science and Policy Cluster, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences; Academic Adviser, IPS Social Lab; and Deputy Chair, General Education Committee, at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He was previously Vice-Dean of Students, NUS, and Head, IPS Social Lab.
Ern Ser received his PhD in Sociology from Cornell University, USA. He is author of “Does Class Matter?” (2004) and “Class and Social Orientations” (2015). He is co-investigator of Asian Barometer-Singapore and World Values Survey-Singapore. He is involved in a commissioned project on social capital in Singapore and an academic research project on the death penalty in Singapore.
Ern Ser has served as research consultant to government ministries. He is Research Adviser, Ministry of Social and Family Development; Chairman, Research Advisory Panel, HDB; Chairman, Programme Advisory Committee for Sociology and the Social Science Core, SIM University; and Member, Families for Life Council. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 2013.
Research Interests
Political values; governance and democracy; class and stratification; citizenship and national identity; ethnic relations; industrial relations and elderly
Publications
- Teo, K. K., Tan E. S., and Koh, G. (2023). Singapore: An Outlier? In, Chu, Y. H., Chung, Y. T., Huang, M. H., and Huang, K. P. (eds.), How Asians View Democratic Legitimacy. Taipei: Taiwan National University Press (pp. 348-360).
- Mathew, M., Hou, M., Tan, E. S. & Chua, V. (2021). Making Identity Count in Singapore: Understanding Singaporeans' National Pride and Identity. IPS Working Paper No. 41.
- Chua, V., Koh, G., Tan, E. S., & Shih, D. (2020). Social Capital in Singapore: The Power of Network Diversity. Routledge.
- Tan, E. S. (2016). Public housing and community development: Planning for urban diversity in a city-state. In C. K. Heng (Ed.), 50 years of urban planning in Singapore (pp.257-272). Singapore: World Scientific.
- Tan, E. S. (2015). Social mobility. In D. Chan (Ed.), 50 years of social issues in Singapore (pp.119-132). Singapore: World Scientific.
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- Tan, E. S. (2015). Class and social orientations: Key findings from the Social Stratification Survey 2011. IPS Exchange Series No.4.
- Thang, L. L. & Tan, E. S. (2014). Bonding of the generations: Promoting family values and intergenerational solidarity in Singapore. In J. Griffiths (Ed.), Family futures (pp.61-63). London: Tudor Rose.
- Thang, L. L. & Tan, E. S. (2014). Bonding of the generations: Promoting family values and intergenerational solidarity in Singapore. In J. Griffiths (Ed.), Family futures (pp.61-63). London: Tudor Rose.
- Chua, V. & Tan, E. S. (2012). National identity. In G. Ritzer (Ed.), Wiley-Blackwell encyclopedia of globalization (pp.1-2). New York: Blackwell Publishing.
Op-eds/Commentaries
- Tan, E.S. & Lim, H. (2024, Apr 3). Qualifications v skills: Is one just paper, the other the real deal?. The Straits Times.
- Tan, E.S. & Sim, K. L. (2023, May 17). Why does everyone think they are middle class?. The Straits Times.
- Teo, K.K. & Tan, E.S. (2020, July 6). The NCMP scheme: keep it or dump it?. IPS Commons.
- Tan, E. S. (2018, August 8). How can Singapore move up the values ladder?. TODAY.
- Tan, E. S., Chua, V., & Koh, G. (2018, January 11). While social class division exists, it does not mean Singapore is divided. TODAY.