All Approved Courses for 2012

The course will explore an important aspect in Chinese culture and society throught readings and discussions of literary works on knight-errant heroism(俠義精神). It will guide students to investigate the origin and development of knight-errant heroism through the reading of representative literature. Students will also study the concept from philosophical, social, and literart perspectives, with emphases on the sense of moral responsibility(當仁不讓，見義勇為), the use of un-authorized force (taking law into one’s own hands), and the manly tragic aesthetics. Its relevance in modern society and its contrast with the regard of rule by law will also be discussed.

 

The course will investigate (1)how mass culture, e.g. architecture, food, movies, clothing, are represented in literature; (2)how mass culture influences literary writing; (3)how the relationship of literature and mass culture makes an impact on our life style.

本科探討建築、飲食、電影、服飾等大眾文化類型在具體文學文本中的呈現，大眾文化如何影響文學的書寫，以及大眾文化與文學之間的關聯對人們的生活方式所造成的影響。

 

This course will study the adaptation and transformation of Confucian culture in an Asian country undergoing modernization. Korean television dramas of various themes, such as historical heroes, love stories and family affairs will be used. Through analyzing the behavior and thinking patterns of modern and ancient characters in the drama, the course will examine the significance of Confucian culture in Korea and whereby draw comparison between Korean Confucian culture and that in the original Confucian classics.

本科考察亞洲國家的儒家思想在現代化下的作用和變化。本科採用不同題材的韓國電視劇，包括歷史傳記、愛情文藝、家庭倫理等劇種，通過分析劇中古今人物的思想行為模式，討論儒家文化在韓國的重要性，比較韓國儒家文化與儒家原典記載的差異。

 

This course aims to deepen students’ understanding of a facet of Chinese civilization, namely the relationship between humans and nature in Chinese literature. Through the reading of selected writings in the genre of Chinese travel literature, students will be exposed to the beauty of landscapes. The course contains six topics, each covering one scenic site on which writers of the past composed their literary works in the genres of poetry and prose. These works will be discussed in conjunction with relevant information on the locale in question, such as its history, terrain, religions, science, architecture, and local customs, as well as its local artwork, such as calligraphy, sculptures, and gardens.

遊觀文學是中國文學中的精華，世界自然文化遺產是自然和人文之美的結合。本課程從中國的世界自然文化遺產中選出六處歷代文人描寫較多的景觀，按每一處選擇記遊的詩歌、散文名篇若干，聯繫與該處遺產有關的歷史、地理、宗教、科學、建築、園林、書法、雕塑、民俗等各種知識，講析作品內容和表現藝術。

This course sensitizes students to the kaleidoscopic world of youth with particular reference to how youth culture is manifest in literary and linguistic expressions. This course is theme-driven (e.g. Youth Identity, Love, Sex, Drugs, Aspirations). And the choice of topics within each theme would be flexible, depending on the interests of the class.

 

This course will study the most fundamental concepts of linguistics with which students may more effectively manipulate to achieve humour. The kind of humour intended here focuses on theatric comedy typical of Improv and Standup. The point is to train students in the ability to take different perspectives of any information presented to them and communicate those perspectives. Use of theatric comedy provides training for students to take fresh perspectives of life and culture through role playing and keen observation. This also has the added effect of equipping students with a set of theatrical and presentation skills unique to comedy.

“Love story” critically examines a variety of love discourses, and helps students understand the emotional, physical, historical, political, and ideological dimensions of love. This course studies love in all of its (feudalistic, classical, romantic, modern, and postmodern) forms, placing special emphasis on gender, ethical, and cross-cultural issues in love relationships. Topics covered may include the romantic impulse, anxiety, jealousy, anger, shame, suffering, marriage, betrayal, guilt, abuse, divorce, and death.

This course discusses the impacts of food in Humanities by exploring the nature of human drinking and eating through philosophical, anthropological, cultural and socio-psychological discourses. It adopts an interdisciplinary approach by introducing representing theories of the subject, both classical and contemporary. The discussion starts from anthropological findings of human food consumption in various religions and cultures. It then introduces specific topics which reflect on the relation of food consumption and gender construction, cultural identities and politics, art and media representation etc., and finally reviews eating as a cultural phenomenon in local context.

The course will take an interdisciplinary and multimedia approach to examine gender constructions socially, culturally and historically in literature, film, internet, visual art, and other popular cultural forms, with concrete analyses of examples from Chinese communities and other parts of the world. Using the perspectives of contemporary gender studies including feminist scholarship, gay-lesbian analytical tools, critical theory and psychoanalysis, this course will focus on the constructed nature of gender roles, the effects of these constructions on the lives of different gender identities, and the possibilities for change and individual empowerment that a critical awareness can create.

The course aims to help student understand and analyze the major factors affecting the cultural construction of love and sex via discussion of exemplary works in both Western and Chinese cultures, and engage them in critical attitudes toward current issues on love and sex arising in the local context of Hong Kong. It will review the ideas and representations of love, sex and eroticism as cultural phenomena in Western and Chinese cultures, bringing in some representing philosophical, social and cultural perspectives of the subject.

In this course, students will be exposed to the new targets and attitudes of language learning and language use. The contemporary theoretical concepts (i.e., ethnography of learning, communication and learners, communicative competence) will be illustrated by examples taken from social, academic and workplace face-to-face and online contexts. To consolidate learning and language use, students will have to apply the new theoretical concepts to critically evaluate the ways in which English is used effectively, with particular reference to interpersonal/ intercultural experiences. They will also have to record, comment and reflect on the use of English in various settings and interaction modes as ethnographers while they are studying the course.

In this course, students will see that the spread of English is not just a story of expansion but a story of evolution and transformation, as the language changes and adapts itself to new environments and communities, and new challenges and functions, in contexts like Singapore, India, Hong Kong and mainland China. They will acquire the necessary concepts and tools to understand and analyze the linguistic as well as social, political, cultural and educational issues arising from the emergence of English as a world language.

In this course, students will get extensive opportunities to discuss and write about (after reading and listening) current issues in every sphere, both local and worldwide, and in the process improve their critical thinking and arguementation, their independent learning and information literacy skills, and their awareness of and engagement with important issues in the world today, as well as their competence in spoken and written English.

This course will give student an opportunity to experience first hand and explore music in relationship to its role in our society. In each of the three weeks devoted to one type of music in Hong Kong (traditional, popular, classical, theatrical), students are expected to: 

• acquire knowledge in such type of music, including its brief history and its general musical characteristics;
• reflect on the musical and aesthetical issues pertinent to the participated activity;
• relate the themed activity with current issues in Hong Kong’s cultural scene.

This course will introduce students to the history and aesthetics of music in the cinema, an every-day experience via TV and video presentations, and one which we take for granted. The subject will cover the origins of music as an adjunct to drama in different cultures, and the proto-cinematic stage of Wagner; and proceed from the use of music in the so-called ‘silent cinema’ through the introduction of recorded sound in the 1920s, to the development of fully synchronized sound and music scores in the 1930s, to the present day with avant-garde and experimental films. Students will acquire skills to identify and evaluate different types of music as expressive and symbolic elements in film, as well as an ability to think critically about cinematic music.

This course introduces basic terminology and concepts necessary to develop critical music listening skills; and introduces a basic repertoire of the popular American music genres of jazz, blues, and musical theatre. It will teach students to examine the cultural and historical context of the music studied; and the interplay between societal and musical developments in the context studied.

