BA Syl 2023 24

SYLLABUSES FOR THE DEGREE OF
BACHELOR OF ARTS
(N.B. 1. These syllabuses should be read in conjunction with the BA degree regulations.
2. On application to the various departments, undergraduates may obtain further details of
courses and lists of books recommended for further study.)
CHINESE LANGUAGE ENHANCEMENT
CART9001. Practical Chinese for Arts Students (6 credits)
This course is designed to promote the students’ professional use of Chinese language in the workplace.
The course will familiarize students with modern Chinese grammar, the correction of mistakenly written
Chinese characters and various types of practical Chinese writings in professional contexts. Students
are required to complete a series of communication- rich oral and written assignments and an
examination. Special emphasis is given to the style and rhetoric of reader-based writings to heighten
students’ linguistic sensitivity.
This course will be offered in the second semester of the third year.
Assessment: 50% coursework, 50% examination.
Note: Candidates who have not studied the Chinese language during their secondary education or
who have not attained the requisite level of competence in the Chinese language to take
CART9001 may apply for exemption and take a credit-bearing Cantonese or Putonghua
language course offered by the School of Chinese (especially for international and exchange
students), or take an elective course in lieu.
CUND9002. Practical Chinese and Hong Kong society (6 credits)
This course is specifically designed for the students from the Mainland. With Putonghua as the medium
of instruction, it aims to underscore the characteristic styles and formats of practical Chinese writings
in the workplace context in Hong Kong. Topics addressing the rhetorical strategies for reader-oriented
professional writings are included to strengthen the students’ command of the language. The evolution
of Cantonese and the lexical and phonetic systems of this dialect will be explored. The local history and
culture of Hong Kong will also be considered. On-site visits are organized to deepen the students’
understanding of local traditions and, more importantly, to enhance their ability to appreciate and accept
cultural and regional differences. Students will be able to apply the concepts and skills to accomplish
different tasks effectively and persuasively in diverse and complex issues in oral and written forms as
well as to produce good-quality practical writing.
CUND9003. Cantonese for non-Cantonese speaking students (6 credits)
Through a comparative analysis of Putonghua and Cantonese, this course enables students to learn the
characteristics of Hong Kong Chinese, to discover the differences in vocabulary and expression between
the Cantonese dialect and Mandarin, to strengthen their communication skills in everyday life, and to
have a proper understanding of the culture, traditions and people in Hong Kong.
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ENGLISH LANGUAGE ENHANCEMENT
CAES1000. Core University English (6 credits)
The Core University English (CUE) course aims to enhance first-year students’ academic English
language proficiency in the university context. CUE focuses on developing students’ academic English
language skills for the Common Core Curriculum. These include the language skills needed to
understand and produce spoken and written academic texts, express academic ideas and concepts clearly
and in a well-structured manner and search for and use academic sources of information in their writing
and speaking. Four online-learning modules through the Moodle platform on academic speaking,
academic grammar, academic vocabulary, citation and referencing skills and avoiding plagiarism will
be offered to students to support their English learning. This course will help students to participate
more effectively in their first-year university studies in English, thereby enriching their first-year
experience.
Assessment: 100% coursework.
English-in-the-Discipline (ED) Courses
BA students may take any of the following courses to satisfy the ED requirement. The course
descriptions indicate for which majors each course is most appropriate. More than one course may be
suitable for your major.
CAES9201. Academic English: Countries and Cultures (6 credits)
This course aims to help students develop the English language skills they need to succeed in their
major. The course is open to all BA students, but is most relevant to the needs of students majoring in,
or intending to major in, American Studies, Chinese History and Culture, Chinese Language and
Literature, China Studies, Comparative Literature, European Studies, Art History, Gender Studies,
Global Creative Industries, Hong Kong Studies, Japanese Studies, Korean Studies, a modern language,
and Music. The primary aim of CAES9201 is to enable students to read texts on cultures, history and
politics, and to use a range of rhetorical features to produce persuasive disciplinary essays. The course
has a substantial secondary focus on the development of disciplinary speaking and listening skills.
CAES9202. Academic English: Literary Studies (6 credits)
or intending to major in, Comparative Literature, English Studies, Art History, and Translation. The
primary aim of CAES9202 is to enable students to read English fiction and literary criticism, and to use
a range of rhetorical features to produce persuasive disciplinary essays. The course has a substantial
secondary focus on the development of disciplinary speaking and listening skills.
CAES9203. Academic English: Philosophy and the History of Ideas (6 credits)
or intending to major in, Philosophy; students of other majors such as Comparative Literature, Chinese
History and Culture, Art History and Gender Studies will find the history of ideas element of the course
useful. The primary aim of CAES9203 is to enable students to read texts on philosophy and the
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development of influential, critical ideas (e.g. Marxism, liberalism, critical theory), and to use a range
of analytical and rhetorical techniques to produce persuasive disciplinary essays. The course has a
substantial secondary focus on the development of disciplinary speaking and listening skills.
CAES9204. Academic English: History (6 credits)
or intending to major in, American Studies, Chinese History and Culture, China Studies, European
Studies, Art History, Gender Studies, History, Hong Kong Studies, Japanese Studies, Korean Studies,
or Music. The primary aim of CAES9204 is to enable students to read history texts, and to use a range
of rhetorical features to produce persuasive disciplinary essays. The course has a substantial secondary
focus on the development of disciplinary speaking and listening skills.
CAES9205. Academic English: Language Studies (6 credits)
or intending to major in, Chinese Language and Literature, English Studies, General Linguistics,
Language and Communication, a modern language, and Translation. The primary aim of CAES9205 is
to enable students to read linguistics and translation texts, and to use a range of rhetorical features to
produce persuasive disciplinary essays. The course has a substantial secondary focus on the
development of disciplinary speaking and listening skills.
CAES9206. Academic English: Creative and Visual Arts (6 credits)
or intending to major in, Comparative Literature, Art History, Gender Studies, Global Creative
Industries, and Music. The primary aim of CAES9206 is to enable students to read texts on creative
and visual arts, and to use a range of rhetorical features to produce persuasive disciplinary essays. The
course has a substantial secondary focus on the development of disciplinary speaking and listening
skills.
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MAJORS AND MINORS OFFERED BY THE FACULTY OF ARTS
School/Centre Major Minor

School of Chinese
Chinese History and Culture  
Chinese Language and Literature  
Hong Kong Studies  
Translation  
School of English
English Studies  
School of Humanities
Art History  
Comparative Literature  
Gender Studies  
General Linguistics  
History  
Music  
Philosophy  
School of Modern Languages and Cultures
African Studies 
American Studies  
Arabic 
China Studies (Arts Stream)  
European Studies  
French  
German  
Global Creative Industries  
Greek* 
Italian  
Japanese Culture 
Japanese Language 
Japanese Studies 
Korean Studies  
Portuguese 
Spanish  
Swedish 
Thai 
Centre of Buddhist Studies
Buddhist Studies 
* The Programme is temporarily suspended in 2023-24.

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SCHOOL OF CHINESE
The School of Chinese offers courses in Chinese language, literature, history, and culture as well as
translation and Hong Kong studies which appeal to those with a particular interest in the study of
Chinese and the literary and cultural interaction with the modern world. Courses are normally taught in
Chinese. Students following these courses will develop a great language and analytical ability combined
with a breadth of knowledge of and cultural and literary approaches in Chinese studies.
In addition, the School contributes to the teaching of the double degree programme of the BA&BEd
(LangEd)-Chin and offers courses to foreign students (refer to Courses for Foreign Students).
Four majors and minors are offered in which students are required to take the prerequisite course(s) in
the specified programme below. In addition, they should also take a certain number of introductory
courses in the first two years and advanced courses in subsequent years.
Students can choose to major or minor in the following programmes:
(i) Chinese Language and Literature
(ii) Chinese History and Culture
(iii) Hong Kong Studies
(iv) Translation
ASSESSMENT
Each course will be examined by a written paper of not more than 2-hour duration except those courses
which are assessed by 100% coursework.
Not all the courses listed below will be offered every year. Students should refer to the course handbook
for a list of courses on offer each year. The course components for the majors and the minors are as
follows:
CHINESE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
Major (72 credits)

(A) Prerequisite courses: (12 credits)
(B) Introductory courses: (12 credits)
(C) Advanced courses: (42 credits)
(D) Capstone experience course (6 credits): This is a graduation requirement applicable to majors
which can be fulfilled by taking a course listed under “Capstone experience courses”. It is designed to
allow students to advance their analytical thinking by permitting the application of disciplinary
knowledge and principles learned in their earlier years of studies.
Minor (36 credits)

(A) Prerequisite course: (6 credits)
No Capstone experience course is required.
(A) Prerequisite courses
Students must attain a Level 5 or above either in Chinese Language or Chinese Literature in the Hong
Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination, or an equivalent standard in another
public examination, for admission to CHIN1116, CHIN1117, CHIN1123, CHIN1127, CHIN1103,
CHIN1118, CHIN1119, CHIN1121, and CHIN1126. Majors should complete two prerequisites, one
from each of the following Chinese Language and Chinese Literature prerequisite courses whereas
minors are to complete any one of the prerequisite courses.
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Chinese Language Prerequisites
CHIN1116. General introduction to modern Chinese language (6 credits)
This course provides students with a fundamental understanding of modern Chinese, with emphasis on
the study of characters, pronunciations, and grammar. Students are expected to firmly grasp the general
principles of modern Chinese language.
CHIN1117. General Introduction to classical Chinese language (6 credits)
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the linguistic features of classical Chinese, laying
special emphasis on the lexical and grammatical aspects. Aside from fundamental theoretical principles,
the course will also foster students’ perceptual knowledge towards the language through reading
representative texts from different periods of time. By completing the course, students are expected to
attain a higher level of competence in classical text reading.
CHIN1123. The story of Mandarin (6 credits)
This course will introduce students to the history and origin of the historical form of Mandarin—
Guanhua and examine the nature of Guanhua and Mandarin, as well as the relationship and mutual
influence between, Guanhua, Mandarin, Putonghua and the Chinese dialects from the perspective of
Sociolinguistics.
CHIN1127. Introduction to Chinese linguistics (6 credits)
This course makes an introduction to Chinese linguistics through an analysis of Chinese language facts.
The origin, characteristics, operation rules and mechanisms of Chinese are thoroughly introduced so
that students’ understanding of Chinese linguistics can be raised from the perceptual cognition to the
rational cognition. By completing the course, students will also be able to utilize the research skills and
methods to analyze some Chinese facts by obtaining a profound understanding of Chinese linguistics.
Chinese Literature Prerequisites
CHIN1103. Introduction to standard works in modern Chinese literature (6 credits)
The historical development of modern and contemporary Chinese literature is comprehensively

introduced. The standard works and selected texts of represented writers including Lu Xun, Wu Shi,
Zhang Ailing, and Bai Xianyong will be studied and appreciated through different perspectives.
CHIN1118. Introduction to classical Chinese literature (6 credits)
This is a fundamental study of classical Chinese literature. It gives a general survey of the literary
development from pre-Qin to the Qing Dynasty and introduces significant writers, including their roles
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in the literary development and representative works. There are also discussions on the characteristics
of various literary genres like prose, poetry and fiction in particular dynasties or periods as well as
relevant readings on selected writings. The course is aimed at enriching students’ knowledge and
developing their interest and ability in comprehending, analyzing, appreciating and commenting on
discussed literary topics or issues.
CHIN1119. Introduction to literary studies (6 credits)
This course introduces students to basic concepts and themes of literature. Through a general survey of
key concepts of literature, this course focuses on promoting students' abilities in comprehending,
analyzing and commenting on Chinese literary works. Students will learn how to define and identify a
range of interpretative approaches in the critical reading on literary texts (i.e. poems, novels, dramas,
etc.). After taking this course, students will gain an analytical ability of reading literary text and nurture
further intellectual curiosity in literature and literary studies.
CHIN1121. Introduction to contemporary Chinese literature (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the overall development of contemporary Chinese literature since the
1950s, including Hong Kong, Taiwanese and Malaysian Chinese literature, through representative
writers and their works in various forms. The selected works will be critically discussed through 20th
century literary and critical theories, as well as closely examined with regard to the social, cultural and
historical issues and literary movements/schools in contemporary China.
Non-permissible combination: HKGS1002
CHIN1126. Introduction to classical Chinese popular literature (6 credits)
Popular literature was a great impetus for the development of literature in traditional China. By
investigating various genres of popular literature with an emphasis on their historical developments,
literary values and social significance, we will revisit the definition and boundary of the so-called
"lowbrow literature" as well as its dialectical relationship with "highbrow literature." The genres to be
examined in this course include folksongs, bianwen (transformation texts), fiction, opera, oral-
performance, etc.
(B) Introductory courses
CHIN1103. Introduction to standard works in modern Chinese literature (6 credits)
The historical development of modern and contemporary Chinese literature is comprehensively

introduced. The standard works and selected texts of represented writers including Lu Xun, Wu Shi,
Zhang Ailing, and Bai Xianyong will be studied and appreciated through different perspectives.
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CHIN1107. Creative writing (6 credits)
This course aims to foster interest in the great works of modern Chinese literature and to help students
develop and sharpen their writing skills. It examines how writers and readers interact with literary
works in general, and considers how meanings and effects are generated in modern poems, prose, and
fiction in particular.
CHIN1109. Introduction to Chinese women’s literature (6 credits)
This course explores the historical development of Chinese women’s literature from the Qin-Han period
to contemporary China. The impact of various political, social, intellectual factors as well as the western
trends and thoughts on women’s literature are also investigated. The course provides students with an
opportunity to study and appreciate women’s literature in its various forms and styles through the
examination of texts written by the most representative and best known women writers.
CHIN1115. Study of the Confucian canons and modern society (6 credits)
Confucian canons enjoyed a high status in ancient Chinese society. This course provides students with
a fundamental understanding of the classical Confucian canons, and the relationship between canonical
studies and modern society. Students are expected to recognize the modern values of the study of the
Confucian classics.
CHIN1116. General introduction to modern Chinese language (6 credits)
This course provides students with a fundamental understanding of modern Chinese, with emphasis on
the study of characters, pronunciations, and grammar. Students are expected to firmly grasp the general
principles of modern Chinese language.
CHIN1117. General introduction to classical Chinese language (6 credits)
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the linguistic features of classical Chinese, laying
special emphasis on the lexical and grammatical aspects. Aside from fundamental theoretical principles,
the course will also foster students’ perceptual knowledge towards the language through reading
representative texts from different periods of time. By completing the course, students are expected to
attain a higher level of competence in classical text reading.
CHIN1118. Introduction to classical Chinese literature (6 credits)
This is a fundamental study of classical Chinese literature. It gives a general survey of the literary
development from pre-Qin to the Qing Dynasty and introduces significant writers, including their roles
in the literary development and representative works. There are also discussions on the characteristics
of various literary genres like prose, poetry and fiction in particular dynasties or periods as well as
relevant readings on selected writings. The course is aimed at enriching students’ knowledge and
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developing their interest and ability in comprehending, analyzing, appreciating and commenting on
discussed literary topics or issues.
CHIN1119. Introduction to literary studies (6 credits)
This course introduces students to basic concepts and themes of literature. Through a general survey of
key concepts of literature, this course focuses on promoting students' abilities in comprehending,
analyzing and commenting on Chinese literary works. Students will learn how to define and identify a
range of interpretative approaches in the critical reading on literary texts (i.e. poems, novels, dramas,
etc.). After taking this course, students will gain an analytical ability of reading literary text and nurture
further intellectual curiosity in literature and literary studies.
CHIN1120. Global approaches to Chinese literature (6 credits)
European and American (not to mention Japanese) scholars have played a key role in interpreting
Chinese culture for a global audience. While their work has been grounded in Chinese scholarship, they
have also offered original insights and new perspectives. This course aims to introduce key monuments
of Chinese literature as they have been translated and interpreted globally, from the Confucian classics
up to Story of the Stone. Special topics may include comparison between Chinese and Western literary
genres, and the importance of material culture.
CHIN1121. Introduction to contemporary Chinese literature (6 credits)
CHIN1122. Chinese literature in the twentieth century (6 credits)
This course aims to provide students with a deep understanding on the study of Chinese literature around
the world in the 20th century. A broad range of key writers, literary works and issues will be introduced
and analyzed. By the end of the course, students will be able to achieve multiple perspectives and
profound understanding of Chinese literature around the world in the 20th century.
CHIN1123. The story of Mandarin (6 credits)
This course will introduce students to the history and origin of the historical form of Mandarin—
Guanhua and examine the nature of Guanhua and Mandarin, as well as the relationship and mutual
influence between, Guanhua, Mandarin, Putonghua and the Chinese dialects from the perspective of
Sociolinguistics.
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CHIN1124. Chinese dialects and sociolinguistics (6 credits)
The course will introduce the basic issues and methodology in the research of the modern Chinese
dialects. The focus will be on how comparative description is used to uncover clues to dialect
relationship and historical development, and on the sociolinguistic implications of the dialects in
relationship to each other and to modern standard Mandarin. Special attention will also be paid to
questions of how social history, geography, and population movement affect dialect history. Spoken
Chinese has been characterized by great diversity for most of China's history. This course will use the
diversity of the modern Chinese dialects as a lens through which to view and understand the diversity
of the Chinese languages in earlier times.
CHIN1125. Trends of modern Chinese literary thoughts (6 credits)
This course will introduce students to the history of modern Chinese literature by focusing on some of
its major trends over the time span of a century. It will be organized around such topics as the genesis
of modern Chinese New Literature 新文學, the inner tensions between modernity and tradition, the
literary and the political, the individual and the collective, the aesthetic and the ethical; the transition
from literary revolution to revolutionary literature; literature under socialist China and after the Cultural
Revolution. One of its focuses is to show the non-linear landscapes of modern Chinese romanticism,
realism and modernism and so on. The goal of this course is for students to gain an overall understanding
of the development of modern Chinese literary trends, identify the most core issues, and appreciate its
cultural importance, complexity and problematics.
CHIN1126. Introduction to classical Chinese popular literature (6 credits)
Popular literature was a great impetus for the development of literature in traditional China. By
investigating various genres of popular literature with an emphasis on their historical developments,
literary values and social significance, we will revisit the definition and boundary of the so-called
"lowbrow literature" as well as its dialectical relationship with "highbrow literature." The genres to be
examined in this course include folksongs, bianwen (transformation texts), fiction, opera, oral-
performance, etc.
CHIN1127. Introduction to Chinese linguistics (6 credits)
This course makes an introduction to Chinese linguistics through an analysis of Chinese language facts.
The origin, characteristics, operation rules and mechanisms of Chinese are thoroughly introduced so
that students’ understanding of Chinese linguistics can be raised from the perceptual cognition to the
rational cognition. By completing the course, students will also be able to utilize the research skills and
methods to analyze some Chinese facts by obtaining a profound understanding of Chinese linguistics.
CHIN2121. Prose up to the nineteenth century (6 credits)
This course acquaints students with important writers and works of the Chinese classical prose from the
pre-Qin till the end of the Qing periods. It emphasizes two areas of learning: First, a general landscape
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of the development of prose writing including its major theories and trends; and, second, close reading
of selected texts, with particular attention to the styles, structures, images, and uses of rhetorical devices.
CHIN2123. Shi poetry up to the nineteenth century (6 credits)
This course covers the body of classical shi poetry, its characteristic techniques, and major practitioners
from Western Han to late Qing (nineteenth century). Diverse methods will be employed, such as
historical, biographical, and hermeneutical criticism. Broad thematic concerns are also presented,
including “Gender and identity”, “Humanizing Nature”, and “Creativity versus Imitation”.
CHIN2125. Ci poetry up to the nineteenth century (6 credits)
This course provides a general survey of the ci poetry from its beginning in the Tang period to the Qing
period, with special emphasis on the Song period, which is considered the golden age in the history of
this literary genre. Students taking this course are expected to gain a sound knowledge of the
development of the ci poetry from the eighth century to the nineteenth century. Its various forms and
styles are examined through specimens taken from the most representative as well as best known authors.
CHIN2127. Classical Chinese fiction (6 credits)
Based on an overview of the development of Chinese classical fiction from the Wei-Jin period to the
late Qing, participants in this course will explore the defining characteristics, forms, and genres of
traditional Chinese fictional narrative. Key examples from Tang chuanqi (short tales), Song and Yuan
huaben (short stories), and the classical and vernacular fiction of the Ming and Qing dynasties will be
studied with the aim of deepening understanding and appreciation of these forms. Attention will also
be given to problems of editions, bibliographical and reference resources, as well as recent Chinese and
foreign language advances in scholarship.
(C) Advanced courses
CHIN2122. Prose: selected writers (6 credits)
Aimed at developing students’ ability to interpret and appreciate traditional Chinese sanwen (free
essays), this course will focus on the sanwen of Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan from the Tang dynasty, as
well as Su Shi from the Song. In order to strengthen students’ appreciation of the role of this form in
the development of Chinese culture and literature we will: 1) discuss and analyze the literary
achievements of Han, Liu, and Su and the significance of the judgment that with Han Yu “literary
standards were reinstated after eight dynasties of decline” both in terms of Tang-Song writing and the
writing of later periods, 2) engage in a systematic reading of their representative sanwen works, 3)
consider recent approaches to their place in Chinese literary history.
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CHIN2124. Shi poetry: selected writers (6 credits)
This course provides a detailed study of the shi poetry of one or two of the following: Cao Zhi, Tao
Qian, Xie Lingyun, Wang Wei, Li Bai, Du Fu, Han Yu, Li Shangyin, Su Shi, and Huang Tingjian.
Students taking this course are expected to demonstrate a sound knowledge of the shi poetry covered
and a general ability to describe and analyze poetic styles in the examination.
CHIN2126. Ci poetry: selected writers (6 credits)
This course provides a detailed study of the ci poetry of one or two of the following: Liu Yong, Su Shi,
Zhou Bangyan, Xin Qiji, and Jiang Kui - the Five Great Masters of the ci poetry of the Song period.
The course will consider the individual achievements and influences of the poets; their contemporaries
will also be discussed.
CHIN2130. Modern Chinese literature (1917-1949): fiction (6 credits)
This course is a study of modern Chinese fiction from 1917 to 1949. The historical development of
modern Chinese fiction will be introduced and the impacts of western literary trends or thoughts on
fiction writers will also be explored. In addition, representative short stories and novels of different
schools will be appreciated and studied in depth.
CHIN2132. Contemporary Chinese literature (since 1949): fiction (6 credits)
This course is a study of contemporary Chinese fiction in Mainland China since 1949. The historical
development of contemporary Chinese fiction will be introduced and the influential factors such as
political ideology or economic policy that interfered with the creation of fiction will also be illustrated.
In addition, representative fictional works which were published before or after the Cultural Revolution
will be deeply discussed.
CHIN2136. Classical Chinese literary criticism (6 credits)
This course provides a general survey of classical Chinese literary criticism.

CHIN2138. Chinese etymology (6 credits)
This course introduces students to some of the essential features of the Chinese characters, the principles
underlying their construction, and the evolution of many of these characters.
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CHIN2139. Chinese phonology (6 credits)
This course provides a detailed study of Chinese phonology. Topics covered include introduction to
general phonetics, history of Chinese phonology, nature of qieyun (切韻), rhyme books and rhyme
tables, and the reconstruction of Middle Chinese. The focus of this course is on Middle Chinese, but
phonology of Old Chinese and Old Mandarin will also be introduced. Students are expected to gain a
sound knowledge of various methods used in historical phonology and understand the rules governing
sound changes from Middle Chinese to Modern Mandarin and Cantonese.
CHIN2145. Chinese theatre during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing periods (6 credits)
This course introduces to students the most important times in the development of pre-modern Chinese
theatre, namely, the Yuan, Ming, and Qing periods. It surveys the rich theatrical traditions flourishing
during these times, including: the Yuan variety plays and Southern plays; the Ming and Qing chuanqi
plays; and the Qing regional popular theatre. It also guides students in reading/viewing and interpreting
the most well-known scenes from the plays -- as both texts and stage performances.
CHIN2146. The “sickly beauties”: gender and illness in late imperial China (6 credits)
This course looks into a cultural ideal that continued to hold the Chinese imagination across the late
imperial times, namely, the “sickly beauty” or the bing meiren 病美人. It introduces students to
interdisciplinary approaches to understanding the construction of this ideal in the full contexts of its
time - in particular, how the conceptualizations of gender and of illness converged in late imperial China.
It aims, in this way, to help students become aware of important cultural mentalities and literary trends
that shaped people’s perceptions of gender and of their gendered selves during this time.
A variety of literary and cultural texts from this period, including poetry, fiction, biji writings, theatrical
performances, paintings, and medical treatises, will be employed to illustrate the discussion. A
comparative perspective – e.g. how discourses of gender and illness converged in Victorian England -
will also enrich the discussion when necessary.
CHIN2147. Reading of classical Chinese texts (6 credits)
This course provides a close study of one or more of the following classical texts: Shijing 詩經, Chuci
楚辭, Zuozhuan 左傳, Zhuangzi 莊子, Zhaoming Wenxuan 昭明文選 etc., engaging various techniques
of scholarship and criticism.
CHIN2149. Chinese language from social perspectives (6 credits)
This course focuses on the study of the use of Chinese language from social perspectives, with particular
reference to Mainland China and Hong Kong. The linguistic phenomena, characteristics, and
development are examined. It enables students to understand the relationship between language and
society, and the linguistic and social factors affecting the use of Chinese language as a communicative
tool in society.
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CHIN2151. Gender and sexuality in Ming and Qing fiction (6 credits)
Sexuality and gender are inevitably bound up with the world of fictional narrative and they thus provide
a valuable entry into the interpretation of traditional fiction and its relation to social history. Reading
and analysis will focus on selections from six novels from the Ming and Qing and their comparison will
form the basis for discussion of six themes related to gender and sexuality in late imperial Chinese
society. Students will be required to address three of the themes in three essays each consisting of
approximately 2000 Chinese characters and developing an original analysis.
CHIN2152. Literature, modernity and nation in twentieth-century China (6 credits)
This course offers a general introduction for students to the literary history of China from the late Qing
and Republican periods, to the current state of Chinese literature. It will be conducted chronologically
and organized according to certain themes. After looking at general issues, certain literary thoughts and
the works of selected writers will then be examined. Breaking the traditional 1949 division, the students
will be introduced to the literature produced in the second half of the twentieth century, and the
important scholarship in the field of modern Chinese literature.
CHIN2153. Sinophone literature and film (6 credits)
As a result of Chinese diaspora and increasing global cultural interactions, scholars have proposed
various analytical frameworks to remap the current field of Chinese-language literature and film. The
concept of “sinophone” is such an attempt which celebrates the diverse expressions of “chineseness”
and underscores the local particularities in which each Chinese-language or film is produced. This
course offers students an opportunity to study selected sinophone literary works (by writers residing
primarily in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the west) and films, and to explore and challenge existing notions
of nationalism, cultural identity, and linguistic authenticity.
CHIN2154. Taiwan literature from the Japanese colonial period to the 1990s (6 credits)
The first half of the twentieth century was a time of unprecedented upheaval and change in Taiwan;
after Japan’s colonial rule, the Nationalist government took over, beginning the period of martial law
(1949-1987) as well as a series of re-Sinification projects to enhance its political legitimacy. Following
the Nationalist Party’s localization and the lifting of martial law, the society underwent a rapid
transformation and literary writing in Taiwan exhibited unprecedented vitality and diversity in the
1980s and 1990s. This course provides an introduction to the literature from Taiwan in the twentieth
century. It covers both the Japanese colonial and the post-war periods, with a focus on short stories and
novels. The dynamics between politics (particularly the colonial control, the Nationalist government’s
policies, and the recent indigenization discourse) and literature through reading a variety of selected
texts will be explored.
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CHIN2159. Chinese documentation (6 credits)
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to Chinese documentation, including formation and
forms of Chinese documents, bibliography (mulu xue 目錄學), edition studies (banben xue 版本學)
and textual criticism (jiaokan xue 校勘學). It examines the formation, nature, spread and evolution of
ancient texts to illustrate the key issues in Chinese documentation. In order to enhance students’
research capability in Chinese studies, this course also emphasizes the relationship of Chinese
documentation to other research areas such as philology, literature and ancient thought studies.
CHIN2162. Cantonese linguistics (6 credits)
This course provides students with a fundamental understanding of the phonological, morphological
and syntactic structures of Cantonese. The linguistic differences between Cantonese and Modern
Standard Chinese will be examined. Students are expected to utilize relevant reference books and
materials for further independent study.
CHIN2164. The Analects and Chinese culture (6 credits)
The Analects, or Lunyu 論語, is the representative work of Confucianism and has a tremendous
influence on the development of Chinese culture. This course will study the text from a broad range of
perspectives. It will first examine the philological and historical issues related to the text, such as its
style and structure, time of compilation, transmission, and major commentaries. Moreover, through a
detailed study of the original text, students will be introduced to the life of Confucius and the essence
of his teachings. Given the wide range of subjects covered in the Analects, this course will further
investigate its relationship to traditional Chinese culture as well as its value to modern Chinese society.
CHIN2168. Modern Chinese grammar (6 credits)
This course offers a comprehensive study on the morphology and syntax of Modern Chinese language.
The characteristics and development of Modern Chinese grammar are also discussed. The course is
aimed at promoting students’ understanding of the structural rules and relationships in Modern Chinese
as well as their abilities in applying their grammatical knowledge to make analyses and comments on
grammatical errors and significant grammatical issues.
CHIN2169. Modern Chinese rhetoric (6 credits)
This course offers a study on the principles, devices, expressive effects and development of rhetoric in
Modern Chinese. In addition to an intensive study on various types of figures of speech, topics like
sonic rhetoric, rhetoric of words, sentences and paragraphs, style and rhetoric, and rhetoric in daily life
are discussed with concrete examples. The course is aimed at enriching student’s rhetorical knowledge,
enabling them to analyze and comment critically on significant rhetorical issues, and promoting their
abilities in the appreciation and application of different rhetorical devices.
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CHIN2170. Study of Zuo Zhuan (6 credits)
This course provides students with a fundamental understanding of Zuo Zhuan's authorship, style,
nature, literary features as well as its relationship with the Spring and Autumn Annals (Chunqiu) and
other classics of the Confucian canon.
CHIN2171. Women’s autobiographical writing in late imperial China (6 credits)
This course examines the varied textual forms and genres in which women engaged to produce
autobiographical writings during the flourishing of women's literary culture in the Ming and Qing
periods in the context of theories on and approaches to the study of life narratives.
CHIN2172. Hong Kong literature (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the development of Hong Kong Literature from the 1920s through
representative writers and their works in various genres. The selected works will be closely examined
in relation to their cultural and historical contexts. The cultural production and literary connections
between Hong Kong, Mainland China and the world will also be highlighted to increase the student’s
awareness of Hong Kong’s unique cultural fluidity and hybridity.
CHIN2173. Topical studies of classical Chinese fiction (6 credits)
This course aims at providing students with a detailed study on one or more selected works of the
classical Chinese fiction. A broad range of key issues under specific topics will be introduced. By
completing the course, students will obtain a profound understanding of the selected works from
different perspectives. They will also be able to utilize their research skills and methods to analyze and
interpret some major texts in classical Chinese fiction.
CHIN2174. Literature in late Qing and early Republican China (6 credits)
Focusing on literary works since 1840s, this course examines new changes of classical-style literature
in the turbulent late Qing and early Republican era. Influenced by Western ideology and culture,
Chinese literature during this period has experienced fierce conflicts between new ideas and literary
forms. This course selects representative authors and works within different genres, such as poetry,
prose and fiction as case studies, in order to evaluate the significance of literary reforms during late
Qing and early Republican period. Based on recent research outputs and approaches, students will learn
to rethink the value of classical style in the transformation of Chinese literature.
CHIN2175. Historical-comparative linguistics and Chinese dialectology (6 credits)
The course will provide a solid foundation and background in the descriptive and theoretical linguistic
(including phonetic and phonological) issues that are relevant to in-depth application of comparative
historical linguistics to the study of Chinese dialect history of the middle and late periods. The focus is
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on how the linguistic history is comparatively reflected in Mandarin, Wú and Cantonese, with particular
emphasis on how the study of historical comparative methodology can be used in understanding
historical forms of Chinese. Topics to be covered include the formation and development of early
phonological knowledge in China, modern historical-comparative linguistic methodology, common
dialect phonology, and the history of the pronunciation of Chinese in the Chinese dialects in general.
The course will survey traditional Chinese descriptive methods reflected in texts of the Yuán through
Qīng periods. Students will learn how the diverse historical forms of Chinese that underlie these texts
are, or are not, reflected in the present-day Chinese languages and how those features are, or are not,
reflected in Mandarin, Wú and Cantonese.
CHIN2176. Chinese children’s literature (6 credits)
Children’s literature is the literature for children, which is expected to encourage young reader’s
cognitive, linguistic and psychological development; it might as well to possess a didactic purpose in
response to the society’s high hopes for children. Such expectations have a profound effect on the genre,
writing style, narration, character development and aesthetic style of children’s literature, making it
very different from adult’s literature. Although China has a long tradition of elucidating the uninitiated
by learning primers, children’s literature only emerged during the May Forth Movement (the period
during 1915–1921), when the intellects “rediscovered” and “redefined” childhood. In this course,
Children’s literature from various periods of time and different regions in China will be analysed and
their relationship with social environment will be explored. The course will also discuss some key
questions in Chinese children’s literature, for example, are children “little adults”? Does Chinese
children’s literature even exist? How do writers express children’s innocence and happiness in literature?
Must children’s literature be educational? Is children’s literature able to expose the dark side of
humanity? Students are expected to learn the significance of children’s literature through fiction for the
youngsters.
CHIN2177. Chinese lexicology (6 credits)
This course aims at providing students with a detailed study of Chinese lexicology. A broad range of
key issues under specific topics such as the origin, structure, composition, classification, development
and change of Chinese lexical system will be introduced. By completing the course, students will obtain
a profound understanding of modern Chinese lexicology as well as ancient Chinese lexicology. They
will also be able to utilize their research skills and methods to analyze and interpret some major topics
in Chinese lexicology.
CHIN2178. Topical studies of modern Chinese literature (6 credits)
This course offers students an overview of the literary works of one or more writers in modern
Chinese literature. It examines a variety of issues related to a specific topic from a wide range of
perspectives. By the end of the course, students will not only acquire the ability of close reading on
modern Chinese literary works, but also learn literary criticism, as well as develop a comprehensive
understanding of the history of modern Chinese literature.
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CHIN2179. Topical studies of classical Chinese popular literature (6 credits)
This course examines one or two genres in classical Chinese popular literature, like classical drama,
folksongs, and oral-performance etc., with a focus on the seminal works or major writers in the genres
we study. Through a close reading of the texts and an intensive engagement with specific topics, this
course will guide students to identify the literary, artistic and cultural values of the selected works.
Students are expected to enhance their analytical skills and enlarge their academic horizons in classical
Chinese popular literature.
CHIN2180. Topical studies of classical Chinese literature (6 credits)
This course aims at providing students with a detailed study on some selected works of the classical
Chinese literary works. A broad range of key issues under specific topics will be introduced. By
completing the course, students will obtain a profound understanding of the selected works from
different perspectives. They will also be able to utilize their research skills and methods to analyze and
interpret some major texts in classical Chinese literary works.
CHIN2181. Selected topics in shi poetry (6 credits)
This course offers a study of selected topics in shi poetry from the pre-Qin to Qing periods. Through a
close reading of representative works, students are guided to critically investigate a broad range of
key issues in relation to shi poetry. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to utilize the
analytical skills to evaluate and assess the influence and significance of shi poetry within the long
tradition of Chinese poetry development.
CHIN2182. Selected topics in ci and qu poetry (6 credits)
This course provides students with an introduction to selected topics in ci and qu poetry from the late
Tang to Qing periods. Focusing on the origin, generic features, and historical development, it explores
and examines the diverse forms and styles of representative works of ci and qu poetry. Upon
completion of the course, students will be able to indicate and identify the key contribution of ci and
qu poetry from a range of literary perspectives.
CHIN2183. Introduction to Hong Kong Cantopop lyrics (6 credits)
Since the mid-1970s, Hong Kong popular music has been very much identified with Cantopop, a
distinctive genre with lyrics written in standard modern Chinese as well as Cantonese. Cantopop lyrics
have exerted a profound impact on Hong Kong people over the past forty years. The course will be
divided into two parts. The first half will introduce renowned Hong Kong Cantopop lyricists and
examine their typical styles. The second half will discuss Cantopop lyrics from cultural perspectives.
The course will enhance students’ understanding of Cantopop through close textual readings. The
medium of instruction will be Chinese.
Assessment: 100% coursework
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CHIN2184. Understanding Hong Kong through mass media (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the historical and cultural development of Hong Kong in modern
times through mass media, with a particular emphasis on printed media and discussion surrounding the
interrelationship between Hong Kong and China. Selected printed media texts will be closely examined
with reference to the role Hong Kong played in, for instance, the public sphere in the late-Qing dynasty;
the cultural development of the May-Fourth Movement; the spread and reception of Modernism and
Communism in the Cold War period; and the narration of the Chinese nation in the British colonial
days. This course further introduces students to how Hong Kong can be seen as a liminal space for
literary communication and cultural production at critical times. It also leads students to discuss the
various cultural issues surrounding Hong Kong mass media, such as identity formation, gender issues
and censorship.
CHIN2185. Ghostly Hong Kong: Otherworldly configurations (6 credits)
From the colonial to the post-handover periods, Hong Kong has long been haunted by ghosts and
supernatural existences. Beyond the questions of veracity, these otherworldly visitors interrogate the
very basis of Hong Kong imaginaries and political intricacies. From literature, history, urban legends
to popular cultural productions, ghosts unfold Hong Kong’s deep-seated fear, prejudices and
uncertainties about coloniality, nationality and transnationality. This course provides students with
insights into the significance of the diverse range of otherworldly voices speaking from and on behalf
of Hong Kong, with examples drawn from literature, history, film, media and theoretical texts. Reading
them closely students are able to excavate dark, hidden and alternative sources for understanding the
transforming Hong Kong identities and imaginations.
CHIN2186. Forged texts in traditional China (6 credits)
During the imperial era (and particularly during the Ming and Qing dynasties) members of the literati
elite enjoyed creating forged texts. Ever since the Tang dynasty, Chinese literati became interested in
creating one particular kind of forged text, concerned with the private lives of emperors and their senior
consorts inside the Rear Palace. In order to convince readers of the "truth" of their narratives, authors
would claim to be eyewitnesses of these events. Furthermore, to generate a provenance, they would
attach the names of famous historical individuals to prefaces and colophons. Since these fictional works
have often gone unidentified, they continue to deceive later generations, and impact historical
understandings right up to the present day.
CHIN2187. The language of power: Representations of elites in ancient Chinese literature (6

credits)
Ancient Chinese literature is a rich source of information about the hereditary aristocracy: their cultural
impact was enormous, as was their patronage network. This class will consider literary representations
of male and female members of the elite. The elite appear in panegyrics, but also in more realistic
writings, which discuss problems of social violence, domestic abuse, extravagance and debauchery, as
well as issues involving psychological control. These little-studied accounts provide a fascinating
apercue on Chinese literature.
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CHIN2188. Chinese lexicon and grammar from late Tang to early Qing (6 credits)
Jìndài hànyǔ refers to the Chinese language from the late Tang to the early Qing. This course aims to
introduce the lexicon and grammar of Chinese at this stage, which includes lexicon topics like:
the research situations, research methodology, Chinese colloquial words, development of Chinese
neologisms and loanwords, morphology and word-making methods; and grammar topics like:
development of sentence patterns and function words, etc. Through the study of the above knowledge,
students can consciously use materials to analyze and make research on new topics in Chinese from late
Tang to early Qing, and will be able to have a better understanding of the history of Chinese language
development.
CHIN2190. Field trip on Chinese language, literature, and culture (6 credits)
This course provides students with the valuable experience of exploring and investigating Chinese
language, literature, and culture in the form of experiential learning. Unlike traditional classroom
learning, students of this course will participate in a field trip aiming to understand and analyse the
diverse issues relating to the use of language, literary development, and cultural heritage. Associated
with lectures introducing the key theoretical concepts and methodologies, students will conduct field
research through activities like visiting former residences of writers and scholars, significant literary
locations, museums and historical sites, libraries and archives, and undertaking linguistic interviews.
By examining the first-hand sources, students will present their empirical findings in group discussions,
reports, and a research paper. The major theme of the learning activities may vary in different academic
years, and the field trip will be conducted either in or outside Hong Kong.
(D) Capstone experience course
CHIN4101. Topical research in Chinese language and literature (capstone experience) (6

credits)
This is a capstone course intended to be offered to the Chinese language and literature majors in their
fourth year of studies. It focuses on an integration and application of knowledge and skills that students
have acquired in their earlier years of studies. There is no formal lecture or tutorial but students are
required to undertake and complete a topical research in the field of Chinese language and literature
under the supervision of their advisers.
CHINESE HISTORY AND CULTURE
Major (72 credits)

(D) Capstone experience course (6 credits): This is a graduation requirement applicable to majors
which can be fulfilled by taking a course listed under “Capstone experience courses”. It is designed to
allow students to advance their analytical thinking by permitting the application of disciplinary
knowledge and principles learned in their earlier years of studies.
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Students majoring in Chinese History and Culture may take HIST2003, HIST2004 and HIST2018
to fulfill the credit requirements.
Minor (36 credits)

No Capstone experience course is required.
(A) Prerequisite course: any course with a prefix CHIN12XX.
CHIN1201. Topical studies of Chinese history (6 credits)
The course explores a set of interrelated topics on several major aspects in pre-modern Chinese history,
including politics, society, thought, and religion. It provides students with comprehensive knowledge
of the key institutions, events, and figures within a broader historical context. Through in-depth analysis
and discussion, fundamental methods in reading and criticism of different types of historical sources
will also be introduced. In addition, the course goes beyond the limits of mainstream historiography
and leads students to examine some important non-Chinese factors that have contributed to the
transformation of Chinese society over time.
CHIN1202. Introduction to the study of Chinese history (6 credits)
This is a foundation course in the development of Chinese history and historiography.

