top of page
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Kenneth Paul Tan is a tenured professor of politics, film, and cultural studies, working across Singapore and Hong Kong. His interdisciplinary scholarship bridges political science, sociology, cultural studies, and media analysis, with a special interest in democracy, postcolonialism, and cinematic hauntology. A Cambridge-trained academic and author, Tan is also an award-winning educator, keynote speaker, and public intellectual dedicated to reimagining justice, democracy, and the public good through both scholarly and creative practice.

  • Download CV

Key Achievements

F2BC28A1-D768-49F4-A45B-9F8387B59D07_1_105_c.jpeg

Research Impact (Top 2% Scientist)

Performance Award for Research Supervision

Outstanding Educator Award

Tan has been ranked among the world’s top 2% of scientists by Stanford University (2021–present), recognised for influential contributions to Cultural Studies, International Studies, and the Social Sciences.

Tan received the Hong Kong Baptist University Performance Award (2024) for outstanding mentorship and supervision of postgraduate research students.

Tan has been awarded more than ten teaching awards, including the National University of Singapore’s highest teaching honour—the 2008 Outstanding Educator Award—in recognition of his transformative and interdisciplinary approach to education.

Leadership in Higher Education

Tan has held pivotal academic leadership roles at the National University of Singapore. As Vice Dean at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, he led the School’s academic strategy during its most critical phase of growth, helping shape one of Asia’s top policy schools. He took primary responsibility for academic development, curriculum innovation, and faculty matters. Earlier in his career, he served as Assistant Head of the Political Science Department, and was elected Chair of the NUS Teaching Academy, a university-wide body dedicated to advancing pedagogical excellence. Tan regularly consults on matters of higher education policy and leadership, and has been invited to speak at international forums and academic institutions around the world on topics including curriculum reform, interdisciplinary education, and the public mission of the university.

Visiting Appointments

Scholarship Awards

Tan has held visiting or honorary appointments at Harvard, Georgetown (Fulbright Scholar), Sciences Po, INSEAD, the University of Duisburg-Essen, the Australian National University, Griffith University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the University of Hong Kong.

Tan received highly competitive and prestigious scholarships such as the Lee Kuan Yew Postgraduate Scholarship for doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge (1996–2000) and a Singapore Overseas Merit Scholarship to study Economics and Politics at the University of Bristol (1991-1994).

Social Impact

Tan has made significant contributions beyond academia, playing an influential role in shaping Singapore’s cultural and civic landscape. As Founding Chair of the Asian Film Archive, he was instrumental in establishing one of the region’s most important institutions for the preservation and promotion of Asian cinematic heritage. His leadership helped position the archive as a hub for critical reflection on film, memory, and identity. He also served as Chair of the Board of Directors of The Necessary Stage, a pioneering theatre company known for its bold, socially engaged productions. Tan’s public service includes appointments to several key national advisory boards, including the National Museum of Singapore, the National Arts Council, and Our Singapore Conversation, a major government-led civic engagement exercise. Across these roles, he has consistently championed inclusive, forward-looking cultural and social development.

Bio

IMG_0029.JPG

Kenneth Paul Tan is a tenured Professor of Politics, Film, and Cultural Studies at Hong Kong Baptist University, recruited under its prestigious Talent100 initiative in 2021. He teaches and conducts interdisciplinary research across the School of Communication, Department of Journalism, Academy of Film, and Department of Government and International Studies. 

 

​Previously, he was a tenured Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, where he served nearly a decade on the senior leadership team. As Vice Dean during its most critical phase of growth, he played a leading role in shaping the School’s academic direction. He also taught in the NUS Political Science Department (as Assistant Head) and in the University Scholars Programme, the university’s flagship liberal arts initiative.

 

​An award-winning educator and mentor, Tan received numerous accolades, including NUS’s highest teaching honour—the Outstanding Educator Award—and was elected Chair of its Teaching Academy. In 2024, he received the HKBU Performance Award for Research Supervision. Since 2021, he has consistently been ranked among the world’s top 2% of scientists by Stanford University, recognised especially for his contributions to Cultural Studies, International Studies, and the Social Sciences.​

 

Tan’s research explores the cultural politics of power, identity, and memory in postcolonial and globalising Asia, through an interdisciplinary lens. He is the author or editor of eight books and numerous journal articles, and is currently completing a new book on cinema, haunting, and postcolonial afterlives in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan.​

 

He is also an active public intellectual, regularly invited to deliver lectures and speak at forums, and often interviewed or cited in international media. He has held visiting or honorary appointments at Harvard, Georgetown (Fulbright), Sciences Po, INSEAD, the University of Duisburg-Essen, the Australian National University, Griffith University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the University of Hong Kong. He holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge (Lee Kuan Yew Scholar) and a First Class Honours degree from the University of Bristol (Singapore Overseas Merit Scholar).​

 

Beyond academia, Tan was the founding Chair of the Asian Film Archive, chaired the Board of Directors of The Necessary Stage (a leading Singapore theatre company), and served on the Advisory Boards of the National Museum of Singapore and the National Arts Council. He is a trained musician and a marathon runner.

What people say about KPT. . .

Dean Kishore Mahbubani, Speech, 2 August 2017

"The master-educator of the LKY School … He’s done a truly remarkable job in his 5 years as Vice Dean. … If you don’t have someone who provides dynamic and outstanding leadership in the core critical areas of the School, the School will not have succeeded as much as it has. So to all who say that the LKY School has done exceptionally well in the last 5 years, I’d say let’s be honest about it. Thank you Kenneth Paul Tan."

Professor Elvin Ong

Facebook post, 4 September 2020

"Prof Kenneth Paul Tan's departure [from the LKY School] will be a great loss to NUS and Singapore. Not only is he one of the most prolific and insightful scholars writing on Singapore politics and culture, he is also a tremendous teacher, having won numerous teaching awards and taught countless numbers of undergraduate and graduate students. I had the privilege of sitting in one of his graduate classes on Singapore policymaking at LKYSPP some years ago. It was a real treat seeing a master of his craft at work. And of course, he's one of the nicest persons I've met, cheering junior academics along whenever he can. I'm now thoroughly jealous of my colleagues in Hong Kong and HKBU."

Distinguished Professor Asit Biswas, Letter, 2 July 2017

"During my 50+ years of academic work in four continents, I have not encountered a single person in a senior position who has been always scrupulously honest, constructive, objective, full of integrity and supportive. This is in addition to your intellectual prowess."

Shriya Mohan, UNDP

Email, 26 May 2022

"Even after all these years I remember your classes and some of your lectures so clearly. What I absorbed most was your spirit of fearless enquiry, which is society's best bet to better itself. It was an honour to be your student."

Mint, 28 March 2014

"His peers call him 'a gentleman scholar as well as a bold intellectual' ... He is ... the very model of a new breed of a 'modern university leader' ... In his own way, he is pushing the boundaries to further open the space for public discourse in Singapore for 'better outcomes for all'."

Professor Donald Low, Letter, 23 October 2019I

" ... in our polarised and polarising societies ..., our academic institutions face unprecedented challenges. Their traditional roles as centres for independent scholarship and non-partisan dialogue, and as trusted sources of expertise are coming under threat. Increasingly, our post-modern societies question the value of universities’ neutrality and non-partisanship. More so than before, our universities need thoughtful, independent, socially impactful and critical minds to address society’s most vexatious and contentious problems. ... In this respect, I can think of no better scholar than Kenneth to meet this need. ... In these politically charged and fragmented times, our universities need more of these silo-defying, silo-busting scholars."
EA87B691-86DB-4F2D-BF24-30C3BBB333E4_1_1
bottom of page