The purpose of this course is three-fold.First, there is a fundamental focus on students becoming educated and active music listeners of Western and Asian music representative of a wide range of music literature primarily from 1850 to the present. Second, the course will emphasize the development of an understanding of musical characteristics and artistic elements reflective of music of Hong Kong, China, Europe, and Americas. Third, students will gain insights into the place and role of music in not only diverse cultural and historical contexts, but also examine how the students themselves use music in their lives.

Chinese thought has immense influences over East Asia at large and is an invaluable treasure of human kind. The course will study the fundamental religious and ethical concepts of the Three Teachings (sanjiao), Confucianism, Daoism and Chinese Buddhism, such as loyalty, filial duties, Dao, Sunyata (emptiness) and the like, which play important roles in shaping the East Asian mind. With this basic understanding, student will then understand Chinese history and culture. Films that represent and deal with these Chinese religious and philosophical ideas will be exaimed and discussed.

This course aims to provide a basic introduction to the methodology of critical thinking, in particular, the basic methodology of the following: the method of linguistic-conceptual analysis, the method of logic and scientific method. Special attention will be given to the basic concepts and principles of the methodology of the three areas of the study of critical thinking aforementioned. The course, in particular, will show how to apply those concepts and principles to problem solving, the construction of sound arguments as well as the tackling of linguistic pitfalls and fallacies by using both daily life and academic examples.

Through studying the narratives of the “high fantasy” genre, this course will address some of the most compelling issues in human life, such as the origin of mankind and the universe, the motion of reality, the existence of spirits, the seductiveness of human mind, the justification of God, and the conception of salvation. The course will also explore how traditional Chinese fantastic and romantic narratives – Daoist and Buddhist in particular – seek to answer similar questions with their respective religious beliefs and philosophical thoughts. Meanwhile, the course will examine how some fantasy narratives in the contemporary West – such as those by Le Guin and Wachowskis brothers – have been influenced by Daoism and Buddhism.

This subject aims at providing an introduction to a selection of major philosophical issues in the western tradition. Emphasis will be placed on showing how these issues can be relevant to our modern day living. The views of representative philosophers on such issues will be introduced along with the lectures and discussions. In addition, the course will stress the continuity between these philosophers and the connections between their respective solutions to the problems under consideration.

In this course, students will be invited to trace the recent hype of magical/demonic stories as portrayed in media and in pop literature among young people back to their cultural and religious roots (only deal with the traditions in the West, namely, the Hebraic-Judaic religion as exemplified in the Old Testament, ancient Greek philosophies, Greco-Roman mythologies and Christianity). Students will examine the attraction of these magical/demonic powers in their reverse dimensions, i.e. the general human quest for identity, truth and meaning in spiritual dimensions. Lastly, students will be asked to compare and evaluate the views and answers offered by the major cultural and religious traditions in response to the quest for life’s meaning and fulfillment.

The course will address the central issues in the history of Chinese attitudes toward sex and gender, and explore how intellectual conceptions of sex and sexuality in China are constructed linguistically, philosophically, and religiously in the classical Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist texts. Emphasis will be given to gender-related issues such as womanhood and female virtues, foot-binding, and the epistemological status of bodily experience. The course will show how the complicated views on the interrelationship between sexual identity/corporeality and spirituality in the ancient Chinese texts has both confirmed and defied traditional feminine-masculine dichotomy with their schematic representations of polarities and unity.

This course aims to introduce the major figures and schools in classical and modern Chinese philosophy. Major theses and issues in Confucianism, Daoist philosophy and Buddhist philosophy will be explained and discussed. The major concerns of Chinese philosophy in areas like metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics will be addressed, and the proposed solutions and theses to deal with those concerns will be presented and discussed. The development of modern Chinese philosophy will be surveyed. The relevance of Chinese philosophy to modern life will also be emphasized.

This course introduces the theatre to students which provides the best example for inquiry into the operation of language, body and space in the process of meaning-making. Students will discuss under guidance the culturally specific nature of various communication channels. They will also be introduced to major attempts in intercultural theatre by theatre makers including Antonin Artaud, Jerzy Grotowski, Eugenio Barba, Augusto Boal, Robert Wilson and Robert Lepage. Students will be encouraged to examine the works by these theatre makers from different disciplinary perspectives including language, translation and theatre studies, as well a range of other perspectives. In the process they will be expected to acquire a range of transferable skills from theatre practice to daily communications.

This course is designed to help students develop an interlingual as well as intercultural awareness and competence in such communication. It trains students to identify and understand the differences and similarities between English and Chinese on linguistic and cultural levels. It deals with how language and cultural elements carry meaning across language-cultures, and how students may broaden their vision of the world of linguistic and cultural diversity from a contrastive perspective. Upon completing the course, students will be equipped with a general knowledge about English and Chinese in contrast and an overall readiness to appreciate linguistic and cultural diversity for better communication with other people.

This course aims to provide an understanding of what accounting is, what it does, and where it fits into everyday experiences as students, consumers, investors or managers. This course introduces accounting from a user perspective, that is, considers accounting information from the view point of the people who will use the information when making decisions. Users may be, for example, individuals who want to know about the future cash flow implications of buying a home versus renting one; investors who need to assess the overall performance of a company from its financial statements, perhaps to decide whether to buy or sell shares; or managers who need a more detailed understanding of the costs and profits of the firm’s products or activities. The basic accounting concepts will be introduced and the decision-oriented applications of accounting will be emphasized.

This course is designed to help students understand the basics of financial accounting through exploring three questions: What is accounting information? How is it generated? How is it used? By focusing on both the generation of accounting information and the meaning behind these numbers, this course helps students understand the information of financial reports, become an informed user of accounting information and equips them with crucial decision-making skills in various business environments.

Besides the introduction of the legal systems and relevant laws in Hong Kong, this course offers a new and interesting way of learning about Hong Kong laws by emphasizing on discussion on Hong Kong cases selected and presented by the students on their research on the web and library. Therefore each session will be unique with different topics and content to be introduced and discussed by the students. After attending this course, the students will gain a general understanding of laws in Hong Kong and be able to do basic legal research on business laws in Hong Kong.

The course aims to provide students with an overview of what management accounting information is about from a user perspective. It focuses on helping students understand the meaning of the numbers in management reports, their relationship to each other, and how they are used for planning and control in various settings. Technical details are minimized in this course whenever possible, allowing more coverage on the practical functions of management accounting reports and how they can be useful to everyday experience as students, consumers or employees; and to the public administrators.

The course is designed to provide students basic knowledge in applying economics concepts in managing firms in the business environment. It introduces essential economics concepts associated with the functioning of firms and markets. Through the understanding of the production costs, consumer demand, and market structures, students are able to analyze and formulate the supply decision of a firm. The course will also cover various managerial objectives and corporate behavior in doing business. Students will learn about and understand the importance of competitive strategy and price strategy in business environment.