CHIN1203. Chinese history and culture in the twentieth century (6 credits)
The course gives a brief survey of the transformation and reformation of Chinese history and examines
the major cultural changes since 1900.
CHIN1205. Chinese history: a general survey (6 credits)
This course introduces Chinese political, social, and economic history from early times to the present
century. Its purpose is to enlighten students about the development of autarchy by the imperial dynasties
ruling China and to explore the methods of rule and the development of the education system that were
to produce despotism in China.
CHIN1206. Introduction to Chinese thought (6 credits)
This course provides a broad overview of traditional Chinese thought. The emphasis will be on the
teachings of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, but other schools of thought such as Mohism and
Legalism will also be taught. Students will be introduced to the foundations of Chinese thought and
will critically analyze its essential features. The relevance of traditional Chinese thought to the modern
world will also be discussed.
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CHIN1207. Traditional Chinese culture (6 credits)
This course introduces the general characteristics of traditional Chinese culture giving special emphasis
to the theory that man, being an integral part of nature, is in harmony with nature. It also explores some
important aspects of traditional Chinese culture including science and technology in ancient China, the
leisure activities of Chinese intellectuals, and the influence of Buddhism and Christianity on Chinese
culture.
CHIN1211. Economic and social development in China (6 credits)
Agriculture is important to the economic and social development of Imperial China and a decline in
agricultural growth and its land policies may be regarded detrimental to the social and economic
stability in China. However, a number of other factors are closely related to these changes. Among
them are the increase of domestic and international trading activities on silk, tea, keramic, and porcelain
starting from the 5th century onwards. Besides, the rise of light industries, which is largely
underestimated by historians, also contributed to the growth of economy in Imperial China. The purpose
of this course is to study the various forces leading to the social and economic changes in China and the
effects of these changes.
CHIN1212. History of imperial China (6 credits)
This is an introductory course for students to have a fundamental knowledge in traditional Chinese
history. The course will give a brief account of the rise and fall of Chinese dynasties and the political
crises that are cataclysmic to the empires. It covers the period from ancient to late Imperial China. The
main theme will focus on the characteristic portrayals of Chinese emperors as well as the political
influences of eunuchs, empresses, and their family members, etc.
CHIN1213. Folklore and modern Chinese culture (6 credits)
This course explores a set of prominent aspects in Chinese folklore, including myths, folktales, folk
songs, folk performances and arts, folk architectures, folk rituals, and festivals, which have in many
ways affected modern Chinese culture and social life. It introduces major theories in folklore, literature,
and cultural criticism to help students reflect on the essential features of Chinese folk culture and its
persistence through the eventful social and political transformations of China during the 20th century.
Students will also take part in relevant experiential learning activities through site visits and field
investigations.
This is an intensive summer course in two to three weeks, offered in collaboration with a partner
institution in Mainland China or Taiwan. All course activities are conducted at the partner institution.
CHIN1214. Chinese and western cultures: a comparative study (6 credits)
This course introduces a critical approach to the comparison of Chinese and Western traditional cultures
in a wide variety of aspects, encompassing the ideas in relation to the origin of the universe, life and
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death, human nature, mythology, epistemology, politics, economic activities, ethics, social structure,
relation of two sexes and law. The emphasis dwells on the system of values of the two distinct cultures,
and to what extent environmental factors contribute to the psychological differences. A number of
prominent issues raised by modern scholars will be addressed, including the absence of monotheism,
scientific revolution and epic poetry in historical China. The course discusses in particular the heated
and acrimonious debates on Chinese and Western civilizations in the New Culture Movement as well
as during the 1960s in Taiwan. In view of the rapid globalization in the contemporary world, students
are encouraged to reflect on concepts like multiculturalism and cultural relativism, and the possible
forms of intercultural dialogues.
CHIN1215. History of Religions in Imperial China (6 credits)
The aim of this course is to provide students with comprehensive knowledge on the historical
development of indigenous and foreign religions in China during the imperial era. The sacred texts,
doctrines and leading figures of the major religions concerned are introduced, and the relationships
among religion, society and dynastic rule discussed. Emphasis is placed on training students in the
reading of first-hand Chinese historical sources.
CHIN2231. Religious Daoism and popular religions in China (6 credits)
This course gives an overview of the historical development of religious Daoism and Chinese popular
religions and examines the religious practice of Taoist worship and its cultural significance in China
from the early medieval times to the present.
CHIN2241. History of Chinese civilization (6 credits)
This course examines the development of the concept of Chinese culture in relation to the historical
interactions between the Han ethnicity and its neighboring ethnic groups. Through the examination of
such topics as food, game, clothing, philology, and literature, students will be asked to consider the
influence of cultural exchange on China’s changing political environment from dynasty to dynasty, as
well as to address the question of whether such influences are unilateral (from China proper to its
neighbors) or bilateral.
CHIN2220. History of the pre-Qin period (6 credits)
The pre-Qin period is typically known for its prolonged social and political upheaval. This course
explores the political and socio-economic issues that give rise to a series of changes significant for the
period. Students will be trained to identify the underlying causes of political disorder, and to examine
the social and intellectual developments which have a great effect on the imperial history of China from
the Qin dynasty onward. Students are also encouraged to think critically and to develop research skills
in analyzing relevant primary sources.
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CHIN2221. History of the Qin and Han periods (6 credits)
This course explores important issues reflecting the most significant changes in different aspects
(political, institutional, social, and intellectual, etc.) during the Qin and Han periods. Students are
encouraged to think critically on prevailing views over these issues and are challenged to develop their
own observations and judgments by consulting relevant primary sources.
CHIN2222. History of the Wei, Jin and the Northern-and-Southern periods (6 credits)
The Wei, Jin, and the Northern-and-Southern Dynasties are often considered a period of disorder and
fragmentation. However, cultural pluralism is a prevailing characteristic of this period. This course aims
to explore the social, political, intellectual, and institutional organizations of the time and to trace the
fluctuating dynamics of these complex and often puzzling interrelationships.
CHIN2223. History of the Sui and Tang periods (6 credits)
This course aims at investigating the shifting political environment and changes in cultural ideologies
during the Sui and the Tang Dynasty.
CHIN2224. History of the Song and Yuan periods (6 credits)
This course deals with the dynastic histories of China from the tenth century to the fourteenth century.
CHIN2225. History of the Ming period (6 credits)
This course explores important issues reflecting the most significant changes in different aspects
(political, institutional, social, and intellectual, etc.) during the Ming period. Students are encouraged
to think critically on prevailing views over these issues and are challenged to develop their own
observations and judgments by consulting relevant sources in Ming history.
CHIN2226. History of the Qing period (6 credits)
This course deals with the dynastic history of China from the seventeenth century to the twentieth
century.
CHIN2233. History of the Chinese legal system (6 credits)
This course examines the main features and development of the legal systems from ancient time to the
present in China.
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CHIN2234. History of Chinese political institutions (6 credits)
This course examines the main features and the development of political institutions from ancient time
to the present in China.
CHIN2235. Sources and methodology (6 credits)
This course intends to provide a thorough training in research methodology related to the study of
Chinese history. The ideas of noted ancient and contemporary Chinese historians will be drawn on.
Particular emphasis is placed on the use of reference works and information search through internet.
CHIN2243. History of Chinese science and civilization (6 credits)
This course examines the formation of Chinese science since the pre-Qin period, focusing on
numerical and medical sciences. It will also address theoretical, methodological, and historiographical
issues, such as Kuhn’s theory of “paradigm” and the Needham Question.
CHIN2245. Examination systems in Chinese history (6 credits)
This course examines the theories and means of selecting men of talent, as well as the development of
the examination systems in China.
CHIN2246. Historical writings: texts and styles (6 credits)
This course aims to lead students to develop an in-depth understanding of some of the most
fundamentally important texts in traditional Chinese historical writings. One or more of the following
will be selected for close study in each semester:
(i) Shiji
(ii) Hanshu
(iii) Hou Hanshu
(iv) Sanguozhi
(v) Shitong
CHIN2251. Chinese philosophy I: Confucianism (6 credits)
This course examines the major philosophical texts of the Confucian tradition, particularly those of the
pre-Qin period like the Analects, the Mengzi, and the Xunzi. The key questions and ideas of
Confucianism will be discussed and analyzed so that students can appreciate not only the common
concerns and shared ideas of Confucianism but also different responses to similar questions. Students
will also be encouraged to reflect critically on the validity and significance of Confucian thought.
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CHIN2252. Chinese philosophy II: Daoism (6 credits)
This course studies the major philosophical texts of the Daoist tradition, with a focus on the Dao De
Jing and the Zhuangzi. Through a detailed exploration of the original texts, students will be led to
appreciate and evaluate the metaphysical, ethical, social, and political ideas of Laozi and Zhuangzi.
Students will also be encouraged to reflect critically on the contemporary relevance of the Daoist
thought.
CHIN2253. Chinese philosophy III: Buddhism (6 credits)
This course examines the main streams of Indian Buddhist thought and their development in China.
Students will be introduced to the basic tenets of Buddhism, especially those of the original Buddhism.
The major schools of Mahayana Buddhism and their influence on Chinese Buddhism will be examined.
The three major schools of Chinese Buddhism, Tiantai, Huayan, and Chan, will be studied in more
details to help students gain a firm understanding of Chinese Buddhist philosophy.
CHIN2254. Christianity and Chinese culture (6 credits)
The course presents a historical survey on the spread of Christianity in China from the seventh century
to the present day. It analyzes the multi-faceted impacts of Christianity and Western culture on Chinese
society. Special attention will be paid to the diversified evangelical strategies adopted by missionaries
in China, as well as layers of reactions from native (or indigenized) religions. By looking at the complex
role of Christianity in both global and Chinese contexts, the course offers students a refreshing angle to
better understand the dynamics of Chinese religious and cultural life over time.
CHIN2255. Chinese intellectual history (Part I) (6 credits)
This course examines topics of major intellectual development within early to medieval imperial China.
CHIN2256. Chinese intellectual history (Part II) (6 credits)
This course deals with the main intellectual trends in China from the Song period to the Qing period.
CHIN2259. History of Chinese historiography (6 credits)
This course explores some important issues of historical writing and historiography in traditional China
with reference to the development of historical writing, the organization of historiography institutes,
and the influence of emperors on historiography.
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CHIN2264. Chinese eroticism (6 credits)
This course examines the rise of eroticism in traditional China. It aims to account for the rapid growth
of eroticism in China. Through an analysis of classic texts and drawings, arts and culture in different
periods, students can gain insights into the development of sexual inequality and the change of female
status in traditional China.
CHIN2266. History education and Chinese culture (6 credits)
This course examines the main features and development of history education and its relationship with
Chinese culture from ancient time to the present in China. Special emphasis will be on its relationship
and interrelationship with the development of Chinese culture.
CHIN2268. History of China-West cultural exchanges (6 credits)
This course explores China’s encounters with the West from the seventh century to the early twentieth
century. It presents a series of case studies on Sino-Western exchanges in the cultural domain. Major
topics will be discussed through an interdisciplinary approach to bring together several fields in religion,
philosophy, ethics, arts, and sciences. The course also offers a cross-cultural perspective that goes
beyond the limitations of traditional Euro-centric and/or China-centered views.
CHIN2269. History of the Ming-Qing transition (6 credits)
This course will give an in-depth discussion on the historical arena relating to the development of
traditional Chinese culture during the period of the Ming-Qing transition. It deals with the history of
the Ming-Qing dynastic change in seventeenth-century China, focusing on the political, socio-economic,
and cultural changes as well as the impact these had on the mentality of the Ming-Qing literati and on
Chinese thought more generally.
CHIN2272. School education in Chinese history (6 credits)
This course examines the main features and development of school education from ancient time to the
present in China. Special emphasis will be on its role for nurturing men of talent in Chinese history.
CHIN2273. Socio-economic history of China (6 credits)
Agriculture played a more predominant role than mercantile activities in ancient China especially in
times of war and famine. Merchants used to be important supporters for government in economic
declines but they were at the lowest rank of the traditional caste system and neglected by intellectuals
who largely occupied the upper and the ruling class. Through an investigation of the social and
economic developments of imperial and modern China, this course helps to explore the dynamics of
socio-economic factors in shaping the transformation of the country.
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CHIN2274. History of material culture (6 credits)
This course is a study of human evolution and cultural history from ancient to modern China. It covers
topics which vary from a general introduction of archaeology and social anthropology to an orientation
of cultural geography that gives rise to a variety of cultural differences in the appreciation of food,
clothing, and architecture. Through an intensive study of the basic necessities of traditional living and
narration on folklore, it examines the interchange of material culture between various ethnic groups in
China and between East and West.
CHIN2275. The culture of flower in China (6 credits)
This course provides an overview of flower culture in China. The characteristics of flowers in various
cultural aspects will be examined.
CHIN2276. Religions on the Silk Road in ancient times (6 credits)
This course examines the major features and developments of the prominent religions on the Silk Road
from remote antiquity down to the Tang Dynasty, including nature worship, shamanism, Zoroastrianism,
Buddhism, Nestorian Christianity and Manichaeism. The Silk Road connected most of the important
civilizations of Eurasia and constituted essentially the intersection point of the religions from different
areas. What attracts our attention in particular is that most of these religions were indigenized and
changed into new forms in this region. Needless to say, the cultural legacy of the religions on the Silk
Road is incredibly immense and can be seen in the luxurious and splendid Dunhuang treasures, which
comprise a wide variety of grottos, statues, murals, manuscripts, and so on. This prompted the
emergence of the flourishing Dunhuang research throughout the twentieth century. The study of the
religions on the Silk Road not only concerns a deeper understanding of the doctrines of varied religions
worthy of comparison, but also opens the door to us of the crowning spectacle of the cultural exchange
especially among China, India, Central Asia and Western Asia in ancient times.
CHIN2277. Islam and Chinese culture (6 credits)
This course presents a historical survey on the dissemination of Islam in China from the Tang Dynasty
down to the present day, and explores in detail the interaction of Islam and Chinese culture. An
enhanced emphasis will rest on a group of the Chinese Muslim scholars (or huiru 回儒) who rose to
prominence during the Ming-Qing Dynasties. Chinese Muslim scholars resembled Christians or Jesuits
in China in the sense that they also demonstrated a continuous effort to harmonize Islamic and
Confucian cultures, writing a substantial number of works on Islam and translating Arabic Qur’an into
Chinese. But what makes a striking difference between the two is that Muslims in China did not actively
promulgate their religion to the Han Chinese, and neither did they seek to attack Neo-Confucianism or
Buddhism for the purpose of justifying the supremacy of their beliefs. The Rites Controversy in
Catholicism, therefore, finds no parallel among the Muslims in China. To summarize, it is widely
recognized that the Muslims have in fact exercised considerable influence in the overall context of
Chinese history in terms of religious culture, economic activities and scientific accomplishments.
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CHIN2278. Travel and economic development in Chinese history (6 credits)
Travel is an important living activity of human beings. It is closely related to the development of the
economy. This course examines the main features of travel and economic development in Chinese
history. It aims to provide students an in-depth understanding on the relationship between living culture
and economic changes in Chinese history.
CHIN2279. Neo-Confucianism in Song-Ming periods and contemporary religions and ethics

(6 credits)
This course provides an overview of the development of Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming dynasties,
and concurrently encourages students to reflect on and compare the teachings of Neo-Confucianists
concerning metaphysics and morality in conjunction with the prevalent forms of religions and ethics in
the present day. The emphasis is therefore particularly placed on the analysis of the religious as well as
ethical values of Neo-Confucianism in modern perspective, and the discussions of some Western
academics and contemporary Neo-Confucianists will be incorporated accordingly. The course also
discusses the reasons why Neo-Confucianism was able to have reigned in the Chinese intellectual scene
for a prolonged period of some 700 years, and explains how it is pivotal in shaping the thoughts of
Chinese scholars for centuries.
CHIN2280. Publishing and culture in Chinese History (6 credits)
This course is a study of publishing culture from ancient to modern China. It enables students to
understand how knowledge was disseminated and its impact to Chinese people’s thinking. As
publishing activities have close relationships with politics, economy and cultural development, it is
worth value to have a clear picture of its development in Chinese history.
CHIN2281. Regional development and local societies in South China in the Ming-Qing period
(6 credits)
The aim of this course is to provide students with solid background knowledge on, and the ability to
explore, regionality and locality in the Jiangnan, Lingnan and southwest regions of South China, as well
as a new understanding of Ming-Qing history from the geographical perspective. The course
emphasizes training in the reading of first-hand Chinese historical sources.
CHIN2282. History of early China: Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou periods in transmitted,
palaeographical, and archaeological sources (6 credits)
Through an examination of transmitted texts, unearthed palaeographical materials (oracle-bone,bronze

and bamboo-strip texts) and archaeological sources, this course introduces the history of Early China,
with the focus on Xia, Shang and Western Zhou periods. The course provides a gist of the formation
and development of early Chinese states and explores social structures and levels of development of
both spiritual and material culture in the period of Early China, one of the Four Great Ancient
Civilisations.
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CHIN2283. Imperial China and the world (6 credits)
The aim of this course is to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the history of
exchanges between the Chinese and various peoples throughout the world within and outside the
territory of China during the imperial era. Topics covered include the Chinese people’s worldview,
official and non-governmental contacts between China and foreign countries, and the history of the
development of the Chinese-character cultural sphere and the Silk Roads. Students are encouraged to
reflect on the characteristics of Chinese history and its relation to global history. Emphasis is placed on
training students to read primary historical sources in Chinese.
CHIN2284. Speaking of Hong Kong: Global voices (6 credits)
We explore the key international and local scholarship and commentary on Hong Kong from before its
transition to a colony, through to the present. The course provides students with insights into the
significance of the diverse range of voices speaking about Hong Kong.
The purpose of the course is to facilitate in students a sophisticated appreciation of the importance of
perspective when analyzing materials. At the completion of this course students will be able to explain
how the ‘speaking position’ of either an individual or an institution alters the significance of a given
text and alters according to historical moment and genre. The materials below comprise a corpus of
global voices that speak of Hong Kong in relation to its position in the Empire, as a Colony, and in the
People’s Republic: Travelers’ records, missionary letters, administrators’ diaries, and reminiscences of
war-time internees. These materials will be examined alongside documents such as cartographic records,
gazetteers, policy statements, planning documents, photographs, census documents, and posters.
Non-permissible combination: HKGS2001.
CHIN2285. Law, history and culture (6 credits)
This course will enable students to research and examine the history of law and its connection with
social, political and economic development of Hong Kong and China in the 19th and 20th centuries
through students’ first-hand exploration of archival documents and images stored in libraries and the
Public Records Office. Students, through a close reading of archival materials, will be asked to reflect
critically on their conventional basic ideas about the legal system, social customs and culture of Hong
Kong and China. These ideas include, among others: ‘Imperial China lacks the rule of law’; ‘Hong
Kong’s rule of law is a British colonial legacy’; and ‘Chinese traditionally preferred settling disputes
through mediation than resorting to the law’. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this course will
explore how the notion of law functions as a site of discourse in the expression of identity as well as
the articulation of ethnic, cultural and socio-economic differences.
Non-permissible combination: HKGS2013.
CHIN2286. Special topics in the society and culture of traditional China (6 credits)
The course explores the characteristics and development of traditional Chinese society, focusing on the
interactive relationship between society and culture through discussions on various topics.
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CHIN2287. Special topics on statecraft in traditional China (6 credits)
This course studies traditional China’s politics and statecraft, emphasizing various aspects of Chinese
history, including the ideas of governance, systems and organizations of governance, encounters and
interactions between ethnicities, changes in the bureaucratic system, and local governments’
maintenance of law and order. It will also cover the interdependent relationship between state and
society, measures taken by the state to govern and educate its people, specific policies regarding ethnic
minorities, and the effects of political systems and political thought.
CHIN2291. Document collation, historical studies and knowledge sharing (6 credits)
In collaboration with the HKU Libraries, this course is offered as an elective to year 3 or year 4 students
who major or minor in Chinese History and Culture. It aims at extending the range of students’
interdisciplinary knowledge and promoting their interest and competence in exploring historical and
cultural issues by giving them the opportunity to collate items in the Libraries’ special collection of
Chinese historical documents. The regular course includes five lectures, two tutorials and one field trip,
and there is also a 14-hour internship project for students. Students will apply what they learned in class
to the task of collating historical documents. Besides, under the guidance of the course teacher(s) and
the Libraries’ instructor(s), each student has to carry out a research study whose main theme is a specific
set of documents, and he/she finally has to submit an abstract (of not more than 2,000 Chinese characters)
describing the collated document(s) and an essay/research report (of not more than 6,000 Chinese
characters) on the internship project.
CHIN3221. Thematic study in Chinese history and culture (capstone experience) (6 credits)
This is a capstone course intended for students majoring in Chinese history and culture programme. The
purpose of the course is to provide students with an opportunity to conduct advanced research, typically
investigating a major theme in Chinese history and culture. It is open only to students in their third or
final year of studies, who are expected to have prior knowledge in the subject they wish to research in.
There is no formal lecture but students who undertake this course are expected to meet regularly with
their tutor.
HONG KONG STUDIES
Hong Kong Studies is an interdisciplinary programme aimed at giving students a broad-based education
on Hong Kong—its society, culture, creative industries, economy, politics, history and environment.
The Programme combines the perspectives and curricular strengths of a variety of disciplines, including
literature, art history, history, sociology, politics, economics, journalism and communications.
The goal for Hong Kong Studies is to adopt a “problem-based” approach where students engage with
core issues in Hong Kong’s evolution such as the interaction between citizens/subjects and rulers
(imperial, colonial, communist); the importance of symbols in creating Hong Kong identity within
colonial and communist eras; Hong Kong’s global influence as a cultural and financial hub; the role of
Chinese tradition in creating new meanings for modern Hong Kong; the role of Hong Kong as a
transition zone for ideas, capital and people. Graduates will be prepared to enter a wide range of careers
32
in the public and private sectors in which a comprehensive and sophisticated understanding of Hong
Kong is essential to success.
A major in Hong Kong Studies consists of a prerequisite course HKGS1001, plus 12 introductory
credits from any other Arts programme, and 54 credits taken in the subsequent years. These 54 credits
consist of 18 credits of core courses (two courses from HKGS2001, HKGS2002 and HKGS2015, plus
HKGS3001) and a further 36 credits of elective courses listed below. HKGS3001 is the capstone course
designed to allow students to advance their analytical thinking by permitting the application of
disciplinary knowledge and principle.
A minor in Hong Kong Studies consists of the 6-credit prerequisite course (HKGS1001), 12 credits of
core courses (two courses from HKGS2001, HKGS2002 and HKGS2015) and a further 18 credits of
elective courses as listed below totaling 36 credits.
Major (72 credits)
A major in Hong Kong Studies consists of 72 credits with the following components:
• Prerequisite course (6 credits):

HKGS1001. Hong Kong’s long twentieth century (6 credits)
This course will be offered to undergraduates in Year 1 or 2 only.
• Other Arts Faculty introductory courses to be taken from any Arts programmes (12
credits)
• Core courses (12 credits):

Select two courses from the list below.
HKGS2001. Speaking of Hong Kong: Global voices (6 credits)
HKGS2002. Hong Kong identities in local, national and global contexts (6 credits)
HKGS2015. Understanding Hong Kong through Mass Media (6 credits)
• Interdisciplinary elective courses (36 credits):

Elective courses totaling 36 credits as listed below
• Capstone experience course (6 credits):

HKGS3001. Hong Kong Studies research project (capstone experience) (6 credits)
This course will be offered to undergraduates in their third and fourth years.
NB 1: The capstone course is designed to allow students to advance their analytical thinking
by permitting the application of disciplinary knowledge and principles learned in the
earlier years.
NB 2: Students may take Introductory Level courses at any point in their degree.
NB3: Students are strongly advised to take “CLIT1009. Introduction to postcolonialism and
culture”, “HIST1017. Modern Hong Kong” and “HKGS1002. Introduction to
contemporary Chinese literature” in their first or second year.
Minor (36 credits)
A minor in Hong Kong Studies consists of 36 credits with the following components:

33

HKGS2015. Understanding Hong Kong through Mass Media (6 credits)

Elective courses totaling 18 credits from the list below.
Core Courses
This is a topical course that adopts multi-disciplinary perspectives to examine significant and complex
issues in Hong Kong’s modern century. It serves as a gateway course that introduces students to the
interdisciplinary approach to Hong Kong studies.
We examine both popular and scholarly materials that deal with the historical, political, social, and
artistic aspects of Hong Kong and phenomenon in order to understand modern Hong Kong at its
politico-cultural core, in its relations with Britain and the People’s Republic of China, and its symbolic
function in the new global order.
The purpose of this course is to give students a good grounding in the key symbolic sites of Hong Kong
in a global context. It provides you with the analytical tools for thinking more deeply about the way
such sites are infused with diverse, competing and evolving political and cultural meanings.
Topics to be covered include the following sites and discussion revolves around their symbolic
significance and their meanings to Hong Kong’s evolving identity: Peninsula Hotel, Kowloon Walled
City, Public Housing Estates, Statue Square, Historic Mansions, Country Parks and Sitting Out Areas,
MTR & Peak Tram, the Old Star Ferry terminal and Victoria Harbour, and Street Stalls and Markets.
Prerequisite: Nil
We explore the key international and local scholarship and commentary on Hong Kong from before its
transition to a colony, through to the present. The course provides students with insights into the
significance of the diverse range of voices speaking about Hong Kong.
The purpose of the course is to facilitate in students a sophisticated appreciation of the importance of
perspective when analyzing materials. At the completion of this course students will be able to explain
how the ‘speaking position’ of either an individual or an institution alters the significance of a given
text and alters according to historical moment and genre. The materials below comprise a corpus of
global voices that speak of Hong Kong in relation to its position in the Empire, as a Colony, and in the
People’s Republic: Travelers’ records, missionary letters, administrators’ diaries, and reminiscences of
war-time internees. These materials will be examined alongside documents such as cartographic records,
gazetteers, policy statements, planning documents, photographs, census documents, and posters.
Non-permissible combination: CHIN2284
HKGS2002 explores the creation of a uniquely Hong Kong identity and the contested notions of this
identity from inside and outside of Hong Kong. Core aspects of local identity markers are examined.
34
The course aims to instill in students a deep appreciation of the evolution and transformation of Hong
Kong’s identity in a global and national context. At the end of this course students will have developed
foundational knowledge in the politics of identity formation in the context of changing political milieus.
HKGS2015. Understanding Hong Kong through mass media (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the historical and cultural development of Hong Kong in modern
times through mass media, with a particular emphasis on printed media and discussion surrounding the
interrelationship between Hong Kong and China. Selected printed media texts will be closely examined
with reference to the role Hong Kong played in, for instance, the public sphere in the late-Qing dynasty;
the cultural development of the May-Fourth Movement; the spread and reception of Modernism and
Communism in the Cold War period; and the narration of the Chinese nation in the British colonial
days. This course further introduces students to how Hong Kong can be seen as a liminal space for
literary communication and cultural production at critical times. It also leads students to discuss the
various cultural issues surrounding Hong Kong mass media, such as identity formation, gender issues
and censorship.
Capstone Experience Course
HKGS3001. Hong Kong Studies research project (capstone experience) (6 credits)
This course is required of all students intending to major in Hong Kong Studies. Students in this course
pursue independent research and produce a research paper under the supervision of a teacher in Hong
Kong Studies. This course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to conduct in-depth
research on a topic of interest to them. Students have to synthesize their understanding of the discipline
in a critical research paper on the topic. It can either adopt a single disciplinary methodology or a
multidisciplinary problem-oriented perspective, demonstrates all that has been learned in his or her
major, undertaking the course will negotiate the topic in conjunction with the Programme Coordinator
to determine its feasibility and ensure academic rigor.
Prerequisite: HKGS2001
Introductory Course
HKGS1002. Introduction to contemporary Chinese literature (6 credits)
Requirement: a Level 5 or above in Chinese Language in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary
Education (HKDSE) Examination, or an equivalent standard in another public examination
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Interdisciplinary Elective Courses
Majors must select courses totaling 36 credits from the following list of electives.
Minors must select courses totaling 18 credits from the following list of electives.
{Note:
Not all courses are offered in a given semester; students should check with individual units on course
availability; students should also check on course prerequisites and other enrollment restrictions.}
HKGS2004. Hong Kong’s economic growth: A modernisation and internationalisation miracle

(6 credits)
This course explores the dramatic transformations in Hong Kong’s political economy as it evolved from
an Opium trading port to a global financial hub. It addresses core questions about the relationship
between economic transformations and social, cultural and political change. The course does not require
expertise in economic theory but it will introduce students to such common economic concepts as
students would expect to encounter on news and current affairs media. Topics to be discussed include
codification and transformation of trading regulations, negotiations between colonial and Chinese elites
on business matters, the origins and impact of the Independent Commission Against Corruption on the
political economy and cultural life of Hong Kong, the transformation in the legal and regulatory systems
and their role in propelling Hong Kong to international financial centre status, labour rights and workers
benefits, banking and stock-market cultures as experienced by ordinary people and financiers, the
impact of industrialisation and de-industrialisation on the employment profile and livelihoods of Hong
Kong people, the effects of China’s ‘opening up and reform’ on Hong Kong’s economy.
HKGS2005. An anthropology of Hong Kong’s belief systems and religious practices (6 credits)
Hong Kong’s population has a rich array of religious practices and beliefs systems. Some of these
arrived with the migration of diverse peoples from around the world and others emerged locally as
residents interacted with their environment and the life challenges it presented. Many Hong Kong
people experience their spiritual life in an eclectic fashion – visiting Daoist temples as frequently as
Christian churches. Others remain singular in their adherence to one faith such as Buddhism or Islam.
In contrast to the secularization that has marked western societies with economic development Hong
Kong sustains a vibrant religious culture. The course adopts an anthropological approach to the study
of how Hong Kong people find meaning in their lives through religion, how spirituality informs their
social support system and the myriad ways it creates their sense of cultural identity. Apart from
providing an overview of the diverse religions manifest in Hong Kong, specific topics explored in the
course include the role of folk religions in Hong Kong family life, the interaction between religious
beliefs and notions of essential Chinese cultural preferences, the experience of Overseas Domestic
Workers in Hong Kong’s religious life, the significance of overseas religious in Hong Kong’s cultural
and ethical life (e.g. Vietnamese nuns, Irish Priests, Taiwanese Monks), religion or non-religion as a
marker of class status or cultural capital, the role of religious organizations in social welfare and
international outreach. The course will also introduce students to the core concepts operating in the
anthropology of religion.
HKGS2006. Engendering Hong Kong: Sociological and demographic perspectives (6 credits)
Hong Kong is currently unique among the world’s Chinese communities for the preponderance of
females relative to males in the population. It is also remarkable for its low birth rate and growing
proportion of unmarried adults. How did this remarkable situation emerge and what are its implications
36
for the way Hong Kong people perceive of their identities in gendered terms? Using sociological and
demographic approaches this course explores key issues in the transformation of Hong Kong’s gender
norms. Topics include: increases in international marriages, changing attitudes to sexual morality,
tensions in work-family balance, competition-aversion as contraception, changing expectations of
marital partner relationships, the prohibition on concubinage but continued prevalence ‘second wives’,
the significance of patriarchal gender norms as inhibitors to marriage, understanding Hong Kong’s
divorce patterns, changing ideals of parenthood, transformations in expectations of childhood and the
impact of China’s opening and reform on marriage choices through such phenomenon as ‘mainland
mothers’.
HKGS2007. Geographic challenges: The ‘space premium’ and Hong Kong society (6 credits)
Hong Kong is the most densely populated area on earth—space is at a premium. As pedestrians jostle
for space on pavements, residents contemplate rising apartment prices, and leisure seekers struggle to
find space to relax Hong Kong’s leaders face challenges that no other government around the world
experience. This course explores the challenges that Hong Kong’s geography has posed for its leaders
(indigenous, colonial and SAR), its residents and its wildlife. The course uses approaches from
geography and urban planning but does not require specialist expertise—rather, it will introduce
students to such common geographic and planning concepts as students would expect to encounter on
news and current affairs media. The course explores key issues in the management of space in Hong
Kong. Topics include: changing concerns of key planning bodies (e.g. influx of refugees from China in
the 1950s), changing demands from residents as their expectations of ‘a decent life’ evolve (e.g. access
to recreational space and country-parks), public debates about the impact of facilities related to death
and waste disposal (e.g. real estate values, fengshui), environmental deterioration (e.g. public health
concerns, economic damage, loss of habitat).
HKGS2008. Introduction to Hong Kong Cantopop lyrics (6 credits)
Since the mid-1970s, Hong Kong popular music has been very much identified with Cantopop, a
distinctive genre with lyrics written in standard modern Chinese as well as Cantonese. Cantopop lyrics
have exerted a profound impact on Hong Kong people over the past forty years. The course will be
divided into two parts. The first half will introduce renowned Hong Kong Cantopop lyricists and
examine their typical styles. The second half will discuss Cantopop lyrics from cultural perspectives.
The course will enhance students’ understanding of Cantopop through close textual readings. The
medium of instruction will be Chinese.
HKGS2009. We are what we eat: Hong Kong food and foodways (6 credits)
In every gulp we are allowing a bit of the external world, in the form of food, to gain access to our
bodily, cultural and social existence and change us in ways we do not always know. The feelings,
emotions and memory we involuntarily but actively produced are being inscribed, in return, onto the
individual and collective foodscape of the city through our everyday food choices and continuous habits
and practices. This course examines the food experiences and practices and their ideological effects that
shape diners and their city. It also traces the crystallization of a conscious distinction of Hong Kong
food and their influences among the residents of the city and overseas. In this course we will explore
how the exercise of the right to the city follows not only our hearts’ but also our stomachs’ desire, and
the food for the stomach is always and simultaneously the food for thought.
37
HKGS2011. Hong Kong: Whose city is it? (6 credits)
This course will discuss various ways of conceptualizing the city. Drawing on different aspects of
humanities and related disciplines, it begins with an overview of key developments in recent studies of
the city. Students will explore the influence of forces shaping contemporary cities and tactics to deal
with them. They will also examine related theories and their relation to contemporary Chinese cities as
centers of modernization as well as conflicts. It will then focus on the shaping forces of global
capitalism and examine “Hong Kong” as a marketable brand – “Asia’s world city” – in the global
context. Case studies will be used to shed light on the transformation of Hong Kong cityscape.
HKGS2012. Shop till you drop: the symbols of consumer culture in Hong Kong (6 credits)
Economic prosperity in Hong Kong allows its residents a vast array of consumption choices. These
choices, though made by individuals, come under the heavy influence of debates on ethnicity and
modernity, as well as comparisons with other developing communities. Our discussion will focus on
the development of certain department stores in Hong Kong. Unlike individual retail establishments
with defined areas of specialty, department stores present shoppers with entire packages of lifestyle
choices that encompass products in such areas as fashion, household goods, food items, as well as health
and beauty merchandise. Some of these department stores owed their origin to British merchants or
overseas Chinese entrepreneurs while others were established as extensions of Japanese chains or
outlets for merchandise from mainland China. We will explore these issues of material culture by
examining print and television advertisements, company brochures, corporate documents, as well as
records of consumer experience.
HKGS2013. Law, history and culture (6 credits)
This course will enable students to research and examine the history of law and its connection with
social, political and economic development of Hong Kong and China in the 19th and 20th centuries
through students’ first-hand exploration of archival documents and images stored in libraries and the
Public Records Office. Students, through a close reading of archival materials, will be asked to reflect
critically on their conventional basic ideas about the legal system, social customs and culture of Hong
Kong and China. These ideas include, among others: ‘Imperial China lacks the rule of law’; ‘Hong
Kong’s rule of law is a British colonial legacy’; and ‘Chinese traditionally preferred settling disputes
through mediation than resorting to the law’. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this course will
explore how the notion of law functions as a site of discourse in the expression of identity as well as
the articulation of ethnic, cultural and socio-economic differences.
HKGS2014. Hong Kong literature (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the development of Hong Kong Literature from the 1920s through
representative writers and their works in various genres. The selected works will be closely examined
in relation to their cultural and historical contexts. The cultural production and literary connections
between Hong Kong, Mainland China and the world will also be highlighted to increase the student’s
awareness of Hong Kong’s unique cultural fluidity and hybridity. The medium of instruction will be
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Chinese.
HKGS2016. Ghostly Hong Kong: Otherworldly configurations (6 credits)
From the colonial to the post-handover periods, Hong Kong has long been haunted by ghosts and
supernatural existences. Beyond the questions of veracity, these otherworldly visitors interrogate the
very basis of Hong Kong imaginaries and political intricacies. From literature, history, urban legends
to popular cultural productions, ghosts unfold Hong Kong’s deep-seated fear, prejudices and
uncertainties about coloniality, nationality and transnationality. This course provides students with
insights into the significance of the diverse range of otherworldly voices speaking from and on behalf
of Hong Kong, with examples drawn from literature, history, film, media and theoretical texts. Reading
them closely students are able to excavate dark, hidden and alternative sources for understanding the
transforming Hong Kong identities and imaginations.
HKGS2017. Postcolonial Studies: the case of Hong Kong (6 credits)
Considered as an “anomaly” in postcoloniality, Hong Kong makes the perfect case for the study of
major theories and concerns in Postcolonial Studies for their critical capacity and limitations. This
course engages canonical theorists and texts in Postcolonial Studies in dialogue with local voices of
critique across fields and disciplines to reexamine (post)colonial experiences of Hong Kong and their
legacy and imprints expressed in cultural, literary, cinematic, historical texts. By unpacking the
anomality of the case of Hong Kong and organizing local critical scholarship on cultural production,
this course also seeks to “reconfigure postcolonial discourse as a critical mode of imagination in a world
altered now by global capitalism”.
HKGS2018. Modern Chinese literature (1917-1949): fiction (6 credits)
This course is a study of modern Chinese fiction from 1917 to 1949. The historical development of
modern Chinese fiction will be introduced and the impacts of western literary trends or thoughts on
fiction writers will also be explored. In addition, representative short stories and novels of different
schools will be appreciated and studied in depth.
Assessment: 50% coursework, 50% examination
HKGS2019. Sinophone literature and film (6 credits)
As a result of Chinese diaspora and increasing global cultural interactions, scholars have proposed
various analytical frameworks to remap the current field of Chinese-language literature and film. The
concept of “sinophone” is such an attempt which celebrates the diverse expressions of “chineseness”
and underscores the local particularities in which each Chinese-language or film is produced. This
course offers students an opportunity to study selected sinophone literary works (by writers residing
primarily in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the west) and films, and to explore and challenge existing notions
of nationalism, cultural identity, and linguistic authenticity.
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HKGS2020. Cantonese linguistics (6 credits)
This course provides students with a fundamental understanding of the phonological, morphological
and syntactic structures of Cantonese. The linguistic differences between Cantonese and Modern
Standard Chinese will be examined. Students are expected to utilize relevant reference books and
materials for further independent study.
HKGS2021. Translation in Hong Kong society (6 credits)
Translators’ work demands specialised knowledge of the ways translation functions in specific social
contexts. The principal concern of this course is the practical information about the various
circumstances in which translation serves its purpose as a communicative activity, either in the
Government or in the private sector. This course will be assessed on the basis of a written seminar
paper presented orally and participation in discussion.
List of electives from other Faculties/Schools
I. Faculty of Arts
School of English
ENGL2097. Imagining Hong Kong (6 credits)
ENGL2119. English in Hong Kong: Making it your own (6 credits)
ENGL2123. Language and identity in Hong Kong (6 credits)
ARTH3013. Hong Kong art workshop (6 credits)
CLIT2064. Hong Kong Culture: Popular arts and everyday life (6 credits)
CLIT2065. Hong Kong Culture: Representations of identity in literature and film (6 credits)
CLIT2075. Modern Poetry: Hong Kong and beyond (6 credits)
CLIT2085. Hong Kong: Community and cultural policy in the global context (6 credits)
HIST2034. A history of education in Hong Kong (6 credits)
HIST4024. Writing Hong Kong history (capstone experience) (6 credits)
MUSI2015. Popular music (6 credits)

