Staff Profile

I joined the department in 2021 as a Lecturer in the Politics of Race and Ethnicity. My research examines race, citizenship, multiculturalism and migration, with specific expertise on Singapore. My approach to research is intersectional and interdisciplinary, drawing on qualitative approaches inspired within and beyond the discipline of politics, including methods from sociology, geography and cultural studies.

Currently, I am working on two areas of research that develop understandings of how citizenship, ethnicity and migration are mutually governed and negotiated by international communities, governments and societies. 

Much of my work is inspired by multiculturalist thought. My work contests traditional theories of multicultural citizenship founded on liberal classicist notions that equality can only be assured, and maximised, by a standardised set of rights and rules across individual citizens. Recognising citizenship and migration as existing at the nexus of the international and local, I argue for the inclusion of non-citizens (i.e. migrants) by questioning liberal frameworks and introducing neorepublican tenets of non-domination. This premise forms the backbone of my research, which highlights the intersection of cultural, political and economic disadvantages, and the need for institutional redress through group-specific rights. My arguments and findings are published in peer-reviewed journals as well as my monograph. 

Other ongoing projects include studying:

• The intersection of race, knowledge-production and migration among domestic migrant workers in Singapore
• Understandings of race in Southeast Asia, guided by Charles Mills' idea of the racial contract

I teach POL3125: Politics of Citizenship that examines how citizenship affects structures, lived experiences and identity-formation among citizens and non-citizens.

I also co-teach POL2114: Politics of Race that explores the intersections of race and politics in a broad context.

• Articles

  • Teo T-A. Responsible migrants: rights-claiming, risks and costs at the shelter. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 2025, 51(3), 695-714.
  • Teo T-A, Vasu N. Singapore GE 2020: The Beginning of a New-Old Order?. The Round Table 2023, 112(2), 122-136.
  • Teo T-A. Minstrelsy beyond the ‘west’: Deflections, continuities and the un/knowing of race in Singapore. Journal of Intercultural Studies 2022, 43(1), 1-22.
  • Teo T-A. Silent citizenship: choices, tactics and claims-making among sexual citizens. Citizenship Studies 2021, 25(5), 656-677.
  • Teo T-A. Multiculturalism beyond citizenship: The inclusion of non-citizens. Ethnicities 2021, 21(1), 165-191.
  • Giovanni A, Grépin KA, Kamradt-Scott A, Lee K, Marion S, Worsnop CZ, Papagaryfallou I, Papamichail A, Piper J, Rothery F, Teh BCG, Teo T-A, Kim SY. COVID-19 and IR Scholarship: One Profession, Many Voices. International Studies Review 2021, 23(2), 302-345.
  • Teo T-A. Perceptions of Meritocracy in Singapore: Inconsistencies, Contestations and Biases. Asian Studies Review 2019, 43(2), 184-205.
  • Teo T-A. Conduct and Counter-conduct in the "Nonliberal" State: Singapore’s Headscarf Affairs. Global Society 2019, 33(2), 201-223.

• Authored Book

  • Teo T-A. Civic Multiculturalism in Singapore: Revisiting Citizenship, Rights and Recognition. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019.

• Book Chapters

  • Teo T-A. Multicultural citizenship in Singapore. In: Abu-Laban,Y;Gagnon,A-G;Tremblay,A, ed. Assessing Multiculturalism in Global Comparative Perspective: A New Politics of Diversity for the 21st Century?. New York, NY, USA: Routledge, 2022, pp.60-80.
  • Teo Terri-Anne, Cabuyao Priscilla. Dual Citizenship and National Service in Singapore. In: Ho, Shu Huang and Ong-Webb, Graham, ed. National Service in Singapore. Singapore: World Scientific, 2018, pp.175-202. In Preparation.
  • Teo Terri-Anne. Invisible identities in 2015: Uncovering absences, conflations and differences in race, religion and gender. In: Lee, Terence; Tan, Kevin Y.L, ed. Change in Voting: Singapore's 2015 General Election. Singapore: Ethos Books, 2016, pp.146-168. In Preparation.

• Edited Book

  • Teo TA, Wynne-Hughes E, ed. Postcolonial Governmentalities: Rationalities, Violences and Contestations. Rowman and Littlefield International, 2020.

• Report

  • Teo T-A, Amirrudin A, Dunne C. Costs of low-waged labour migration: Difficulties, implications and recommendations. Singapore: TWC2, 2018.