This course attempts to discuss the implication of the rise of China to the new world economy. As increasingly more analysts have pointed out that China will soon become another important nation that can rival the US, the course will focus on the implications of this rise. Questions such as what caused the rise of China, how sustainable is the rise, what are the impacts of this rise to African countries and how to deal with its economic relationships with the US will be thoroughly discussed in the lectures. The course will be concluded by looking into whether the rise of China will be peacefully or not. In order to deal with the above issues, concepts like opportunity cost, comparative advantages, property right theory, agency costs, domestic demand and exchange rate, etc. will be carefully explained. By and large, the course aims to train the students to comprehend how China will develop in the next few decades and how the international economic relationships will change over time.

Knowledge of economic conditions is fully reflected by economic indicators which closely tie with interest rates, inflation, corporate earnings and even overall standard of living. Monitoring economic indicators allow managers to make decisions with confidence on whether to buy more equipment, increase investment, or hire more workers. In a global environment, international economic indicators are of particular importance because they facilitate businessmen to explore overseas markets. 

This course enables students with little or no knowledge about key economic numbers to understand what these numbers tell us about the economy and how we can use them to make better investment and business decisions. To meet this goal, the course aims at answering the following questions:

1. Why are the economic indicators important to know?
2. How are the economic indicators computed?
3. What do the economic indicators have to say about the future?
4. How might carious market sectors, such as bond markets, stock markets and the foreign exchange markets react to these economic indicators?

Upon the completion of the course, students should be able to recognize the importance of the economic indicators, and their corresponding components. By understanding the underlying methodology of how they are calculated, students should be able to appreciate the usefulness of these indicators and their shortcomings. Particular emphasis is placed on highlighting the most interesting and useful data points in the economic release. Guidance is given on how to locate valuable information that may offer students a heads-up on how the economy might perform in the months ahead.

This course explains the phenomenon of increasing integration of the world’s economies and its implications on people’s daily lives and business environment. The process of globalization and different forms of economic integration, such as free trade areas, will be covered. This course is especially important and interesting to students who are interested in the economic affairs and issues of the Chinese and Asian economies because of the recent rise of regional trade agreements. The roles and structure of international trade organizations such as the World Trade Organization, World Bank, and Asian Development Bank, will be explained. Examples such as free trade areas in Asia, including the one between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), will be presented and discussed. The fundamental question is why and how countries get more integrated through foreign trade, foreign investment, and international labour migration. This course has no pre-requisites and will not cover any rigorous theory of international trade and finance. It is especially suitable to those students who want to know more about the practical and policy side of foreign trade and foreign investment without relying on formal trade theory.

This course is designed to help students understand the two most important features of our macro-economy. First, it helps students understand the sources of economic growth. Second, it helps students understand why the economy does not grow smoothly, but with cycles of economic expansions, recessions, and disturbances. 

Based on all these introductions, this course further helps students understand the roles played by government’s macroeconomic policies, which include both monetary policies and fiscal policies. It helps students evaluate these policies’ effectiveness and potential impacts.

Finally, and most importantly, it helps students well prepare themselves when they face economic booms and slumps in their future lives.

The widespread dissemination of information technology coupled with the expanding application of Internet technology creates a new digital world. This course will provide you with an understanding of the use of IT surrounding us. The implications of the IT explosion for you as an individual and for the society as a whole will be discussed in the course.

This course introduces the fundamental activities and concepts of business operations and logistics (e.g., transportation, purchasing, distribution, retailing, etc.) management in commercial and social life. Students from wide disciplines will expand their knowledge horizons by participating in logistics field visiting and video programs, taking group logistics projects, and closely contacting with industrial practitioners or professional to learn the operations of logistics services, and obtaining communication and analytical skills to solve business problems. In addition, the course will also introduce the logistics operational environments, and logistics operations in Hong Kong, China and global perspectives, as well as the relations of logistics operations with other business management.

This course aims to introduce the students to the concepts of entrepreneurship and the role of entrepreneurs in the economy. The major contents include entrepreneurial styles, types and characteristics of new ventures, innovative business models, entrepreneurial development process, entrepreneurial management process, and entrepreneurial behaviors. In particular, it discusses the innovative business models and entrepreneurial attitudes that lead to successful development of new products and services in the competitive marketplace. It also explores the elements of creative problem-solving, the identification of new business opportunities, the implications of entrepreneurship for economic development, and the social responsibility of entrepreneurs.

This course is designed to help students realize the importance of personal financial planning. Students will understand how to build a disciplined financial plan in an early stage to achieve the financial goals and non-financial goals in their lives. An appropriate use of credit cards and loans will be emphasized to avoid being destroyed by excessive and irresponsible borrowing, a common and serious problems for youths in other countries as well as Hong Kong. Other essential tools (e.g., mortgages and savings) will be introduced to solve problems at various stages of life. Various investment alternatives will also be described with the focus on their appropriateness, risk and return trade-off and roles in personal financial planning.

This course is designed to help students understand the role of finance (in particular, financial markets), in individuals’ daily lives, in the decision making process of corporation and in the smooth functioning of the society. Students will learn important financial concepts to guard against being misled into making inappropriate financial decisions so that catastrophic loss may be avoided. Students will also be able to participate in the discussion of financial impacts of issues faced by Hong Kong and hence, is equipped to form a balanced view of the world.

The course helps students to capture theory and processes of negotiation and power of social capital in order to enable them to negotiate successfully in a variety of settings, such as trade agreements, labour settlements, and acquisitions to mergers, sales transactions and government procurement. This includes negotiating and building mutually beneficial long-term relationship between two parties of conflicting interests.

With today’s increasingly more globalized world, the chance of working with someone from a different cultural background is extremely high. The course aims to prepare students for this eventuality by helping them understand how culture influences behaviour and how they can handle the challenges of managing people from different cultural backgrounds.

This course will address many issues involved in starting a new venture from identifying business opportunities and formulation of a viable business plan to implementation of the business plan. 

The course covers various stages of a starting-up a company from the points of view of inventors including issues of planning, dealing with legal and tax issues, financial opportunities at different stages, and sources of technical assistance. The course also examines creativity in start-ups and creative gap analysis.

This course aims to provide: 

1. an introduction to leadership theory and to the principles of effective leadership;
2. experience in applying these in evaluating specific leadership behaviours; and
3. an opportunity to develop an action plan for self- and career-development.

Examples will be drawn from the business, government and not for profit sectors.

The course will present a broad spectrum of moral decision-making frameworks and show how they can be applied to functional business settings such as general management, human resources management, accounting, marketing and finance. Fundamental tenets for effective decision making such as morality, legality, responsibility, utilitarianism, rights and justice will be covered. The course will aim to enhance students’ ethical awareness and sensitivity, and to facilitate the development of a sense of moral judgment and obligation. Emphasis will be placed on applying moral thinking to solve real business problems facing business professionals in Hong Kong.

This course aims at providing non-business students with a fundamental understanding of how China’s unique cultural, economical, historical, legal, and social environments affect business practices. Within this framework, the course will introduce ways to enter the Chinese market as well as management of major business functions (such as human resource, financial, and marketing management) in China. The course highlights common problems that managers will encounter and suggests ways to manage a business in China in a socially responsible manner.

To counter socially reckless marketing activities, this course aims to introduce non-business students to the fundamental concepts of socially responsible marketing (SRM). By taking a critical reflection on the nature of marketing practice, the course explores the interrelated areas of corporate social responsibility, marketing ethics and social marketing. The effect of marketing activities on a broad range of societal constituencies is considered, and how these marketing activities can be used in a positive way to generate advancement and well-being for the global society. The role of social responsibility in the marketing process is also considered in terms of the roles and responsibilities of consumers, manufacturers, and Government.