GCIN2007. Film and media: Cultural and organizational dynamics (6 credits)
GCIN2009. Art worlds: Aesthetics, money, and markets (6 credits)
GCIN2010. Fairs, festivals and competitive events (6 credits)
GCIN2011. Understanding Hong Kong TV industry (6 credits)
GCIN2016. Financing for creative industries (6 credits)
GCIN2017. Luxury markets in East Asia (6 credits)
GCIN2018. Publishing industry in digital age (6 credits)
GCIN2019. The arts entrepreneurship in Hong Kong (6 credits)
JAPN2050. Creative industries in East Asia (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Japan) (6
credits)
JAPN2058. Understanding popular culture in Japan (6 credits)
40
JAPN3039. Japanese popular music and Hong Kong society (6 credits)

SINO2002. China in the world: critical paradigms (6 credits)
SINO2004. Research skills for China Studies (6 credits)
SINO2007. Creative industries in China in a global context (6 credits)
SINO2008. World heritage in Asia (6 credits)
II. Faculty of Architecture

CONS2004. History of urban Hong Kong and its built heritage (6 credits)
RECO2028. Planning and development (6 credits)
III. Faculty of Social Sciences

GEOG2138. Hong Kong’s environment: issues and policies (6 credits)
GEOG3424. Urban development and planning: the Hong Kong experience (6 credits)
POLI3019. Hong Kong and the world (6 credits)
POLI3020. Hong Kong politics (6 credits)
POLI3035. Public administration in Hong Kong (6 credits)
POLI3118. Special topics in NGO studies (6 credits)
SOCI2015. Hong Kong popular culture (6 credits)
SOCI2016. Hong Kong society (6 credits)
SOCI2075. Hong Kong: community and cultural policy in the global context (6 credits)
TRANSLATION
The following are the course components required for the major and the minor:
Major (72 credits)

(A) Prerequisite course: CHIN1311. Introduction to translation (6 credits)
(B) Introductory courses including all List 1 courses (30 credits)
(C) Advanced courses including all List 1 courses: (30 credits)
(D) Capstone experience course: CHIN2320 Long translation project (capstone experience) (6
credits)
Minor (36 credits)

(A) Prerequisite course: CHIN1311. Introduction to translation (6 credits)
(B) Introductory courses in List 1 or 2: (12 credits)
(C) Advanced courses in List 1 or 2: (18 credits)
No capstone experience course is required.
(A) Prerequisite course
Students intending to major in Translation must attain a grade C or above in the first-year prerequisite
course CHIN1311 where a Level 5 or above in both English Language and Chinese Language in the
Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination is required for admission to the
course. For non-JUPAS applicants, a hard copy of their equivalent qualifications (such as IB Diploma,
AD/HD transcripts) shall be submitted to the Head of School for consideration.
CHIN1311. Introduction to translation (6 credits)
This is an introduction to the skills and theoretical issues of translation, with guided practice in
translating material of daily usage. Coursework assessment will be based on written assignments.
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List 1 introductory courses
CHIN2336. Interpretation workshop I (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the basic skills required for the three modes of interpreting
(consecutive, simultaneous, and sight translation). It enables students to acquire and develop note-
taking skills for consecutive interpreting and learn about interpreters’ professional ethics. This course
also provides students with a brief history of interpreting and an overview of different interpretation
settings. Training will focus on sight translation and consecutive interpreting between English and
Chinese. This is a workshop-based course supplemented by lectures.
CHIN2361. Translation workshop E-C (6 credits)
This seminar course is designed to develop students’ competency in conveying ideas in both Chinese
and English through the studies of translation. Students will not only be taught to analyze the linguistic,
stylistic, and cultural features of the source text, but also challenged to present innovative solutions for
a variety of translation problems. The acquisition of and familiarization with various idiomatic
expressions in both Chinese and English will be emphasized, with particular attention in English-
Chinese translation.
CHIN2362. Translation workshop C-E (6 credits)
This seminar course is designed to develop students’ competency in conveying ideas in both Chinese
and English through the studies of translation. Students will not only be taught to analyze the linguistic,
stylistic, and cultural features of the source text, but also challenged to present innovative solutions for
a variety of translation problems. The acquisition of and familiarization with various idiomatic
expressions in both Chinese and English will be emphasized, with particular attention in Chinese-
English translation.
List 2 introductory courses
CHIN2333. Culture and translation (6 credits)
This course focuses on the cross-cultural dimension of translation. It examines the most complex
cultural barriers faced by the translator – such as differences in the expression of emotions (for instance
- love, anger, fear), codes of behavior (for instance intimacy, privacy, politeness), values and world
views, notions of gender, aesthetic taste, humour, and forms of symbolism and metaphor. These issues
arising from translation practice will be discussed in light of current theories on culture and translation
from multiple disciplines.
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CHIN2352. Language contrast and translation I (6 credits)
This course will examine and compare the basic linguistic structures of Chinese and English, including
phonology, morphology and syntax, and will apply such knowledge to the practice of translation.
CHIN2364. Bilingualism and law: Perspectives from translation (6 credits)
This course focuses on the relation between language and law from the perspective of bilingualism. It
looks specifically at the Hong Kong situation, where both English and Chinese are working languages
in the judiciary and where legislation is enacted and published simultaneously in the two languages.
Through close reading of relevant court cases, students will identify the tension between English and
Chinese versions of Hong Kong statutes and the Basic Law, and appreciate how interlingual issues
interact with operations of the law in bilingual and multilingual jurisdictions. Students will acquire skills
that allow them to interpret pieces of legislation from the perspective of linguistics and translation. The
course also offers opportunities for students to try their hand at translating various sorts of legal
documents.
CHIN2368. Translation and social media (6 credits)
This course focuses on the role of translation in social media communication. It contemplates how wide-
ranging multilingual digital contents are circulated on social media via translation, how genres, user
experiences, visual styles, business models and technologies harnessed by digital enterprises and
platforms are impacting on legacy media and traditional means of mediated communication, and where
the diverse user-generated content continue to innovate and transform social media communication.
The students will access new pathways to future understandings of the innovations and value co-
creations in the rapid evolving new media ecology.
CHIN2369. Subtitling: concepts, methods, and technology (6 credits)
This course will provide a general introduction to the twin fields of subtitling: subtitling for all and
subtitling for fun. The first refers to the professional practice in the media and creative industries, while
subtitling for fun represents the user-generated, transformative forces in media globalisation. This
course will focus on the distinctive codes of conduct maintained in these two fields and their
technological innovations. The students will also learn to work with cutting-edge subtitling technologies
facilitated by world-leading audiovisual translation and localisation service providers such as WinCaps
Q4, OOONA (https://ooona.net/ooona-tools/) and Yi Shi Jie (https://www.1sj.tv/).
CHIN2370. Principles of translation (6 credits)
This is an elementary translation course which introduces the general principles of translation. Theories
are introduced to substantiate learners’ knowledge relevant to translation as an academic discipline. In
particular, the course concerns translation as a communicative act involving English and Chinese as the
working languages. Through in-class discussions of the philosophical issues about the nature of
translation and working on translation exercises, students are guided to consider and understand the
nature, standard, and difficulties of translation so that they are better prepared for more advanced
courses on translation theories and applying their translation skills critically when working on
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translations.
CHIN2371. Translation as a Hong Kong phenomenon (6 credits)
This course is about translation as a ‘Hong Kong phenomenon'. It covers topics including the
colloquialism revealed in the translation of Hong Kong movie titles and subtitling, Chinese translation
of street names and proper names, reciprocal lexical borrowing between English and the Cantonese
dialect, linguistic hybridization in advertisement translation, recontextualization of news elements in
mass media translation in the Hong Kong society, the role of translation in Hong Kong literature, and
adaptation of western dramas on the Hong Kong stage. The topics of the course are cohered by the
theme of how a distinct identity is shaped, represented and articulated through translation in Hong Kong.
Permeating these topics are common themes in translation studies: billinguialism, faithfulness,
domestication and foreignization, translanguaging, and transadaptation - all will be considered and
discussed in the light of Hong Kong translation examples. The exploration of these topics will also
reveal how examples of Hong Kong translation challenge the traditional standards of fidelity and
equivalence.
List 1 advanced courses
CHIN2351. Translation criticism (6 credits)
Selected translations will be analyzed in terms of specific problems arising from the process of
translation. This course is more concerned with understanding how translated texts work rather than
value judgements, and seeks to define the translator’s method and purpose.
CHIN2365. Applied translation studies (6 credits)
This course introduces students to applied theories of translation and equips them with basic
terminology and notions in respect of translation as a linguistic practice. It constructs a narrative of
translation studies that begins in the late 1950s, focusing on three paradigms: the Equivalence paradigm;
the Functionalist paradigm; and the Discourse paradigm.
List 2 advanced courses
CHIN2331. Choice of words in translation (6 credits)
This course takes a new semantic approach to the analysis of different types of word meaning in a text.
It addresses some key issues of a functional grammar pertaining to translation studies in Hong Kong
and it is specially planned for students who aspire to carve out for themselves a career in administration,
publishing, advertising and journalism.
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CHIN2332. Translation in Hong Kong society (6 credits)
Translators’ work demands specialised knowledge of the ways translation functions in specific social
contexts. The principal concern of this course is the practical information about the various
circumstances in which translation serves its purpose as a communicative activity, either in the
Government or in the private sector. This course will be assessed on the basis of a written seminar
paper presented orally and participation in discussion.
CHIN2339. Translation for administration and business (6 credits)
This course examines the role of translation in Hong Kong’s public administration procedures and
business activities and how it is used for local and international communication. Students will practise
translating papers related to negotiation, administration and the law arising from such contexts, and
explore suitable translation techniques in the process.
CHIN2340. Film translation workshop (6 credits)
Film-making today is becoming increasingly international, rendering translation almost indispensable

to the industry. Translating films for dubbing and subtitling requires special skills distinct from those
outside the field. This course concentrates on such skills, emphasizing audio-visual awareness and
cinematic elements such as drama, dialogue, vernacular, and pacing. Critical theories on media and on
cultural production and consumption will be introduced. Students learn through group projects, the
hands-on translation of feature films, and critiques of film translation.
CHIN2341. Translating writings on art (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the skills of translating within the field of Chinese and western art
history, art appreciation and art criticism. Chinese and English writings on art will be studied, and
textual analysis and translation strategies concentrating on semantic and communicative aspects will be
discussed. Through the viewing of artworks and practice in sight translation and written translation,
students will acquire bilingual vocabulary and linguistic expressions for describing a range of artworks
and art genres in specific socio-historical, cultural and aesthetic contexts.
CHIN2342. Interpretation workshop II (6 credits)
This course prepares students for the pursuit of a career in interpreting. Students will be provided with
intensive training in interpreting on a variety of topics and taught the improvisation skills in interpreting.
This course also provides training in the essential skills and techniques for simultaneous interpreting,
including shadowing, rephrasing, abstraction and the cultivation of split attention. This is a workshop-
based course supplemented with lectures.
Prerequisite: CHIN2336. Interpretation Workshop I
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CHIN2343. Legal interpreting (6 credits)
This course provides an overview of the legal system of Hong Kong and familiarises students with trial
procedures, characteristics of legal English, common terms pertaining to trial proceedings, as well as
principles and protocols associated with interpreting in the judicial system. Students will practise sight-
translating of legal texts and other court-related documents, and interpreting―consecutively or
simultaneously as appropriate―courtroom speeches, including witness testimony, submissions by
counsel, jury instructions and court judgments. This is a workshop-based course supplemented with
lectures, a mock trial and a court visit to observe court interpreters at work.
Prerequisite: CHIN2342. Interpretation Workshop II
CHIN2344. Short stories: East and West (6 credits)
This course aims to introduce students to the fundamentals of short story composition and the techniques
that are involved in their translation. It also aims to encourage them to pay close attention to the unique
narrative techniques involved in the composition of short stories in both Chinese and English, and to
encourage them to explore ways of re-creating such expositions in their translations.
CHIN2345. Syntax-based translation (6 credits)
This is an interdisciplinary, Linguistics-Translation crossover course offered to third year students

majoring in Translation, Linguistics, and Law. As its course title suggests, it aims to help students
acquire two types of skills: (i) to analyze highly complex sentence structures in English and Chinese;
(ii) to translate legal documents from English into Chinese, and vice versa.
CHIN2346. From page to stage: A workshop on drama adaptation and translation (6 credits)
The adaptation of literary classics into staged productions can be an extremely rewarding pedagogic
exercise. They not only demand from students an in-depth reading of the original text, but also writing
and analytical skills, an understanding of the basics of drama performance, as well as familiarity with
the principles of translation. Throughout this course, students will not only be trained in the above
areas, but by collaborating with Eduarts Classic Theatre, they will be given the valuable opportunity to
become involved in an actual production of a literary classic.
CHIN2347. World literature and translation (6 credits)
What is world literature? How does it relate to Chinese literature? How have literary texts responded to
the questions of world literature, or integrated these questions into themselves? And how does
translation fit into the discussion, either in understanding the role translation plays in the development
of world literature, or in figuring out how we should translate with world literature in mind? Through a
series of primary readings of poetry and fiction written in Chinese and other languages, this course will
aim both to expose students to a broad range of significant works of world literature and to deepen
students’ understanding of literature in global circulation. Readings (in Chinese and English) may
include Bei Dao, Zhai Yongming, Xi Chuan, Yu Xiang, Anna Akhmatova, Jorge Luis Borges, Ezra
Pound, Franz Kafka, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Karl Marx, Wang Wei, Du Fu, Wu Cheng’en,
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William Faulkner, Gabriel Gabriel García Márquez, Toni Morrison, Mo Yan, Italo Calvino, Dung Kai-
cheung, Xi Xi (Sai Sai), and others.
CHIN2348. Bilingual studies in media and popular culture (6 credits)
The course introduces mass media and popular culture in the context of bilingualism and seeks to
deepen students’ understanding of translation as a cross-cultural dialogue. Discussions will focus on a
wide range of popular genres, including film, television, advertisement, magazines, pop music and
internet culture, in the Chinese-speaking world. Through critical readings of the bilingual texts, cultural
issues such as national and gender identities, ideology, globalization and the global circulation of
images and imaginary, and the dynamics between cultural production, media technology, and political
discourses will also be explored.
CHIN2356. Language contrast and translation II (6 credits)
This course includes a contrastive study of the Chinese and English languages, and examines their
language styles for special purposes, the emphasis being on the study of rhetoric both as a problem of
translation and as a part of the language skills essential to translators.
CHIN2357. Bilingual communication in translation (6 credits)
This course introduces students to functional approaches to written translation, with special emphasis
on text-type theory. It trains students to systematically identify the type and function of written texts
across various genres, and to develop translation strategies in line with the communicative intent of
these texts. Through seminar discussions, students will develop a critical awareness of the dynamic
relation between linguistic choices in translation and textual communication across languages and
cultures.
CHIN2358. Journeys to the East: Translation and China in the literary imagination of the
West (6 credits)
Translation not only represents the meaning of the statement translated, but represents as well the
culture of the language in which the statement originated. How, then, have translations interacted with
the representation of China on display in other works of Western literature? By reading literary
translations from Chinese into English alongside the tradition of literary imagination of China
(sometimes known as “Orientalism”), this class will examine how translation has engaged with,
confirmed, altered, and shaped the notion of China as understood in the West. Readings are likely to
include Marco Polo, Leibniz, Judith Gautier, James Legge, Ezra Pound, Pearl Buck, Julia Kristeva,
Gary Snyder, and others.
CHIN2363. Advanced translation workshop C – E (6 credits)
Designed for students who intend to translate into English for the Final Year Project, this course will
further develop students’ expertise in conveying in English ideas first expressed in Chinese. Through
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close study, students will not only be further taught to analyze the linguistic, stylistic, and cultural
features of the source text, but also challenged to present innovative solutions for a variety of translation
problems. The course will feature classroom visits and video-conferences with practicing translators of
Chinese poetry and prose. The final project will require team-translating contemporary Chinese prose
fiction into English.
Prerequisite: The successful completion of CHIN2362 with a grade of B- or above
CHIN2366. Advanced theories of translation (6 credits)
This advanced-level course introduces students to conceptual translation theories, and is suitable for
theoretically inclined students who are interested to learn about the development of translation studies
beyond the applied domain. Students will learn about the cultural and sociological turns in translation
studies; the relationship between translation and philosophy; as well as other new trends in the field.
CHIN2367. Advanced translation workshop E-C (6 credits)
This course prepares students for their final year English-Chinese translation projects. Students will be
trained to analyse the source and target texts from the linguistic, cultural and theoretical perspectives,
with a view to honing their translation skills. They will also be encouraged to learn from different
writers and translators.
Prerequisite: The successful completion of CHIN2361 with a grade of B- or above.
CHIN2372. Southeast Asian Chinese literature in translation (6 credits)
This course will examine Chinese-language literature and other forms of writing produced in Southeast
Asia from the late nineteenth century until the contemporary period, with a focus on works from present-
day Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand. Students will read recent and older English
translations of novels, short stories, essays, poems, and etc. alongside their Chinese originals, to analyse
how, why, and for whom these works were written, translated, and disseminated.
CHIN3311. Translation and the study of Chinese literature (6 credits)
What is translation, what is the study of Chinese literature and culture, and how have these concepts
overlapped, conflicted, and defined each other? Constituting a critical introduction to both Translation
Studies and the academic study of Chinese Literature in English, this course will expect students to
comparatively examine arguments about Chinese language and literature vis-à-vis translation, and
arguments about translation vis-à-vis Chinese language and literature. Further, this course will engage
with the ways sinology as an academic field has revealed certain moments of translation within Chinese
history and culture itself, opening discussion into whether such revelations have any implication on
prescriptions for translating Chinese into English. Taught in English supplemented with Chinese, this
course aims to satisfy students’ intellectual curiosity in the field as well as engage them at a higher level
of academic research. As such, the course will be particularly suitable for research-degree students and
advanced undergraduates.
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CHIN3312. Travel writing, literature, and translation (6 credits)
This course is developed by the School of Chinese in collaboration with the Center of Translation
Studies, Zhejiang University. Its purpose is to make use of the facilities and expertises at Zhejiang
University, a top-ten Chinese university and a leading research institute in the relationship between
tourism and translation studies. By making use of the HKU-China 1000 programme, it hopes to provide
our students with the opportunity to interact with mainland scholars and students with similar interest
and understand the latest development in this field. The course will be co-taught by faculties from both
institutes, and for two whole weeks, students will be required to attend lectures in the morning followed
by a relevant afternoon field trip to complement the materials covered in the lecture. Contact hours are
roughly 20 hours of lecture plus more than 40 hours of field trip and other learning activities. The
intended starting date is the summer of 2018.
CHIN2320. Long translation (capstone experience) (6 credits)
The Long Translation project is an important part of the Translation degree. Its commencement is as
early as the summer vacation between Years Three and Four when students are expected to find and
decide on the texts for their translation. Close study of the chosen texts on the part of the students
should occur in the vacation. From the beginning of the Forth Year to about the end of March of the
graduation year, the actual translation will be done by the student under the supervision of a teacher, in
each case assigned by the teachers of Translation. The length of the translation should be about twenty
pages; the nature of the writing, as literary or practical as the individual student prefers.
COURSES FOR FOREIGN STUDENTS
Notes: The following courses are intended primarily for full-time undergraduate students and not open
to auditors. Full-time undergraduate students include:
(a) HKU full-time students who are exempted from taking a Practical Chinese language course
offered by the Chinese Language Enhancement Programme (CLEP);
(b) exchange/visiting students whose native language is not Mandarin, taking CHIN9501-08; and
(c) exchange/visiting students whose native language is not Cantonese, taking CHIN9511-12.
Introductory courses
CHIN9501. Chinese as a foreign language I (6 credits)
This course is for foreign students who DO NOT have previous knowledge of Chinese. It covers five
main areas: speaking, listening, reading, writing, and typing which will require Chinese word
processing skills and knowledge of Chinese characters. Typing skill is emphasized for this course
because it enables students to break the restrictions on the number of characters they can actually write
and allows them to communicate in Chinese sooner.
CHIN9502. Chinese as a foreign language II (6 credits)
This intensive course is intended for foreign students who have completed CHIN9501 or who can
demonstrate equivalent competence in the placement test. A greater emphasis will be placed on oral
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drills and listening comprehension. Students will be exposed to 800 frequently used Chinese characters,
which are used to form expressions related to various aspects of life in China. Upon the completion of
the course, students should be able to write approximately 500 Chinese characters and an essay of 200
characters. Students will also be exposed to various aspects of Chinese culture and history in learning
the origins of Chinese characters and idioms.
Prerequisite: “CHIN9501 Chinese as a foreign language I” or equivalent
CHIN9511. Cantonese as a foreign language I (6 credits)
This intensive course is intended for foreign students, including Mainland and Taiwan, who have no
prior knowledge of Cantonese. The course introduces students to present-day Cantonese, with an
emphasis on learning correct pronunciation through the Jyutping phonetic romanization transcription
system and basic structure. It aims to develop fundamental oral communication skills through a variety
of situational conversations in a highly interactive classroom.
CHIN9512. Cantonese as a foreign language II (6 credits)
This intensive course is designed for international undergraduate students, exchange students and
visiting students (non-heritage learners) who have completed CHIN9511 or who can demonstrate
equivalent competence through the placement test. It aims at strengthening students’ mastery of the
phonetic romanization transcription, the Jyutping system, and at enhancing their competence in
expressing themselves both orally in Cantonese and in writing short messages or speeches in Jyutping.
The course will emphasise growth in oral communication and listening comprehension abilities through
a wide variety of communication-based assignments such as show-and-tell sessions, journal
presentations and phone calls. Practical sentence patterns and useful words and expressions for
everyday life will also be introduced.
Prerequisite: “CHIN9511 Cantonese as a foreign language I” or equivalent
CHIN9521. The fundamentals of Chinese characters (6 credits)
This intensive course is intended for foreign students whose mother tongue is not Chinese. It is designed
to introduce the origins and evolution of Chinese characters. The formation and the structure of Chinese
characters will be emphasized to help students to break the puzzles of Chinese written form. This course
also familiarizes students with the distinctive features of the Chinese characters as a means to introduce
them to the unique characteristics of the Chinese language and culture. Students will be equipped with
the writing skills to copy any Chinese characters in correct stroke-order and will be familiar with the
commonly used components of combined characters after this course. The course will teach up to 220
Chinese characters and about 350 compound words. Students are taught how to use Chinese dictionaries
in order to continue learning Chinese characters by themselves.
CHIN9522. Exploration of major cultural themes across Chinese history (6 credits)
A history and culture course that familiarizes students with China and its past, approached from non-
traditional perspectives. The course introduces foreign students to Chinese history, schools of thoughts,
cultural themes and achievements in Chinese civilization; highlights differences and similarities
between Chinese and other cultures; stimulates students’ interest in deeper understanding of China, its
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people, its history and its culture in the global context. Students are required to make presentations on
assigned topics.
Advanced courses
CHIN9503. Chinese as a foreign language III (6 credits)
This intensive course is intended for foreign learners who have completed CHIN9502 or have attained
an equivalent level of competency. It aims to increase students’ communicative and linguistic
competence in listening, speaking, reading, writing and translating. It also provides in-depth study of
Chinese culture and modern Chinese society. So CHIN9503 give students a solid foundation of
communication ability to go to higher levels in Chinese studying. Students will learn these techniques
through analyzing short passages and presentations for features of successful communication and
practicing these through a variety of activities, including in-class discussions, presentations, role
playing, peer and teacher feedback on both speaking practice and written assignments.
Prerequisite: “CHIN9502 Chinese as a foreign language II” or equivalent
CHIN9504. Chinese as a foreign language IV (6 credits)
competence in listening, speaking, reading, writing and translating. It also provides in-depth study of
Chinese culture, geography of China, Chinese history and modern Chinese society. So CHIN9504 give
students a solid foundation of communication ability to go to higher levels in Chinese studying. Students
will learn these techniques through analyzing short passages and presentations for features of successful
communication and practicing these through a variety of activities, including in-class discussions,
presentations, role playing, peer and teacher feedback on both speaking practice and written
assignments.
Prerequisite: “CHIN9503 Chinese as a foreign language III” or equivalent
CHIN9505. Chinese as a foreign language V (6 credits)
This intensive course is intended for foreign students who have completed CHIN9504 or have attained
equivalent competence to Chinese Proficiency Test (New HSK) Level 3. It aims to increase students’
communicative and linguistic competence in listening, speaking, reading, writing, and translating. It
also provides in-depth study of Chinese culture and society. It familiarizes students with 150 core
sentences, 450 new words, and 200 most frequently used Chinese characters in addition to 1400 Chinese
characters acquired from previous levels.
Prerequisite: “CHIN9504 Chinese as a foreign language IV” or equivalent
CHIN9506. Chinese as a foreign language VI (6 credits)
competence in listening, speaking, reading, writing, and translating. It also provides in-depth study of
Chinese culture and society.
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Students will learn these through a variety of activities including in-class discussions and conversations,
completion of tasks and assignments, peer and teacher feedback on both speaking practice and written
assignments.
Prerequisite: “CHIN9505 Chinese as a foreign language V” or equivalent
CHIN9507. Chinese as a foreign language VII (6 credits)
This intensive course is intended for international undergraduate students, exchange and visiting
students who have attained equivalent competence to HSK level 6 or New HSK level 4. It aims at
enhancing students’ communicative competence, specifically targeting at speaking, reading and writing.
Students will be exposed to Chinese society and culture through a greater variety of topical discussions
and different audiovisual media include films (movies), television, and Vlog. Students are required to
write essays of 800 or more Chinese characters, and use short phrases/words/sentence structures learnt
in class to further strengthen their knowledge of the Chinese language and culture. This course will
help advanced language learners enhance their lexical and syntactic knowledge, as well as improve their
writing and presentation skills through live practice and feedback through training.
Prerequisite: “CHIN9506 Chinese as a foreign language VI” or equivalent
CHIN9508. Chinese as a foreign language VIII (6 credits)
This intensive course is intended for foreign students who have completed the courses from CHIN9501
to CHIN9507, or have attained equivalent competence to Chinese Proficiency Test (New HSK) Level
5.
This is an extensive course, which aims at enhancing students’ overall competence in listening, reading,
speaking, and writing. Students will be exposed to Chinese society and culture through a variety of
selected reading materials from well-known Chinese modern writers’ works, newspapers and
magazines, short stories and novels. In addition, students will write summaries of some of their reading
assignments to enhance comprehension and strengthen writing ability. Students will also be asked to
accurately and fluently expressing ideas in different topics in class. This course will also prepare for
sentence structure analysis, punctuation usage, and fundamentals of rhetorical methods and classical
Chinese.
Prerequisite: “CHIN9507 Chinese as a foreign language VII” or equivalent
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SCHOOL OF ENGLISH
INTRODUCTION
The School of English offers teaching and conducts research in literary and cultural studies, English
linguistics and language and communication. The School offers an English Studies major and minor.
The School also contributes to the teaching of the BA&BEd in Language Education (English) double
degree programme and the BA&LLB double degree programme.
Admission to the School is strictly on the basis of academic record including a minimum Level 5 in
English Language in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) examination, or an
equivalent score in another recognized English proficiency test. Students intending to declare a major
or a minor in the School must pass at least one introductory course from List A in the first year. A major
consists of five introductory courses (including the first-year prerequisite) and eight advanced courses
(including a capstone experience). A minor consists of three introductory courses (including the first-
year prerequisite) and three advanced courses. Students intending to enroll in advanced courses must
normally have completed three introductory courses (with at least one course from both List A and List
B).
Choice of courses and options is subject to the School’s approval. Students should consult the School
web page about the actual course offerings and must ensure that their choice of courses conforms to
any prerequisites laid down by the School. Majors in English Studies are given priority entry into
advanced courses in their major.
Prescribed reading, specifications for each course, recommended course combinations, and information
about prerequisites are available at the website http://www.english.hku.hk. Regular attendance at
tutorials and other classes and the punctual completion of work prescribed by the student’s tutor or
supervisor are expected.
ENGLISH STUDIES
English Studies is the scholarly investigation of the English language and its many uses in social and
historical contexts. It prominently includes the study of literature(s) written in English, as well as
creative writing. Both the language and the literatures are studied from multiple perspectives, linguistic
ones and literary ones, and also including critical and cultural theory. Our English Studies programme
has a strong cross-cultural orientation, recognizing English as a language of global communication and
world literature, a language which people make their own, creatively and habitually, all over the world.
It offers students both a solid foundation and a wide range of choices in various concentrations.
Introductory courses emphasize the practice of critical reading, analysis and writing, as well as the
development of historical and theoretical knowledge. Advanced courses focus on English language and
literature as representations of culture and society in diverse historical contexts, on the production of
meaning in different discursive contexts, genres and media, and on the place of English in relation to
histories of colonization and globalization with special reference to Hong Kong and the region. A range
of capstone courses, including research seminars, internships and senior colloquia, offer students
opportunities to integrate and deploy their learning in the major while considering their options upon
graduation.
On successful completion of the major or minor in English Studies, students should be able to:
• identify and analyze issues and topics in the study of English literature and linguistics through
various approaches;
• formulate critical questions and investigate topics through research, analysis and writing;
• identify and express their own perspectives regarding disciplinary issues and compare them to
those of others;
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• demonstrate an appreciation of the global dimensions and cultural diversity within English
language and literature;
• recognize and make use of various rhetorical and discursive features in the presentation,
organization and discussion of ideas, observations, and arguments; and
• understand and articulate the relevance of English Studies in providing insight into the role of
language and literature in culture and society.
The courses of the English Studies programme incorporate a variety of teaching and learning methods,
including formal lectures, seminars, small group tutorials, workshops, and online learning. They are
mostly assessed by coursework, including oral presentations, in-class tests and quizzes, essays and
research projects and portfolios. They are designed to provide students with skills of accurate and
historically sensitive analysis, critical reading and thinking, and clear and coherent argument in both
writing and speaking.
First-year Prerequisite
Students intending to declare a major or minor in English Studies in the second year must pass at least
one introductory ENGL course from List A “Historical and Theoretical Foundations” (6 credits) in the
first year.
Admission to all introductory courses is on the basis of academic record including a minimum Level 5
in English Language in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) examination, or an
equivalent score in another recognized English proficiency test.
Major in English Studies (78 credits)

To complete the requirements of the major, students must take:
1. 30 credits of introductory courses (including the first-year prerequisite), normally taken in the
first two years of study, which consist of:
(a) 12 credits from List A “Historical and Theoretical Foundations” (including the first-year
prerequisite);
(b) 12 credits from List B “Critical Reading, Analysis and Writing”;
(c) 6 credits from either List A or List B; and
2. 48 credits of advanced courses, which must include a capstone course to be taken preferably in
the final year.
Minor in English Studies (36 credits)

To complete the requirements of the minor, students must take:
1. 18 credits of introductory courses, which consist of:
(a) 6 credits of the first-year prerequisite from List A “Historical and Theoretical Foundations”;
(b) 6 credits from List B “Critical Reading, Analysis and Writing”;
(c) 6 credits from either List A or List B; and
2. 18 credits of advanced courses.
Introductory Courses
List A: Historical and Theoretical Foundations

The courses in this list will introduce students to the history and organization of diverse areas of literary
and linguistic scholarship. Students will acquire a general overview of selected areas and issues,
culminating in their application by the students to texts or linguistic data, including major theoretical
distinctions or classifications and their historical development over time.
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ENGL1011. An introduction to the study of meaning (6 credits)

ENGL1013. 20th century literature and culture (6 credits)
ENGL1015. Introduction to English linguistics (6 credits)
ENGL1017. Introduction to sociolinguistics (6 credits)
ENGL1020. Nineteenth-century literature and culture (6 credits)
ENGL1022. Poetry past and present (6 credits)
ENGL1024. World literature (6 credits)
ENGL1025. Understanding narratives (6 credits)
ENGL1031. English grammar(s) (6 credits)
ENGL1042. World Englishes (6 credits)
ENGL1044. Literary theory (6 credits)
ENGL1047. The English lexicon (6 credits)
ENGL1051. English sounds (6 credits)
ENGL1056/ LCOM1001.* Introduction to language and communication (6 credits)
ENGL1057/ LCOM1002.* Language, communication, society, field (6 credits)
ENGL1058/ LCOM1003.* Theorizing communication (6 credits)
ENGL1059/ LCOM1004.* Introduction to pragmatics (6 credits)
ENGL1060. Performance Studies and everyday life (6 credits)
ENGL1062. Reading and writing about literature (6 credits)
*Note: Students admitted in 2020-21 or before may choose either the ENGL/ LCOM course codes
according to their study plans. Students admitted in 2021-22 and thereafter may only choose the ENGL
course codes.
List B: Critical Reading, Analysis and Writing

The courses in this list will introduce students to the practice and methods of critical reading, analysis
and writing, focusing on different areas of literary and linguistic study. Students will acquire a basic
grasp of analytical distinctions and terminology, and learn to ask questions and construct critical
arguments.
ENGL1014. Imaginary geographies: The art of writing place (6 credits)

ENGL1018. Language and gender (6 credits)
ENGL1026. Adaptation: From text to screen (6 credits)
ENGL1027. Analyzing discourse (6 credits)
ENGL1028. Awakenings: Exploring women’s writing (6 credits)
ENGL1030. Dramatic changes: Versions of Renaissance literature (6 credits)
ENGL1032. Late Victorian Texts and Contexts (6 credits)
ENGL1033. Intercultural communication (6 credits)
ENGL1034. Language and prejudice (6 credits)
ENGL1035. Language crimes (6 credits)
ENGL1036. Meaning and metaphor (6 credits)
ENGL1038. Practice of criticism (6 credits)
ENGL1039. Realism and representation (6 credits)
ENGL1040. Rewriting and writing back (6 credits)
ENGL1041. Modernity and literary modernism (6 credits)
ENGL1043. An introduction to 20th-century English poetry (6 credits)
ENGL1045. “Community” in sociolinguistics (6 credits)
ENGL1048. Crime stories (6 credits)
ENGL1049. Early English sonnets (6 credits)
ENGL1050. An introduction to research methods in sociolinguistics (6 credits)
ENGL1052. Introduction to theatre studies (6 credits)
ENGL1054. Writing disaster: Literature, trauma, memory (6 credits)
ENGL1055. Language myths and realities (6 credits)
ENGL1061. Introduction to psycholinguistics (6 credits)
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Advanced Courses
In order to enroll in any advanced course in English Studies, students must normally have completed
18 credits of introductory courses, with at least 6 credits from both List A and List B.
ENGL2002. Language in society (6 credits)

ENGL2004. English syntax (6 credits)
ENGL2007. Literary linguistics (6 credits)
ENGL2010. The novel (6 credits)
ENGL2012. Advanced literary theory (6 credits)
ENGL2030. New Englishes (6 credits)
ENGL2035. Reading poetry (6 credits)
ENGL2039. Gender, sexuality and discourse (6 credits)
ENGL2045. Travel writing (6 credits)
ENGL2047. English discourse structures and strategies (6 credits)
ENGL2048. Language and jargon (6 credits)
ENGL2050. English corpus linguistics (6 credits)
ENGL2055. American Gothic: Haunted homes (6 credits)
ENGL2057. Text and image (6 credits)
ENGL2074. Postcolonial readings (6 credits)
ENGL2075. The idea of China (6 credits)
ENGL2076. Romanticism (6 credits)
ENGL2079. Shakespeare (6 credits)
ENGL2080. Women, feminism and writing (6 credits)
ENGL2085. Creative writing (6 credits)
ENGL2089. Making Americans: Literature as ritual and renewal (6 credits)
ENGL2103. Language and digital media (6 credits)
ENGL2104. Language in the USA (6 credits)
ENGL2112. History of English (6 credits)
ENGL2115. Theories of language acquisition (6 credits)
ENGL2117. English phonology and morphology (6 credits)
ENGL2118. Law and literature (6 credits)
ENGL2120. Science fiction (6 credits)
ENGL2122. Global Victorians (6 credits)
ENGL2125. English construction grammar (6 credits)
ENGL2126. Law, meaning, and interpretation (6 credits)
ENGL2127. Language and the law (6 credits)
ENGL2128. Modernism (6 credits)
ENGL2129. English as a language of science (6 credits)
ENGL2130. Signs, language and meaning: Integrational reflections (6 credits)
ENGL2131. The critic as artist (6 credits)
ENGL2134. World literature and theory (6 credits)
ENGL2135. The cosmopolitan imagination (6 credits)
ENGL2136. Cross-cultural discourses (6 credits)
ENGL2137. The profession of playwright in early modern England (6 credits)
ENGL2138. Language and globalization (6 credits)
ENGL2139. American modern (6 credits)
ENGL2140. Ideologies of language past and present (6 credits)
ENGL2141. Doing discourse analysis (6 credits)
ENGL2142. Milton (6 credits)
ENGL2143. Religion and the flourishing of English (6 credits)
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ENGL2144. Forms of contemporary literature (6 credits)

