Topic . The Goals Of My Research Strive To Assess The...

Topic The goals of my research strive to assess the biopolitical construction of a socially embedded hierarchy of otherness in Singapore, with specific regards to its impact on the reproduction of low-skilled migrant workers. More concretely, this essay seeks to address the restriction and stratification of reproduction amongst low-skilled migrant workers in Singapore, illuminating and analyzing the key structural factors that contribute to this reality. As fertility levels in developed nations continue to decline and reliance on immigrant labour progressively increases, critical issues concerning the composition of national and ethnic identity rise to the fore. Singapore, a nation state with an incredibly strong relationship to†¦show more content†¦Expected Findings Upon completion of my research, I expect to find that low-skill labour migrants in Singapore occupy a position at the bottom of the social order. Hence, due to a number of criteria, they are strictly â€Å"othered† by the Singaporean state and their reproduction is consequently devalued via various mechanisms. If these are the findings I come to, I will conclude that the restriction and stratification of low-skill labour migrant s reproduction functions as a means for the state to construct a certain national identity; one comprised of ideal, desirable citizens. Developing Argument Due to their marginal position on a biopoitically constructed hierarchy of otherness, labour migrants in Singapore often exist as a form of â€Å"bare life† (Agamben 1998); one constructed through biopolitical action, characterized by a lack of access to resources generally available to other demographics, and solidified through a restriction to safe, fulfilling, and free reproductive lives. While Singaporean society deems high-skilled and ethnic majority migrants as socially valuable, low-skilled labour migrants – who are largely uneducated, poor, and socially precarious – find their degree of reproductive agency acutely stratified. Thus, various structural barriers exist with regards to reproduction for migrants, many of which remain absent for the majority of Singapore s