The aim of this course is to introduce students to the concepts of personal marketing, from self-analysis and goal setting through to market analysis, strategy development, strategy implementation, and evaluation. Grounded in fundamental marketing concepts and models, students will learn how to formulate their personal ambitions, vision, and mission; perform a personal SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis; establish personal success factors, objectives and personal improvement actions; identify and analyze a target market; and implement and control their personal marketing plan so as to satisfy the target market and in doing so achieve their personal objectives.

Business Etiquette is a set of rules and guidelines that make an individual’s professional relationships more harmonious, productive, manageable and meaningful. While students are often taught about functional aspects of business, they are seldom taught about business etiquette. Employing proper etiquette in any business or social environment communicates an attitude of respect, equality and trust toward them. Knowledge of business etiquette and manners enhances personal effectiveness. The aim of this course is to highlight global business etiquette dos and don’ts involving dress, body language and gestures, dining, gift-giving, meetings, customs, negotiation, greetings, conversations, and entertaining. By the end of the course students will have an increased cultural sensitivity and appreciation of how applying the correct etiquette can enhance business outcomes.

This course aims at providing non-business students with a self-contained and fundamental understanding of Chinese consumers. Specifically, it discusses how cultural values, the historical background, legal regulations, and socioeconomic trends affect Chinese consumers’ perception, attitude, and behaviour towards various marketing stimuli. Based on this understanding, the course will discuss how marketers can formulate effective and socially responsible marketing strategies to serve Chinese consumers.

This course aims at providing non-business students with a self-contained and fundamental understanding of Chinese consumers. Specifically, it discusses how cultural values, the historical background, legal regulations, and socioeconomic trends affect Chinese consumers’ perception, attitude, and behaviour towards various marketing stimuli. Based on this understanding, the course will discuss how marketers can formulate effective and socially responsible marketing strategies to serve Chinese consumers.

The aim of this course is to introduce students to the central features of a modern business. The course provides students with an overview of the business trends both domestically and internationally, the principles important to starting a new business, and different forms of business ownership. Students will be exposed to a multitude of business disciplines such as management, marketing, finance and accounting, and appreciate how they come together to form an integrated organization. In addition, various institutions that operate in the business environment such as government and financial institutions are studied.

This course will explore the way in which film has represented history and social change, and also seeks to inform students about the nature and character of particular historical events, and periods of social change. The course will also explore film as film: as a constructed, aesthetic and expressive artifact; and pertinent aspects of film theory will also be considered in relation to this. Emphasis will be on both the historical and social meaning and substance of the events portrayed in the film, and the way in which film portrays those events.

This course will explore critical issues surrounding films. It will examine a number of controversial topics regarding History, Politics, Society, Culture and Religion, and will focus on how films can both represent and fuel controversies. By explaining and articulating the specific context in which a controversy has occurred, students will learn to apply critical judgments and responsible decisions in their own lives, eventually growing towards better intercultural understanding and respect, as well as knowledge about cinematic tools, which are crucial to a critical analysis of moving images and sounds.

Through watching and discussions of Hong Kong films selected by virtue of their relevance to three general aspects of Hong Kong culture (identity, cityscape, social structure), the cultural dialectics of Hong Kong will be explored. The emphases will be the interplays of form and content, and the mutual influence of film as a medium of expression and film as a cultural product. Students will see how Hong Kong Cinema reflects Hong Kong culture and how local culture and production environments at different times affect the messages, forms, and movements of Hong Kong Cinema. Comparisons to films from the West and other Asian countries may be drawn to position Hong Kong in the World.

The course will introduce students to the concept of popular culture, the relationship between television and popular culture, and the role which television has played in shaping popular culture. The historical development of television and popular culture will be explored. The course will consist of lectures on the subject, followed by screenings of selected television programmes or extracts from such programmes, and then by programme analysis. The programmes will be analyzed in terms of their narrative, visual style and deployment of popular cultural forms.

This course will investigate the various social impacts of advertising in Hong Kong. Issues including advertising and materialism, commercialization of childhood, stereotypes and gender identity, advertising and environment as well as advertising and food choice will be discussed. The social and economic environment where advertising messages are interpreted will be analyzed. The regulation of advertising and public attitudes toward advertising will be elaborated.

This course introduces students to the major topics and principles in interpersonal communication. Students will learn the essential knowledge and skills to facilitate effective, appropriate and accurate human communication in various contexts, especially communication in the interpersonal relationships with their significant others, peers and superiors in their daily lives. The course will increase students’ ability and sensibility to note communication patterns and processes, and to make active and constructive choices during their interaction with other people.

The course covers basic concepts and practices underling the study of intercultural communication. This includes knowledge and skills needed for everyone in an increasingly globalized world. Structures and barriers developed within and between cultures and how they may affect communication in life, work and society will be examined, with special attention to local contexts (e.g., interaction with mainland parties, ethnic minorities in HKG, expatriate employees in international business or non governmental organizations).

In this course students examine in depth media coverage of current international and world issues. Students will learn about the major players in international news and examine their operations. They will study how their news reaches consumers over a variety of platforms in today’s situation where there are many new and unpredictable information suppliers on the internet, which has made all news international by allowing access from anywhere on the globe. Key international and/or world events happening during the semester will be selected for students to learn and practise the research, comparative and collaborative skills.

In the Web 2.0 age, young people are living in a media saturated world. Their values and social actions are significantly influenced by the media. Media literacy is defined as a life skill which enables young people to critically understand, analyze, use and monitor the media. A social participative approach is adopted in this course. Students are cultivated not only as active and critical media consumers but also as informed and responsible citizens. Positive psychology will also be integrated into the course so that students will be guided how to interpret media messages in a positive way.

This course will provide students with a basic understanding of the theoretical and practical issues underlying the production and presentation of news. It will also provide a broad overview of the complex relationship between news and society. Looking into how the presentation of news may affect the society on the one hand, the course also examines how the society may induce influence on news production on the other hand.

This course introduces students to the basic skills of media writing. Students will gain an understanding of the fundamental concepts and general principles of media writing. They will also equip practical Chinese writing skills for media in local and Mainland China context. Industry practitioners will be invited as guest speakers to share their working experience so that students can gain insights about media writing in real-lift context.

This course will introduce students to a broad range of English news media and equip them with a knowledge and understanding of the general principles of media writing and newsgathering. Students will analyze and critique news media writing; learn and practice information gathering skills; develop and apply media-writing skills in various styles for media such as newspapers, magazines, radio, television, press releases and online media; and discuss legal and ethical issues in media writing.

The consumption of art has become a significant question in art, sociology and even tourism. Works of art have been produced and consumed like any other everyday life commodities from the ancient times to the modern world, and the meaning of art has continuously been changing. Through studying the function of art museums, galleries, art auctions and the mass media, students will be shown the creation and re-creation of meanings in works of art, how they are understood and accepted by the public, and what cultural influences they may have generated in society at large.

Young people have their own fashion, belief, slang, dialect, music, comic and behaviour that can be subversive to the convention yet at the same time innovative, creative and non-prototype. A thorough investigation of the youth aesthetics will give new insights to creativity and the visual arts. This practice-based course will introduce various forms of creation within youth culture, including graffiti, popular image, fashion, YouTube, animation, comic in art and so on. Creative skills such as creative thinking, problem-solving for protests; theories such as the culture of kidult and fans will be taught.