ENGL2145. Post-1945 English drama (6 credits)
ENGL2146. Cognitive semantics (6 credits)
ENGL2147. Joyce’s voices (6 credits)
ENGL2149. American dreaming (6 credits)
ENGL2150. The city and modernity (6 credits)
ENGL2152. Theory of the novel (6 credits)
ENGL2153. Literary London (6 credits)
ENGL2156. Eighteenth-century British literature (6 credits)
ENGL2157. Representations of justice in law and literature (6 credits)
ENGL2158. Language processing and learning (6 credits)
ENGL2159. Twenty-first century English poetry (6 credits)
ENGL2160. Sovereignty in law, theory and culture (6 credits)
ENGL2161. Language rights and linguistic justice (6 credits)
ENGL2162. Where the wild things are: Children's literature and the law (6 credits)
ENGL2163. Comics, graphic novel and theory (6 credits)
ENGL2164. The beginnings of English law and literature (6 credits)
ENGL2165. Legal fictions: United States citizenship and the right to write in America (6 credits)
ENGL2166. English phonetics (6 credits)
ENGL2167. Theatre and the world (6 credits)
ENGL2168. The law of signs: Interpretative controversies in legal semiotics (6 credits)
ENGL2169. Writing and violence (6 credits)
ENGL2170. Cringy: The aesthetics of discomfort (6 credits)
ENGL2171. The right to the city: Cultural politics in Hong Kong and London (6 credits)
ENGL2172. The police in literature and culture (6 credits)
ENGL2173. Magic, monsters and maidens fair: Medieval English literature (6 credits)
ENGL2174. Shakespeare and the law (6 credits)
ENGL2175. Bad identities (6 credits)
ENGL2176. Writing Asian diasporas (6 credits)
ENGL2177. Reading and rereading Jane Austen (6 credits)
ENGL2178. Language and art (6 credits)
ENGL2179/ LCOM2001.* Theories of language and communication (6 credits)
ENGL2180/ LCOM2002.* Language in the workplace (6 credits)
ENGL2181/ LCOM2003.* Language and politeness (6 credits)
ENGL2182/ LCOM2004.* Language, communication and the media (6 credits)
ENGL2183/ LCOM2005.* Language, communication and globalization (6 credits)
ENGL2184/ LCOM2007.* Visual communication (6 credits)
ENGL2185/ LCOM2008.* Health communication, ‘healthy’ communication (6 credits)
ENGL2186/ LCOM2009.* Language and religion (6 credits)
ENGL2187/ LCOM2011.* The language of news media (6 credits)
ENGL2188. Language and food (6 credits)
ENGL2189. Eighteenth century drama: The rise of celebrity culture (6 credits)
*Note: Students admitted in 2020-21 or before may choose either the ENGL/LCOM course codes
course codes.
Capstone Courses
ENGL3040. Internship in English studies (capstone experience) (6 credits)
ENGL3041. Senior colloquium in English studies (capstone experience) (6 credits)
ENGL3042. Extended essay in English studies (capstone experience) (6 credits)
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Study Options and Academic Advice
Major students who have successfully passed at least seven courses (three introductory courses and four
advanced courses) with a literature OR language and communication focus, respectively, will be given
a School of English certification, upon request, which attests to this specialization in the “Literature
Stream” or “Language and Communication Stream.” If applicable, a dual recognition in both the
“Literature Stream” and “Language and Communication Stream” is possible.
Please note that the declaration and certification of specialization stream(s) is optional and students can
graduate with a major in English Studies without declaring any specialization stream(s).
Notes:
1. Courses affiliated to specialization streams are listed on the School’s website.
2. Neither the transcript nor the graduation certificate will show the specialization stream(s). If
applicable, students may approach the School for certification of their specialization stream(s).
Students are encouraged to discuss their study plans and course selections with the UG Coordinator,
their Academic Advisers, or any teachers in the English Studies programme.
Academic Advice on “Literature Stream”
In the Literature Stream the School allows for flexibility and choice, therefore it is recommended that
you discuss your literature pathways with your Academic Adviser or any teachers of our School.
Here is a possible pathway for English Studies students who aspire to pursue research postgraduate
(RPG) studies in literary studies. In addition to fulfilling the basic requirements of the major, you may
wish:
1. To take courses dedicated to the study of literary theory at the advanced level, such as, but not
limited to, the following:
ENGL2012. Advanced literary theory
2. To take a research-based capstone course such as:

ENGL3041. Senior colloquium in English studies (capstone experience)
ENGL3042. Extended essay in English studies (capstone experience)
3. To prepare for your RPG application: meet with your advisor; explore different programs and RPG
options; attend any workshops or presentations on RPG studies offered by the School; request
letters of recommendation well in advance of the application deadline; prepare multiple drafts of
your thesis proposal/application materials.
Academic Advice on “Language and Communication Stream”
In the Language and Communication Stream the School allows for flexibility and choice, therefore it is
recommended that you discuss your Language and Communication pathways with your Academic
Adviser or any teachers of our School.
Below are two possible pathways of suggestive nature only. Students may choose courses without
following the pathways.
Theorizing Language Pathway

List A
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ENGL1058. Theorizing communication (6 credits)
List B
Advanced
ENGL2179. Theories of language and communication (6 credits)
Language Use in Society Pathway

List A
ENGL1056. Introduction to language and communication (6 credits)
ENGL1057. Language, communication, society, field (6 credits)
ENGL1059. Introduction to pragmatics (6 credits)
List B
Advanced
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ENGL2180. Language in the workplace (6 credits)
ENGL2181. Language and politeness (6 credits)
ENGL2182. Language, communication and the media (6 credits)
ENGL2183. Language, communication and globalization (6 credits)
ENGL2184. Visual communication (6 credits)
ENGL2185. Health communication, ‘healthy’ communication (6 credits)
ENGL2186. Language and religion (6 credits)
ENGL2187. The language of news media (6 credits)
Introductory Courses
This course introduces the study of meaning in the English language. We will examine semantic
meanings - meanings encoded in the language system itself - and also pragmatic meanings - meanings
inferred from the communicative context of language use. Students will also be introduced to various
theories of meaning and cognitive semantics.
ENGL1013. 20th century literature and culture (6 credits)
This course will explore the 20th century as a site of modernity. We will look at a range of texts to
explore what the modern might mean and how writers have addressed issues of modernity and its impact
on society and human relations. Some of the topics to be covered will include representations of the
city, the changing roles of men and women, the rise of modern transportation and the impact of the First
World War.
ENGL1014. Imaginary geographies: The art of writing place (6 credits)
Through studying a wide range of landscape descriptions in poetry, travel writing, drama and the novel,
students will learn about landscape description from aesthetic, historical, geo-humanist and geo-
political perspectives. Students will learn to identify particular movements and styles, such as the
picturesque, romanticism, modernism and environmentalism in selected descriptions of places. They
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will also learn how place description functions in literary texts to provide not only a realistic visual
setting, but through metaphor, the thoughts and feelings of characters, and the cultural and ideological
outlook of the writer. The course has a practical component in which students produce place
descriptions of their own and discuss these within their groups.
This survey course offers a comprehensive first introduction to the linguistic study of English, covering
the various levels of analysis (and the core branches of linguistics that study them): sounds (phonetics
and phonology), words (morphology and lexicology), meanings (semantics and pragmatics), grammar
(syntax), text and discourse (discourse analysis). It will also offer a first introduction to a number of
key aspects of language use (and the linguistic disciplines dealing with them): language acquisition and
processing (psycholinguistics), language change (historical linguistics), regional and social variation
(sociolinguistics), [literary] style (stylistics). Finally, the course will introduce a number of
methodological and theoretical approaches one can take in the academic study of a language, and
consequently also in English language research.
This course introduces students to the field of sociolinguistics—a cross-disciplinary study of the
relationship between language and society with insights from linguistics, sociology, psychology and
linguistic anthropology. For decades, sociolinguists have looked for ways to understand human social
behaviors and organization by studying what people do with language and why. This course provides a
basic foundation for students who are interested in the scholarly research of language in social contexts,
as well as for those who want an alternate perspective of their own social world.
In this course, we explore how gender ideologies influence and are influenced by language use, in
language about men and women, and in language use by men and women. We will discuss different
approaches to and historical perspectives on the study of language and gender, reviewing both
qualitative and quantitative studies in the early development of the field. We will consider gender as
one of many social categories that interact with other social categories such as age, race, class, ethnicity,
profession, sexuality, and others. Stereotypes and biases about the sexes, standard and vernacular norms,
and power and authority will also be examined in the course. The course will survey the history of the
field and identify major strands in the development of knowledge in the discipline. It also traces the
historical progression of the field, with reference to key historical texts and debates.
ENGL1020. Nineteenth-century literature and culture (6 credits)
This course offers a survey of the literature and culture of ‘the long nineteenth century’, that is the
period between the French Revolution (1789) and the beginning of the First World War (1914). We
will be looking at the historical, social and political changes Great Britain underwent in this period:
wars abroad and tumults at home, the industrial revolution, the scientific revolution, religious debate,
empire, class and gender concerns. With such background and context, we will then look at the various
writings (across all genres) that were produced under these circumstances: the realist novel, Romantic
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poetry, sensation and silver-fork fiction, aestheticist and fin-de-siècle writing, the bestselling romance,
detective fiction, high and late Victorian drama, to name just some.
ENGL1022. Poetry past and present (6 credits)
This course introduces students who have little experience of poetry to two of the most popular generic
forms in English poetry – the sonnet and the lyric. Selected examples will be from the seventeenth to
twentieth centuries and will include poems by British, American, and anglophone writers. A specific
theme will be chosen as the focus for poems from different historical moments.
ENGL1024. World literature (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the concept and practice of world literature. It seeks to understand
world literature not as a collection of national literary canons created in different linguistic and cultural
locations, but as a field of knowledge about literature as a cross-cultural and translingual system of
production and circulation. We’ll read a selection of seminal statements on world literature and discuss
the historical formation of world literature: its methodology and scope, its politics and limitations, in
close relation to historical forms and forces of globalization.
ENGL1025. Understanding narratives (6 credits)
This is a course about how stories work, and how to read them effectively and critically. We encounter
narratives every day, in gossip and jokes, news reports, in books and films and on the internet. Everyone
is experienced in understanding and interpreting stories. This course gives you the chance to articulate,
understand, and develop your skills as a consumer (and creator) of stories, through describing and
analyzing the various elements of a narrative – such as narration, character, structure, genre, and point
of view – in a number of different examples in English. The course will develop a critical vocabulary
which students working in small groups can use, with increasing confidence, to discuss, analyze and
report on written narrative texts of various length and complexity. Besides the target stories, there will
be critical readings, with plenty of examples, in textual studies and in narratology (the poetics of stories).
At the end of the course, all students should have the skills and confidence to give a productive and
well-informed reading of any narrative, literary or non-literary, and some sense of the part that narrative
plays in our understanding of the world we live in.
ENGL1026. Adaptation: From text to screen (6 credits)
In this course, students will be introduced to literary and cinematic technique by studying recent film
adaptations of English literature alongside the original text. We will take one period text, such as Jane
Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, Bleak House or Mrs. Dalloway, and one contemporary text, such as
Atonement, Cloud Atlas or Never Let Me Go. Students will confront the problems and possibilities of
adaptation, the demands of fidelity to the original text, and the need to find contemporary resonances.
As well as developing an awareness of the practical issues of moving from a textual to a predominantly
visual medium, students will learn to identity aesthetic, cultural and political influences in the adaptation
of literature. This course also allows students to think creatively about storyboards and visual techniques,
by sketching alternative scenarios.
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This course provides an introduction to the field of discourse, focusing on the analysis of spoken and
written English. In this course, we will focus on exploring different approaches to the study of discourse,
developing tools for analyzing particular texts, and understanding the relationship between discourse
contexts and functions. Emphasis will be placed on data analysis in the course, which will give students
the opportunity to apply concepts from the lectures to workshop discussions and assignments. Some
units to be covered in the course include: narrative structure, rhetorical analysis, spoken versus written
discourse, data collection and transcription, conversation analysis, and discourse in professional
contexts.
ENGL1028. Awakenings: Exploring women’s writing (6 credits)
This course will focus on close reading of passages from a selection of prose and poetry authored by
women. As we read these texts, we will explore a few of the key issues that have concerned women
writers. We will examine questions of the difference of the female point of view, the suppression of
female subjectivity and autonomy as well as the renderings of an alternative worldview and culture.
ENGL1030. Dramatic changes: Versions of Renaissance literature (6 credits)
In this course we will read great plays of the English Renaissance in tandem with their non-dramatic
sources (history, romance, chapbook, story cycle). In a couple of instances, the plays themselves will
be considered as sources for contemporary representations (Hamlet for Stoppard’s spinoff, Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern are Dead, and Macbeth for Kurosawa’s film, Throne of Blood). For Renaissance
speakers the word ‘version’ principally meant a ‘translation’ from one language into another. We will
observe and evaluate, therefore, what happens when a well-known or ‘true’ story gets ‘translated’ into
the conventions and genres of the theater. We compare notable variations in the telling of the tales, with
attention to the following questions: How does the alteration of a plot element change a story’s
significance? How does the manner of presentation — the enactment of drama (mimesis) or the narration
of prose (diegesis) — affect the way we understand characters?
This course is an elementary and practical introduction to the analytical and terminological distinctions
that are relevant to the study of the structure of English words and sentences. It will pay due attention
to variation in the way they are covered and distinguished in different grammar books. Topics include:
Word structure and word-formation, lexical and phrasal categories, grammatical functions and semantic
roles, coordination and subordination, clause types, tense and aspect, mood, information structure. All
classes will involve practical analysis of linguistic material. A key part of the course will be an
individual assignment in which students critically compare two grammar books with the prescribed
course text.
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ENGL1032. Late Victorian Texts and Contexts (6 credits)
This course reads representative late nineteenth-century texts, which may include novels, short stories,
plays, poetry, or even musical hall songs and pantomime. The aim is to situate these texts in a society
that is still very much embedded in Victorian ideas and ideals but that is at the same time looking
towards the twentieth century and its changing views of life, the world and literature. Course themes
alongside the regular issues of class, race and gender may include: social changes, the changing subject,
devolution, degeneration, the reading public and the publishing industry, genre and modality (romance,
realism, aestheticism), ‘elite’ and ‘popular’ art, and others.
Intercultural communication can be defined as the study of cultural identity, difference and similarity
as constructed through discourse, i.e. different ways of speaking, doing and being. In the ever-changing
world defined by restructuring of economic, social and cultural relations, transnational migration,
tourism, overseas study, and global media, more and more people from different backgrounds come
into contact with one another. Their communication faces many challenges which include the linguistic
challenges of language learning, the discursive challenges of stereotyping and the social challenges of
equal work opportunities, inclusion and justice. This course provides a critical understanding of
intercultural communication from discourse analytic and sociolinguistic perspectives and demonstrates
how people in different situations of intercultural contact position themselves linguistically and
discursively, and how the linguistic codes and varieties they speak and write give them access (or not)
to different resources such as mobility, education opportunities, jobs, and so on. We examine the notions
of ‘sameness’, ‘difference’, ethno-cultural stereotyping, discrimination, exclusion and exploitation, and
the underlying language ideologies (i.e. assumptions and beliefs about language) that normalize and
naturalize the views we hold of ourselves and other people. We ask to what extent we can assume
culture to be synonymous with language and nation, and how acts of intercultural communication are
performed or represented in different contexts such as international business, marketing, and
interpersonal relations.
Prejudice is defined as “dislike, hostility, or unjust behaviour deriving from preconceived and
unfounded opinions” (OED). Social prejudice and discrimination often manifest through language use,
and/or attitudes and practice towards language users (who are considered as members of certain
social/ethnic/gender/age categories), this course examines sociolinguistic case studies of language
discrimination both locally and internationally.
This course introduces the study of texts through utterances taken from criminal cases. Students will
learn how to apply concepts such as types of meaning and speech acts to analyse the utterances in
context, and formulate critical arguments about their observations.
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The course looks at different definitions of metaphor and reviews various theories that have been
applied to figurative language. It presents the identification and analysis of metaphor as a tool in the
study of texts of all kinds, and introduces approaches which see the study of metaphor as a key to
understanding human cognition and experience. It shows how questions about metaphor are at the heart
of debates about meaning and interpretation across the humanities and social sciences, and illustrates
the role of metaphor in fundamental ideological discussions. Topics include: Definitions of metaphor;
Literal vs. metaphorical meaning; Metaphor and metonymy; Nonlinguistic realizations of conceptual
metaphors; The scope of metaphor; Metaphor, politics, and ideology; Metaphor in literature; Metaphor
in education; Metaphor in music.
ENGL1038. Practice of criticism (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the development of criticism as a literary genre and as a space of
engagement with creative literature. By studying a selection of key critical texts in conjunction with
works of imaginative literature, the course will discuss the creative uses of criticism in the history of
literature and the role criticism has played in our understanding of literature. There will be weekly
lectures and workshops, in which we will discuss, and participate in, some of the most significant
debates among major critical thinkers and to relate these debates to our own studies of literary texts.
ENGL1039. Realism and representation (6 credits)
In this introductory course we will examine and explore one of the most dominant modes of literary
representation. We will begin by situating realism as a movement in literary history and investigate its
theoretical and material underpinnings and the literary conventions that characterize it. We will consider
different ways of defining realism and situate them in relation to different arguments about the nature
and role of literary representation. With close attention to texts from different times, we will try to trace
how realism distinguishes itself from other forms of writing and how it persists in contemporary literary
practice alongside and even within movements against realism in art and literature. We will also
consider the conventions of realistic representation in different genres, art forms and media, and their
role and relevance in non-fictional discourses and genres. Finally, we will also examine and discuss the
relevance of arguments about realism to the writing and rhetoric of critical essays.
ENGL1040. Rewriting and writing back (6 credits)
In this introductory course, we will study and explore the ways in which literary creativity and the
practice of writing are motivated and shaped by the reading of other texts. With close attention to texts
from different times and places, we will identify some of the major acts of rewriting by which authors
have sought to distinguish themselves ever since Virgil chose Homer as his model. Distinguishing
between different modes of rewriting such as allusion, translation, parody, and counter-discourse, we
will examine their role in specific contexts of literary production. Apart from considering the
importance of rewriting in the formation and critique of a literary canon, we will also discuss the value
of rewriting in the critical study of literature and the forms it may take in the writing of essays, including
summary, paraphrase, and plagiarism.
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ENGL1041. Modernity and literary modernism (6 credits)
Literary Modernism has often been characterized as an inward turn: as a growing preoccupation with
the workings of consciousness; the nature of subjective experience; and the constitution, and definition,
of the subjective self. In this introductory course we will examine depictions of subjectivity in modernist
literature, discussing topics such as the unconscious and psychic conflict, impersonality, sexual and
racial difference, the role of the body in consciousness, and the dynamics of fantasy and memory. We
will contextualize our close readings in contemporary psychological and scientific research, the rise of
urbanism and cosmopolitanism, colonialism and post-colonialism, technological advancements and the
World Wars. Through response papers, presentations, and class discussions, students will learn to
analyze textual details and techniques and organize their observations within cogent arguments.
This course introduces students to a study of varieties of English world-wide, surveying the
development and classification of English varieties in both historical and contemporary eras. It explores
both structural and sociolinguistic aspects of World Englishes, with particular attention to New
Englishes. Through the critical reading of introductory texts and research papers in the field, this course
examines some of the fundamental issues and debates in World/ New Englishes, involving concepts of
‘mother tongue’, ‘nativeness’ and ownership, issues of ideology, attitudes and identity, and challenges
of creative expression, pedagogy and planning. Students will be expected to reflect critically on the
readings and issues, and produce a written paper that engages with one of these issues in the field of
World Englishes.
ENGL1043. An introduction to 20th-century English Poetry (6 credits)
This course will introduce poems by such major 20th-century poets as T.S. Eliot, W.H. Auden, Dylan
Thomas, Philip Larkin, Ted Hughes and Seamus Heaney as well as work by other English poets. The
poems have been chosen not just for their intrinsic merits, but also to illustrate the patterns of sound, syntax,
tone and figurative language poets use to achieve their effects. The classes will not be lectures on poetry
but close readings and discussion of individual poems.
ENGL1044. Literary theory (6 credits)
This course offers you an overview of the study of literature by looking at the development of literature
as a subject of teaching and learning. We will begin by tracing the formation of related concepts in
Western history leading up to the establishment of literature as an academic discipline. The course will
then survey influential theoretical approaches to literature and will examine their accounts of what
literature is and what its place and role are (or should be) in culture and society. Mapping important
debates carried on in these accounts, we will ask how they define and explain basic activities, roles and
effects that form part of literature, such as the activities of reading and writing, the roles of writers and
readers, the network of publication, and the products of writing (work, text, script) and their meaning.
A range of selected literary texts will allow us to critically explore the insights and interests of different
approaches. At the end of the course, students will be able to orient themselves within the field of
literature with the help of a basic vocabulary of critical terminology and to situate their own interests in
relation to relevant theoretical concerns.
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The concept of “community” has been key to the study of language in society since the inception of
sociolinguistics in the 1960s. In the course of the past half a century, various notions of community
have been proposed and applied to the study of linguistic data. These include “speech community”,
“discourse community”, “community of practice”, “imagined community”, “virtual community” and
most recently “transnational community”. In this course, we will explore how these various concepts
have been applied and we will address salient similarities and differences between them. In doing so,
we will discuss the various understandings of language, and the various understandings of the
relationship between language and society which lie at the heart of these different types of community.
Finally, we will question the validity of the concept of community today against the backdrop of
globalisation, and the rising importance of migration and mobility.
The term lexicon can refer to a wordlist or dictionary. It is also a synonym of vocabulary, which refers
to all the words of a language, or, as in “one’s vocabulary”, all the words a particular speaker of a
language knows, sometimes referred to as “the mental lexicon”. But what counts as a word in English?
Is driver’s liability insurance three words in English while the Dutch equivalent
bestuurdersaansprakelijkheidsverzekering is one word? Are forms that can be bound by spaces, like
driver’s, liability and insurance, indivisible themselves, or can we identify constituent parts? Have these
forms always been part of the English language or did they come about at different historical moments
and in different ways? How do words, or so-called “entries” in the lexicon, relate to others meaningwise?
Are all words of the same kind, or can we arrange them in categories? When it comes to constructing
sentences, words are often conceived as building blocks which are combined in accordance with the
rules of grammar, but should lexicon and grammar really be seen as completely separate, or could their
relationship also be conceptualized differently? How much grammar is there, or should there be, in a
dictionary? How do speakers access their mental lexicon when they talk? These are some of the
questions that will be addressed in this course on words in English which will approach its topic from
a variety of perspectives: synchronic theoretical linguistics, diachronic linguistics, psycholinguistics
and lexicography.
ENGL1048. Crime stories (6 credits)
In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde famously compares criminal acts to art: “I should fancy
that crime was to them [the lower classes] what art is to us, simply a method of procuring extraordinary
sensations.” Wilde asks us to think about the relationship between art and crime, and the role crime
plays in the growing gap between popular culture and high literature. This course introduces students
to the study of narrative through crime stories, and it will survey the origins of detective and crime
fiction and its development into the twenty-first century. Students will examine how this self-reflexive
genre uses narrative to reflect on acts of storytelling and interpretation. Course materials will include
eighteenth-century broadsheets about famous criminals, nineteenth-century “penny dreadfuls,”
sensation fiction, and detective novels. Readings will include Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle,
Raymond Chandler, and others. The course will conclude with the growth of the detective genre in
contemporary Hong Kong.
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ENGL1049. Early English sonnets (6 credits)
The course provides an introduction to the study of the sonnet, an enduring lyric genre that began in
13th century Italy and became popular in England nearly three centuries later, when poets such as Wyatt
and Surrey translated selected Canzoniere of Francesco Petrarca. Very often the expression of a
suffering lover, a sonnet contains 14 lines that proceed according to a rhyme scheme — the typical
Renaissance pattern is structured ABABCDCDEFEFGG. Beginning with Philip Sidney’s Astrophil and
Stella (composed between 1580 and 1584), sonnets in English sometimes were composed as a sequence,
a collection of poems that features recurrent voices (speaker and addressee), develops thematically, and
tempts the discovery of a narrative trajectory. In addition to the authors mentioned above, we read
carefully some of the major sonnets of the English Renaissance from Spenser, Shakespeare, Donne,
Milton, and others.
As access to the Internet has grown, it has become increasingly common for people to interact via
different channels when going about their day-to-day affairs. For people who have access to the Internet,
this can mean that they interact both online and offline alternatingly or even simultaneously. As a result
it is sometimes difficult to separate online and offline spaces. This has implications for sociolinguistic
research. Taking this as its starting point, this course introduces students to a core set of research
methodologies used in sociolinguistic research on both online and offline spaces. These include
discourse analysis, interviews and ethnography. In doing so, the course also highlights the interplay
between research questions, data and methodology, thereby offering students a more general
introduction into core components of the sociolinguistic research process (ethics, research questions,
theoretical literature, data sampling, data analysis). To introduce these methods as part of the more
general process of conducting sociolinguistic research, the course draws on theoretical material and
empirical research, while offering numerous possibilities in the form of activities in class to discuss and
apply these methods to data samples.
This course offers an introduction to the study of speech sounds in the English language. We will
examine how speech sounds can be studied in a scientific way (phonetics) and how English sounds are
organised and represented (phonology). Students will be introduced to the International Phonetic
Alphabet (IPA), an essential tool for the description of speech sounds. While this course will focus on
Southern British English (sometimes known as Received Pronunciation or BBC English), accent
variation in English and contemporary sound changes will also be discussed.
ENGL1052. Introduction to theatre studies (6 credits)
This course will introduce students to the historical paradigms and methods specific to the field of
Theatre Studies. It will provide an overview of several diverse genres of drama and performance, such
as early modern, realist and intercultural theatre in a variety of geographical contexts. Simultaneously,
the course focuses on concepts such as performers, audiences and space, the critical vocabulary required
for performance analysis.
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ENGL1054. Writing disaster: Literature, trauma, memory (6 credits)
Broadly conceived, this course will explore the relationship between writing and loss. Its more
concentrated concern is with how writing (and here we mean both literary and cinematic works)
manages to represent the unthinkable, the unsayable, and the unmournable. This course will study the
representational systems and generic instabilities of works that emerge from the aftermath of various
disasters and catastrophes (war, ethnic violence, political turmoil, the annihilation of the ecosystem). In
particular, it will look at how these works engage various clinical and legal discourses about trauma
and testimony, paying close attention to moments when alternative ways of remembering, experiencing,
and recounting disasters are imagined and performed. Focusing mostly on texts in the postcolonial
literary canon, this course will take students through fictional writing, films, theoretical texts, and
philosophical works in order to provide them with a better understanding of what it means “to write
disaster” and to show how this writing unfolds over time and space through the words of those who
survive what they often cannot endure.
This course explores popular beliefs and misconceptions about language that are of broad interest, and
discusses the extent to which they are consistent with empirical linguistic evidence.
Topics may vary in each offering of the course, and may address some of the following topics in
sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics:
Is English declining or simply evolving?
Can we speak English without an accent?
Do people code-mix because they cannot speak either language well?
To what extent do men and women use language differently?
Does the language we speak determine the way we think?
Can children learn two or more languages well at the same time? Is this harmful to them?
Do bilinguals have a better brain than monolinguals?
Is our writing/voice unique?
The goal of the course is to equip students with the linguistic knowledge and skills for debunking
common languages myths and unravelling the underlying ideologies held by non-linguists.
ENGL1056/ LCOM1001.* Introduction to language and communication (6 credits)
This course introduces a range of theories, approaches and applications pertinent to the study of
language and communication. In doing so, it aims to provide students with core knowledge needed to
critically reflect upon the role of language as a social practice; and to apply this when reading texts and
working with data. This entails familiarising students with theories and approaches (including the
polysemy of core concepts like “language” and “communication”, and the shift from structuralist to
social constructionist approaches); methodologies (including ethics, ethnography, interviews and
discourse analysis); and applications (including examples from scholarship and brief presentations by
invited speakers highlighting different ways of doing language and communication). While the course
will highlight the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to language and communication, it will
strongly draw on themes and research from within the field of sociolinguistics. Structurally, the course
will consist of a mix of frontal input, workshops, tutorials, and contributions by invited speakers. During
the semester, students will thus be expected to be active listeners as well as participants in workshops
and tutorials. The latter will entail students taking first steps in collecting and analysing small segments
of data, with guidance, and using the theoretical and methodological knowledge provided.
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ENGL1057/ LCOM1002.* Language, communication, society, field (6 credits)
In this introductory course to sociolinguistics, we address some fundamental topics in the positioning
of language in human societies, from the beginnings in dialectology, and language variation, to code
choice, and power, as well as consider applications in education and language policy and planning. We
not only examine theories and issues, but also explore methods in conducting sociolinguistic research.
Our investigation draws richly from both English as well as multilingual and non-English scenarios,
critically examining classic sociolinguistic accounts from a contemporary perspective, and ultimately
building a solid and comprehensive understanding of the workings of language and communication in
society.
ENGL1058/ LCOM1003.* Theorizing communication (6 credits)
This course offers an overview of the major currents in linguistic theory of how the ‘fact’ of (human)
communication is explained, what its prerequisites are, and how they align with everyday personal
experience. Students will be introduced to the major theoretical schools and asked to engage and interact
with each one of them by drawing on their critical reflection, their lay experience, and analyses of their
personal communicational biographies.
ENGL1059/ LCOM1004.* Introduction to pragmatics (6 credits)
People do not always say what they mean. So, how do we manage to understand each other if speakers
regularly mean something other than what they say? Why don’t people just say what they mean? We
shall answer these and many other questions in this introductory course to Pragmatics. Some of the
topics we shall be concerned with in this course include different levels of meaning, speaker’s intention,
interpretation and understanding of utterances; the role of context in utterance interpretations; speech
acts; conversational implicature; presupposition and politeness.
ENGL1060. Performance Studies and everyday life (6 credits)
What does it mean 'to perform'? What do theatre and performance in everyday life have in common?
This course introduces students to the world of performance on and offstage—from theatre to rituals,
everyday practices, festivals, sporting events, judicial proceedings and celebrations—that is, all forms
of cultural expression and enacted behaviour. Combining an interdisciplinary range of approaches, we
will engage with significant concepts and approaches in the field of Performance Studies.
Simultaneously, we will study performers in a variety of different contexts and theatrical and extra-
theatrical practices spanning historical periods and geographic divides to consider how performance
influences our view of the world.
This course explores key issues related to the psychology of language: how humans process, produce
and acquire different aspects of language. Major psychological processes and factors involved in
language perception and production will be discussed. We will also critically examine the range of
methods used in psycholinguistic and language acquisition research. This course lays the foundation
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for advanced courses psycholinguistics and language acquisition (e.g., ENGL2115 Theories of language
acquisition and ENGL2158 Language processing and learning).
ENGL1062. Reading and writing about literature (6 credits)
How is reading and writing as an English major different from other kinds of reading and writing? This
course will familiarize students with the standards and conventions of inquiry and textual analysis and
focus on how to argue for their own interpretation of a literary text. We will be reading from a variety
of genres from different historical periods so we can see how writers use literary forms to make sense
of the world around them. Students will build a “tool kit” of skills to demonstrate how they arrived at
a text-based interpretation, how to build on that analysis, and how to persuade other readers through
discussion and writing of their own reading. Students will learn the principles of literary research and
how to situate their own readings alongside appropriate secondary sources. This course will prepare
English majors and minors with the critical reading and writing skills that they will need to succeed in
upper-level literature classes.
*Note: Students admitted in 2020-21 or before may choose either the ENGL/LCOM course codes
course codes.
Advanced Courses
This course will provide an introduction to the study of ‘sociolinguistics’, which deals with the
relationship between language and society. Topics will vary, but may include the following:
multilingualism, language varieties, language planning, language change, English in contact with other
languages.
This course introduces the structure of English by investigating approaches to grammar, models of
grammatical analysis, and the grammar of contemporary English. It is interested in the relationship
between morphology and syntax, and grammar and linguistics.
Why does a headline capture our attention? An advert slogan stay long in our mind? A speech sway our
opinion? A song carry our emotions away? A joke make us laugh? And a school text leave us blank?
Essentially, it is because of the intricate workings of language; often, it is not so much what is said as
how it is said that impresses us most. And this applies also to the language of literature. Rhyme and
metaphor are not the exclusive property of poetry; while a poet can use the same words as an army
officer or a salesperson. Literature shares many of the features of everyday language, and this course
will take us through the language that is used in a spectrum of texts of differing degrees of literariness,
including poems, plays, stories, songs, jokes, advertisements, political and religious communications,
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regulations, textbooks and technical manuals. We will examine how linguistic forms and literary
devices are related to aesthetic effects and ideological functions. We will analyse how the choice and
the patterning of words, sounds and images help convey and elicit feelings and thoughts, and views and
values. Topics include: Towards characterizing stylistic analysis; Collocation, deviation and word play;
Prosody, parallelism and performance; Discourse into discourse; Narration and representation of speech
and thought; Reader positioning and response.
This course offers a study of narrative fiction, and of its development.

In the late 20th century, developments in critical thought had a major impact on literature and criticism.
Relations between literary production and language, politics and history were radically re-examined by
and through what has become known as ‘theory’. As a body of thought, theory includes such diverse
and conflicting schools and movements as Marxism, poststructuralism, feminism and gender theory,
new historicism, postcolonialism and postmodernism. As well as exploring the institution of theory in
the academy, students will put theory into practice in readings of selected literary texts.
This course explores both structural and sociolinguistic aspects of World Englishes, with particular
attention to New Englishes, especially postcolonial Englishes of Asia. We will examine how the
structural features found in these Englishes are not a consequence of a lack of ability to learn English
perfectly, or pronounce it correctly, or express it clearly. Rather, such features are completely
appropriate to the multilingual and multicultural ecologies in which the Englishes have evolved,
ecologies in which numerous other languages of diverse typologies abound. We will also critically
consider issues and debates in World/ New Englishes, involving concepts of ‘mother tongue’,
‘nativeness’ and ownership, issues of ideology, attitudes and identity, and challenges of creative
expression, pedagogy and planning.
ENGL2035. Reading poetry (6 credits)
This course demonstrates how poems can be used for self-exploration and self-expression, telling a
story, and social comment. A conventional, received idea of poetry is that it is unmediated self-
expression. This course discusses and historicizes this idea with reference to selected texts from the
17th to 20th centuries. It also critiques this idea by attending to how the self in poetry is also a social
self, formed in dialogue with external events and others.
This course offers an introduction to ways that language usage trends across society can be sensitive to
social categories of sexuality and gender along with how speakers use language to project gender and
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sexuality. The course includes an historical view while bringing in cutting edge research, in this way
highlighting emerging trends while keeping persistent themes in view. Project work will focus on
discourse analysis of authentic data.
This is a survey of European travel writing as a literary genre from the medieval period to the present
day. The writings of travelers and explorers such as Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus and James
Cook are examined, as well as those of modern travel writers such as Freya Stark, Graham Greene, D.H.
Lawrence, Paul Theroux and Jan Morris. European travel writing is explored formally and thematically
with the aim of introducing students to its many strategies and subtexts, and especially its historical role
in articulating ‘otherness’ for the European imagination.
This course will provide an introduction to the analysis of English discourse from a linguistic
perspective. Students will learn rhetorical methodologies and examine their effects on readers and
listeners. Units include: spoken and written English discourse, global organization and cohesion,
discourse markers, information structure, narrative, and non-verbal structures and strategies.
This course focuses on specialized sub-group languages or jargons, and uses texts from a range of
historical period to examine the socio-cultural dynamics behind the creation, maintenance and
disappearance of such jargons. Particular attention will be paid to the history of criminal jargon, prison
jargon and other speech varieties associated with other marginal or criminalized sub-groups (e.g. drug
addicts, ‘tramps’, etc.), as well as to the history of the study of such jargons and the inclusion of jargon
and slang items in mainstream dictionaries. Students will read texts from different periods in the history
of English, as well as considering the role of jargons in modern societies such as the United States,
Britain and Hong Kong, as well as in ‘cyber-space’.
Corpus linguistics is a rapidly-developing methodology in the study of language. It exploits the power
of modern computer technology to manipulate and analyse large collections of naturally-occurring
language (‘corpora’). This course will introduce students to the use of computers and computerized
corpora as tools for exploring the English language.
ENGL2055. American Gothic: Haunted homes (6 credits)
In this course we will examine the gothic as an important genre in American literature and trace its
tradition over two hundred years of literary history. As a response to dominant ideas and conventions
that shaped American literature, the gothic offers us a challenging perspective on the mainstream as
well as on what it excludes. Beginning with some classic examples of the genre, we will seek to identify
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the elements and the rhetoric of the gothic text in order to appreciate the specific use that later writers
have made of the gothic form.
ENGL2057. Text and image (6 credits)
This interdisciplinary course explores relations between literature and various forms of image-based
representation. It begins with ‘painterly’ descriptions in novels and poetry, and common strands in art
and literary criticism, and proceeds to discussion of relations between film and literature, such as the
presence of cinematographic form in modern literature. In the concluding module, we consider the shift
in emphasis from text-based to image-based culture and its impact on postmodern society. Course
material consists of critical essays, and examples from literature, the pictorial arts and the moving image.
ENGL2074. Postcolonial readings (6 credits)
This course examines important works of literature in English from perspectives opened up by recent
debates on ‘nation’, ‘narration’, and ‘hybridity’.
This course examines English representations and interpretations of China in a selection of writings
from the 18th century to the early 20th century.
The course studies the Romantic era, and traces its history through a selection of its main texts.
This course will explore some of the themes and form of Shakespeare’s drama, and will consider how
his work has been interpreted in modern times.
This course will explore the often difficult relationship between women and what has been traditionally
known as the ‘feminine sphere’. Women have commonly been associated with the feminine sphere of
love, marriage and family and this course will consider how modernity and feminism have challenged
and disrupted this assumption.
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ENGL2085. Creative writing (6 credits)
This seminar offers an introduction to creative writing. Writers in the class will focus especially on
telling and writing stories through workshops, readings, research, and individual coaching. Students
will also practice the art of holding an audience page by page. Each writer in the class will develop a
body of work specific to individual taste and discovery. No previous experience is necessary.
Workshops and materials will be introduced to sharpen the writer’s plot, characters, dialogue, with an
emphasis on the writer’s ear and eye for shaping stories across drafts.
This course will be an introduction to American literature primarily through fictional and non-fictional
accounts of exemplary lives. Our focus will be on how successive generations of immigrants and settlers
have constructed and transformed a vision of ‘America’ as process and promise. The course aims to
introduce students to the diversity of writing that constitutes American literature, to guide them in the
development of critical reading and writing skills and to provide them with opportunities to build,
present and respond to arguments about the texts and topics under discussion.
In this course, students will read selections of fiction, poetry, essays, and journalism from earlier
moments in the twentieth century to post-1997. Questions of modernity, urbanization and the urban
subject, and cross-cultural identities will be discussed from perspectives opened up by postcolonial
theories, and with reference to historical change both locally and in Hong Kong’s geopolitical situation
in the last fifty years.
Using discourse analysis, this course explores a wide range of discourses in social media. We will
examine language use and discursive phenomena in social media such as instant messages, LinkedIn,
email, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, online discussion boards, livestreaming, personal blogging and
vlogging, and HCI (Human-Computer Interaction). Reading and discussing sociolinguistic studies on
digital discourse, students will deepen their understanding of theoretical and methodological issues
relevant to the discourse of social media. Students will conduct small-scale research projects by
gathering and analyzing naturally-occurring discourse in one or more of social media.
This course addresses the problems (theoretical and practical) inherent in defining a variety of English
as ‘American’. Issues treated include the history of American English; dialectology; sociolinguistics;
Black English; and the politics of American English.
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This seminar will acquaint students with the main historical periods of the English language (Old
English, Middle English, Early Modern English) and theoretical and methodological problems and
approaches in studying these varieties. Students will also learn about language-internal and language-
external explanations of linguistic change and apply them to historical varieties of English. We will also
examine topics in the history of linguistics, with particular reference to linguistic schools and
approaches that have been crucial to the development of historical linguistics as a discipline. Through
the use of various media apart from academic literature (video, audio presentations, online sources,
computer corpora), the seminar will offer students various modes of learning about the history of
English, language change, and linguistic theory.