This course will consider the historical, individual and cross-cultural perspective, of different art forms, in order to place within the wider cultural framework and to gain a greater depth of knowledge about individual values of art. Key themes such as Theatre, Advertising, Product Design, Fine Art, Cookery, Film and Architecture will be examined and discussed. Students will learn to appreciate the elements of inspiration and how creators create.

This course will explore different aspects and forms of gendered imagery. Classes will also make links between gender in art and advertising, movies and fashion. Through the study of gender in art from different cultures and period, students will be encouraged to analyse and question the construction of gender, its meaning, significance, but also the potential misunderstandings, misconceptions and mis-readings of it.

This course will offer students a broader understanding in visual arts. By studying works of art from different times and cultures, students will learn how to analyze, evaluate and appreciate various art forms. It will explore a variety of art forms from across the strata of creativity and examine themes including “Images of Humanity”, “Belief and Religion”, “Love and Death”, “Science and Art” and issues of “Value”.

This course encourages civic participation through active engagement with urban sculpture on location around Hong Kong. It tracks the evolution of public and private space from the Greek agora and oikos through to the data driven concept of the media city where boundaries between public and private are permeable and in constant flux. Students will learn to appreciate Hong Kong’s public space with an awareness of its societal and political structure.

Exploring and enjoying the various architectural structures Hong Kong has to offer on numerous site visits, the course will develop an understanding of 20th century architecture in HK, with references to older periods and other cultural circles as well. It will thereby obviously consider the famous buildings of Hong Kong, but also pay particular attention to under-appreciated architecture of everyday nature, like the housing estate, the wet market, the industrial estate, the dai pai dong and others. This course has a focus on architecture, but will also make connections to urban planning and feng shui-practices.

This course will offer a comparative study of ceramics to consider how and why the formal quality of ceramics varies under different cultural contexts. It will examine ceramics not only from its political, socio-cultural and aesthetic backgrounds but also a cross-cultural perspective. Popular subjects in the study of cultural theories, including body, social norms, religious ideas and economic life will be investigated in association with the appreciation of ceramics.Students will acquire first-hand experience in making ceramics, learning basic techniques of pottery, such as hand-building, wheel-throwing, moulding and surface decoration, of which are essential processes for reflecting the meaning of form and function, of how creativity and technological development contribute to the diverse cultures of ceramics.

From classical masters to the “King of Kowloon” Chinese calligraphy expresses both personal and cultural identity, revealing complex inter-relationships between tradition and individualism. The course aims at highlighting and explaining these relations, de- and re-constructing them, and making them practically available to the student. Classes will also make link between calligraphy as an expressive art and the expression of identity in calligraphic works of different social groups from traditional society to contemporary world. The studio part of the course introduces students to the practical study in basic brush techniques and styles of classic Chinese calligraphy as well as tools for making calligraphic works.

This course aims at developing students’ awareness towards different kinds of design they encounter, or they consume, in everyday life. By looking at the design history of the past and the present, students will gain a better sense and knowledge in various kinds of styles and trends. In each class, students will have the opportunity to re-design objects borrowed from everyday life, for examples, packing of chewing gum, tea bag tag, chips packing, memo notes, or toilet paper, so as to rethink the relationship between the designer, the products and the users.

Based on themes, such as body perception, belief of afterlife, personal and cultural identity, the course will examine subject matters, symbolism, styles, media, and aesthetic choices of artworks within a variety of cultures and explore different attitudes, beliefs, and thoughts embodied by the works. This course considers how factors of context influence visual elements that give meanings and values to a work of art, and how aesthetic ideas, techniques travel across cultures. While exploring the complex and rich world of visual arts, this course discusses critical cultural issues embodied by the works, such as body politics, shaping of identities, and human existence and transcendence.

The classical Chinese Art studio is a complex site of discipline and reflection as well as pleasure and erudite jokes. Here we may explore aspects of Chinese sensibilities towards space, furniture, sociality and functional tools that offer fresh insight into contemporary sensibilities – for example, to design. The course is opened to students who may wish to develop their understanding and sensibilities for Chinese ink painting, calligraphy, seal carving and art appreciation, as well as explores a particular aesthetic within Chinese culture.

Drawing is a fundamental tool in communication just as writing. To learn drawing does not only mean the technical skills solely. This course aims to demonstrate the potential in/ of drawing and inspire students to make use of it as a mean of visual expression. A better understanding and utilization in drawing can enhance ones analytical and communication skills. To do so it will introduce drawing samples from art history, explain the differences in drawing approaches in various cultures as well as introduce a selection of drawing practices through experimental drawing projects.

Ceramics plays a dominant role in our everyday life as many people use to cook and eat with ceramics utensils. This course aims to investigate the ways we utilize and understand ceramics in association with cooking and eating, in an art-historical and socio-cultural aspects. The course will examine the form, design, composition and production method of different forms of ceramics, including the Chinese porcelain cup, the Japanese tenmoku, Mediterranean terracotta food vessels or the Southeast Asian pottery.

This course will introduce students to comparative approaches to major themes in the arts of Asia: from gardens in Suzhou and Kyoto, to contemporary architecture in Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai, from Japanese to Korean TV drama, from the sensibility of contemporary art in Taipei and Beijing, to the narratives of Indian temples reliefs and Japanese mangas. It will also explore how arts in Asia are used to establish cultural identities, and create marketable images within a globalized context.

This course will explore the concepts of visual and material culture in order to contextualize place, identity and heritage in both a personal sense and within the large cultural boundaries. Exploring the formal qualities, functions and histories of ‘things’, it will discuss how objects shape our culture and how the material world is integral to meaning-making processes. It will also introduce material culture theories from various disciplines, e.g. anthropology, cultural studies and art theories, to critically study objects within a cultural and historical context. Further, it will investigate recent debates on urban development and heritage preservation, things and memories, and, myths and traditions associated with them.

This course will examine the importance of glass from various aspects, e.g. history, culture, science, religion, everyday life and art appreciation, as ways to bring awareness of the inseparable relation between glass and human civilization. Through the study of both the ancient and modern histories of glass, students will gain a deeper understanding of the significance of glass in our civilization. Moreover, the aesthetics and scientific values of glass, as well as its artistic qualities in forms of jewellery or architecture will be examined. Hands-on projects will enable students to have a better knowledge on how glass changes, shapes and creates our world.

This course will investigate the interaction between artist’s studio, commercial gallery and museum within the context of contemporary culture. Examining the history of exhibition, and the effect and impacts of the commercial art markets, this course considers what art means to us, how art makes a different to our public life, and what it would tell us about our society. This course will assess the contrasts and similarities of the public and private sectors of art consumption and reflect upon who and what would determine the aesthetic significance and monetary value of art. It also considers the changing notions of art exhibition in terms of traditional associations of status, education and evaluate the roles of gallery, dealer, auction house and buyer as the centre pin to driving and responding to market forces.

With emphasis on both experimental and practical concepts, this practice-based course offers students an entry point to creative design and problem-solving skills associated with space. Through examining space-saving objects, students will learn the concept of collapsibility and present collapsibility principles. Moreover, students will learn the spatial meanings of peripheral alternative space in Hong Kong through their creative projects. Related global classic creativities, Swiss folding knives for instance, will be topics to illustrate the relationship between geographic space and the culture of tools.

This course looks at the things surrounding us in our daily lives, and – through practical application of aesthetical, phenomenological and other design theories – establishes concepts about the true nature(s) of things that allow us to make more informed choices about the objects that we fill our lives with. Emphasis will be on product design, but will also make connections to furniture and fashion design, and other object-based design areas. It also contains a significant number of practical studio classes that allow participants to hands-on experience and explore what it takes to make things ‘beautiful’.

The course will introduce the essence of Chinese painting through the study of masterpieces as well as a comparison with the Western counterparts. Each painting genre, be it landscape, flower-and-bird/animal or figure paintings, reflects the socio-cultural context when it is produced. By examining the usage of visual languages, the forms of art, the modes of expression and the concepts of the art pieces, students will be able to perceive the intimate relationship between art and authority, religion, philosophy, gender, elite culture, market and modernization.

In this course, students will be introduced to early technologies of seeing from the camera obscura all the way through to Flickr, together with concepts and ideas of light, or reproduction and circulation of imagery, and the techniques used to produce particular effects and emotional responses. The various ways of photographic production enable students to understand not only the making process but to express their own thoughts in viewing the objective world. The course will include workshops in experimental photo-practice, for example, using mobile phone cameras to create artistic imagery. The assessable output (photographs, interpretative texts) will be presented in an exhibition.

 

T-shirt provides a chronicle of cultural history, and in today’s mass media environment it has become the personal billboard of attitude and style. Its focus is to identify individual stylistic movements in T-Shirt design at different historical periods and places, in and out of Hong Kong. Students will analyse T-shirts in terms of the following questions:

• What does the selection of a T-shirt tell us about the personality of the owner?
• Is it possible to draw conclusions, based on tendencies, as to how to place ones self in a socio-cultural context?
• Can the T-shirt be seen as a medium to communicate identity or is it evidence of the leveling down of individuality in a mass consuming and equalized global society?

In this course, specific issues covered will include resources management, food safety, public health, sustainable development, ecotourism, nature conservation and ecological footprint. In order to better illustrate these core issues and their implications on policy making and application of ethical principles, relevant current environmental issues in Hong Kong, China and other countries will be cited as discussion examples.

This course aims to introduce to non-science major students the principles and issues of environmental science. The topics selected will demonstrate how human activities cause environmental problems and what concepts and technologies can be applied to solve these problems.

This is an introductory course to non-science major student on the basics of human body and how factors from the living environment may affect our health. Topics chosen are closely related to health and diseases. Specific health problems and issues of interest will be selected for discussion.

Designed for non-science majors, the course aims to demonstrate, through examples, the many important contributions and relevance of chemistry in modern living.

This course will introduce the concepts of marine and environmental science, as well as cultural, economic and political impacts to address marine-environmental issues at local and regional scales. The course will be broadly divided into 3 parts: 

• the history of ocean voyage and marine science;
• an introduction to the ocean as a chemical system with topics including important chemicals that affect our daily life and also drive marine ecosystems;
• the relationship between humans and the ocean-the impact of humans on the marine environment and Vice-versa.

This course will make use of examples from movies and TV drama episodes as motivations to introduce students to some key concepts and latest developments in science and technology which can make significant impacts (e.g., new opportunities and experience) on our future ways of life. It provides first an overview on key milestones in science and technology development, and their impacts on our daily life. The major portion of the course covers selected concepts and principles in science and technology to be presented under themes like human-like robots, genetic engineering, space travel, etc.

This course will provide non-science major students with basic scientific understanding and appreciation of the wonder of the universe. It introduces the students to the study of phenomena outside the confines of the Earth and also explores the relationship between humanity and the cosmos. Physical concepts in understanding the workings of the cosmos will be emphasized and illustrated with multimedia presentations and classroom demonstrations.

Nanoscience and nanotechnology (NS&NT) exhibit huge potentials to improve the quality of daily life, and are attracting rapidly increasing investments from governments and from businesses in many parts of the world. This course will explore recent application and predict future development of the advanced nanotechnology in a wide variety of aspects in daily life, such as apparels, food, housing, transportation, energy, medicines, information and communication, cosmetics and entertainment. The closely related social and policy contexts will be addressed, including risk assessment, science funding, intellectual property, ethics of biotechnology, and environmental regulation.

This course teaches students to envisage the differential roles and approaches of Chinese Medicine and Western medicine in the treatment of human diseases as well in the prevention of illnesses. Students can broaden the horizon in the knowledge of contemporary medical technology and the modernization of Chinese medicine, as well as general health awareness.

This course teaches students the variety of foods therapy in TCM for improving common health disorder and disease prevention. Class lectures will include the examples of the food therapy and their functions, as well as including the demonstrations of Acupuncture, Tuina and massage techniques from TCM for weight control, pain relieve, etc. Students will also experience tea therapy, flower therapy for health maintenance, and visit some restaurants specially for Chinese medicine food therapy in their daily life.

This course will introduce the fundamental scientific knowledge of the medicinal plants and its applications as Chinese herbal medicines. Students will learn the general anatomic and morphologic characters of plants; common medicinal plants in Hong Kong; the identification and use of Chinese herbal medicines and as well as the modern research and application on different kinds of medicinal plants. In the process of introducing medicinal plants using as Chinese herbal medicines, student will also learn the mysterious of Traditional Chinese medicine.

This course will focus on exercise physiology, training science, and prevention and care of sports injuries. It will also introduce students to factors affecting the bodily functions in humans during exercise. Some of these factors include exercise environment, training effects, and the physiological make-up of the individual. Prevention and care of sports injury is another aspect of sports science addressed in this course. Students will be introduced to the knowledge and skills related to treatment of sports injury such as procedures and techniques of basic life support, on-the-field acute care, and other emergency procedures.

This course is designed for non-science/non-chinese medicine majors to develop knowledge and skills to enhance wellness, the state of healthy living achieved by the practice of a healthy lifestyle. To enjoy an optimal state of wellness, people need to achieve physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, social, and environmental health. The course will introduce the knowledge about contributors to wellness, means to achieve an optimal level of wellness, and management of a healthy life-style in Hong Kong. Students will be able to acquire the necessary skills to evaluate various wellness dimensions, interpret the data and apply scientific principles to make wellness enhancement plans.

This course will introduce background knowledge on the processes involved in adjustment of individuals to their personal and social environments. Students will explore key theories, concepts and techniques in psychology concerning personal growth and behavior change. Topics covered include personality, aspects of the self, stress, social influence, interpersonal attraction and communication, emotional expression, transition and trauma, gender roles and differences, sexual expression, workplace challenges and developing healthier behaviours. Techniques for managing stress, reducing anxiety, coping with anger, increasing assertiveness, and achieving self-control are considered in this course.

The course will begin by tracing the origin of environmentalism and the ideas of sustainable development and environmental sustainability. Students will learn about the theories and practices behind the acquisition of environment-friendly knowledge, skills and values. Students will explore education for sustainability(EfS)/ environmental education(EE) in schooling systems of Hong Kong and other places. The course will analyze other agencies’ efforts to transmit pro-environment and sustainability messages, and to operate related activities, such as organic farm visits organized by green NGOs, tree planting sponsored by corporations,and waste recycling drive led by neighbourhood groups.