[Non-permissible combination: LING2036. Child language]
This course offers an introduction to the central themes in language acquisition, covering first language
acquisition, second/foreign language acquisition and bilingualism. Students are expected to gain from
the course a broad understanding of how children acquire their first language, how second language
learners learn a new language, and the potential differences in processing and outcome.
This course provides a comprehensive study of the sounds (phonemes) and building blocks (morphemes)
of English words. Students will examine the phonemes of English as they occur separately and in
context, and the processes involved in producing those sounds. The course involves problems that
Cantonese speakers might have in mastering English phonemes (and why) and ways in which those
problems can be overcome. Students will also develop an understanding of the foundation of English
words. In learning the various ways in which English words are formed, each student will be able to
increase his/her own lexicon and develop an understanding of how and why words are constantly being
added to or deleted from the English language, and who is generally responsible for those changes.
ENGL2118. Law and literature (6 credits)
This course explores the complex interactions between literature and the law. Even though the two
disciplines may seem distinct, both law and literature are products of language and have overlapped in
significant and interesting ways in history. Why do legal themes recur in fiction, and what kinds of
literary structures underpin legal argumentation? How do novelists and playwrights imagine the law,
and how do lawyers and judges interpret literary works? Could literature have legal subtexts, and could
legal documents be re-interpreted as literary texts? We will think through these questions by juxtaposing
novels, plays, court cases, and critical theory.
Pre-requisite: a previous course in legal and/or literary subject.
This course examines English as a cultural phenomenon in Hong Kong. Students investigate the ways
in which Hong Kong English (HKE) differs from British English, and from Englishes in other ex-
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colonies of the Pacific region, particularly other Asian countries; you will have an opportunity to focus
on a particular type of HKE discourse, including (but not limited to) everyday social interactions,
business, the law, the media, and literature. You will be asked, specifically, to think about Hong Kong
English as a language full of richness, distinguishable from other Englishes, and no less worthy of
recognition than, say, American English.
As the world is becoming increasingly “science fictional”, the genre of Science Fiction may itself appear
to be boldly entering the mainstream of literature and at last confront the bureaucratic powers of
academic criticism. We therefore do well to remember that Science Fiction is chiefly concerned with
the lure and fear of frontiers and the unknown: a fascination with the future that yet often gives way to
nostalgia, a reaching out to otherness that always risks reaffirming sameness, and a bracing disregard
for literary conventions that nevertheless remains prone to revere tradition. In this course, we will study
contemporary Science Fiction against the background of the genre’s history. We will acknowledge its
prehistory in early modern fictional writing about science and its kinship with related genres such as
utopia (and dystopia), the fantastic, and the gothic. We will pay our respects to the evolution of the
genre from its emergence in the late nineteenth century, through its Golden Age in pulp and its late
ascendancy in novels, TV and films. But we will reserve most of our time to an exploration of
contemporary Science Fiction and its relevance to the pushing of technological frontiers, the looming
ecological tipping points, and the shifting ideological paradigms in our world.
This course will examine Victorian literature and culture through a global lens with an emphasis on
questions of empire and race.
This course is a continuation of “ENGL2002 Language in society” with a special focus on language
and identity in Hong Kong. Students who have taken ENGL2002 will have a foundation in
sociolinguistics, which certainly will be helpful, but ENGL2002 is not a prerequisite.
This course examines identity studies and related language ideology research in sociolinguistics and
linguistic anthropology (including some relevant literature from sociology and social psychology). It
specifically draws on research based in Hong Kong for comparison understanding, and application of
currently available theoretical models.
This course will introduce students to two burgeoning paradigms in present-day linguistics: construction
grammar and grammaticalization theory. The first of these is a general semantico-syntactic language
theory; the second a (historical) linguistic discipline that focuses on how grammatical constructions
come into being. The compatibility and complementarity of both approaches will be looked at through
a detailed case study of English clausal complement constructions.
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This course is concerned with meaning in verbal discourse. What makes the course distinctive, however,
is that its interest in interpretation will be comparative, not between different languages but as regards
how verbal discourse is interpreted in settings that bring different interpretive norms to bear on linguistic
data: e.g. in literary and film interpretation, in religious interpretation, and in legal interpretation. The
course begins with an introductory review of topics and approaches in semantics and pragmatics, then
traces how meanings are ascribed differently in a selection of disciplinary and institutional settings. A
final stage of the course is concerned with how approaches to interpretation engage with one another
and the controversies and debates that arise when they do. No specialized knowledge of linguistics, law,
or religious interpretation is needed; the course will provide a multidisciplinary introduction to the fields
under discussion. In doing so, it will draw extensively on contributions made by students who are taking
or have taken relevant courses in linguistics, literary criticism, and other cognate fields.
Language plays an essential role both in creating law (e.g. in how specific laws are drafted) as well as
in the implementation of law (e.g. in how language is deployed but also contested - in court). This
course examines how language plays these important social roles, and addresses topics, including:
different linguistic registers and genres which shape our concept of what legal language is;
communicative strategies, adopted in the courtroom by speakers occupying different roles (judge,
barrister, defendant, witness, etc.); how language is used and understood in in legal drafting and
interpretation; submission of language data as evidence in some court cases; and linguistic and legal
issues that arise in bilingual and multilingual jurisdictions (i.e. in systems that formulate and apply their
law in two or more different languages). Together, such aspects of language use form the subject matter
of an increasingly researched and studied interdisciplinary field, known as ‘language and law’ or
‘forensic linguistics’, to which this course provides an accessible introduction.
This course explores a number of radical twentieth-century literary texts in various genres, written in
or translated into English, each of which is an attempt to challenge and re-invent more traditional forms
and modes of writing. These modernist texts, and their inter-relationship, will be considered under the
rubric of “world literature”. The course will also look at some of the themes - such as empire and nation,
the nature of the artist, the bourgeois experience, the city, and changing understandings of gender, race,
sexuality and the foreign - that shaped modernity in the modernist century.
English is sometimes called ‘the’ language of science. This could be more myth than reality, but there
is no question that a great deal of academic communication takes place in English. Well-established
notions like ‘scientific English’ or ‘academic English’ suggest that this is a special kind of English
which has features that differ from ‘general’ English. This course will provide a context for reflection
on the present role of English in a globalized academic world and the history of that role, as well as on
the nature of English-language discourse in various academic disciplines. It is not an academic writing
course, but an analytical course dealing, on the one hand, with the sociology and history of the language
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of science, and, on the other, with the textual and linguistic characteristics of the discourse produced in
natural-scientific, social-scientific and humanities disciplines.
This course introduces students to the basic tenets of integrational linguistics and integrationism.
Integrational linguistics takes as its point of departure a theory of the sign which emphasizes the
temporal, contextual and experiential dimensions of language and communication. Language users are
also seen as language makers, in that they constantly create meaning and integrate and adapt their
linguistic experience to novel situations. The course aims to provide insight into a wide range of topics,
including the nature of memory, experience, consciousness, and other psychological and philosophical
questions.
The rise of modern literary criticism is concurrent with the rise of modern society. This course
introduces students to the development of literary criticism as a literary genre and a historical formation.
By studying a selection of key critical texts from the early nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth
century, the course will discuss the creative uses of criticism in the history of English literature and the
role criticism has played in the development of our understanding of literature. There will be weekly
lectures and workshops, in which we will discuss, and participate in, some of the most significant
debates among major critical thinkers and to relate these debates to our own studies of literature.
This course seeks to understand world literature not as a collection of national literary canons created
in different linguistic and cultural locations, but as a field of knowledge about literature as a cross-
cultural and translingual system of production. Reading a selection of texts, both fictional and non-
fictional, we will discuss the concept and practice of world literature: its genealogy and methodology,
its scope and purpose, its politics and limitations, in close relation to historical forms and forces of
globalization.
Invented by Greek philosophers twenty-four centuries ago as a way to stretch received notions of
belonging and obligation, the word ‘cosmopolitan’ continues to tease the imagination even today, in a
time when universities declare global citizenship as an educational aim and you can sign up for world
citizenship online. In this course, we will critically examine different interpretations of what it might
mean to be ‘a citizen of the world’ or ‘at home in every place’ (as Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the
English Language defined ‘cosmopolitan’ in 1755). From the vantage point of recent debates about the
promise or failure of cosmopolitanism to challenge dominant forms of globalization, we will read and
discuss a selection of texts in various genres from the 18th to the 21st century, situating the
cosmopolitan ideal and its critiques in relation to different modes of representation and discrepant
experiences of globalization.
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This course is a seminar and lecture series for advanced students in which teachers introduce and discuss
a variety of topics and critical issues in cross-cultural studies. Topics will vary from year to year but
will always revolve around one coherent thematic cluster, which might be, for example, China-West,
travel writing, cross-cultural theory and methodology, world literature, literary crossings in British
history, globalism, colonialism, Hong Kong. Students will thus engage with a specific cross-cultural
subject matter in-depth, and from a variety of critical perspectives. They will also learn specifically
about academic research in cross-cultural studies.
Assessment: 100% coursework (written essay or project).
In this course we examine the emergence of writing for the theater as a profession — commercial as
well as artistic — during the English Renaissance. An intersection of literary history and textual analysis,
the course begins with a brief look at popular medieval plays as foils in style, production, and authorship.
Subsequent readings include dramatic works (comedy, tragedy, masque), journals from key historical
figures, acts of government, literary criticism, and material histories of the theater. Our inquiry
comprises both the promotion and suppression of drama within the culture of early modern England.
We pay special attention, therefore, to theories of dramatic value (what do authors profess to be doing?)
and various legal regulations of drama (what do authorities find dangerous?).

[Non-permissible combination: ENGL2183/LCOM2005. Language, communication and globalization]
Globalization has been defined in a number of ways, for example as the increased interconnectedness
of individuals, organizations and countries; intense flows of goods, services, capital, information,
images, and people; a new ‘world order’ with privileged centres and disadvantaged peripheries; or a
geography of unequal development. Whichever of these definitions is adopted, an understanding of how
language is used as part of these networks, flows, and inequalities, or indeed to facilitate them, is crucial
in theorizing language and communication in the contemporary world. Therefore, this course examines
language through the metaphors of transition, flux, mobility and displacement. In a world where
people’s lives and identities are no longer so neatly bounded or easily located, with positions of power
and authority no longer clearly defined, we ask questions about the role of language in shaping
contemporary ‘globalized’ identities, relationships and communities. Some of the key areas of
globalization that are considered from the perspective of language and communication are the new
globalized economy; print, broadcast and new media; popular culture; tourism; and second language
education.
This course will examine American literature from 1900-1940, a period of tremendous change in
American culture. We will explore how certain paradigms of American identity are challenged /
reinforced / examined / sublimated in the literature during this tumultuous period. We will also explore
how American modernist literature is in conversation with (and sometimes in conflict with) the broader
Modernist movement. And finally we will seek to understand how the American modernist style is a
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deeply complicated and fraught response to the rapid and complex changes wrought by modernity in
early twentieth century America.
This course examines the metadiscourses about language, in particular the English language, and the
linguistic beliefs expressed therein, from a historical vantage point. We will consider so-called lay
perspectives as well as professional views on language drawing on a variety of text genres across a time
span covering antiquity up to the present. What have learned people said about language change,
language conservation, language future, language standards, the vernacular, Bible translation, and how
do their discourses differ from the claims made by professional linguists? When are one’s linguistic
beliefs ‘ideological’ and how does language ideology differ from language myth? Among other texts,
we will scrutinize Plato’s Cratylus, Medieval accounts about the Adamic language, the More-Tyndale
controversy about vernacular bibles, Early Modern treatises about the foreignization of the English
language, the interventions by Swift, Johnson and Orwell, colonial commentaries on American English,
the representation of fictional characters’ speech. And finally we will engage with academic texts
spanning 150 years of scientific discourse on language.
In the last fifty years or so, ‘discourse’ and ‘discourse analysis’ (DA) have firmly established themselves
as key notions in many academic disciplines, including linguistics, literary studies, communication
studies, and social sciences, to name a few. As a consequence, there currently exist at least 40 ‘tribes
and sub-tribes’ of discourse analysis, with new approaches still appearing and older approaches being
re-conceptualized. This course aims at, first, providing the students with an accessible introduction to
the theoretical underpinnings of discourse analysis, and, second, taking them through a step-by step
process of doing discourse analysis. The particular focus of the course is on introducing the students to
the analysis of context-specific use of language in written, spoken and multimodal communication.
Examples for the course will be drawn from different authentic discourses, such as everyday
conversations, media, politics, business and healthcare encounters, with some of the examples coming
from the sociocultural context of Hong Kong.
We read selected poems from Milton’s oeuvre, with a focus on the epic Paradise Lost. As we read the
texts, we focus on questions of genre, interpretative puzzles, and place Milton in the larger literary
culture and religious milieu of early modern England.
This course focuses on how religious dissension in the early modern period affected the development
of English as a literary language. We examine the thought of Christian reformers and counter-reformers
— among others, Wycliffe, Tyndale, and More — and analyze selections from major religious texts
that for the first time became accessible in the vernacular. The works under study come from a range of
genres, including royal edicts, trials, and literary dialogues; and they span from the first English bible,
a manuscript of the late fourteenth century, to the “King James version,” a book printed in 1611 — one
whose impact on English remains unparalleled. Primarily we will attend to arguments about language
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featured in their prologues and addresses to the reader. Topics for discussion include: theories of textual
interpretation; controversy over the suitability of English for the translation of scripture; and heresy as
a language crime (the religious thinkers whom we read faced dire punishment for their stances).
‘Flourish’ has comprised three main meanings since its appearance in Middle English: to bloom or
prosper, to brandish a weapon, and to ornament speech. We shall touch on each — the cultural thriving
of English, verbal duels, and the politics of poetics.
ENGL2144. Forms of contemporary literature (6 credits)
This advanced course will focus on representative texts of late 20th and early 21st century Anglophone
literature. Topics will include memory, history, and the representation of trauma; the writing of
transnational and trans-lingual experience; the ethics of narration and reading; the formation and
dynamics of the non-nuclear family. We will study formal practices and innovations; allegory and
intertextuality; the poetics of perspective and unreliable narration; the impact of translation on
Anglophone literature.
This advanced course will introduce a number of plays by major playwrights such as Arthur Miller,
Tennessee Williams, Samuel Beckett, Tom Stoppard, Caryl Churchill and Brian Friel. The course will
be broadly chronological and the plays discussed will be situated in their socio-political contexts. The
classes will comprise close readings and discussion of the plays rather than lectures on drama.
Imagination gives us the ability to invent new concepts so we can develop arts, science, religion, culture,
sophisticated tools, and language. In this course, we focus on how the human mind operates largely
behind the scenes to create new meaning. Almost invisibly to consciousness, we create meaning every
day. As opposed to the general view that meaning is given or prepackaged in linguistic expressions,
meaning construction should be understood as something that we actively participate in as a product of
interaction with others in specific contexts. We perform it with lightning speed. More often than not,
we do not find it difficult at all to produce and understand language we have not heard before when we
communicate with others. The construction of meaning is also crucial to the understanding of our own
culture. Cultural models are not only ideas that reside in our minds. They are often embodied in a wide
array of material artefacts. This course will look at examples of thinking strategies that involve the
interaction of mental structure and material structure.
This course will explore James Joyce’s major work(s). “If I can get to the heart of Dublin, I can get to
the heart of all cities in the world. In the particular is contained the universal” (Joyce).
There is a sense in which Joyce wrote only one book. All the characters in his books, early and late,
belong to the same Dublin world. A study of the key texts will reveal the distinctive features of Joyce’s
art as well as the ways in which it can be viewed as a continuous progression. The stylistic brilliance of
Joyce is generally acknowledged. He celebrates the richness, fertility and infinite possibilities of
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ordering the world that lie within language. He subverted narrative conventions and experimented with
new forms to produce art that still has the power to startle.
This course will examine American literature from the middle to the end of the twentieth century. It
will stand alone as a course offering but will also dovetail nicely with American Modern which covers
American literature from the first half of the twentieth century. Specifically this course will interrogate
the myth of the American dream -- we will look at novels that explore what it promises, whom it fails.
We will pursue why so often the American dream is a literary nightmare. In this pursuit, we will read
a broad range of important American fiction and interpret what writers from various vantage points
(historical, geographical, economical, ethnic, gender) have to say about the American Dream, an idea
that sustains its potency even as we make our way into the twenty-first century.
This course will focus on urban literature in a broadly chronological manner to explore the emergence
of the modern metropolis within European and American contexts. Beginning with London and Paris,
we will look at how writers imagined, walked, and mapped the city in a new expression of urban
modernity, from the ‘City of Lights’ to ‘Modern Babylon’. American cities, in particular New York,
will provide another mode of comparison for the ideas of alienation, consumption, crime and corruption
so central to our contemporary conceptions of the city. Utilising primary and secondary sources each
week, the course will be organised thematically, investigating movement, space, gender, and issues of
class to locate the nineteenth century city as a dynamic place of shifting and often contradictory ideas.
The novel has been one of the most important cultural forms of the past two hundred years. Yet
compared to poetry and drama, the essence of the novel has proven difficult to define. This course will
survey the ways that theorists have sought to understand the novel’s development and how it functions
as a literary form. We will begin with critical accounts of the novel’s rise in the eighteenth century.
Why did the novel emerge at this moment, and what is its relationship to other literary and non-literary
forms, like the romance and the newspaper? We will then think about the form of the novel and how
theorists seek to pin down exactly what it is. Students will think about these theories in relationship to
one or two seminal novels.
This course surveys British literary and cultural depictions of London from the eighteenth century to
the present. Students will consider how the expanding eighteenth and nineteenth-century city
transformed cultural understandings of the self and its relationship to society. We will examine literary
representations of the changing spaces of the city and the effect of crowded urban life on individual
character and community. Course materials might include canonical authors like William Wordsworth
or Charles Dickens, popular literature and newspapers, and seminal works in urban studies and literary
criticism in thinking about the depiction of London in literature and popular culture.
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The eighteenth century saw the rise of the novel and, arguably, the emergence of a new modern self. It
also ushered in enlightenment ideals that challenged existing social hierarchies. This course will survey
the developments in British literature and culture during this tumultuous time. We will read poetry,
journalism, and prose fiction in light of the period’s key concepts, including the enlightenment, the self,
and the public sphere. In particular, our discussions will focus on the emergence of new genres and
forms, including the newspaper and the novel. Readings may include Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe,
Samuel Richardson’s Pamela, and Fanny Burney’s Evelina.
ENGL2157. Representations of justice in law and literature (6 credits)
Addressing readers of the Law Reports, the renowned Renaissance jurist Sir Edward Coke repeats an
ancient definition of justice: “Ius suum cuique tribuere, to give to every one his owne”. As intuitively
appealing as this formulation may be, can we say anything more specific about dessert, about what it
means to be given one’s due? How have literary authors and legal thinkers explored what it might mean
to distribute or receive a fair share? In this course, we examine a variety of conceptions and depictions
of justice, an idea crucial to the peace of the individual as well as the harmony of society; yet it is an
idea that can seem ineffable. We begin with selected foundational meditations and dramatic situations
from antiquity, before continuing with prominent early modern attempts to argue for, come to terms
with, or present a vision of, a particular understanding of justice.
The course provides an overview of the cognitive approaches to first and second language processing
and learning. Students will gain a broad understanding of how different components of language (words,
meaning and syntax) are processed and represented in the mind, how fundamental principles of learning
and memory may be relevant to first and second language learning, and how language patterns may be
learnt without intention and awareness.
“One of the surest of tests is the way in which a poet borrows. Immature poets imitate; mature poet
steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least
something different.” (T.S. Eliot, 1920) This is not a 'creative writing' course per se nor is it just a lit.
crit. course about recent poetry: students should be willing to approach the texts from the 'inside' as well
as the outside.
Harold Bloom has written of “the anxiety of influence” poets may feel in relation to their precursors.
This can hinder poets’ own poetic development and result in writing that is merely derivative. However,
many poets also demonstrate the ‘benefits of influence’, of serving their (poetic) apprenticeships –
rather as a carpenter does - as they seek their own poetic voices. We may, for instance, follow a clear
line of descent in poetic influence from the poetry of John Keats to Wilfred Owen; Owen to Philip
Larkin; Larkin to Carol Ann Duffy.
Who are the new voices in English poetry in the first few years of the twenty-first century? What is
distinctive about their writing? This course will combine critical and creative approaches to the study
of these poems.
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Sovereignty is a centrally important concept for both law and politics, to which recent debates in Hong
Kong testify. In this course we will assess the meaning and significance of sovereignty by drawing on
resources from across the arts, humanities and social sciences. We will read and discuss materials from
law, political theory, philosophy, urban studies, literature and the visual arts in order to answer the
following questions: What is sovereignty and how is it related to the history of the state? How is our
understanding of sovereignty changing in the context of contemporary challenges like globalization,
climate change and international terrorism? And what would law and politics looks like without
sovereignty? The course takes a broad historical sweep, from early-modern conceptions to the present
day. We will look at key theorists of sovereignty like (the authoritarian) Thomas Hobbes, (the Nazi-
sympathizing) Carl Schmitt and (the anarchist philosopher) Giorgio Agamben as well as explore
thinkers who are trying to imagine law and politics ‘without’ or ‘beyond’ sovereignty. Throughout the
course, we supplement theoretical and legal debates with insights from literature and the visual arts.
The plays of William Shakespeare; poetry written by inmates within the Guantanamo detention centers;
17th century emblems and images; and an early-twentieth century novel will all help us understand the
meaning of sovereignty and explore possibilities for its critique.
The course will be of particular interest to students who have enjoyed classes in legal theory, law and
literature, law and film, or constitutional law. But the course is open to all who are excited to explore
the possibilities of interdisciplinary scholarship and want to find out more about the elusive but crucially
important notion of sovereignty. This course hopes to broaden the scholarly horizons of students by
bringing students together from different disciplinary backgrounds. The course will provide participants
with valuable cross-disciplinary reading, rhetorical and evaluative skills.
The first part of the course offers a broad picture of linguistic diversity and cultural preservation, traces
the evolution of language rights and explores the historical connections of such evolution with nation
states, warfare, and globalization. The second part of the course surveys international and national legal
regimes in the protection of language rights, covering both minority language rights and official
language rights, and their manifestations as negative and positive rights. We will examine how some of
these rights are realized in the domains of education, legal processes and public services across
jurisdictions, as well as the limitations of their reach. The third part of the course focuses on the
philosophical and moral basis of language rights, addresses sources of contention, and queries the
concept of ‘linguistic justice’. Such discussions provide a lens through which tensions between
liberalism and diversity may be probed.
ENGL2162. Where the wild things are: Children's literature and the law (6 credits)
The experience of becoming literate and the content that supports that effort are fundamental to
understanding one's place and one's power in a legal context. A close examination and interrogation of
what societal norms are being introduced to young readers through an analytical study of children's
literature will provide a foundation for understanding the relationship between norms introduced in
children's literature and the laws that codify those norms.
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ENGL2163. Comics, graphic novel and theory (6 credits)
The course introduces students to the graphic novel (book-length comics) as a relatively "new" genre
of contemporary literature. The course consists of a survey of key texts and provides students with the
necessary critical toolkit used to analyze visual literatures. Over the course of the semester, we will
focus on the “form” of the graphic novel and how it creates arguments about gender, class, sexuality
and race. This course will also be an introduction to the critical methods and theories used to interpret
the unique relationship between text and image.
Students completing the course will have a strong sense of the history and development of English
statute and common law, familiarity with many of the canonical literary texts and authors of the
medieval and renaissance periods, and a critical understanding of the interactions of pre-modern law
and literature, as well as the ability to undertake legal and literary research using primary texts and
documentary artefacts from manuscript libraries and archives. The course focuses on developing
students' skills in developing arguments about a range of canonical literary texts, but also on the ways
in which literary approaches can be the basis for understanding text traditionally considered to be 'non-
literary': legal and archival materials. An innovation of this course is its centralization of the material
archive of books and documents. As part of its training in legal and literary history, the course introduces
students to the history of the book as an academic discipline, and to the skills of pre-modern archival
research – paleography, codicology, diplomatic, and textual scholarship, among others. In this way, the
course (while reinforcing the general skills of legal and literary research and argument necessary for
the successful completion of the LLB or BA) should also prepare students to take on postgraduate work
in a new range of disciplines focusing on the pre-modern period, and thus open to them a greater number
of career paths after their time at HKU.
ENGL2165. Legal fictions: United States citizenship and the right to write in America (6
credits)
In 1776, the idea of self-evidence grounded the philosophical assertion that “all men are created equal.”
And yet, political, economic and social equality in the democratic republic of the United States has
often proven less of a guarantee and more of a promise. Beginning with Thomas Jefferson’s writing of
the “Declaration of Independence,” the recognition of a person as fully human in the United States has
depended on assumptions regarding race, class and gender. The course examines the changing
definition of United States citizenship by putting legal texts (the U.S. Constitution, federal and state
laws, Executive Orders, Supreme Court decisions) in dialogue with literary writings and film. In this
course we will read stories by people whom federal and or state law barred from full citizenship.
Through autobiographies, fiction, poetry and speeches, we will examine the cultural legacy of legal
terms such as “domestic dependent nation,” “illegal alien” and “unlawful enemy combatant.” The
course themes may include: property and democracy, slavery, westward expansion and Indian Removal,
immigration (with particular focus on China and Asia), the right of women to vote, and the wartime
powers of the Executive Office. Our goal will be to pay careful attention to the language and genres of
the American legislative and judicial system, and conversely to contextualize literature in relation to
the legal history through which the U.S. Constitution has been reinterpreted and amended to broaden
its terms of equality. We will read writers who used words to protest against and revise the historical
circumstances in which they had to fight for legal standing. We will also consider how different kinds
of writing -- legal, scientific, autobiographical and fictional -- employ different rhetorical strategies to
reach audiences, affect readers and influence the world.
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This course introduces students to the theoretical advancements in the study of speech. In the first half
of the course, we will look at the acoustic nature of different 'components' of speech: vowels, consonants,
stress and accent, intonation, and voice quality. The second half of the course will focus on how the
study of speech can be applied various areas of inquiry such as speech perception and production, the
learning of new sounds, sociophonetics, and forensic phonetics. Students will get hands-on experience
with Praat, a free computer software package for analysis of speech in phonetics. Prior knowledge of
phonetics and/or phonology will be helpful but not obligatory. Students with little background on the
study of speech are encouraged to read the recommended introductory textbooks before the course starts.
ENGL2167. Theatre and the world (6 credits)
This course explores how theatre was produced and consumed globally during the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries. Through a critical historical approach, students will analyze how proscenium
theatre was disseminated, Asian performance traditions were mythologized and a transnational,
commercial entertainment industry was instituted during the colonial and postcolonial ages. The course
will therefore consider theatre and performance in relation to broader themes such as imperialism,
postcolonialism, globalisation and neoliberalism.
This course investigates the way that law treats verbal and visual signs. The study of signs is termed
semiotics. By sign is meant here the visual and verbal bearer of contentious meanings and/or of disputed
cultural significance. Through the study of decided cases, the courses analyzes how verbal and visual
signs encounter law's definitions, registration regimes, prohibition, censorship, or protection. Among
the legal domains involved are: trademark and copyright law; employment and discrimination law;
censorship, free speech and obscenity law; blasphemy; public order law; human rights law. The course
will be divided into sections by topic (not all of which will be taught for each iteration): (i) names and
marks (legal limits on the right to choose, registration regimes in relation to personal and corporate
names, marks, titles, licence plates, domain names); (ii) art (art works and customs regulations, legal
definitions of art; art works and forgery, e.g. artistic images of currency; art works and parody; art and
taboo; song lyrics and taboo meanings); (iii) flags, insignia and symbols (laws against flag desecration;
banned political symbols; triad society symbols; gang insignia); (iv) speech versus conduct (gestures;
public order offences involving swearing, insulting language or behaviour; contempt of court; the
definition of speech under the First Amendment); (v) clothing and hair-styles (e.g. employment law;
sumptuary laws; contempt of court); (vi) cultural appropriation and identity (the commercial use of
indigenous linguistic materials and cultural symbols); (vii) language in public spaces (regulations on
signage; noise and nuisance; the definition of public). The course focuses on the underlying legal, socio-
political, and semiotic doctrines that are at play, but also the implicit or explicit theory of the sign, the
understanding of how signs communicate, how the ownership of signs and images is understood, and
how law assigns authorial and interpretative responsibility for meanings.
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ENGL2169. Writing and violence (6 credits)
“The pen is mightier than the sword.” In this course, we will probe the complex relationship between
writing and violence, metonymically hinted at in this popular saying, which reassuringly identifies
writing as a more effective alternative to violence, but also – more troublingly – as a superior weapon.
The complexity lurks in the word “might”, which – also troublingly – rhymes with “right”. What, then,
does the relationship between writing and violence have to do with questions of power and potential,
justice and what counts as normal? We will approach this question from three perspectives, considering
writing about violence, writing on the side of violence, and writing against violence. We will try to trace
the shadow of violence in the history of writing and to locate its function in the formation of classical
genres and conventions of literature, in order to scrutinize their influence and transformation in
contemporary writing, both fictional and non-fictional. Throughout, we will refer to different theoretical
accounts of violence and test their value in understanding the potential of writing to serve or check,
expose or veil, normalize or counteract, face or avert violence. Recognizing the capacity of writing to
reflect on its own troubled relationship with violence, we may also ask how it can empower readers to
respond critically to violence, in literature and in life.
ENGL2170. Cringy: The aesthetics of discomfort (6 credits)
Cringe, Crunch, Coil: Although the words form no sentence, their proximity to each other, and the
distinctive quality of their alliteration might produce that elusive feeling of the awkward-embarrassed-
slightly/very-uncomfortable “cringe.” We are all well acquainted with that “cringy feeling” as it arises
in interpersonal relationships; no doubt, many of us have countless memories of distressing moments
of awkwardness. Unfortunately -- or fortunately -- the ground never opens up to swallow us. But cringy
is not simply that feeling of awkwardness we, as individuals, wish away or try to breathe through. What
happens when creators of aesthetic objects move away from effecting outright shock, awe, and shame
and instead look to making “cringy” literature, film, and art? By consuming these aesthetic objects, we
begin to experience the collective dimension of “cringy.” That said, under what circumstances do
consumers of “cringy art” feel cringy? And, more importantly, what processes of interpretation, critique,
and action are triggered by this minor emotion that is never satisfyingly cathartic? In order to answer
these questions (and many more), we will, by focusing on a collection of literary and cinematic works,
study the techniques, styles, and narrative modes that enable “cringy art.”
ENGL2171. The right to the city: Cultural politics in Hong Kong and London (6 credits)
From their historical relationship to their contemporary status as leaders of global finance capital to the
challenges of Brexit and reunification, the pairing of Hong Kong and London offers ideal ground for
examining the rights to the city in the present. Taking advantage of King's College London's partnership
with HKU, this course will enable students to seek commonalities and solutions by reading about,
researching and engaging with each other's environment. The parallax views created by a joint
HKU/KCL course will provide students with a unique opportunity to grasp the specific ways in which
global dynamics coalesce in the cultural politics of different locales. By bringing together literature and
other forms of urban culture -- for example, stand-up comedy, underground music and street art -- 'The
Right to the City' will help students to trace the role that cultural forms play in mediating struggles for
urban justice.
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This course will explore representations of the police and law enforcement in literature and popular
culture from the nineteenth century to the present. Students will study the history of policing and its
emergence in the nineteenth century, as well as its relationship to the rise of detective fiction and true
crime.
ENGL2173. Magic, monsters and maidens fair: Medieval English literature (6 credits)
This course offers an introductory survey of the literature produced in England between 700 and 1500.
Moving from the earliest period of English literature to the advent of the age of print, this course
examines the magic and marvels of medieval literature. We will explore the monstrous from Beowulf’s
dragon to the mysterious Green Knight, the magical from the lais of Marie de France to Sir Gawain and
the Green Knight, and the lives of women from the fair maidens of Arthurian romance to the bawdy
Wife of The Canterbury Tales, and from Grendel’s murderous mother to the wily thief’s wife in The
Second Shepherds’ Play. From the elegies and epics of Old English poetry to the saints and sinners of
the ‘miracle plays’, the course covers the major literary works of medieval England before the age of
print. Taking readings from across a range of genres, this course will provide a sound introduction to
the texts and themes of medieval English literature, while exploring the many faces of the marvellous
and the monstrous.
ENGL2174. Shakespeare and the law (6 credits)
Shakespeare made extensive use of legal terms, ideas, and procedures in his drama. In this course, we
will examine the connections between Shakespeare and the law in two broad ways. First, we will look
at how law, and legal reasoning, contributed to Shakespeare’s construction of drama, including his
famed creation of vivid, life-like characters. We will explore how legal notions of intention, suspicion,
and inference informed the “inwardness” or “interiority” of Shakespeare’s characters. Students will be
asked to bring early modern legal cases (such as Hales v Petit) and land law (Domesday Book) to bear
on their analysis of Hamlet’s much discussed “delay”. We will consider both how early modern legal
training – including forensic rhetoric and evidentiary reasoning – informed Shakespeare’s dramatic
technique, and how literary, narratological, and affective strategies informed the development of
English law.
Second, the course will explore the interrelationships between language, law, and power. The
relationship between the crown and the law (rex v lex) was much debated in early modern
England and was a central focus of Shakespeare’s history plays. We will examine the
intersection of law and power politics in 2 Henry VI, a play famous for the rebel cry: “The first
thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers”. The line speaks to deep social grievances concerning
the role and nature of law, the place of the commons, and the nature of authority. Students will
examine important texts in the early modern understanding of kingship and authority, including
case law (Calvin’s Case, Case of the Duchy of Lancaster, Willion v Berkley), legal theory
(Edward Coke’s foundational writings on the common law and Ernst Kantorowisz’s The King’s
Two Bodies), and Elizabethan political theology (Homily on Obedience, Homily Against
Disobedience). 2 Henry VI also offers an opportunity to examine Shakespeare’s treatment of
the legal trial, the criteria for interpretation and judgement, and the connection between trial
jury and theatre audience.
Pre-requisite: a previous course in legal and/or literary subject.
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This course will discuss issues of privilege and vulnerability, notions of appropriation, theories of
identity and identification, and the dynamics of identity politics through a focus on “bad identities”;
that is, on individuals who identify themselves in ways that fall beyond or challenge the limits of what
generally is deemed legible and legitimate. By focusing on individual cases, the course will seek to
understand why bad identities are so problematic for, and generative of, so much contemporary thought
and debate. We will focus on a number of bad identities, including examples of bad race, bad trans, bad
imagination, bad homosexuals, bad fat and bad academics. Course literature consists of memoirs, novels,
films, academic articles, and media depictions and debates.
ENGL2176. Writing Asian diasporas (6 credits)
This course introduces students to literature from the Asian diaspora: the movement of people of Asian
descent to places all over the world. Reading a range of historical to contemporary narratives and fiction
produced by diasporic Asians across the globe, we will examine the conditions of physical and
emotional dislocation, exile, return, alienation and loss but also, the pleasures of global mobility and
privilege, intercultural contact, new identities and ways of being. Over the course of the semester, we
will address the experiences of living and writing between Asia and the rest of the world. Depending
on the course instructor and semester, different geographical routes and historical periods will be
covered.
This course will examine the works of one of the most adapted and reworked author in the English
literary canon: Jane Austen. In this course we will try and account for Austen's enduring popularity and
appeal to global audiences. We will start by situating her novels in the context of late 18th and early
19th century Britain, in the wake of the French Revolution and the contested ideas surrounding
Enlightenment and Cosmopolitanism. We will read her fiction historically, paying close attention to
how Austen responds innovatively to issues surrounding norms underpininning gender and sexuality,
social contract theory, and the value of the literary arts. We will then consider how the cultural debates
enacted by her fiction continue to resound today by analysing a range of adaptations, from Hollywood
to Bollywood. We will pay particular attention to the place she occupies within the British heritage
industry and the forms of politicised nostalgia it circulates, and we will also examine contemporary
adaptations of her work in the context of conflicts around forms of neocolonialism, heteronormativity,
and classism that her novels continue to provoke.
This course investigates the social, political and aesthetic contexts and consequences of language (text)
as a medium in contemporary art. A range of sociolinguistic and social semiotic approaches and analytic
concepts will be introduced to understand and explain the meaning potentials of displayed language.
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ENGL2179/ LCOM2001.* Theories of language and communication (6 credits)
This course examines theoretical discussions of language and communication, with special reference to
underlying assumptions about language (i.e. their metatheory) and the respective philosophies of
language they are based on, their merits and shortcomings, as well as possible points of contact between
them. These assumptions will also be critically discussed on the basis of exemplary linguistic studies
presented in class. We shall hence consider the various traditions contributing to language and
communication theory, among which are the semiotic, the phenomenological, and the sociocultural
traditions. Particular emphasis will be placed on how sociolinguistic theory has dealt with the
phenomena of language and communication.
ENGL2180/ LCOM2002.* Language in the workplace (6 credits)
People spend a considerable amount of time at work. The workplace thus provides a useful site for
investigating various aspects of language and communication. This course will discuss a range of
features of workplace discourse and illustrate the impact social factors may have on the ways in which
language is used in this context. We will also discuss and compare different methodological approaches
and a variety of theoretical frameworks used for an analysis of workplace discourse. These tools will
then be used by the students to analyse naturalistic data.
ENGL2181/ LCOM2003.* Language and politeness (6 credits)
This course will discuss various approaches to linguistic politeness. Students will be introduced to a
number of theoretical frameworks that have been developed in order to capture and assess this complex
concept. A particular focus will be on the question of universality and culturally influenced perceptions
of politeness. Moreover, the impact of various social factors (including power, gender and ethnicity) on
the performance and perception of linguistic politeness is discussed, and the topic of impoliteness is
covered.
Assessment:100% coursework.
ENGL2182/ LCOM2004.* Language, communication and the media (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the study of mass media discourse in today’s society. The ‘mass
media’ phenomenon deserves particular attention because, as sociologists and sociolinguists point out,
it has a deep impact on our knowledge of and on how we communicate about the world. The course
considers cross-cultural issues of mediated discourse and looks how eastern and western ideologies
amalgamate to form new local ideological discourses, with particular attention to Hong Kong. The
course will take as its foundation the field of (social) semiotics, and will look more closely at how this
field’s theoretical premises match with our personal experiences as communicating members of society.
The course also introduces students to philosophical-semiotic questions about epistemology and
ontology.
ENGL2183/ LCOM2005.* Language, communication and globalization (6 credits)