The course aims at enhancing students’ knowledge and understanding of the relationship between school and society and the sociological concepts pertaining to education. It provides students with the conceptual tools to analyse educational issues and school practices from different sociological perspectives. Emphasis will be put on fostering students’ awareness of the issues embedded in the relationship between school and society.

This course aims to provide an historical, cultural and political overview of the local museums, heritage sites and cultural policies through lectures and field-trips. It examines the histories of the museum, heritage site and preservation approaches to them, situating these histories in terms of colonial and postcolonial contexts and looking at past and ongoing roles of museums and heritage sites in local communities with lens developed by social scientists. The course discusses the issues of voice and power inherent in persevering, curating and interpreting these cultural icons.

This course generates deeper understandings about Internet participation and how its shift into the cultural mainstream raises ethical and identity challenges for young people. In the virtual frontiers of new digital media landscapes – Google, Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, YouTube, Twitter, Virtual worlds, multi-player online games and blogs – a number of issues emerge related to identity, privacy, authorship and ownership, credibility and participation. It examines the redefining of individuals’ actions both morally and socially, thus challenging moral concepts and social practices and raises debate about citizenship, freedom, democracy, privacy, and responsibility.

This course enhances the awareness of students on the contact-induced language innovations found in local Cantonese. The subtle changes in Hong Kong Cantonese (e.g. new words, expressions and sentence structure etc.) will be addressed. The issue of language innovation and variations will be discussed within the framework of languages-in-contact, underpinned by sociolinguistic theory by describing language use as a social phenomenon. Students will conduct project study to demonstrate signs of innovations in Hong Kong Cantonese as a result of language contact in such a lively society.

The course provides an overview of major theories, concepts, and principles in education and psychology that can be applied to personal growth and development. Different issues related to leisure, morality, well-being and adjustment will be examined. It provides opportunities for students to develop a deeper understanding of their own lives and goals by applying personal adjustment concepts. Emphasis will be on application for students’ personal development in the Chinese cultural context.

This course introduces basic concepts in psychology. Major topics include biological and developmental processes, perception, learning, emotion, personality, adjustment and mental health, and social behavior. The basic elements of research methods in psychology and the major psychological approaches to the study of behavior are discussed. The course also includes analysis of everyday issues related to the local Chinese context from a psychological perspective.

This course aims to provide students with background knowledge on the relationship between individuals and the groups to which they belong so that they gain a better understanding of how people interact with and think about others. Through this course, students look closely at social behaviours in everyday life in order to uncover some of the taken for granted assumptions and knowledge people share (or do not share) with other members of the society. Students will study a range of social issues to examine the impact of social factors and situational variables that influence human development and social interactions/behaviours.

 

As the introduction to the application of geo-spatial information technology, such as Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and remote sensing, this course is designed for non-geography major students and aimed at:

• raising general awareness of how modern information technology may be used to locate facilities, navigate emergency vehicles, and aid decision making in planning new infrastructure;
• enhancing students’ ability to describe and explain the spatial distribution of cultural and natural phenomena through combining statistical techniques and maps;
• demonstrating the challenges and impacts of modern information technology on modern society.

 

This course provides introductory account of Hong Kong and its environs, the pearl River Delta (PRD). The course is divided into two main parts.

• Part A focuses on Hong Kong, examining different aspects of the city’s economy and society as well as its unique combination of high-density development and large stretches of country parks.
• Part B discusses industrialization and urbanization in the PRD, and how these are affected by and in turn affect development in Hong Kong .fieldtrips are organized to familiarize students with aspects of development in Hong Kong and the PRD.

This course provides an introductory overview of human-environment interactions and current environmental issues from a geographic perspective. It aims to introduce the fundamental processes that affect the physical environment and to provide a comprehensive understanding of the interaction between humans & their environment. Emphasis is placed on developing a critical perspective that requires the comprehension of concepts in physical geography and the human dynamic.

Investigating different communities in Hong Kong, this course will guide students through the social labyrinth of rapid economic and social changes and understand the way that particular places foster successful social network and initiative. Customs, traditions, social networks, memories, values and sense of place are essential elements of valuable community life. How do these elements being cultivated? How could we capitalize these elements to rebuild our community and urban life? Focusing on personal mechanisms, this course seeks to lead student to develop a new ‘people center’ way for urban development.

This course explores how the nature of political discourse and political history are reflected in and affected by the cinema. Movies on common themes and in common categories (such as wartime propaganda films or films on national tragedies) from various national cinemas will be screened and compared. Films of global impact (such as Triumph of the Will) will be shown and dissected in terms of political symbolism, cultural resonance, and consequent actions and reactions. Students will learn the techniques of emotional manipulation and political messaging associated with the cinema of varies nationalities and cultural histories.

Emphasizing general social sciences approaches to understanding human behavior, events, and society, the course aims to introduce students to basic actors, concepts and issues in contemporary world politics with. The course will provide opportunities for students to use emerging technologies that facilitate active participation in political discussions and events, e.g. blogs, wikis, mobile applications, etc.

The course will examine major cultural, social, political and economic aspects of the contemporary European world, their historical determinants, and likely trajectories of future developments. Particular emphasis will be placed on the search for commonalities both in Europe and between Europe and the students’ home societies. Main challenges of the 21st century, such as citizens’ welfare, sustainable (‘green’) economies and the nurturing of cultural diversity, are not only similar across countries but will have to be addressed in a context of international cooperation.

Emphasizing general social sciences approach to understanding human behavior, events, and society, the course aims to introduce students to the rudimentary of political science. As a social science subfield, political science is closely related to other subfields such as history, human geography, economics, sociology, anthropology or psychology. Political science though, focuses on a wide spectrum of power-related issues, therefore providing us with answers other subfields are unable to offer.

This course covers the salient features of British colonialism, democratization debates since late 1940s, the transitional period that led to the handover, and the subtlety of “one country, two systems.” It aims to shed light on the historical factors that shape the current political scenarios. Besides, the course investigates into the material progress, such as industrialization, the emergence of Hong Kong as a major player in global trade and financial market, changes in urban and rural landscape etc. Special attention will be paid to scrutinize different assumptions behind the contributions of leading conceptual frameworks and/or school of thoughts in relevant topics.

This course will guide students to look at experience of great figures in various disciplines and professions including science, medicine, arts, law, architecture, business, etc. The lives, the works and achievements of chosen historical figures in different fields will be examined. Students will be able to understand their times, their life-world and their wisdom.

This course surveys environmental, economic, intellectual, social and political changes in Europe since the 15th century, including climatic development, secularization, urbanization, industrialization, migrations, democratization, globalization, etc., in order to show what Europeans of the last several centuries faced in common, how they responded to these changes and what their descendants today inherit. Emphasis will also fall on the changing role of Europe in the global context, where Europe and other continents were integrated into one single entity in the modern era.

This course aims to acquaint students with key elements of stress management. Topics will include the recognition of stress symptoms, causes of stress, stress-related disorders, different techniques for releasing tension and the benefits of stress management. Stress management techniques, as well as selected physical exercises, will be introduced in practical sessions as different means to handling stress in order to gain a healthier and more productive life.