[Non-permissible combination: ENGL2138. Language and globalization]
This course, centring on the phenomenon of ‘globalization’ in relation to language and communication,
critically examines some widely held notions, such as the view that globalization has resulted in the
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homogenization of cultures and languages, and in the hegemony of English, and is organized along
three main lines. It investigates the politics of language and globalization, in how various nations,
particularly those in Asia, struggle with the balance between their indigenous languages and languages
of global import and/or wider local significance, e.g. English or Mandarin. It addresses the phenomenon
of globalization bringing communities and languages into contact, the consequences of which are often
viewed as situations of peril, involving the endangerment of languages, as well as the evolution of new
linguistic varieties such as World/New Englishes. It identifies a number of communicative practices in
pop culture that are ubiquitous in and representative of today’s global world, such as SMSes, e-mail
and other electronic communication, hiphop, and callcentres, and explores how languages are
appropriated by users in managing their own local identity alongside wider global needs.
ENGL2184/ LCOM2007.* Visual communication (6 credits)
All visual texts such as photographs, advertisements, magazine covers and websites are carefully
designed and create specific effects. Designers use different semiotic tools such as colour, framing,
focus, font style and positioning of elements to communicate with the viewer. Taken together, this
visual vocabulary makes up a visual language that we can analyse. More broadly, this course is
concerned with ‘visuality’ – the different ways in which we are capable of seeing (our ‘vision’) are
constructed: how we see, how we are able, allowed, or made to see, and how we relate to these acts of
seeing (or not seeing). We will examine a wide range of visual examples from everyday life including
photographs, advertisements, cartoons, magazine covers, artworks and websites.
ENGL2185/ LCOM2008.* Health communication, ‘healthy’ communication (6 credits)
Health communication extends from patient-doctor interactions to inter-professional encounters and

media campaigns. While research has shown that effective communication is an indispensable part of
delivering quality healthcare, technological advances in modes of communication, together with
increasingly complex social environments, are presenting professionals and patients alike with multiple
challenges. This course pursues two main interrelated objectives (as reflected in the course title). First,
it is aimed at introducing the students to one specific area of inquiry within the so-called ‘applied
linguistics of professions’ (Sarangi, 2005). The students will learn about different analytical approaches
to healthcare communication, namely micro- and macro-perspectives on the analyses of spoken and
written discourse data. Second, it is intended as a course with a more ‘practical’ aim of developing the
students’ understanding that effective health communication strategies may significantly improve the
healthcare quality and outcomes. To achieve these two objectives, the students will engage with
authentic data from a variety of healthcare sites (from primary care encounters to specialist clinics to
genetic counseling) to examine some critical issues of health communication such as shared decision-
making between healthcare professionals and patients; delivery of accurate and accessible healthcare
information; communicating health risk and uncertainty (that is very common in modern medicine).
ENGL2186/ LCOM2009.* Language and religion (6 credits)
In this course we will explore the complex relationship between language and religion by focusing on
four main questions: 1) What is religion? 2) What is language? 3) How is the relationship between
language and religion conceptualised in sociolinguistics, and what does this conceptualisation imply?
4) How can language be used to perform religious identities? We will address the first two questions
by focusing on the historical emergence of religion as a universal category; and on conceptualisations
of language as a practice. The third question will be examined on the basis of theoretical literature and
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case studies which discuss the relationship between language and religion, and the use of language for
the performance of religious identities. This will lead to a consideration of the various ways language
is used as a resource to perform these same identities; and of the interaction between religion and other
social categories. Since the Internet and English have become important ways of spreading and sharing
knowledge, we will also tackle this fourth question by working with computer-mediated data taken from
English-language websites used by religious communities.
ENGL2187/ LCOM2011.* The language of news media (6 credits)
As a natural concomitant of the mass media, the consumption of news has become a staple of modernity.
We encounter and attend to different kinds of news discourse on a daily basis – for example, print
newspapers; news documentaries, current affairs programmes, news interviews, or investigative
journalism programmes on television and radio; online news from digitised newspapers, news blogs,
news updates or news feeds from social networking sites (e.g. Facebook/Twitter), Google news,
YouTube news videos. In this course, we will examine the ways in which meanings are discursively
construed in the news. We will also critically reflect and debate on issues of power relations and
ideologies of the news media: the influence they exert both on our governments and major institutions
as well as their ability to shape our ideas, beliefs and behaviours through the news discourse that we
immerse ourselves in. Adopting a linguistic/semiotic perspective, this course offers detailed insights
into the language of the news by discussing the main characteristics of news discourse and exploring
theoretical frameworks to research and analyse the use of text and image in the construction of news
and the manifestations of power, control and ideology in the press.
Food is never just food. Food holds sociocultural significance based on taste, preference, ritual, tradition,
gender, race and ethnicity, social class, and even its origin of place. This course studies how language,
culture, and identity are linked to each other through food. It examines the connection between everyday
sensory experience and cross-cultural and -linguistic understanding of food. We will read and discuss
a range of research on language use in food-related contexts, applying approaches to various data
sources such as restaurant menus, recipes, mealtime conversations, food packages, mukbang
(livestream of eating), food advertisements & informercials, and reality TV shows. Students will
conduct small-scale research projects by collecting and analyzing a body of data concerning any
language-and-food topic, while also applying course concepts to the collected data.
ENGL2189. Eighteenth century drama: The rise of celebrity culture (6 credits)

[Non-permissible combination: ENGL1053. Eighteenth century drama: The rise of celebrity culture
Note to students admitted in 2022-23 and before: Students who have already completed “ENGL1053.
Eighteenth century drama: The rise of celebrity culture” are not allowed to study this course. But for
those who have not completed ENGL1053, they can take ENGL2189 as an advanced course in the
academic year 2023-24 and thereafter.]
This course introduces students to the world of the bustling and controversial theatres of the Anglo-
Atlantic Eighteenth Century. Taking a dramaturgical approach to a number of dramatic texts produced
in this important period in the history of popular entertainment, this course will examine key
developments in literary innovation such as character development and the rise of interiority from
within the context of new theatrical technology, the rise of new forms of media, the growing power of
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government censorship, an emerging imperial identity, nationalism, and increased social mobility. We
will also focus on the rise of celebrity culture in the period and examine the development of popular
obsession with “stars” within the broader social contexts of shifting gender norms, new regimes of
sexual expression, and the rise of consumer culture. We will also examine plays alongside other forms
of texts such as published gossip, celebrity memoirs, newspaper advertisements, playbills, and acting
manuals, making use of existing databases hosted at the Folger, Huntington, and the British Libraries.
This course also aims to serve as a general introduction on how to read literary texts historically, and
how the study of literature can benefit from an interdisciplinary approach that borrows insights from
Language Studies; Cultural Studies; New Media Studies; and Gender/Sexuality studies. At the end of
this course, students should have acquired a critical familiarity with the dramatic culture of the
Eighteenth Century, as well as a set of analytical skills that will prepare them for the future study in
literary criticism. Texts to be studied might include popular versions of Sentimental Comedy;
Operas/Oratorios; Bourgeois Tragedy; Gothic Fantasy; Pantomime and Travel Drama. Authors to be
studied might include Jonathan Steele; George Frideric Handel; Henry Fielding; Oliver Goldsmith;
Susanna Centlivre; Hannah Cowley; and Elizabeth Inchbald.
*Note: Students admitted in 2020-21 or before may choose either the ENGL/ LCOM course codes
course codes.
Capstone Courses
ENGL3040. Internship in English studies (capstone experience) (6 credits)
This course offers students a capstone learning experience by allowing them to take their classroom
knowledge into the community. Students will have an opportunity for experiential learning, earn credits
toward their degree, and engage in a rich experience while working in an organization that demonstrates
a real impact on society. Students are responsible for identifying and securing a suitable internship
opportunity, in consultation with the course coordinator. The duration of the internship will depend on
the arrangement between the student and the organization, but should involve at least 120 contact hours
of service for the organization. Assessment will be graded on a pass/fail basis, based on a written report
as well as feedback from the organization contact.
Assessment: 100% coursework (graded on a pass/fail basis).
ENGL3041. Senior colloquium in English studies (capstone experience) (6 credits)
This course is designed as a capstone course offering students an opportunity to integrate and reflect
upon what they have learned in the major while focusing on current topics and critical debates in English
studies. Students are expected to be able to build on courses they have taken before and should consult
individual colloquium co-ordinators before registering for the course. There will be no formal lectures
but weekly meetings for the discussion of texts and issues, led by students. Assessment will be based
on contributions to colloquium discussions and a final essay.
ENGL3042. Extended essay in English studies (capstone experience) (6 credits)
The Extended Essay in English Studies offers students an opportunity to undertake an undergraduate
research project in a particular area of English Studies under the guidance and instruction of a supervisor.
The extended essay course can only be taken in conjunction with another advanced ENGL course, and
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students will be required to attend the classes for that course, as part of a 12-credit combination. The
supervisor of the extended essay will normally be the teacher of the conjoined course and students
intending to enrol in an extended essay course must first seek approval from the prospective supervisor.
Subject to the teacher’s approval, students can enrol in the extended essay course either concurrently
with the conjoined course or after they have completed the conjoined course. Assessment will normally
consist of an extended essay of approximately 5,000 words in addition to the coursework of the
conjoined course, or it may involve completing alternative pieces of coursework, including a research
paper, for the taught and research courses together.
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SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES
ART HISTORY
The Art History programme teaches the history and theory of art, including painting, calligraphy,
sculpture, architecture, photography, conceptual art, and related visual media. Courses examine
European, American, Chinese, Japanese, and Indian artistic traditions in depth. Some courses focus on
specialized skills related to museum studies. Students may major or minor in Art History and will
discover many fruitful combinations between art history and other disciplines inside and outside the
Arts Faculty.
The Art History Major (72 credits)
Students wishing to major in Art History must normally complete the following requirements:
• Complete one 6-credit Art History course at the 1000-level

• Complete 12 credits of introductory courses from any Arts programme(s) (which may include
additional credits in 1000-level Art History courses)
• Complete 54 credits of Art History courses from among those offered at the 2000, 3000, and
4000 levels, of which:
o 6 credits must be the course “ARTH2081. Art history & its methods”
o 6 credits must be in Western art
o 6 credits must be in Asian art
o 6 credits must be in 3000-level courses
o 6 credits must be in a 4000-level course to fulfill the capstone requirement
The Art History Minor (36 credits)
Students wishing to minor in Art History must normally complete the following requirements:
• Complete one 6-credit Art History course at the 1000 level

• Complete 30 credits of Art History courses from among those offered at the 2000 and 3000
levels
Course Selection
Prospective students should note that individual upper-level courses in the Art History programme may
require prerequisites which are listed in the relevant sections below. In exceptional cases, these
requirements may be waived. Most courses impose caps on enrollment to ensure standards of teaching
quality. All major, minor, and other course selections are subject to the approval of the Head of the
School of Humanities on the recommendation of the Undergraduate Coordinator of the Programme.
Experiential Learning
The Art History programme fosters experiential learning in many ways. Within our courses, these may
include examining original works of art and architecture in museums and other sites in Hong Kong;
training on handling works of art in class; working on an art exhibition or other curatorial project; and
participating in teacher-led field trips locally or overseas. We also offer a museum studies workshop
(ARTH2056) and a credit-bearing internship (ARTH4005) for a limited number of students. Outside
the formal curriculum, we support students who seek their own internships, temporary jobs at art
galleries, auction houses, and art fairs, and summer travel to study art. The Programme has several
grants that can help fund student travel.
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Learning Outcomes
Over the course of their studies, students who major in Art History can expect to:
• Apply skills of critical intellectual enquiry to the study of the visual arts.
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of more than one area of the history of art.
• Critically evaluate works of art, art historical and theoretical writings.
• Devise research topics and conduct independent research in the field of art history.
• Use knowledge of art to reflect upon their own values and the assumptions underlying them.
• Demonstrate a sensitivity to diversity through engagement with differing viewpoints and beliefs.
• Demonstrate and articulate an awareness of the diversity of art of various time periods and
cultures.
• Develop effective oral and written communication skills.
• Understand the visual arts to the point where further learning can be undertaken independently.
Assessment
All courses offered in the Programme are assessed by 100% coursework. Coursework may include
essays, research papers, tests, participation in tutorials and seminars, oral presentations, and other work
as specified by the course instructor.
1000-LEVEL COURSES
The following courses are open to students in all years of study.
ARTH1001. Introduction to Western art history (6 credits)
This course surveys the history of Western art from ancient Greece and Rome to the 21st century. From
ancient painting and sculpture to modern photography and conceptual art, it explains how art
communicates ideas and values that have shaped Western civilization and how art has developed in
relation to changes in historical context, including politics, religion, science, economics, and society.
Students will learn about major artistic movements, common techniques of Western art, and methods
for interpreting visual culture both visually and historically. No previous knowledge of art history is
assumed.
Non-permissible combination: FINE1001.
ARTH1006. Art and society (6 credits)
This course introduces visual and critical skills for interpreting the art of different cultures from both
the past and the present. We examine a variety of themes related to the techniques and functions of art,
and we study the way art expresses various moral, social, political, and religious ideas. Students will
gain a better understanding of cross-cultural communication and will learn how to analyze the complex
visual culture of the contemporary world.
ARTH1008. Introduction to the arts of Asia: Past and present (6 credits)
This survey course introduces major themes in art from early formations of Asian civilizations to the
twenty-first century. Students investigate the various forms of art production in China, Japan, India and
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Southeast Asia with an emphasis on the means by which art creates meaning in diverse Asian cultures.
Themes include issues such as patronage, personal style, artistic autonomy, art institutions and
collecting practices.
2000-LEVEL COURSES
The following courses are open to students in the second, third, and fourth years of study. Some have
no pre-requisite, while others require successful completion of one 1000-level Art History course.
ARTH2012. Italian Renaissance art and architecture (6 credits)
This course examines the art and architecture of Italy from about 1300 to 1550, a period marked by
revolutionary technical innovations, intellectual concepts and practices, and attitudes toward the making
and nature of art – changes that spurred early modern intellectuals and historians to characterize the
period’s cultural developments as a ‘Renaissance’ (French for ‘rebirth’). While focusing on
Renaissance art in different regions of Italy, we will also study its global connections across the Atlantic
and Mediterranean. The course covers a range of artistic production including frescoes, portraits, and
sculpture.
Prerequisite: One 1000-level Art History course.
ARTH2013. Northern Renaissance art (6 credits)

This course examines the art produced in the Low Countries, Germany, and France between about 1300
and 1550. Covering a range of artistic production including illuminated manuscripts, portraits, prints,
and altarpieces, the course examines the period’s revolutionary technical innovations, intellectual
concepts, and changes in attitudes toward the making and nature of art. While focusing on Renaissance
art in different regions of northern Europe, we will also study its global connections.
ARTH2020. American art (6 credits)
This course surveys painting, sculpture, photography, and architecture in the United States from
European settlement to 1945. The underlying theme is how art in the United States has helped project
various new ideologies and values associated with this young and unique nation. Issues to be considered
in relation to art include Protestant values, democracy, wilderness, racial conflict, capitalism, popular
culture, and America’s gradual rise to power.
ARTH2025. The art of the Baroque ca. 1560-1720 (6 credits)
This course will examine the art of the 17th century in Italy, Flanders, Spain, the Netherlands and
France. The emphasis will be on painting, although sculpture will be studied as well. Particular
attention will be given to the impact of the Counter Reformation, the features of Baroque naturalism,
the use of allegory, and attitudes towards the antique by artists of this period.
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ARTH2026. The age of revolution: Art in Europe, 1750-1840 (6 credits)
This course examines the radical transformation in European art from the age of kings to the age of
revolutions, c.1750-1840. Painting, sculpture, and printmaking are discussed in relation to various
historical developments, including the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, the decline of
aristocratic culture and Christianity; the rise of science, industry, and democracy; and the emergence of
modern notions of nature, individuality, and primitivism. The movements of Neoclassicism and
romanticism are treated in depth.
ARTH2027. The formation of modernity: Art in Europe, 1840-1900 (6 credits)
This course examines the early formation of modern European visual culture, from Realism to the
threshold of the 20th century. Painting, sculpture, printmaking, and photography are discussed in
relation to various historical and ideological developments, including industrial capitalism and the rise
of bourgeois society; urban culture and mass media; leisure and tourism; new gender roles; and
European imperialism. The movements of Realism, Impressionism, and Post-Impressionism are treated
in depth.
ARTH2028. Vision in crisis (6 credits)
In art, as in other fields of knowledge, the late 19th century and the early 20th century was a time when
pre-existing assumptions were challenged in a radical way. To certain artists in Europe, for instance,
illusionistic realism or the conventions of perspective no longer seemed adequate tools for representing
the world and our experience of it. Amongst the factors provoking this crisis of vision was an increasing
awareness of other cultures and their differing modes of visual representation, and many non-Western
artists shared with their Western counterparts this new sense of the relativity of cultural knowledge,
although they tended to respond to it in different ways. Vision in Crisis will examine this moment of
great artistic change, focusing primarily on European examples, with Chinese art being taken as the
main non-Western case for study. Artists whose work may be discussed in depth include Van Gogh,
Gauguin, Cézanne, Picasso and Matisse.
ARTH2029. Modernity and its discontents (6 credits)
Although certain 20th century artists can be taken as celebrating the modern, many artists offered
instead a critical engagement with the newly-emerging forms of experience they were encountering, or
sought various forms of escape from them. While the response of European artists to the modern
condition is most well known, artists from other parts of the world were equally engaged with the task
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of creating an art adequate to the new environment in which they found themselves. Both will be
considered in this course, which will focus primarily on European art of the first half of the 20th century.
Chinese art will provide the main non-Western case for study. Abstract art, Futurism, Expressionism,
Dada and Surrealism may all be considered.
ARTH2030. Towards the global (6 credits)
Paris has been described as the capital of the 19th century, and indeed one can talk of a European
cultural hegemony that lasted until the outbreak of the Second World War. The postwar period,
however, saw a migration of cultural authority across the Atlantic to the United States, and with the
ending of the Cold War American cultural dominance seemed to become even more deeply entrenched.
If the close of the colonial era did not then eliminate the asymmetry of power between Western and
non-Western cultures, it did at least alter the conditions for artistic production in the latter. Furthermore,
with an increasing pace of globalization at the end of the century, the opportunities for non-Western
artists to reach new audiences have expanded enormously. This course will begin with a consideration
of Pollock and Abstract Expressionism, and later developments in American art will be a major focus
of the course, which will also be concerned to document the contribution of non-Western artists. A
thematic approach will be adopted, with tendencies such as Pop Art, Minimal and Post-Minimal art,
Environmental and Installation Art, Performance Art, Conceptual and Neo-Conceptual Art being
amongst those which may be considered. A wide variety of artworks dating from 1945 to the present
day will be discussed.
ARTH2031. Modern Western architecture (6 credits)
Tracing the development of modernity in Western architecture, this course examines a series of
movements and cities from the mid-18th century to the present. Major examples include Neoclassicism
in Washington, D.C., Haussmann's renovation of Paris, colonialism in Hong Kong and Shanghai,
skyscrapers in Chicago and New York, and the international spread of Modernism and the diverse
movements that have followed it. Emphasis is placed on construction technology, architectural theory,
and the way buildings express institutional ideologies. Tutorials include visits to local buildings.
ARTH2032. Art and the portrayal of women (6 credits)
This course will consider the representation of women in Western art and the various roles they have
played in its production. Examples will range from the Ancient world to Contemporary Art, with special
attention to issues of portraiture and self-portraiture, as well as the ways in which the portrayal of the
female artist has changed over time.
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ARTH2047. Arts of India (6 credits)
From the dawn of Buddhism to the present day, art and visual culture have played a central role in how
India is imagined both within the country and beyond. The visual landscape of India is punctuated by
the iconic images of gods and goddesses, the architectural expressions of Islam, and the legacy of the
colonial rule. Through an interdisciplinary but historically rooted approach, this course addresses
Buddhist and Hindu art, the art patronage of both Mughal and sub-imperial courts and will conclude
with a discussion of artistic practice under colonial rule through to India’s independence in 1947.
Non-permissible combination: FINE2047 and FINE3015.
ARTH2048. Arts of Japan (6 credits)
This course surveys Japanese visual arts from prehistory to the twentieth century. Lectures are
chronologically arranged under thematic headings of: religion and politics, cross-cultural influences
and urban arts. We will be looking at a diverse range of materials including painting, sculptures, prints,
textiles and ceramics. The aim is to establish a solid critical foundation of Japanese art history.
ARTH2049. Art and gender in China (6 credits)
This class will examine the role of gender in the production, consumption, and interpretation of Chinese
art. Classes are thematically organized and cover a broad timeframe of up to the twentieth century.
Topics will include the coding of landscapes and bird-and-flower paintings as gendered spaces, and the
construction of male and female socio-political identities in portraits and figure paintings. The course
is designed to generate discussions and reflect on perceptions of gender, sexuality, and more broadly
terms such as “masculinity” and “femininity” in Chinese art. The broad historical frame will address
how socio-cultural factors influencing gender roles in the arts, culture, and society changed over time.
It will, more importantly, look at how these issues intersect with questions of ethnicity, social hierarchy,
economic and cultural capital, and nationalism.
Prerequisites: One 1000-level Art History course.
ARTH2051. Art, politics, and society in modern China (6 credits)
This course will provide an overview of the developments in the visual arts in China from the 19th
century to the present day, and will relate them to broader changes in Chinese politics and society. It
will look at the ways in which the physical materiality of objects, as well as the social roles of its makers
and audiences, changed over this period. A broad range of visual objects will be covered in this course
including paintings in different formats and mediums, architecture, graphics and photography. Our
fundamental concern will be to examine art's role in the rapidly changing world of modern China.
ARTH2052. Architecture of South and Southeast Asia (6 credits)
This course is a study of the developments in architecture in South and Southeast Asia. It will offer a
selective overview of the styles, theories, and structures of architecture from antiquity to the twenty-
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first century. This course utilizes a thematic approach aimed at understanding the relationships between
private property, public authority, and power as articulated in architecture.
ARTH2053. Beauties and the beasts: Song and Yuan painting (6 credits)
The course explores the formations of Chinese figure painting or the painting of people in the Song and
Yuan dynasty. It begins by investigating the types of portrayals of Tang-dynasty aristocrats and other
social worthies to establish the forms of normative portraiture. The course moves on to consider changes
in figure painting and its subject matter. The class also investigates a related development in the painting
of animals as substitutes for representations of people. Topics discussed include the portrayal of the
non-Chinese who lived in frontier areas from the Tang to the Yuan, the Song dynasty’s re-appraisal of
the common person and his or her depiction, and the motivations for the use of animals to represent
people. The course concludes by evaluating the impact of Mongol rule on figure painting.
ARTH2055. Crossing cultures: China and the outside world (6 credits)
This course primarily focuses on the period 16th- 20th century China. It will examine artists’ responses
to the outside world and investigate how cultural exchanges were formed, merged, and clashed. This
course is designed to expand the theme of “outside” beyond conventional geographies to different ways
in which art reinforced or challenged acts of exclusion and the dynamics of center-periphery structures.
The aim is to move beyond binary relationships of China-West or similar comparative structures. Topics
covered will include intersections of European knowledge and local culture, eccentricity as urban
cosmopolitanism, Manchu identity and Qing expansionism, China export trade art and technology,
intra-Asian paintings, and visions of the “East” in the global art world.
ARTH2056. Museum studies workshop (6 credits)
This course aims to give students an introduction to the principles and practices of working in an art
museum. It will be conducted by curatorial staff of the University Museum and Art Gallery. Students
majoring in Art History are given first preference, but other students fulfilling the prerequisite may
apply. Students wishing to apply for admission to ARTH4005 (Art History internship (capstone)) are
strongly urged to take this course first, ideally in their third year.
ARTH2057. Arts of Africa (6 credits)
This course introduces artistic practices and material culture in Africa. Overviewing the diversity of
African practices, styles, and mediums, it ranges from the earliest sculptural traditions to modern
developments in the 20th century, analyzing art, architecture, and material culture in relation to religious
beliefs, social identity, political organization, and the radical changes brought by colonialism and
modernity.
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ARTH2061. Contemporary Chinese art: 1980s to the present (6 credits)
This course examines the burgeoning development of contemporary Chinese art in relation to its shifting
socio-political and cultural realities since the end of the Cultural Revolution. Structured around a series
of thematic studies on major exhibitions and artworks made and displayed at different stages, this course
addresses issues relating to art criticism, institutional censorship, public engagement and art market,
investigating unprecedented transnational flows and cross-cultural exchanges within the increasingly
interconnected, yet unevenly developed contemporary art world. This course draws particular attention
to the practices of Chinese women artists, including Shen Yuan, Lin Tianmiao, Yin Xiuzhen, Lu Qing,
Xing Danwen, Kan Xuan, Cao Fei and others, interrogating and challenging the unacknowledged,
unquestioned and marginalised status of women in the mainstream discourses of Chinese avant-garde
art.
ARTH2062. Land and garden in Chinese art (6 credits)
This course examines the history and significance of land and its depiction in China from the fifth to
the twentieth century. We will examine the cultural circumstances that promoted landscape to one of
the most important subjects in Chinese art. Emphasis is placed on historical and interpretive issues that
are important to the analysis of artwork and meaning.
ARTH2065. Introduction to Islamic art and architecture (6 credits)
This course surveys Islamic art and architecture from the beginnings of Islam in the 7th century through
the early modern period. It covers Umayyad Jerusalem and Damascus, Abbasid Baghdad, Fatimid
Cairo, the period of the Crusades, the impact of the Mongols, and the Mamluk and Ottoman Empires.
Throughout the course, we explore interactions between Islamic art and neighboring peoples and
cultures.
ARTH2067. Architecture of East Asia (6 credits)
Architecture is one of the most visible means for our interaction with the physical environment. It is a
discipline that combines art, function, and public display. This course explores the history of East Asian
architecture from early times to the present with an emphasis on religious, cultural, economic, and
political contexts. Key structures including urban planning are taken as case studies for in depth
discussion. Emphasis is placed on learning how to read the functional considerations and the symbolic
meanings of works of architecture.
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ARTH2070. Introduction to ancient Egyptian art and architecture (6 credits)
Ancient Egyptian civilisation endured for more than 3,000 years and the many monuments, objects, and
hieroglyphs that have survived are testimony to the splendour of ancient Egyptian culture, the beauty
of its art, astounding accomplishments in its architecture, and the richness of its religious traditions.
This course provides a general introduction to ancient Egyptian art and architectural forms (e.g.
pyramids, tombs, temple complexes, wall paintings, sculpture, hieroglyphs), beginning with the period
of unification (3100 BC), through the Old, Middle, and New Kingdom dynasties, and continuing to the
beginning of the Ptolemaic period in 332 BC. Key political, military, cosmological, and socio-cultural
developments in Egypt’s history will be examined in relation to artistic and architectural practices.
ARTH2072. Western architecture from Antiquity to Enlightenment (6 credits)
The course examines the development of Western architecture from Classical Antiquity to the
eighteenth century. We will begin by studying the buildings of the Greek and Roman civilizations, and
those of the Middle Ages, before shifting our focus to Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo architecture
in Early Modern Europe, and its offshoots around the world. While the course is, in part, a survey of
buildings and architectural styles, we will emphasise the relation of architecture to its social, historical
and intellectual contexts, and will also focus on particular buildings, architects and architectural
theorists in greater depth.
ARTH2076. The sculptural object in early 20th-century art (6 credits)
This course addresses the stylistic evolution of the sculptural object in the early 20th century. With an
eye on the elements of social and political change, we will consider the rise the avant-garde, the impact
of new artistic methods and materials introduced by Cubism, Dadaism and Surrealism and others.
Although the course is organized historically, it is also designed to crisscross through a number of
intersecting themes around the production and consumption of sculpture up to 1945.
ARTH2077. The European city in the early modern world (6 credits)
This early modern period (ca. 1450 – ca. 1700) was a great period of European urbanism. Cities
developed rapidly in response to political and religious change, economic development and trade, and
advances in military technology. Ruling elites invested heavily in ambitious buildings and urban spaces.
Architects and planners devised new styles, building types, and urban forms. Political thinkers
reconsidered and redefined the idea of the city as a human community. The expansion of Europe through
exploration and colonization brought Western forms of urbanism to the Americas and Asia, and brought
Europeans into contact with the urbanistic achievements of other cultures. Many of Europe’s major
urban centres acquired their defining features during this period. We will look at Florence, Venice,
Rome, London, Paris, Versailles and the cities of the Low Countries, as well as European exports like
Mexico City and, closer to home, Macau. As well as studying a range of major metropolitan and colonial
cities, we will examine the impact of broad social phenomena, such as the court society and the public
sphere, and the development of building types and urban forms and of new forms of visual
representation.
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ARTH2081. Art history & its methods (6 credits)
This course introduces students to art history as an academic discipline. It surveys the development of
the study of art and familiarises students with a range of methodological approaches and their
applications, from early traditions of art historical writing, through the emergence of art history as a
distinct field of study, to its transformation and development up to the present. The course also instructs
students in the writing and study skills specific to art history.
ARTH2082. Decorative arts in Europe (6 credits)
This course will survey decorative arts from the early modern period (1600-1900) and introduce
directions in which to study objects, workshop practices, the history of collecting, and the international
and cross-cultural influences upon both artists and collectors. Areas of interest include, but are not
limited to, art and propaganda, the court and royal academies of art, local art markets and international
influences, chinoiserie and intercultural exchange, and the social history of material culture.
ARTH2083. The histories of printmaking and visuality in China (6 credits)
China has one of the oldest, continuous cultures of print in the world. This course will explore various
formats and contexts in which the visual print circulates, from sutra handscrolls and dharanis to
illustrations in string-bound books, sheet prints, new year prints, pictorials (huabao), calendars, and
propaganda posters. The impact of technology on visuality from woodblock and movable type to colour
printing and Western mechanized printing is also examined.
ARTH2084. Art of the classical world (6 credits)
The classical tradition has had an enduring effect on the history of Western art, providing both iconic
monuments and aesthetic principles that have inspired and challenged successive generations of artists,
architects, and other cultural practitioners. This course will survey Greek and Roman art and
architecture from c.1000 BCE to c.500 CE, stretching from the rise of Greek city states to the fall of the
Western Roman Empire. We examine works of art and architecture in a variety of materials, forms, and
motifs, supplemented by writings from the period that influenced subsequent developments in Western
culture. Important themes include the public and private, gender, mythology, patronage, and the ancient
city.
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ARTH2085. Chinese calligraphy: Form, materiality and history (6 credits)
This course is an introduction to Chinese calligraphy from early imperial to contemporary period and
will include both ink works, reproductions of calligraphy including rubbings of stele inscriptions and
epitaphs, and seals. The course, thematically arranged, considers calligraphy within a variety of contexts
(i.e. archaeological, cultural, historical, social and religious) to study the form, materiality and history
of calligraphy. Other aspects such as social status of calligraphers and collectors, collecting practices,
technologies and impact of printing, modern writing reform and national identity, as well as the
computerization of writing will be covered. The course will include lectures, practical workshops, group
discussion and when possible museum visits.
ARTH2086. European art of the eighteenth century (6 credits)
In Europe, as elsewhere, the eighteenth century was a period of innovation and profound cultural
transformation. The years between the 1690s and the French Revolution of 1789 saw the emergence of
new styles and genres in painting and new ways of making, exhibiting, and understanding art. The
course focuses on painting, sculpture, printmaking, and decorative arts in Britain and France. But we
also examine art in Italy, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Northern Europe, and we study the
eighteenth-century interior in some depth, emphasizing its social function as a context for cultural
display and its role within a nexus of increasing global trade, exploration, and exploitation.
ARTH2087. Buddhist art of East Asia (6 credits)
This course studies art and architecture created in East Asia during the seminal period when Buddhism
was introduced to China and then transmitted to Korea and Japan. Focusing on the period c.300-c.1500,
it examines selected key sites and significant works in all three countries. Students will become familiar
with important figures in the Buddhist pantheon; the iconography, gestures, and postures associated
with Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and other deities; and popular narratives and architectural features
associated with early Buddhist practice. These visual and iconographic features will also be studied in
their historical, political, economic, and social contexts.
ARTH2088. Introduction to the material culture of China (6 credits)
This course explores the large realm of the production of material culture in China in order to elucidate
historical concerns, attitudes, and social needs as embedded in objects. Materials include jade, bronze,
ceramic, furniture, and architecture from the Shang to the Qing dynasties. The class discusses how these
materials played a critical role in the intellectual and artistic discourses throughout history. Students
will visit the University Museum and Art Gallery in HKU for an extensive viewing experience.
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ARTH2090. Blockbusters, bonanzas, and biennales: Contemporary art in the global age (6
credits)
This course examines the global circuits of contemporary art from 1980 to the present through a
consideration of various biennales, triennials, and global art fairs in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. The
class begins by investigating two landmark exhibitions - Primitivism in 20th Century Art (New York,
1985) and Magiciens de la Terre (Paris, 1989) - in order to consider the perception and presentation of
so-called “non-Western art” and to broadly historicize present-day “global” art practice. Topics will
include the reappraisal of the Western/non-Western division, the importance of artistic identity, and the
promotion of art as cultural ambassador.
ARTH2091. Foundations of literati art and culture (6 credits)
This course examines how some of the objects we find in museums and collections came to be regarded
as art. More specifically some objects and styles of painting are associated with the literati, a highly
educated group of scholars who established certain forms of culture as their own from the Tang and
Song to Yuan dynasties. By looking at the contexts of when ceramics, bronzes, calligraphy and some
forms of painting were first assigned as art we can see the literati mind guiding the process in the
construction of these objects as literati art.
ARTH2092. Photography in North America (6 credits)
This course looks at the history of photography in North America from its inception to the turn of the
new millennium. Lectures are chronologically and thematically arranged to highlight how photography
has been variously used as a tool for scientific observation, social documentary and aesthetic
engagement. As we move through the course, students will be introduced to key figures in both the
history and theory of photography so that they may critically assess the role of photography as a medium
of expression.
ARTH2093. Contemporary art in India (6 credits)
This course surveys the development of contemporary art in India from the 1970s to the present. The
lectures are arranged chronologically to give students an essential foundation upon which to consider
how contemporary art responds to local and global changes. During the 1980s painting was often the
medium of choice and issues of identity and cultural heritage were key concerns; however, the arrival
of the new millennium witnessed a significant change in materials and artistic approach. These shifts
and turns are a fundamental concern as we examine the role Indian art now plays in the increasingly
global art world.
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ARTH2094. Medieval art and architecture (6 credits)
This course surveys the art and architecture of Europe and Byzantium during the Middle Ages, a
thousand-year period from ca. 400 to 1400. Exploring medieval art and visual culture chronologically,
we will consider a number of topics including pilgrimage, monasticism, iconoclasm, and court culture,
particularly through the lens of cross-cultural exchange. The course covers a wide range of medieval
artistic production, from various forms of painting and sculpture to mosaics, textiles, and architecture.
ARTH2095. Venerated vessels: The history of Chinese ceramics (6 credits)
This course surveys the history of ceramics in China from the Neolithic era to contemporary times. It
focuses on the production, consumption, collection and theoretical aspects that have shaped the legacy
of Chinese ceramics. Central to the survey is the role of social, political and historical forces on the
styles and shapes of various types of ceramic objects. Special attention will be given to the development
of porcelain and the construction of its cultural value or veneration in Chinese social practices.
ARTH2096. Contemporary art: 1960s to the present (6 credits)
This course provides an introduction to issues, practices and critiques of contemporary art since the
1960s. It is organized thematically rather than chronologically, focusing on specifically chosen artworks,
projects or exhibitions each week. Moving across a wide range of media, techniques and display formats,
this course considers different curatorial, theoretical and interpretative stances in the production, display
and distribution of contemporary art within the increasingly globalized art world; it considers how
works of art might reflect on our present living situation beyond the art field and relate to wider
communities within and across regional and national boundaries.
ARTH2097. Arts of Korea (6 credits)
This course surveys Korean visual arts from ancient times to the present. It examines a diverse range of
materials including painting, print, sculpture, architecture, and decorative art. Lectures are
chronologically arranged and explore issues such as funerary culture, cross-regional exchanges, politics
and religion, gender and social differences, art market and patronage, and the questions of modernity.
Students will acquire a solid foundation of Korean art history and the critical perspectives in analyzing
its development across times.
ARTH2098. History of Korean paintings (6 credits)
This class explores distinct characteristics of paintings including Buddhist paintings, landscape
paintings, portraits, paintings of flowers and animals, documentary paintings, and decorative court
paintings during the Koryŏ and the Chosŏn dynasties. The critical issues such as materiality, politics,
patronage, religion, and gender will be covered in class. The aim of this course is to understand the
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stylistic developments of important artists, the formation of major schools, and the establishment of
critical theories in regard to social, historical, and intellectual contexts.
ARTH2099. History of ceramics in East Asia (6 credits)
This class will acquaint students with the artistic styles, traditions, and techniques in the history of
ceramics in China, Japan, and Korea from the tenth to the eighteenth centuries, with particular attention
to the social and intellectual climate across geographical boundaries. The class discusses domestic and
export ceramics, changes in aesthetic concept, consumption and collecting, as well as interaction with
other cultures. Through a comparative approach, this class aims to understand the vibrant cultural
dynamics in East Asia.
ARTH2100. Body, gender and sexuality in contemporary art (6 credits)
This course examines abstract and figurative representations of the human body in contemporary art. It
will explore works across a range of media which challenge and redefine the ways we consider gender
and sexuality. The course will introduce a set of tools to analyse multiple art forms which artists have
used to reconfigure questions of sexuality, gender, queerness, and the performance of ‘self’, and will
look into the wider art historical, socio-political and cultural conditions that shaped their creation and
interpretation. The course will conclude by investigating how the artistic exploration of gender and
sexuality has been increasingly intertwined with issues of class, race, and ethnicity, especially in the
face of the unprecedented transnational and transregional flows of human bodies within the
contemporary world. We will discuss works by artists engaging with female and male, trans, straight
and LGBTQ identities, who may include but are not limited to: Louise Bourgeois, Eva Hesse, Lee
Bontecou, Catherine Opie, Vito Acconci, Glenn Ligon, David Wojnarowicz, Vaginal Davis and
Shigeyuki Kihara.
ARTH2101. Installation and participation (6 credits)
This course addresses issues of installation, participation and spectatorship through a selection of
episodes and case studies from the history of modern and contemporary art. It introduces and explores
ways by which works of art activate viewers’ immediate physical, sensory or psychical engagement,
turning spectatorship into an embodied activity and collapsing the conventional conception of art as
simply contemplative. From the post-war artistic experiment with ‘happenings’ to the surge of
participatory practices in the globalizing contemporary art world, we will investigate key debates and
theoretical discourses about artistic participation, collaboration and action, reconsidering the
relationship between the artist, the artwork and the viewing subject. Artists we will look at may include
but are not limited to: Allan Kaprow, Robert Morris, Yayoi Kusama, Yoko Ono, Sophie Calle, Santiago
Sierra, Félix González-Torres, Cildo Meireles, Thomas Hirschhorn, Francis Alys, Gabriel Orozco and
Ai Weiwei.
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ARTH2102. The connecting sea: An introduction to East Mediterranean archaeology (6 credits)
Situated between three continents, the East Mediterranean Sea has always enabled the flow of people,
things, and ideas. From the advent of early complex societies in the Levant, to the cultural
developments of Greece, we can trace the impacts of interaction and exchange on the material remains
of this region's past. This class introduces the archaeological methods and theories that help us
contextualize and interpret material culture. The things people made, used, and discarded tell us about
how they lived, so we will examine a wide range of material evidence, including art, pottery, technology,
architecture, and landscapes. Archaeology provides diverse ways to study and conceptualize ancient
material culture to better understand society. Our focus will be the Middle/Late Bronze and the Iron
Ages of the 2nd and 1st millennia BCE in the areas covered by Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon,
Israeli, Palestine, and Jordan. Cultures and periods covered will include Minoans, Hittites, Canaanites,
Myceneans, Syro-Hittites, Cypriots, Phoenicians, Biblical Archaeology, Phrygians, Lydians, Greeks,
and end with the Romans in Asia. We will also discuss cultural heritage and the impact of archaeology
in our contemporary world.
ARTH2103. Saintly bodies and holy shrines: The art and architecture of medieval pilgrimage
(6 credits)
Throughout the Middle Ages, millions of travelers traversed hundreds of kilometers of unfamiliar,
foreign lands to venerate the bodies of saints. From England to the tip of the Iberian Peninsula, from
Scandinavia to Rome, medieval pilgrims embarked on months-long journeys to seek spiritual favor,
perform penance, or simply escape quotidian life. Art served as the mediator of these experiences. This
course will examine the four major medieval Christian pilgrimages—Jerusalem, Rome, Compostela,
and Canterbury—and the artistic production associated with each. We will study a range of artworks,
from monumental basilicas to gleaming body-part reliquaries to miniature pilgrim’s badges, while
considering the spiritual, physical, and social aspects of pilgrimage.
ARTH2104. Art of Renaissance Europe (6 credits)
This course surveys visual culture across Europe from ca. 1300 to ca. 1580, a period marked by
revolutionary technical innovations, intellectual concepts and practices, and attitudes toward the making
and nature of art – changes that spurred early modern intellectuals and historians to characterize the
period’s cultural developments as a ‘Renaissance’ (French for ‘rebirth’). While focusing on
Renaissance art in northern and southern Europe, we will also note its global connections across the
Atlantic and Mediterranean. The course covers a range of artistic production including frescoes,
portraits, sculpture, and prints.
ARTH2107. Early art in China: Idea and image (6 credits)
This course explores the art production of early China from earliest origins to the beginning of the
seventh century. It investigates the meaning of art objects created during this time that traditional and
modern historians have characterized as a dynamic series of competing polities and shifting territories.
The course examines the ways people in power made claims to authority and how was this expressed
in their art through a consideration of archaeological finds and contemporaneous texts. Special emphasis
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is given to the vibrant material culture of tombs as a means to understand varying locations of authority
as communicated through relationships amongst society, individuals, and the cosmos.
ARTH2108. Emerging societies: An introduction to Mesopotamian archaeology (6 credits)
Ancient Southwestern Asia (a.k.a. the Near East) – the region of the world centered on what is today
Iraq – saw the earliest developments in many aspects of complex society. There, in the ‘land between
the rivers’ (literally 'Mesopotamia') of the Tigris and Euphrates, the first agriculture, cities, writing, and
empires all arose. Archaeologists examine material remains – architecture, pottery, technology,
landscapes, material culture - to investigate societal developments of the past. This class introduces the
archaeological methods and theories that help us contextualize and interpret material culture. Our focus
is on the Chalcolithic, Bronze, and Iron Ages of the 4th through 1st millennia BCE in the area centered
on Iraq and surrounded by Iran, the South Caucasus, Turkey, and Syria. As a region with writing that
goes back over 5000 years, we are able to contextualize our understanding of the archaeological remains
within a historical framework that includes the following cultures and periods: Uruk, Ur, Kura-Araxes,
Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Elamites, Hittites, Urartians, Phrygians, and Persians. We also
discuss cultural heritage and the impact of archaeology in our contemporary world.
ARTH2109. Art and life in ancient Rome: Pompeii and Herculaneum (6 credits)
In the autumn of AD 79 on the Bay of Naples, a cataclysmic eruption of the volcano Vesuvius buried
the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in ash and lava, freezing them in time until the early modern
era. Rediscovered in the eighteenth century, these sites yielded from their depths art and artifacts that
reawakened interest in the ancient world on a grand scale. Aristocrats from all over Europe flocked to
the ruins on their “Grand Tours,” impelled by romantic notions of the past and dreams of plunder. By
the twentieth century, modern techniques of archaeological investigation replaced treasure hunting as
the main method of exploration of these buried sites, but the romance of the ruins still looms large
among scholars and tourists alike. Today the ruins scattered across the Bay of Naples continue to offer
an unprecedented look at daily life in an ancient town, and study of its art and archaeological remains
thus provide much insight into the society and culture of the Roman Republic and early Empire. This
class therefore revolves around the material remains of Pompeii and Herculaneum and uses them as a
jumping off point for the investigation of themes and issues related to ancient Roman art, culture,
religion, politics and urbanism. We will also explore the rediscovery of the site in the 1700’s and
consider the reception of Roman art and architecture in the early modern period and its continuing
legacy in the present day.
ARTH2110. Archaeology and digital humanities in the field (6 credits)
This course is an archaeological fieldschool that will travel to Armenia in the South Caucasus to
participate in an actual archaeological field research project. Archaeology studies the human past by
documenting and researching the material remains left behind by past societies - including landscapes,
sites, architecture, and objects. In this course, students will learn all aspects of conducting
archaeological fieldwork, starting with surface survey where the team hikes through the landscape to
find new sites. Students will then help to excavate important archaeological sites that date back
thousands of years. This course teaches how to record important data while digging using the latest
digital humanities technologies such as drones, global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), 3D
modeling, and cloud databases. Students will also learn how to record and study ancient artifacts like
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pottery, bones, and stone tools. We will discuss issues in cultural heritage such as public outreach and
the conservation of sites and objects.
Non-permissible combination: BBED6796.
ARTH2111. Artifacts, technology, and archaeology (6 credits)
Objects have always been central to the way humans live their lives and how societies function. Ancient
ceramic storage vessels, stone tools, coins, cylinder seals, sowing needles made from bones - these and
many other types of artifacts represent ancient innovations. Past humans used technologies like kilns
and drills to create objects that then are themselves deployed to enhance human work. At the same
time, artifacts hold a wide variety of emotional, artistic, political, social, and many other meanings and
significances. This course introduces how archaeologists investigate ancient artifacts and ancient
technologies through a variety of interdisciplinary theories and methods in the study of past material
culture, while centering the human experience of these objects. The methods that archaeologists use
today also include innovative digital humanities and other techniques including 3D scanning,
chemical/geological analysis, drones, and cloud databases. In this discussion-based course, students
will read about and discuss artifacts and technology, old and new, while gaining hands-on experience
through an individual research project on artifacts from Armenia in the South Caucasus, both physical
objects and digital representations. If possible, we may also study East Asian objects from local
museums. This is an introductory course, no prior experience is necessary and students from all
backgrounds are welcome.
ARTH2112. Material culture of the People's Republic of China (6 credits)
This course offers an in-depth examination of the material culture of modern China from the Republican
period to the Reform era, with a focus on the Maoist era from 1949 to the late 1970s. By focusing on
the design, production, consumption, and circulation of the material culture everyday life, we will make
sense of how the profound changes experienced during the twentieth century translated into the material,
aesthetic, and cultural experiences of everyday people in China. We will look at how objects came to
signify abstract concepts such as socialist modernity, feudal backwardness, or revolution, and ask how
material goods can carry multiple associations, from the ideological to the aesthetic. The class will
examine a variety of objects, including ceramics, consumer goods, enamelware, interior design and
decor, lantern slides, photographs, posters, and textiles, paying particular attention to the relationships
formed with objects and the cultural meanings ascribed to them.
ARTH2113. Art of the ancient Roman world (6 credits)
This class is a survey of the art and architecture of the Roman world from the foundation of the
Republican (c. 6th century BCE) through the fall/transformation of the empire in late antiquity (4th
century CE). Though chronological in structure, this course will also address overarching issues and
themes found in art throughout the Roman era. In particular, through the lens of visual culture we will
explore ancient and modern ideas (and ideals) of “Empire” and its effect on the peoples who lived
within its territories. The Romans were keenly aware of the power of spectacle, and by extension visual
culture as a means of spreading and maintaining political agendas across diverse geographic and ethnic
boundaries. This study of Roman culture will therefore highlight the power of images in the ancient
world to influence, subvert and/or invent history.
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ARTH2114. Art of the ancient Greek world (6 credits)
This course surveys the art, archaeology and culture of the ancient Greeks from the Bronze Age to the
end of the Hellenistic period (2nd millennium BCE to 31 BCE) with an emphasis on the social context
of images and monuments. We will consider Greek culture’s interconnectedness with other civilizations
of the ancient Mediterranean, such as the Egyptians, Etruscans and the Persians, with the aim of
situating major artistic and stylistic developments in the Greek world within broader historical, religious,
political and social developments. Overarching themes in the History of Art related to gender, the body,
identity and reception will also be touched upon. Finally, we will address modern society’s engagement
with ancient Greece today, considering questions about cultural heritage, archaeological ethics and the
antiquities trade.
ARTH2115. The city of Rome: From village to empire (6 credits)
Today, Rome is a vibrant modern town deeply tied to its ancient past. Footprints of this past are visible
at every turn, imbedded into the architecture of succeeding epochs. In these architectural and artistic
remnants are imprinted the records of people, events, and cultural ideals and customs that have long
outlasted the civilization that created them. “Rome” is therefore both a place and an idea. The legacy of
Roman civilization looms large in the ethos of Western culture and this class aims to investigate the
details of that legacy by peeling back the physical layers of the city in which it all started. The course
is therefore chronological in approach and will tell the story of how a small village became the capital
of a powerful empire, and later the spiritual capital of Catholic Christianity (roughly 8th century BCE
– 5th century CE). Such transformations are the result of complex cultural and demographic changes
that will be investigated through the lens of Rome’s urban, architectural development. We will
especially focus on the relationships between art and power, ritual and public spectacle.
ARTH2116. Architecture, art, and spiritual practice in Southeast Asia (6 credits)
This course looks at the relationship between the built environment and spiritual space with special
focus on Southeast Asia. Over the course of the semester we will look at a range of spiritual practices
and the forms they take including temples, mosques, shrines, and symbols. How does religion shape
and connect cities in different ways? How is globalization transforming and transformed by spiritual
space? Each week examines debates surrounding these questions through cases within and beyond
Southeast Asia. Topics we will unpack range from ghost films to heritage sites.
Students are not only expected to leave this course with a stronger understanding of the religious and
spiritual practices, global processes and political events shaping Southeast Asia, but they should also
develop visual analysis skills necessary to read and write about spiritual space in a variety forms. Course
discussions and assignments unpack the aesthetic traditions, politics, and morals surrounding specific
cases in order to complicate what it means to be global, regional or local. As a result, content will go
beyond Southeast Asia and the assigned readings for each week cut across disciplines, drawing from
Art and Architectural History, Anthropology, Urban Planning, and Geography.
ARTH2117. The Amateur: Cultural formations of leisure, labor, and critique (6 credits)
Amateurism is a cultural ideal that has risen across various time periods and geographical contexts to
create an extraordinary range of insurgent, unofficial, non-renumerated, and self-organized activities
and cultural practices. This class will take a thematic approach to the concept of amateurism in the arts.
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To better understand the figure of the amateur in historical and comparative perspective, each week we
will explore a new case study in amateur art practice. Topics will range from the literati painters of
Ming and Qing dynasty China to the dilettantes of the British Enlightenment; the amateur painters,
photographers, filmmakers, and videographers of the twentieth-century; state-organized and socialist
formations of amateurism in the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China; the contemporary
artists who self-identified as amateurs in the Vietnam War Era United States and in Reform-era China;
and the gendering of the amateur. Through examination of diverse media, including painting,
photography, film, video, television, folk craft, performance, and music, we will seek to better
understand how and why creative people in diverse media environments have embraced amateurism,
and which cultural formations they challenge through their practices.
ARTH2118. Finding “nature”: Ecology in Western modern art (6 credits)
An introduction to the roles played by ecology and the environment in the modern and contemporary
art of Europe and North America. The course will consider such concepts as landscape, nature, ecology,
wilderness, civilization, and even the human being as they have been constructed in modern Western
culture. Looking closely at paintings, photographs, sculptures, films, and songs, students will learn a
variety of approaches to conceiving and representing the natural world and the human relationship to
all things nonhuman. Particular emphasis is placed on climate change and on learning how art might
help build the belief structures necessary to achieve sustainability.
To fulfill the requirements of the major/minor in Art History, students may also take AFRI2018,
AFRI3008, AMER2058, AMER2064-2067. Please refer to the relevant Programmes for the course
details and availability.
3000-LEVEL COURSES
The following courses are open to students in the third and fourth years of study. Students must
successfully complete at least one 2000-level course before taking a 3000-level course.
ARTH3012. Cross-cultural interactions in the 19th century (6 credits)
This course examines artistic interactions between Western and non-Western cultures brought on by
scientific exploration, missionary work, imperialism, trade, and diplomacy and war in the period 1750-
1900. We study various ways in which European and American artists responded to the cultures they
encountered elsewhere in the world, as well as how non-Westerner artists responded to the West.
Emphasis is placed on the diverse processes of cultural interaction and their impact on the development
of modernity in different cultural contexts. Major non-Western regions to be studied might include
China, Japan, India, the Near East, and Africa.
Prerequisite: At least one 2000-level Art History course.
ARTH3013. Hong Kong art workshop (6 credits)
This course will introduce Hong Kong art and related aspects of Hong Kong visual culture. It will be
taught in a workshop format, and will provide the opportunity for students to develop skills in art
criticism as well as an understanding of Hong Kong art history.
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ARTH3014. The whys of where: An East Asian art history of imaginative geographies (6
credits)
This course will examine the relationship between image-making and cultural encounters at regional
and trans-national levels, and the role of visual artefacts in the making of real and imaginative
geographies. The module is not designed to provide a comprehensive overview of East Asian art, but
to encourage discussions and debates about how structures of knowledge including images were used
to form cultural identities and geographies. In each instance, connections, commonalities, and
differences are examined as patterns within East Asia.
ARTH3020. Women making art after 1960 (6 credits)
Issues of sexuality, subjectivity, gender, and domesticity have been central to women making art since
the 1960s. In response to the urgent need for reconsidering women’s contribution to the constitution
and representation of sociocultural and geopolitical realities within the international art world beyond
Euro-American centers this module grounds the historical discussion of these concepts in a broader
global context. The first half of the course reviews key issues and debates in Western feminist art
movements between the 1960s and 1980s. The inclusion of case studies on the works of women artists,
including Emily Jacir, Mona Hatoum, Doris Salcedo, Yto Barrada, Nikki S. Lee, Yin Xiuzhen, Fiona
Tan, Shen Yuan, and ON Megumi Akiyoshi in the second half of the course aims at introducing new
artistic contents, and alternative cultural formats and theoretical paradigms to the on-going construction
of a feminist history of art within the increasingly interconnected, yet unevenly developed globalizing
contemporary society. Moreover, this course will provide students with a distinctive insight into both
intersections and resistances between feminist discourses and queer theories in relation to women
making art.
ARTH3021. Visual culture in the age of European expansion ca. 1450-1750 (6 credits)
This course examines art and architecture produced by and for Europeans in the context of the early-
modern exploration and colonisation that brought European peoples into closer contact with a broader
range of cultures than they had previously known. Beginning in the 15th century and continuing into
the 18th, the processes of trade, religious conversion, scientific study, mass enslavement, conquest, and
settlement that ensued established some of the foundations of the modern world; not least because of
the new forms of visual representation Europeans adopted to better comprehend (and exploit) their
expanding world. This course covers a broad range of objects relating to Europe and the Mediterranean,
North America and Asia which exemplify the role of the visual arts in the social and intellectual
transformations that accompanied colonialism, including paintings, sculptures, prints, maps, buildings,
city plans, collections, fountains and gardens. Topics covered include the changing representation of
cultural, gender, ethnic, and racial identity; new concepts of savagery and civilisation; the rise of
colonial cities; the spread of Christianity; diplomacy across cultures; and scientific ‘curiosity’ and
natural history.
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ARTH3022. Visual culture of modern Japan (6 credits)
Eighteenth century Edo (now known as Tokyo) was the world's largest city. It was the military
headquarters of the shoguns, a cosmopolitan city with a vibrant milieu of merchants, samurai, actors,
courtesans, craftsmen and artists. By the nineteenth century, it was transformed into Tokyo, the imperial
capital with a reformed political infrastructure. This course will focus on the artistic traditions that were
transformed and transplanted from Edo into Tokyo. Topics of discussion will include the revival of
classical imagery, popular culture during the eighteenth century, the conflicts brought on by the opening
of Japan to the West in the nineteenth century, the reconstruction of Tokyo and its artistic practices after
the World War Two, and the impact of Japanese architecture, design and popular culture over the past
twenty years.
ARTH3024. Angels, demons, and beasts: Romanesque and Gothic art (6 credits)
The medieval imagination produced some of the most tender images of Western art as well as the most
grotesque. Images of a sainted mother cradling her child existed within the same milieu, if not the same
artistic program, as those of a monstrous Hellmouth. This course examines the imaginative, playful,
frightening, and sometimes contradictory art and architecture of the Romanesque and Gothic periods in
Western Europe, from around the year 1000 to 1500. We will consider and discuss a number of issues
relevant across art history—such as the role of the artist, theories of vision and color, marginal art,
materiality, and cross-cultural interaction—within a medieval context.
ARTH3025. Pious worldliness: Buddhist art and material culture (6 credits)
This course introduces the fundamentals of Buddhism and its art from ancient times to the present.
Rather than portraying Buddhist art as a timeless ideal, the class deploys case studies to foreground the
dynamics of its development. In particular, it examines how styles, iconographies, and media have been
purposefully selected and reconfigured in varying contexts across and beyond Asia. The class also
explores contemporary art inspired by Buddhist concepts, and the role of collecting and curatorial
practices in shaping the interpretation of Buddhist artifacts.
ARTH3027. The art of the ancient Aegean (6 credits)
This course introduces the topic of ancient Aegean Art, chronologically spanning from the Neolithic
Era to the Beginning of the Dark Ages, and encompassing the three major art historical categories of
Cycladic, Minoan and Mycenaean material culture. By incorporating art history, archaeology, ancient
history and classical studies, the course seeks to offer new interpretations of the Ancient Aegean
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iconographies and cultures, while also examining the relationship between the Aegean World and
Egypt, Anatolia and the Near East.
ARTH3028. The mirror and the globe: Courtly arts of India 16-19th century (6 credits)
The course provides an overview of the development of Imperial and Sub-imperial art in India from the
16th to the 19th century. The art of the Mughal court evinces a dynamic visual response to an ever-
changing cultural and political environment. Lectures will be arranged chronologically to highlight
how art (and in some cases architecture) was used as a tool for building a united empire. Issues of local
and global cultural exchange are of principal concern in the course and we will consider the arrival of
the Mughals in India, the development of Imperial and Sub-imperial schools of painting, the expression
of regional artistic difference, the production of miniatures within an atelier system and the impact of
contact with Europe.
ARTH3029. Preservation and conservation: Practices and concepts (6 credits)
This course explores the field of preservation and conservation within the GLAM (Galleries, Libraries,
Archives and Museums) sector, with a specific focus on collections care and object handling. The terms
Preservation and Conservation will be examined, and students will be introduced to the history and
ethics related to the field. Emphasis is placed on understanding agents of deterioration and the
environmental impacts on objects, along with collection care philosophies and methods. Outcomes will
be obtained through lectures, readings, discussions, site visits and the hands-on examination of artefacts.
This course is taught by the conservation staff of the HKU Libraries Preservation Centre. It is designed
to introduce students to the field of preservation and conservation, and to the skills and further study
required to pursue a career in conservation or a related specialism.
ARTH3030. Interrogating the "classical": The art of ancient Greece and Rome for the 21st
century (6 credits)
Western art and culture owes an enduring debt to the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome. Indeed
artists and intellectuals of the 18th and 19th century, responding to the rediscovery of material culture
and texts from the Classical past, laid the foundations of the discipline of Art History. For better or
worse then, for two millennia core concepts of aesthetic meaning and evaluation, as well as vocabularies
of style and design created in antiquity have been copied, reinterpreted, subverted, and continue to
inspire to this very day. This class therefore aims to introduce and survey these core concepts while also
taking a critical look at the ways in which we interpret the materiality and context(s) of Greek and
Roman art. Each week we will examine key works of art and architecture from the ancient
Mediterranean in order to highlight questions, themes and processes important to the study of the visual
arts as a whole.
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ARTH3031. Image, Text, and Visuality: Painting in and around China during the 12th to 14th
centuries (6 credits)
During Middle Period China, eastern Asia and environs constituted a group of neighboring polities that
through tribute and commerce participated in cultural and artistic interactions. Paintings and related
practices including writing about art and understanding the ways to regard art also circulated within
Asia. This course introduces culturally important works of art and texts associated with them in order
to consider ways to interpret the imagery in its original historical environment. The course seeks to
reclaim the complexities of the meanings the paintings evoked while considering the roles of inherited
and imported artistic practices.
ARTH3032. Art and Architecture of Colonial Latin America (6 credits)
This course examines the cultural and visual pluralism of Latin America from the pre-Columbian era
through the colonial period, with a focus on the Spanish colonies. Three centuries of contact and
exchange between Europe and the Americas produced artistic and cultural contexts that were distinct
from those in earlier periods on both continents, yet research in the field yields divergent assessments
of Spanish colonial art and culture: evidence of domination and resistance often conflicts or coexists
with examples of hybridity, adaptation, and assimilation. We will examine various forms of visual and
material culture, including painting, sculpture, architecture, textiles, maps, manuscripts, ritual
performances, and objects of daily use.
ARTH3033. Sex, gender, and the body in early modern art (6 credits)
This course examines early modern conceptions of gender, sexuality, and the body through the lens of
visual and material culture ranging from late medieval France and Renaissance Italy to colonial New
Spain. Particular attention will be paid to interrogating, challenging, and nuancing conceptual binaries
such as masculinity/femininity, heterosexuality/homosexuality, celibacy/marriage, and humanity/
divinity from a historical perspective, as well as to investigating origins of modern racism, sexism, and
ableism in the West. We will examine a variety of objects including portraits, prints, illuminated
manuscripts, and items for domestic use, as well as excerpts from texts that complicate gender
paradigms, such as the writings of Christine de Pizan and mystical accounts of the maternal traits of
Jesus.
ARTH3034. From the village to hyperbuilding: shaping the built environment in Southeast
Asia (6 credits)
How do certain built forms come to define and defy a region? Who are the actors shaping them? How
are they mobilized and shared across context? Throughout this semester, we will explore the many
tangible and intangible forces that have influenced the contemporary built environment in Southeast
Asia, from climate change to ghosts. With a focus on twentieth century nation-states, this course begins
with the construction of “Southeast Asia.” Each week examines how debates surrounding aesthetics
and built form, often global in scope, play out within specific contexts. Some of these topics include
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environmental change and water management, tensions over public space and street vending, and the
impact of economic booms and busts on monumental architecture and urbanism. In other words, we
will not only examine how Southeast Asia was constructed and shaped as a region, but more broadly
how art, architecture, infrastructure and urbanism is shared across context and what makes it unique to
a given time and place.
Students are not only expected to leave this course with a stronger understanding of the actors, global
processes and events shaping Southeast Asia and the built environment that defines it, but they should
also develop visual analysis skills necessary to read and write about built space. Course discussions and
assignments unpack the aesthetic traditions and politics surrounding specific cases in order to
complicate what it means to be global, regional or local. As a result, content will go beyond Southeast
Asia and the assigned readings for each week cut across disciplines, drawing from Art and Architectural
History, Anthropology, Urban Planning, and Geography.
ARTH3035. Monumental painting in the ancient Mediterranean (6 credits)
In rough chronological order, our seminar will look at select examples of large-scale wall paintings
from the ancient Mediterranean, from the Bronze Age to the Late Roman Empire. In order to learn
interpretive strategies for understanding visual communication, our explorations will take us to diverse
sites around the Mediterranean, including the famous Roman cities of Campania preserved by the
eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79. We will investigate the history and context of each site and consider
the role of the medium of wall painting as a whole in the communication of identity, ideology,
propaganda and culture in antiquity. We will also consider technical, artistic and interpretive issues
pertaining to the materials themselves alongside questions pertaining to cultural heritage, excavation,
conservation and display practices in modern history.
ARTH3036. The image and early modern Japan: Painting and prints, 1600–1900 (6 credits)
This course offers an introduction to the visual arts of early modern Japan by way of painting, prints,
and theorizations thereof. The class begins in the seventeenth century with the establishment of the
Tokugawa shogunate and ends in the late nineteenth century with the institutionalization of museums,
art academies, juried exhibitions, and the concept of “fine art.” Topics to be covered include the practice
of painting, artist lineages as construed then and now, the impact of foreign visual cultures such as those
from China, Korea, Southeast Asia, and Europe, and the relationship between representations of the
world and the world ostensibly portrayed. Students will explore what the varying images and texts to
be introduced throughout the course can potentially reveal about early modern Japan.
4000-LEVEL COURSES
The following courses fulfill the capstone requirement for the major and are open to Art History majors
in the fourth year of study. Selected courses may also be offered in the summer semester; if so, they
may be taken by majors in the summer preceding their fourth year and will be counted as having been
taken during the fourth year. Before taking a 4000-level course, students must complete at least four
Art History courses at the 2000 and 3000 levels, at least one of which must be at the 3000 level.
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ARTH4001. Art history methodology workshop (capstone) (6 credits)
This course is taught in the form of seminars. It requires active participation from students, and is
intended for those in their fourth year who have already engaged seriously with art history during their
previous study. It aims to deepen students’ understanding of the methods used by art historians by
introducing various debates about interpretation. Students are expected to write a paper concerning an
area of art history or visual culture of their own choice, in which they demonstrate their sensitivity to
questions of method.
Prerequisite: At least one Art History course at the 3000 level and three other Art history courses at
the 2000 or 3000 level.
ARTH4002. Perspectives in Asian art (capstone) (6 credits)
This seminar will focus in depth on one area of Asian art and visual culture, with an emphasis on art
historical strategies. Students will prepare a seminar paper drawing on knowledge of a certain area, but
will further be encouraged to demonstrate a critical approach to broader methodological and theoretical
issues.
Prerequisite: At least one Art History course at the 3000 level and three other Art History courses at
ARTH4003. Perspectives in Western art (capstone) (6 credits)
This seminar will focus in depth on one area of Western art and visual culture, with an emphasis on art
historical strategies. Students will prepare a seminar paper drawing on knowledge of a certain area, but
will further be encouraged to demonstrate a critical approach to broader methodological and theoretical
issues.
ARTH4004. Perspectives in art history (capstone) (6 credits)
This course, in the form of seminars, requires active participation from students. It is intended for
students in their fourth year who have already engaged seriously with art history during their previous
study. It aims to deepen students’ understanding of the discipline of art history. The course interrogates
prevailing art historical scholarship by exploring both the parameters of the discipline in general and
specific locations or eras. Case studies consider modes of interpretation in combination with primary
documents, secondary interpretations, and historiography.
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ARTH4005. Art history internship (capstone) (6 credits)
The internship programme gives a limited number of qualified students practical experience working
in a professional setting. This enables them to apply academic skills learned in the classroom to concrete
problems in the workplace and helps prepare them for museum or other arts-related careers. Selected
interns will work with senior staff of the University Museum and Art Gallery or other art institutions in
Hong Kong on a project or projects relating to professional museological or curatorial practice.
Admission is selective, based on application and an interview. Students wishing to apply for the
internship are strongly encouraged to first take ARTH2056 (Museum studies workshop).
ARTH4006. Independent research project in art history (capstone) (6 credits)
This course is intended for particularly advanced students with an exceptional reason for researching a
specific art historical topic in depth and an outstanding proposal written in advance. Students undertake
substantial original research and produce an extended essay of 7,000 words, under the supervision of a
teacher in the Art History department. The supervising teacher’s approval must be secured before
enrolling in this course.
ARTH4007. Sites of representation: Artistic practices from colonial to independent India

(capstone) (6 credits)
This class is a thematic investigation into Indian art from the late colonial period through Independence
in 1947. Over this span of roughly fifty years the politics of style sat at the hub of many debates about
modern art. Given that India has a rich tradition of artistic expression, many asked whether modern art
should look to India’s past or to the international for inspiration. Topics will include the rejection of
European-style oil painting, the advance of a “new Indian” aesthetic, and how various social and
political changes impacted artistic production.
ARTH4009. Perspectives in contemporary art (capstone) (6 credits)
This course examines key issues and debates about the production, exhibition and circulation of
contemporary art within an increasingly interconnected, yet unevenly developed contemporary art
world. Concentrating on key case studies, which engendered, framed, investigated and reflected on
contemporary art historical knowledge, this course explores the social, cultural and political contexts
where they were created and presented, analysing their form, content, reception and subsequent
interpretation. Through the discussion of the legacies of these case studies, this course also interrogates
the specific ways in which they have affected contemporary art and its display.
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COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
The Department of Comparative Literature specializes in the investigation, analysis, and theorization
of literature, the cinema, and other forms of cultural expression. Our curriculum reaches across multiple
nations, cultures, genres, and media forms to illuminate connections linking texts to their times,
locations, and communities from a multitude of competing perspectives. The primary objects of enquiry
center on English-language texts, but include material in many other languages.
The hallmarks of the Programme center on honing skills in critical thinking, library and archival
research, and original argumentation. Students engage with a wide range of theories, methodologies,
concepts, and texts to develop their own scholarly positions. The mission of comparative literary
scholarship is equally concerned with learning how to understand the world we live in as much as with
learning how to impact the world we live in.
To major in Comparative Literature, students are required to fulfill the following requirements:
(a) not fewer than one (6 credits) of the following first year Comparative Literature courses, and
obtain a grade C or above: CLIT1001 or CLIT1008 or CLIT1009 or CLIT1010;
(b) 12 credits of introductory courses from any Arts programmes, which may include additional
credits in 1000-level Comparative Literature courses; and
(c) not fewer than 54 credits of 2000- and 3000-level Comparative Literature courses, which should
include (i) not fewer than one (6 credits) foundational course (CLIT2001, CLIT2025,
CLIT2094 and CLIT2095) preferably in the second year, and (ii) not fewer than one (6 credits)
capstone experience course.
Choice of courses is subject to the approval of the department. Priority of entry into 2000- and 3000-
level courses will be given to Comparative Literature majors and minors. Students must make sure that
their choices conform to any prerequisites set down by the department. Some of the capstone courses,
for example research and internship courses, are offered to Comparative Literature majors only.
A minor in Comparative Literature shall consist of CLIT1001 or CLIT1008 or CLIT1009 or CLIT1010,

and not fewer than 30 credit units of 2000- and 3000-level courses.
To fulfill the credit requirements of the major/minor in Comparative Literature, students can also take
the following courses in other Programmes:
• Gender Studies programme: GEND2001, GEND2007, GEND2008 and GEND2009.

• History programme: HIST2082, HIST2083, HIST2085 and HIST2119.
• Music programme: MUSI2044 and MUSI2055.
• School of Chinese: CHIN2348, CHIN2358, HKGS2008, HKGS2011 and HKGS2012.
• School of Modern Languages and Cultures: AFRI2007, AMER2022, AMER2033, AMER2035,
AMER2048, AMER2052, AMER2071, EUST2011, EUST2030, EUST3020, SINO2008,
SINO2012 and SINO2013.
• Faculty of Law: LLAW3141.
Please refer to the relevant Programmes for course details and availability.
All courses offered in the department will be assessed continuously with 100% coursework. Teaching
activities may include film screenings, workshops, and guest lectures. Assignments may include essay
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writing, oral presentations in tutorials, and take-home or in-class tests. Course organizers will provide
details of assessment at the beginning of their courses.
FIRST-YEAR COURSES
The department’s first year consists of courses introducing students to cross-cultural and inter-
disciplinary perspectives in comparative literary, cultural, film and visual studies. There will normally
be at least one 6-credit course offered in each semester.
Students who intend to major or minor in Comparative Literature are required to take CLIT1001 or
CLIT1008 or CLIT1009 or CLIT1010.
CLIT1001. Introduction to film studies (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the basic concepts in film studies and enables them to both appreciate
and analyze films. The course analyzes some major elements of film and film languages such as editing,
camera movement, lighting, sound, color, and point of view. In addition to the historical and generic
approach, the course also discusses how to read film as a social and cultural practice by involving the
study of the relation between film and a range of cultural, sociological, political, institutional, and
psychological factors. Films will be drawn from the traditions of Euro-American, Asian, and/or “Third”
cinema so as to broaden students’ knowledge of films and film studies. This course will be taught at an
introductory level, preparing students to take CLIT2007 and CLIT2083.
Note: Students who intend to major or minor in Comparative Literature are required to take CLIT1001
or CLIT1008 or CLIT1009 or CLIT1010.
CLIT1002. Introduction to gender studies (6 credits)
Feminism, gender and sexuality, masculinity and femininity – indeed, even what we mean by “men”
and “women” – are all areas of contemporary debate and will continue to be topical issues in human
culture. This course introduces students to the subject of Comparative Literature by introducing the
most important debates and issues in gender studies, which will remain important throughout the years
of studies in the department. We will look at what is meant by “gender” through critical readings of
some crucial texts and cases from various cultures both local and cross-cultural, and will support the
examination of these texts and cases with reference to a range of different theoretical perspectives.
CLIT1008. Ways of reading: Film, literature, and culture (6 credits)
This foundation course introduces basic strategies to approach literature, film, and other cultural texts
critically. Basic theories of literary criticism, film criticism, visual and material culture studies will be
introduced. Students are encouraged to explore different approaches and reading strategies and learn
how to apply critical tools to a diverse range of texts and mediums. Topics covered include the following:
Basic and extended definitions of text, author, and reader; cinema, modernity, and the apparatus theory;
the advent of urban fiction; gendered readings; race and ethnicity; how to analyze a popular culture icon;
visuality and materiality; cities as photographed; ecocriticism and narratives of travel and migration.
Writing assignments are designed to help students secure their knowledge of the vocabulary and tools
of analysis necessary for more complex work in the field of comparative literary and cultural studies.
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CLIT1009. Introduction to postcolonialism and culture (6 credits)
Through film and literature, this course introduces theoretical approaches to cultural issues in
connection with colonial and postcolonial experiences. We will analyze cultural representations and
issues of identity politics, such as the orientalist imagination and the nationalist imagination of culture,
history, race and gender, as well as challenges to such imaginaries. We will also learn how to analyze
the traumatic experience of racial and sexual discrimination under conditions of colonialism, slavery,
exile and poverty, and the possibilities of survival and resistance. Texts from cultures that have
undergone multiple colonial experiences are included to encourage more complex understanding of
inter-racial relations.
CLIT1010. Ways of thinking about culture and society (6 credits)
This course introduces ways of thinking about culture and society in an international frame. “Culture”
and “society” are familiar yet difficult terms. The main purpose of this class is to arrive at a sense of
why each of them represents something important, something that speaks to everyday, real life and not
just the dominant accounts of what is going on. It will introduce students to some of the key terms,
techniques, and interpretive strategies that enable them to think about culture and society in complex
ways. Thinking in this sense means being familiar with a range of concepts, issues, and “isms” and
being able to relate them to other texts and problems. But to think is also to read. Thus we will also
study the ways of reading in its broadest and narrowest senses – how we make sense of texts and
problems and do “readings” of them. To do this we must place texts into their contexts and analyze
them rhetorically. This includes the ability to do “practical criticism” or “close reading” – to make
advanced sense of the words on the page, or what people actually say and do.
Texts from China and elsewhere will illustrate these ways of thinking. These range from literary,
popular, and historical texts to visual ones like film and architecture as well as the practices of everyday
life. The common emphasis is on the ways of thinking that can then be carried over into later classes in
Comparative Literature.
FOUNDATIONAL COURSES
Foundational courses are offered to year two or above students. One of them (6 credits) must be taken,
preferably in the second year, to complete the major in Comparative Literature.
CLIT2001. Comparative studies of literary and visual narratives (6 credits)
This course will primarily investigate western critical concepts and theories that have informed the
study of narratives. It will introduce students to a variety of narrative forms found in literature, film,
and popular texts from different times and cultures. We will examine some of the ways in which critics
and theorists interpret the aesthetic, psychological, and philosophical aspects of narrative. The course
is divided into three sections: the mechanics of narrative, forms and intertextuality, and different critical
approaches to the study of narrative. Through these three modules, we will chart the earlier moment of
structuralism and how it was challenged by poststructuralist and postmodernist approaches to narrative
study, culminating in the recent phase of the cultural turn. Topics to be explored include story and
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discourse, narrative time and space, the social functions of narrative texts, the relationship of ideology
and narrative form, and the circulation of cultures.
CLIT2025. Visual cultures (6 credits)
This course introduces students to key issues, debates, and genres in the field of visual culture studies.
It explores how the cultures of visual production, consumption, and surveillance are formed, and how
these impact our ways of seeing the world and communicating with each other. Depending on the
instructor, specific topics may include: advertisements and visual propaganda, nature and built
environments, visual surveillance, social and new media, audiovisuality, and image-making in the age
of new technology. Theories of visual cultures offer a vantage point to examine the intersections of
power, technologies, and experiences of everyday life. The goal of the course is to equip students with
a set of critical tools to assess visual phenomena near and far.
CLIT2094. Introduction to critical theory and cultural studies (6 credits)
This introductory course examines some of the foundational texts, concepts, and arguments within the
fields of critical theory and cultural studies. It is a foundational survey primarily intended to prepares
students for further work in literary and cultural studies. Readings will include primary sources and
secondary readings from introductory anthologies. These may be supplemented by select literary, visual,
or other texts which illuminate particular theories, concepts, or approaches.
The rise of post-structuralism (or “postmodernism”) will be partially covered but is not the basis of the
course. Alternative traditions and ideas within the long, rich history of critical theory will be addressed.
These can range from ancient and early modern reflections on culture and literature, for example, to
dialectical and Marxist notions of ideology and power as well as post-colonial and feminist critiques of
history, empire, and patriarchy.
CLIT2095. World, text, and critic (6 credits)
Course materials for this class will be drawn from a variety of periods, traditions, cultures, and
translations from around the world, and it will introduce students to conversations on how the “globe,”
“planet” or “world” is figured in literature and film. Students will read and think about the tropes that
are commonly used to describe travel, knowledge, or beliefs about other cultures from both the “West”
and the “East,” and the “South” and the “North.” How do we interpret the presence of “strangers” in
foreign lands? How, in the first place, do we begin to imagine foreign lands? Do we see the world as
individuals or as part of a collective? Other popular tropes may include those of kinship, friend or enemy,
and maps. The critical questions of this course will focus on the relation between the political and the
literary in this imagining of the world where there is an increasing need to articulate a shared history of
the world while respecting the particularities of those same histories.
ADVANCED COURSES
Advanced courses are offered to year two or above students.