 

This course will introduce historical, philosophical, and cultural studies approaches to complement the analysis.Students will systematically learn about the social and cultural aspects of fashion and dress in Hong Kong, China, and elsewhere. The course will focus particularly on:

• how local fashion cultures develop in the context of cultural globalization;
• how fashion relate to social class, status, and social authority;
• how issues of fashion and gender complexly intertwine;
• why fashion matters deeply to the nation and ethnicity;
• how fashion and consumerism relate to each other;
• how fashion forms the basis of youth and style subcultures.

 

This course introduces the significance of food and eating in social life by drawing on theoretical perspectives in sociology and anthropology. It focuses on the ways in which food and food habits relate to such issues as:

• the production and reproduction of social order, hierarchies and inequality;
• kinship and social solidarity;
• the dynamics of social and cultural and cultural changes;
• social identities and relationships;
• beliefs;
• health and medicine;
• gender;
• migration and colonialism;
• the impacts of industrialization, globalization and the development of biotechnology.

In this course, students will learn the patterns of social conduct in relation to key problems of life (e.g. building shared frames of understanding, resolving conflicts, securing means of livelihoods) in Hong Kong. It will examine the processes and implications of social change in Hong Kong. Students will also be intorduced to the ways in which sociological concept can be applied to understand ongoing social processes in Hong Kong.

Drawing on the perspectives in sociology, this course examines the changing meanings of love and intimacy and their importance in shaping the identities of individuals. It will start with a cross-cultural investigation of the notions of love and intimacy, followed by discussions of the transformation of intimacy in (late-)modern society. Emphasis will be laid on the significant changes in the sphere of intimacies particularly in relation to the commodification of love, sex and body modification, the advent of the internet, and the rise of the sexual revolution and the sexual rights movement.

This course will explore the social, cultural, political and economies aspects of tourism from anthropological and sociological perspectives. It examines the development and characteristics of tourism industry, the tourist culture, the interaction between hosts and guests, and the impacts of all on local communities.The course will address and evaluate different anthropological and sociological theories, and approach to the study of tourism in relation to such issues as cultural changes, cultural nostalgia, heritage preservative and management, the commodification of culture, development and sustainability, consumption, medicalization, globalization, nationalism and imperialism, ethnicity, gender and sexism, and culture identity in modern and post-modern world.

This course will provide a basic understanding of traditional and changing forms of social organizations and cultural traditions in Hong Kong and China. It will explore and evaluate the costs and benefits of continuities and changes of socio-economic and political transformations in Chinese society of Hong Kong and the mainland.

Sex, love and issues related to human sexuality are often regarded as either taboos or hot topics in the modern world. This course starts with contemporary theoretical conceptions and discussions on love and human sexuality, especially insights gained from cognitive science, social psychology, sociology and gender studies, along with moral and political discourse. It will include a critical examination of the discourses of myths related to human sexuality; the enhancement of awareness of the diversity, complexity and range of human sexuality expression, the sensitivity to equity and equality in a diversified society; as well as the reflection of the challenges, issues of human development from a social, psychological perspective based on current scientifically based researches.

This course will provide students with a multi-dimensional framework for assessing human behavior and functioning; enhance students’ ability to understand and appreciate similarities and diversities relating to human behaviour and life experience; develop skills to understand the theoretical, conceptual and empirical foundations of human behaviour from a diversity perspective; demonstrate the dynamics of oppression, discrimination and privilege; and provide students with a border perspective in understanding and analyzing social issues with diverse community in the local context.

This course provides a comprehensive understanding of the overall process of human development from a life span perspective. Growth and Changes in the different developmental domains of individual are addressed as the result of the interactive influences of biological, psychological, and socio-cultural factors across the life span. Major developmental characteristics central to different phases of life, including the associated tasks and challenges, are examined particularly in our cultural context.

This course introduces students to the issue of self identity at personal, social, national and global levels, as well as from racial, ethnic, gender, and class positions. It focuses on the discussion of social dimensions of self-growth and development in the Hong Kong context and how people’s identities are constructed, contested, lost and transformed within the changing contexts of family, society, and the world.

 

This course begins with basic literacy in molecular biology. It is divided into three parts.

• Biology—understanding the molecular biology behind the latest biotechnological advances (e.g., molecular cloning, stem cell, the Human Genome Project, regenerative medicine).
• From Biology to Philosophy – understanding the notions of “nature,” “altering nature,” improving nature,” and “unnatural” from both the biological and philosophical perspectives.
• Philosophical Anthropology – exploring how we can set the moral guidelines so that, via biotechnological intervention of nature, human beings will neither play God nor play slave of nature, but just being human.

This course will integrate the teaching of basic ethnographic techniques of Hong Kong city spaces with narratives and stories about Hong Kong written in English. Students will learn to gather contemporary (survey and other) data about the community they call home, in addition to situate their findings within a larger historical context of how Hong Kong has been represented in English literature in the more recent (colonial) past, as well as by Hong Kong artists and other writers expressing themselves using English today.

This course introduces the diverse facets of contemporary energy problems and their associated environmental dilemmas, such as air pollution, waste disposal and climate change. It teaches students to fully understand the subject matter from both the natural science and social science perspectives. Through appropriate real-life examples, the course aims to guide students, in an exploration of viable alternative energy sources and to enable them to embark on a way of life that promotes a clean and sustainable use of energy resources.

This course will examine the current scientific views about the origins and the workings of the universe and explores their implications for contemporary interdisciplinary dialogue between science and religion, especially the beliefs concerning God, creation and the nature of the universe in the Christian tradition. Students will be introduced to the Christian concept of creation and the scientific concepts of Big Bang and other modern cosmologies.

This introductory course aims to prepare students with solid and comprehensive understanding of the associated elementary theories and principles in the field of computer science and visual communication in order to appreciate, embrace and exploit the new medium. This is not a programming nor a visual design course but a course focusing on the interdisciplinary knowledge applicable in understanding the implications and potentials of the new medium in our daily life applications.

In this course, students will learn how religions act as the powerhouse of city development and city life in selected parts of world. Students are led to recognize that, beside secular ideologies and economic, political, population and cultural ecessities, religions have always played a pivotal role in people’s imagination and in the construction of city life and city space. Students would be invited to utilize concepts and methodologies learnt from the course to conduct value critique and ethical reflections on contemporary urban development.

This course aims at exploring diverse religious traditions, beliefs and values through visual language of artworks. Investigating a variety of artworks including sculptures, paintings, manuscripts, architecture and interior designs, it encourages students to examine notions of good and evil, values and belief systems, relationship between human and divine world, and religious engagements and rituals. Integrating art and cultural history and religious thinking, this course considers artworks as visual agents of various religions that broaden the conventional realms of aesthetics and create profound religious experiences.

The course will give students a well-rounded and advanced approach towards arts and science. The course will be taught by a team of artists and scientists from both faculties. It will cover topics on the development of art forms from a historical perspective that have a distinct relationship with the advancement of science. Examples of integration between artistic inspiration and scientific knowledge will be illustrated.

The course will examine the epochal transformations of East Asia as a whole region since the end of World War II. Its profound multidimensional transformations in economic, technological, political, social and cultural fields, as stimulating and powerful venues, will be discussed. Each important film selected for study would be an occasion for the students to learn the ideas input by the film artists who produced these films. The students would be led to appreciate the artistic expressions, the humanistic and ethical concern, and the joy and tears of professional and innovative filmmakers.