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CLIT2003. Modern drama in comparative perspective (6 credits)
This course examines the development of modern drama from the late 19th century to the postwar
period, in a comparative perspective which includes modern dramatic texts from European as well as
Chinese contexts. While taking a textual approach to some significant dramatic works, the course will
contextualize them within the larger background of intellectual history, examining concepts like
individualism, modernism and postmodernism. Dramatic texts will also be related to theories such as
Brecht’s distancing effect and the critique of identification, Beckett’s theatre of the absurd and the
emergence of post-dramatic theatre, paying renewed attention to the question of performance. The
theatre will be considered as a framework for the interaction between individuals and society and the
institutionalization of a form of public space.
CLIT2007. Film culture I (6 credits)
This course is designed to explore global cinema by focusing on key genres, directors, and movements
that emerged after World War II. It surveys some of the major developments in international film since
1945. It explores a variety of film types from popular genre films to art films, from realist drama to
modernist experimentation, produced under a variety of conditions in order to provide students with an
understanding of the relationship between film culture and issues of national identity, ethnicity, class,
race, gender and sexual orientation. Students are expected to sharpen their critical and analytical
abilities through the close analysis of individual films.
CLIT2008. Film culture II (6 credits)
The 20th century was celebrated for achievements in technological progress, rapid urbanization, and
massive production. It was remembered also for the world wars, several holocausts, deracination,
impoverishment, and domestic violence that terminated the promises of utopia, the reign of reason, and
the prospect of infinite progress. The series of unprecedented traumas reported in media and written
about in testimonials and memoirs have motivated filmmakers to turn cinema into a medium of popular
cultural memory. Films become innovative and reflexive in their search for forms to represent the
traumatic experiences of modernity, to mediate the past and the present/future, and to find meanings in
the embodied memories of their subjects. This course will explore the representation and
representability of trauma and memory on film. Acclaimed postwar French films together with notable
Chinese-language films will be examined along with more recent European and American titles in a
transcultural inquiry. Students will gain an understanding of the forms of film that convey and
complicate trauma, pain, mourning, testimony and forgetting. Close study of notable films will attend
to their auditory-visual, narrative, and cultural dimensions, to examine a transnational film culture that
has brought to light the complexities of modernity and remembering.
Prerequisite: CLIT1008 or CLIT2007 or CLIT2025 or CLIT2061 or CLIT2065 or CLIT2074.
CLIT2014. Feminist cultural studies (6 credits)
This course surveys the history of the feminist critique of patriarchal culture from the “First Wave” to
the “Third Wave” of feminist thought. Students are expected to acquire an appreciation for the range
of approaches available within the field of feminist cultural studies, including psychoanalysis, Marxism,
postmodernism, post-structuralism, performance theory, and queer critique. They will become familiar
with the depiction of women in a range of cultural texts, including films, popular books, commercial
advertising, music, theatre, and television.
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CLIT2016. The body in culture (6 credits)
This course will explore various theoretical approaches as we attempt to develop discourses to address
the notion of ‘the body’. There will be an emphasis on issues of corporeal identity, movement, and
performance. We will present and discuss texts from the fields of philosophy, critical theory,
psychoanalysis, architecture, literature, dance, theatre, film/media studies, gender studies, anthropology,
technology, science, performance art, and cultural studies.
CLIT2026. Digital culture (6 credits)
This course explores the evolving cultural dimensions of the digital domain. It examines moral issues,
including privacy, surveillance, and hacking, as well as the political implications of our online lives.
The course also examines the aesthetic potential of the digital and investigates key concepts such as
“virtuality,” “interactivity,” “hypertexts,” “simulation,” “cyborgs,” and “cyber-subcultures.” Media
synergy and depictions of cyberculture in the cinema, literature, and other art forms will also be
considered.
CLIT2028. The city as cultural text (6 credits)
If contemporary cities are becoming more ‘invisible’, it is because the effects they have upon us are
indirect and displaced. Our experience of cities becomes more problematic as cities themselves become
more complex. This course explores the changing cultural space of cities mainly through major works
of fiction and of cinema, though it will include other forms like painting and architecture as well as
theoretical texts. Topics for discussion include: How is urban experience transformed by
colonialism/imperialism, technology, information? What are the different ways of reading the city? Is
Hong Kong a ‘Chinese city’? How can the city be read as a cultural text?
CLIT2037. Gender and sexuality in Chinese literature and film (6 credits)
Why do Chinese films and novels usually convey male-oriented imagination and projections? When
Chinese women directed and wrote, were the results different? Throughout the 20th century, film and
literature produced in the Chinese mainland have supported the progressive causes of equality,
independence and freedom for a modern nation. They also subsumed gender and sexuality under grand
narratives of revolution and nation-building. A major shift took place as the cultures of postmodernism
gained ground in post-Mao urban culture open to neo-liberal economy and consumerism. Bodies,
desires and sexuality became the flashy markers of self and identity. Apparently postfeminist interests
gained prominence over Marxist feminism. Taking a textual and historical approach, this course
explores the issues of gender and sexuality in contemporary Chinese film and literature. The selected
texts of study include mainly well-known films along with some novels and short stories. The course
encourages students to explore interpretive possibilities in the space of texts marked by the interrelated
issues of gender and sexuality.
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CLIT2045. Colonialism/postcolonialism (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the influential and inter-disciplinary field of Postcolonial Studies. It
builds on earlier units in other departmental classes by surveying this field as a whole. It studies
representative texts, problems, and concepts central to the study of colonialism and postcolonialism.
Since this is a vast area of world history and culture (dating from at least 1492), not all issues, key texts,
concepts, and geographic areas can be considered, and so will vary by instructor. However topics to be
examined can include: definitions of colonialism, imperialism and the post-colonial condition;
orientalism and occidentalism; colonial discourse and sexuality and gender; race; the nation and
nationalism as imagined community; identities and mentalities of the colonized and colonizer.
Representative areas might include the mainland and greater China, but will certainly include some
texts from and places within South and South East Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas. Texts
can include literature, film, non-fiction, television, advertizing and the media.
CLIT2050. Globalization and culture (6 credits)
Globalization is not only an obvious “buzzword” of the post-Cold War age, but is also an important
historical, social, and cultural process that both predates the current era and yet is said to be “new” and
more important than ever. Whether you see it as the most salient feature of our age or as so much hype
if not an alibi for transnational capitalism, it is an important term and phenomenon in the study of
literature, film, and culture more broadly. This course introduces students to some of the key debates
about globalization, especially but not only in terms of culture. We will examine questions like: How
do we understand globalization in Hong Kong, China, South East Asia and elsewhere? What is “new”
about it? Are we becoming more alike everywhere or more aware of our cultural differences because
of globalization? Are our identities and cultures more or less “hybrid” and “cosmopolitan” than before
recent globalization? And how do national and local cultures everywhere respond to globalization? Are
the nation-state and nationalism fading away or is it the reverse? How can we analyze the problems of
globalization from the spread of European cultures in the age of colonialism to the present new world
orders of global capitalism? We will think through these types of questions with reference to local and
global phenomena and texts.
CLIT2052. Chinese urban culture (6 credits)
With specific references to contemporary Chinese cities ranging from Hong Kong and Taipei to
Shanghai and Beijing, the course examines how forces of modernization, colonialism, and globalization
have drastically transformed these cities and constantly changed, mutated, and revamped their cultural
scenes. It ponders over key issues in urban studies like the politics of urbanity (the rural vs. the urban),
the aesthetics of the city, sexual desire and sexual citizenship, as well as discourses on popular culture
and global studies. The crucial issues will have to do with the questions of identity (urban, cultural,
regional, global) and politics, as well as history and agency. We will focus on the changes which have
emerged since the 1980s. Despite their different paths, these cities witnessed the growth of a capitalist
culture and the relentless processes of globalization. We wish to explore the transformations of
traditions and analyze the patterns of urban lives associated with consumptions, different modes of
capitalisms, and cosmopolitanism. Dealing with debates on cosmopolitan cities, we shall see how these
tensions are embedded and manifested in a wide range of filmic and literary texts.
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CLIT2058. Histories of sexuality (6 credits)
Analyzed, categorized, disciplined, pathologized, feared, fantasized, enjoyed and embedded in all sorts
of cultural productions and human records: sexuality is a core part of human lives and civilizations.
This course explores the development of sexuality as a concept and what we mean by it, how we practice
it, how we talk about it in different cultures. This cross-cultural approach recognizes that the complex
histories of sexuality in Eastern and Western cultures are also the result of intricate dynamics of colonial,
racial, gender, class and cultural relations. Through examining different cultural and theoretical texts,
this course considers questions like: What were the official or governing discourses of sexuality? What
were the popular beliefs and practices about sexuality? What were the relationships of these ideas to the
cultural contexts from which they emerged? What were the causes of transformations in sexual attitudes
and behavior? What is the relationship between sexuality and other forms of social difference, such as
gender, class, race and ethnicity? What are the changing responses to these questions since the 19th
century in which sexuality as a concept and as a global movement has developed exponentially?
CLIT2060. Fiction and film in contemporary Chinese societies (6 credits)
This course will use a variety of literary and cinematographic sources to explore different faces of post-
reform China within the larger “sinophone” context including Hong Kong and Taiwan. Literary fiction
and essays, as well as documentary and feature films will be referred to in order to explore the
representation of history and violence, colonialism, and their relationship with collective memory
(Cultural Revolution, the 1989 protest movement and its repression, the memory of 2-28 in Taiwan, the
handover of Hong Kong). The use of fiction vs. documentary forms of narrative will be discussed in
relation with realism. The course will also question the notions of Chinese post-socialism vs. globalizing
postmodernism in the context of the 1990s and 2000s.
CLIT2061. Narratives of the past in the contemporary moment (6 credits)
Organized around different kinds of narratives of the past in contemporary culture, this course raises
basic questions about historical representation: What is ‘history’? How is it differentiated from
‘memory’ and ‘nostalgia’? Drawing from literature, film, museum narratives, architecture or music
from different cultures, the course explores the politics and poetics of historical representation in
contemporary societies. Depending on the instructor, topics for discussion may include: tensions
between official history and personal memory, different styles and forms of imagining and narrating
history, and the role of the media and other cultural means such as oral narratives in the mediation of
‘history.
CLIT2064. Hong Kong culture: Popular arts and everyday life (6 credits)
This course looks into various aspects of culture and everyday life in Hong Kong from the perspective
of cultural studies to examine the tension and intricate relationship between the popular and the artistic.
The major media and popular forms of expressions to be discussed include popular music, popular
literature, MTV, film, television program, talk show/theatrical performance, advertisement, and the
Internet. Through this study, we aim to develop critical ways of reading popular texts in the context of
Hong Kong’s social, cultural, political, and historical background. We will discuss how culture is
produced, consumed, and received so to as to develop our critical ability to assess and interpret Hong
Kong popular culture. We will also negotiate and reconsider the boundary between the popular and the
artistic, and see how popular arts cast an impact on the everyday life of Hong Kong people.
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CLIT2065. Hong Kong culture: Representations of identity in literature and film (6 credits)
This course aims primarily to examine the transformation of identity in Hong Kong through the analysis
of the tropes of crisis, home, and “border-crossing” in contemporary Hong Kong literary and filmic
texts. We shall explore how various crucial moments of transition in Hong Kong history have produced
identity crises in the people of Hong Kong. Some of these intriguing moments include the communist
takeover in 1949, the 1997 handover, as well as more recently the SARS outbreak and the urban
redevelopment debates. We will discuss critically the relation between nation and home, self and other,
the individual and the collective, memory and forgetting so as to critique the cultural problems bound
up in a space of flows called “Hong Kong.”
CLIT2066. Postmodernism (6 credits)
This course aims to explore a wide variety of phenomena characteristic of middle and late twentieth-
century culture, with a particular focus on critical and cultural theory from the 1970s through the 1990s.
This era encompasses the rise of new forms of global capitalism, shifts in media production and
circulation, numerous other technological changes, and the final years of the British and French Empires.
The course will also examine the impacts of, and responses to these changes on the part of artists and
thinkers. Students will learn keywords such as fragmentation, modernity, intertextuality, pastiche,
simulacra, metanarrative, and so on. . Literature, film, theory, visual arts, architecture, music, TV shows
and computer games may be discussed in the attempt to comprehend this period and its implications
for today.
CLIT2069. The making of modern masculinities (6 credits)
Why is it that the biggest box office hits year after year are nearly always male-centered action films
with a hero performing a heightened form of martial masculinity? What does this tell us? Do such films
and other texts establish a cultural construction of masculinity that runs counter to the civilizational
aspirations of modern, human and humane societies? Or is modern civilization built upon martial and
other forms of masculinity? Do forms of masculinity vary across time and space? This course will
examine the rise and circulation of modern masculinities, as these are represented by select films, media,
and other texts. We will ask why such representations prove so popular, but also what their limits and
biases and interests may be.
Non-permissible combination: CLIT3023.
CLIT2074. Film and ideology in contemporary China (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the concepts of ideology and culture in the study of contemporary
Chinese film. It surveys contemporary Chinese film forms of narratives and documentaries, and a range
of Chinese film practices including blockbuster movies, festival films, independent features, and
underground digital videos. It examines how these different forms and practices carry, convey, and
contest official ideologies and values as well as those of civil society and those commonly found in
popular culture. Topics of discussion include: 1) Concepts of ideology and culture in the study of
narrative and documentary films and various film practices; 2) Changes in official ideology regarding
nationalism, progress, wealth, heroism, and China’s role in world economy and culture; 3) Civil society
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values in independent and underground films regarding social progress, justice and difference; 4)
Thoughts and emotions regarding freedom, happiness, love, and community in everyday life. Students
must complete viewing the assigned films in a group or on their own.
CLIT2075. Modern poetry: Hong Kong and beyond (6 credits)
This course will examine the relationship between poetry and culture, exploring how culture is
internalized, enacted, and resisted in the realm of poetry. We will situate the questions of ideology,
subjectivity, resistance within the historical and cultural framework of world literature with a specific
focus on Hong Kong and Greater China. The dynamics of a constantly reshaped connection between
knowledge, sensation, language, and the social contexts of poetry will be closely examined. This course
will focus on some of the recurrent themes of Chinese and Western poetry, including temporality and
spatiality, visibility and invisibility, the notion of the city, etc. We will trace the moments when Europe
and America defined themselves as modern as well as the development of modern Chinese poetry,
considering not only the internal dynamics of the poems we read but also their implications in the
(post)modern world.
CLIT2076. Fashioning femininities (6 credits)
In The Second Sex (1949), Simone de Beauvoir states: “One is not born, but rather becomes a woman.”
In this course, we will use this statement as a starting point to examine a number of theoretical and
historical issues in gender studies: What is the relationship between sex and gender? Is sex a “biological
given” and gender a “socio-cultural construct”? What is the role of the body in relation to sex and gender
identities? How are these identities formed? How have these issues evolved in different societies at
different periods? We will investigate these questions using as case study representations of femininities
as found in a diverse range of texts such as philosophical treaties, medical writings, guidebooks for
young girls and women, paintings, women's magazines, and fashion advertisings.
CLIT2083. Film art, language and culture (6 credits)
This course examines key ways of analyzing film art and culture. How films create meaning and how
viewers make sense of the cinema frame this exploration of film as visual language and cultural text in
the context of global cultures. The course places emphasis on learning basic film terminology and the
rudiments of film form. Critical discourses are also introduced to help students understand cultural
issues such as identity, gender, history, and globalization. The student becomes acquainted with
classical Hollywood cinema, other national cinemas, transnational cinemas, counter-cinemas, as well
as hybrid, experimental and documentary film modes. At the conclusion of the course, the student
should be able to look at motion pictures critically, understand films as formal constructs, and place
films within broader institutional, economic, ideological, and cultural contexts.
CLIT2084. “New” cinemas across national boundaries (6 credits)
Almost as soon as the French nouvelle vague appeared, the next European new wave began to break on
the cinematic horizon. Since then, “new” cinemas have appeared in places as diverse as the United
States, Japan, Senegal, Brazil, Iran, South Korea and Taiwan. However, the emergence of
postmodernism has called into question what can be claimed as “new” in global film culture.
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Interventions coming from post-classical Hollywood, the digital revolution, postcolonial cinemas,
diasporic and transnational film cultures, post-feminist and queer considerations of gender and sexual
orientation have further complicated the notion of the “new” in world cinema. This course examines
what is beyond or behind the “new waves” in global cinema by exploring key auteurs, genres, film
movements, aesthetic and technological innovations in world film culture from the mid-1980s to the
present.
CLIT2085. Hong Kong: Community and cultural policy in the global context (6 credits)
How should we understand culture in a postcolonial city like Hong Kong? What aspects of globalization
are relevant to the study of Hong Kong culture? How can postcolonial Hong Kong culture offer new
ways to understand the relation between the colonial past and the present global world order? On the
one hand, cultural production is becoming the new drive for global and local economy in post-industrial
cities. Dynamic cultural policy and planning is gaining currency worldwide as a way to integrate
cultural demands, political objectives, and socioeconomic goals. Recently, other countries have stressed
the importance of cultural policies that are sustainable, democratic and grounded in local needs. How
does Hong Kong fare in this picture? On the other hand, cultural politics and analysis are becoming
increasingly important in the current global wave of youthful movements that aim at changing the global
and local cultures of governance and development. In similar movements in Hong Kong, cultural
politics and cultural activism also play a crucial role in generating new public discourses and values.
We begin to ask: how should we understand issues of community, heritage, diversity and tolerance?
How should we understand public space, public resources and public culture? What policy approach
can enable and foster cultural talent incubation and creativity? How can we democratize and decolonize
Hong Kong’s culture of governance? This interdisciplinary course equips students with the capacity to
engage in these complex debates and learn how to fill the intellectual gaps in mainstream Hong Kong’s
understanding of cultural politics and policy in the global context.
CLIT2087. Modern Chinese culture and society: Rebellions and revolutions (6 credits)
This course focuses on the social history, politics, and culture of modern China. We will study important
moments of the May 4th and “reform” eras, but most of our attention will be spent on the most maligned
but fascinating era of modern China: that of Mao Zedong and the continuous revolution (1930s-1979).
This course is an advanced introduction but does not presume too much knowledge about mainland
China. We’ll look at the development of the P.R.C. as it is reflected and refracted in select literary, film,
ethnographic, scholarly, and primary/historical documents from China and the world. Writers can range
from Lu Xun, Liang Chi-Chao, and Mao Zedong to William Hinton and Gao Mobo. Films can include
“agit-prop” as well as documentaries. But in addition to surveying this complex socio-cultural history,
we will also contest conventional wisdom about the People’s Republic. We will take China’s long
revolution seriously, in all its glory as well as its gory details. Our ultimate focus is on the interpretive,
theoretical, and ethical-political issues raised by the rise and continuance of the P.R.C.
CLIT2088. Critical approaches to film studies (6 credits)
This course is designed to acquaint the student with the principal critical methods and theoretical
debates of film theory. In addition to providing a survey of film theories, this course focuses on the
interconnections of theory with film criticism and production practices. A range of fiction and non-
fiction films will be screened, including early Soviet, classical Hollywood, Third Cinema, French New
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Wave, and contemporary international productions. Theoretical perspectives include structuralism,

semiology, Marxism, feminism, psychoanalysis, queer theory, post-structuralism, and cultural studies.
Some of the theoretical issues covered include questions of narrative and narration, realism, formalism,
modernism, postmodernism, post-colonialism, gender, sexuality, ideology, authorship, and genre.
CLIT2089. Culture and ‘queer’ theory (6 credits)
This course aims to examine the interconnections between queer and other discourses, such as race,
class, gender, and politics. Topics may include queer consumerism (the myth of the pink dollar as well
as gay/lesbian icons) and activism, and we will see how queer potentially “invades” established
structures like religion and the nuclear family to explore both the vibrancy and limitations of queer
theories. By consulting both theoretical accounts of queerness and engaging with a wide range of filmic
and literary texts drawn from both Asian and Western contexts, this course aims at bringing students a
global perspective to decipher the multifaceted nature of queer culture, theory, and dynamics.
CLIT2090. Orientalism, China, and globalization (6 credits)
This course focuses on the theory and history of orientalism both in themselves and as they apply – or
fail to usefully apply – to Western understandings of China from dynastic times up to more recent
decades of globalization. Edward Said’s Orientalism (1978) has helped transform the humanities and
social sciences and helped establish the field of postcolonial studies. It has also been taken up in
problematic ways and remains a controversial if not notorious text in some circles. We will seek to gain
a firm grasp of Said’s book and the complex historical phenomenon of orientalism. We’ll also examine
two crucial areas that Said himself largely left unexplored: that of the real, historical China and the
“China” of Western minds. We will then ask how well the theory fits “China” (and China) both in the
past and in more recent, postcolonial or global times. How might the theory be revised, assuming it
should be at all? Why does orientalism persist even after the formal end of colonialism? And what of
its flip-side or obverse, “occidentalism”? How might we understand or represent “the Other” in non-
orientalist or non-dominative ways? These are difficult, speculative questions but important for all of
us living in an increasingly globalized and increasingly “Chinese” world.
CLIT2091. Gender, feminism and modern China (6 credits)
This course focuses on literary, historical and theoretical/interpretive writings by and about modern
Chinese women and their experiences of gender and of China’s long revolution (from the late Qing and
early Republican periods up to the present). We’ll focus on how our selected texts reflect and record
the place, significance, and “experience” of gender (and to a lesser extent, of sexuality) during key
moments within Chinese history. Lectures will cover this historical ground and examine how women
made history and were made by it, how the feminist movement impacted mainland China (and vice
versa), and how the P.R.C. incorporated feminist analysis and sought to liberate women. We’ll also
delve into select interpretive and theoretical issues related to this focus, such as state feminism, gender
neutrality, homosociality, (Confucian) patriarchy, gender discourse, and domestic labor. We’ll
emphasize the quest for women’s liberation and (or “in”) the revolution. While we will spend some
time studying the post-Mao era, the majority of the course will be on the radical decades from the fall
of the Qing through the various campaigns of the Mao era (1936-1976).
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CLIT2092. Modern American poetry: Politics and aesthetics (6 credits)
This course surveys modern American poetry in its aesthetics and “politics”. The richness of its
language and formal expression is, in other words, rivaled only by its abilities to thematize social,
intellectual and cultural problems (e.g. mass culture, racism or alienation) as well as their imaginative
resolution. We will read both canonical and non-canonical poets. Among the authors we will study are:
Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams, Wallace Stevens,
Langston Hughes, Kenneth Fearing, Tillie Olsen, Edwin Rolfe, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Allen
Ginsberg, Amiri Baraka, and Adrienne Rich. Much of the course will be given over to instruction and
practice in the “art” of reading modern poetry as well as discussing and writing about it. But we will
also be concerned as much with content – and historical and intellectual contexts – as with form. Among
the topics we will attend to are: the long-standing dialogue on the meaning, hope or nightmare of
America; the search for a literary form adequate to the complexity of modern life; modernity as problem,
possibility and “feeling”; “political poetry” versus the politics of poetry; and lyricism vs. “facts”.
CLIT2093. 20th Century fashion and the making of the modern women (6 credits)
Coco Chanel, the celebrated French fashion designer known for redefining the feminine form and
silhouette, once said: “I make fashions that women can live in, breathe in, feel comfortable in and look
younger in.” Using the work of Chanel as a launching point, students will develop a historical
understanding of the emergence of the modern woman through the study of the evolution of women’s
fashion and clothing in 20th century, and will learn to analyze the economic, social and political
dimensions of fashion and their impacts on the evolution of women’s roles and identities.
CLIT2096. Ethics of film and literature (6 credits)
Controversial and often explosive, questions of good, bad, evil, or the moral and amoral have fueled
debates and quarrels over cultural texts and their meanings throughout history. Aesthetic evaluations
and moral judgments are also often enmeshed. Governments may censor or ban certain kinds of books,
films and other art works, or censure the artists who produce them because they assume that art has a
moral dimension . Consequently, because such arbitrations shape how we respond to, evaluate, and
interpret these texts, students will read critical and creative texts that engage with narrative ethics as
they appear in different cultural and linguistic traditions. This focus on ethics will simultaneously
redirect us back to narrativity and the constructedness of texts.
CLIT2097. Independent documentaries: Theory and practice (6 credits)
This course will introduce students to the theory and practice of independent documentaries. Through
screenings, readings, and discussion, we will review and examine the various forms and approaches of
documentary videos and films. We will discuss the key modes of documentary including: observational,
expository, personal, interactive, reflective, and other mixed modes. We will examine the narrative,
rhetorical, affective, and critical aspects of documentaries through examples taken from western and
recent Chinese-language productions. The course will examine documentary work in a range of
subjects and will discuss questions of technique, poetics, politics, ethics, censorship, and legal issues.
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CLIT2099. Anticolonialism and decoloniality (6 credits)
This course introduces students to anticolonial and decolonial thought, and political thought more
broadly, from the Global South. Anticolonial and decolonial thought, across the twentieth and twenty-
first century, is the intellectual predecessor to postcolonial theory. It also demonstrates an engagement
with political thought from Western Europe, but reveals its shortcomings and its presumptions. This
course will study and analyse primary texts by key anticolonial thinkers from South Asia, Africa, the
Caribbean, and Latin America. The course thus focuses on writing that emerged in response to European
empires: British, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. The thinkers we will study include M.K. Gandhi,
Frantz Fanon, Edouard Glissant, Paulo Friere, Steve Biko, and many others.
CLIT2100. Fugitive science: Science and technology studies (STS) approaches to facts and
fakes (6 credits)
Concerns over fakes have come to the fore across a wide range of contemporary global transformations,
from the circulation of counterfeits, forgeries, and other shadow markets, to “fake news” and the
decontextualization of information reproduced across globalized media technologies, to specters of state
pageantry, rigged elections, and a burgeoning internet zeal for conspiracy theories of all kinds. But,
what is a fake? Are all fakes the same? Who gets to decide what is authentic? Are ‘fake’ and ‘authentic’
absolute and antithetical categories? Can there be such things as “real/fake” hybrids? And, do fakes
have any virtues?
In this course, students will explore issues of authenticity and manipulation in relation to the production
and circulation of 'facts', especially as they arise in medicine and science. We will consider, for instance,
if doping in sports is a form of cheating and if self-tracking devices reveal our authentic selves, or if we
exist as cyborgs in ways that makes these distinctions moot. We will ask whether scientists produce
knowledge about things and people that already exist out there in the world, or if they might actually
make their objects of analysis in the very act of studying them. Through topics like 'heart disease and
race' and 'sick building syndrome and chemical exposure', students will learn about how activists,
scientists, and industries fight over what and who gets “made up” through science. The objective of this
course is not to make claims over what is or is not factual, but to introduce students to critically
interrogating how facts are produced rather than merely discovered.
CLIT2101. Imagining Africa otherwise (6 credits)
Recently the film Black Panther (2018) became one of the highest grossing movies in history, in part
because it provided audiences with a different way of imagining Africa and Black futures. It drew upon
a Black cultural lens—including African aesthetics, politics, and philosophy—to imagine a
technological sci-fi future. This approach (referred to by some as Afrofuturism) stands in stark contrast
to the ways in which Africa has been portrayed in the international media and political discourse, and,
as such, made an important political intervention. In this course, we take this intervention seriously by
considering what it may afford to rethink not only the future, but also the present and past of “Africa”.
How might we radically reimagine what “Africa” is? What illusions and myths would we need to dispel
to do so? This course argues that the stories we’ve been told and the images we’ve been shown of Africa
have relied on Eurocentric notions of religion and the state, personhood and kinship, agency and power,
gender and sexuality, human-environment relations, and much more. This results in accounts of Africa
as a passive recipient of outside influence, from colonialism and missionization to development, global
health, and China-Africa relations today. In this course, we will critically integrate the assumptions built
into such depictions, focusing especially on how African theorists and writers interrupt such tropes and
provoke new ways of imagining Africa today, including African responses to ongoing experiences of
cultural, political, and economic imperialism.
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CLIT2102. The Tragic Imagination (6 credits)
A survey of European tragedy from ancient Greece to modernity encompassing key critical reflections
on the genre of the tragic and its outsized role in European philosophy. We will explore representative
works of the genre from its glorious flourishing in ancient Greece (Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus),
through Rome (Seneca) and into the early modern period (Racine, Shakespeare) including a brief
excursus to China with the zaju drama. Together, we will interrogate the nature of tragedy. We will
consider tragedy as a way to give form to and make sense of trauma and loss. We will also question
whether tragedy is collective or individual and in so doing will examine the ethical and political
questions it raises. Finally, we will interrogate to what extent tragedy remains relevant today whether
in prison performances of Macbeth, Syrian refugees reenacting the Trojan War on the London stage, or
reimagining Oedipus the King as Peking Opera. In addition to the plays, we will look at selections from
some of the major theorists and philosophers of tragedy, as well as works of art inspired by tragic themes.
CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE COURSES
Capstone courses are offered to year three or above students.
CLIT3019. Internship in Comparative Literature and cultural sectors (capstone experience)

(6 credits)
This course aims at placing Comparative Literature majors in the working environments where their
cultural knowledge, critical thinking, creativity, and their skills in writing, analysis, and cultural
research acquired from advanced courses will find application and become enriched in the process of
self-reflexive experiential learning. Students will also have hands on experience in learning and
realizing how to integrate academic concepts with everyday circumstances through case-by-case basis,
therefore rethinking the dynamics, complications, and significance of the learning objectives they have
had throughout their education at Comparative Literature. Internship placement will be made only if
the student passes an interview and acquires the approval of the prospective host organization.
Internship placements may include but are not limited to the following areas:
• Cultural criticism and publishing
• Film and media
• Cultural curatorship and management
• Cultural innovation/activism, non-government organizations
• Teaching and creative education
• Overseas inter-faculty internship with international NGOs (for summer semester only)
Note: For Comparative Literature majors only; students are recommended to take the course in the
second semester of their third year, the summer semester of their third year (if it is offered) or
the fourth year.
Prerequisite: A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.9 is normally required.
CLIT3020. Independent research (capstone experience) (6 credits)
This course aims at providing well-prepared Comparative Literature majors in the final year an
opportunity to pursue a research topic under the supervision of a teacher. It contributes to the capstone
learning experience of major students in Comparative Literature majors. It helps students advance their
skills in doing research for disciplinary and interdisciplinary topics in literary and cultural studies. The
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contact hours are minimal (10-14 hours for a 6-credit course) and will include teaching of research
method and discussion of work-in-progress. Students will undertake independent research and writing.
Assessment is through a single research essay or an undergraduate dissertation of approximately 7,000
words. The research courses require students to have a final year Comparative Literature Departmental
major status, a GPA of 3.25 or above, and lecturer approval upon the receipt of a research proposal of
approximately 1,000 words and a working bibliography at least one month prior to the semester when
the course is taken.
Note: For Comparative Literature majors only.
Prerequisite: A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.25 is normally required.
CLIT3021. Advanced studies in theory and cultural analysis (capstone experience) (6 credits)
This course moves beyond basic literary and cultural theories introduced in lower-level courses and
brings in special topics that continue to challenge students to think, read, and write critically. A special
topic will be introduced each time the course is offered. Recent topics covered include cosmopolitanism
and world literature, transmediality and film adaptations, and photography in the age of internet. The
instructor will incorporate ongoing campus forums into class planning to bring students in tune with
cutting edge research in literary and cultural studies. The class will be conducted in a seminar mode
requiring students’ active participation. The goal is for each student to work toward a final project that
concludes four years of study at HKU.
CLIT3022. Critiques of modernity (capstone experience) (6 credits)
What is ‘modernity’? When is/was ‘modernity’? What do modernity’s aesthetic and political forms look
like? This course will examine literary, philosophical, and political texts that wrestle with the notion of
‘modernity’. These texts are often marked by literary experimentation, abstraction, and a concern for
the intersection between philosophy and literature. Traditionally many scholars suggested that
modernity ‘began’ in Europe and spread outwards around the world. More recently, scholars from
Africa, South Asia, and East Asia have argued against this, though in different ways. This course will
explore ‘modernity’ and ‘modernism’ as it took place around the world in the first half of the twentieth-
century. We will read novels and philosophical texts from various ‘modernities’ and ‘modernist’
movements from Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia.
CLIT3025. Asia on global screens (capstone experience) (6 credits)
This course centers on films that originate in Asia and address Asian concerns be it national, regional,
and/or global in scope. Films under analysis include box office hits, award winning art films, and
documentaries. How do Asian films critique what it means to be Asian by contesting cultural traditions
as well as promoting the need to transform Asia into something newer and better?
CLIT3026. Violence in Asia (capstone experience) (6 credits)
Hannah Arendt distinguishes between power and violence, and argues that one cancels the other out in
the political realm. This distinction unpacks the relationship politics has to violence broadly conceived
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even as it acknowledges the relationship between legitimate political power and violence as such.
Nonetheless, politics retains traces of violence that require careful and thoughtful responses often
encapsulated in artistic works either as valorization, rejection, or critique that teach us more about being
human. Consequently, how do our conceptions of politics and violence influence the cultural life of
Asia? For example, what effects has war had on ‘cultural imaginaries’? And how have various Asian
writers, scholars, or filmmakers responded to changes in economic or political systems as Asia leaves
colonialism behind? Other phenomena that have deep and sometimes brutal impact on our social life
include the alienation of modernization, migration, environmental degradation, imprisonment, mental
illness, racial or religious violence, or urban-rural divides may be covered in any given semester. This
course will look at how violence in Asia has been portrayed, and how those portrayals affect our ideas
about the relation of power between Asian countries, and also between the continent and the rest of the
world. Depending on the semester, the instructor may choose to focus on certain Asian regions such as
South, Southeast, or East Asia. The texts in this class will be interdisciplinary and can be drawn from
newspapers, popular media, historical texts, film, or literature.
Note: Non-majors interested in adding the course should contact the instructor.
CLIT3027. From states of nature to states of the world: Political theory as literature (capstone
experience) (6 credits)
This course surveys classic and modern texts that offer ‘big picture’ analyses of humanity, human
nature, the creation of society or political society specifically, and, in sum, the state of the world. Texts
can range from Plato (The Republic) and Confucius (Analects) to Machiavelli’s Prince, Marx’s
Manifesto, and Mao’s “Peasant Movement in Hunan”, but also the early modern trinity of Hobbes
(Leviathan), Locke (The Second Treatise), and Rousseau (The Social Contract), as well as texts from
after World War II and up to the present age of “globalization”. We will examine them as important
sources of political thought and human imagination, and also as instances of great writing and thinking.
We may also examine select fiction, film, or other secondary texts to help illustrate the classic ones.
Think of this as a “Great Books” class focused on political and social visions of how our world came
to be.
GENDER STUDIES
The Gender Studies Programme teaches gender as a subject and as a category of analysis. The subject
gender includes gender relations and identities, women, and sexualities. As a category of analysis,
gender interrogates cultural production, and social systems, intersecting with other categories of social
difference, such as sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, and ability, to critically analyse structures of
knowledge and systems of power.
The Gender Studies Major (72 Credits)

Students wishing to major in Gender Studies must normally complete the following requirements:
(a) Introductory courses (18 credits)

(i) 6 credits of GEND1001. “Introduction to Gender Studies” (or CLIT1002. “Introduction to
Gender Studies” for students admitted in 2017-18 or before), and obtain a grade C or above;
(ii) 12 credits of introductory courses from any Arts programmes;
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(b) Advanced courses (54 credits)

(i) 18 credits (6 credits for students admitted in 2020-21 or before) taken from the following
courses (the other courses may be taken as electives):
GEND2001. De-colonising gender (6 credits);
GEND2002. Gender, race and beauty (6 credits);
GEND2003. Gender, generation, and leadership (6 credits);
GEND2004. Gender in visual and material culture (6 credits);
GEND2005. Religion, gender, and sexuality (6 credits);
GEND2006. TransAsia: navigating transness and intersections in Asia (6 credits);
GEND2007. Sexuality and culture (6 credits);
GEND2008. Queer theory and women's perspectives (6 credits);
GEND2009. Feminist and queer literature in Asian contexts (6 credits);
GEND2010. Feminist science and technology studies (6 credits);
GEND2011. Feminism in popular culture (6 credits);
GEND2012. Queer feminisms and Japan: approaches to stories, politics, and
imagination (6 credits)
GEND2013. Queer and feminist solidarity from Hong Kong (6 credits)
GEND3001. Internship in Gender Studies (6 credits); and
GEND3002. Work and our futures (6 credits);
(ii) 6 credits of GEND3901. “Gender Studies research (capstone experience)”; and
(iii) 30 credits (42 credits for students admitted in 2020-21 or before) of advanced courses at 2000
level or above listed below, among which not more than 18 credits of advanced courses can
be taken from other faculties.
The Gender Studies Minor (36 Credits)

Students wishing to minor in Gender Studies must normally complete the following requirements:
(a) Introductory course (6 credits):

6 credits of GEND1001. “Introduction to Gender Studies” (or CLIT1002. “Introduction to Gender
Studies” for students admitted in 2017-18 or before), and obtain a grade C or above;
(b) Advanced courses (30 credits)

(i) 18 credits (6 credits for students admitted in 2020-21 or before) taken from one of the
following courses (the other courses may be taken as electives):
GEND2001. De-colonising gender (6 credits);
GEND2002. Gender, race and beauty (6 credits);
GEND2003. Gender, generation, and leadership (6 credits);
GEND2004. Gender in visual and material culture (6 credits);
GEND2005. Religion, gender, and sexuality (6 credits);
GEND2006. TransAsia: navigating transness and intersections in Asia (6 credits);
GEND2007. Sexuality and culture (6 credits);
GEND2008. Queer theory and women's perspectives (6 credits);
GEND2009. Feminist and queer literature in Asian contexts (6 credits);
GEND2010. Feminist science and technology studies (6 credits);
GEND2011. Feminism in popular culture (6 credits);
GEND2012. Queer feminisms and Japan: approaches to stories, politics, and
imagination (6 credits)
GEND3001. Internship in Gender Studies (6 credits); and
GEND3002. Work and our futures (6 credits); and
(ii) 12 credits (24 credits for students admitted in 2020-21 or before) of advanced courses at 2000
level or above listed below, among which not more than 12 credits of advanced courses can
be taken from other faculties.
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List of Advanced Elective Courses
Faculty of Arts
Gender Studies
GEND2001. De-colonising gender (6 credits)
GEND2002. Gender, race and beauty (6 credits)
GEND2003. Gender, generation, and leadership (6 credits)
GEND2004. Gender in visual and material culture (6 credits)
GEND2005. Religion, gender, and sexuality (6 credits)
GEND2006. TransAsia: navigating transness and intersections in Asia (6 credits)
GEND2007. Sexuality and culture (6 credits)
GEND2008. Queer theory and women's perspectives (6 credits)
GEND2009. Feminist and queer literature in Asian contexts (6 credits)
GEND2010. Feminist science and technology studies (6 credits)
GEND2011. Feminism in popular culture (6 credits)
GEND2012. Queer feminisms and Japan: approaches to stories, politics, and imagination (6 credits)
GEND3001. Internship in Gender Studies (6 credits)
GEND3002. Work and our futures (6 credits)
School of Chinese
CHIN2146. The “sickly beauties”: gender and illness in late imperial China (6 credits)
CHIN2151. Gender and sexuality in Ming and Qing fiction (6 credits)
CHIN2171. Women’s autobiographical writing in late Imperial China (6 credits)
HKGS2006. Engendering Hong Kong: sociological and demographic perspectives (6 credits)
School of English
ARTH2100. Body, Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary art (6 credits)
ARTH3033. Sex, Gender, and the Body in Early Modern Art (6 credits)
CLIT2014. Feminist cultural studies (6 credits)
CLIT2016. The body in culture (6 credits)
CLIT2069. The making of modern masculinities (6 credits)
CLIT2089. Culture and ‘queer’ theory (6 credits)
CLIT2093. 20th Century fashion and the making of the modern women (6 credits)
CLIT2101. Imagining Africa otherwise (6 credits)
HIST2048. The history of childhood and youth (6 credits)
HIST2070. Stories of self: History through autobiography (6 credits)
HIST2081. Gender and history: Beauty, fashion and sex (6 credits)
HIST2083. Gender, sexuality and empire (6 credits)
HIST2085. The history of modern sexual identity and discourse (6 credits)
HIST2089. History’s closet: Clothing in context (6 credits)
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HIST2119. Changing lives: Women’s history from Fin-de-Siècle to the interwar years (6 credits)
HIST2126. The American family: Histories, myths, and realities (6 credits)
HIST2131. Growing up ‘girl’: Histories, novels, and American culture (6 credits)
HIST2143. Love and loyalty: Women and gender in Chinese History (6 credits)
HIST2151. God, guns, sex: Religion, revolution, and gender in late imperial and modern China (6
credits)
HIST2158. Women in Hong Kong history: Private lives and public voices (6 credits)
HIST2160. Visualizing history (6 credits)
HIST2161. Making race (6 credits)
HIST2165. Protest and politics in modern U.S. history (6 credits)
HIST2166. Gender and sexuality on trial: a global history of sex and scandal, 1690-1990 (6 credits)
HIST2169. History of love in modern China (6 credits)
HIST2196. Race, gender, and sexuality in American Empire since 1898 (6 credits)
HIST3082. Birth counts: The politics of reproduction in the modern world (6 credits)
PHIL2422. Philosophy of gender and race (6 credits)

AMER2055. African American history and culture (6 credits)
EUST2011. Modern European lifestyle: Fashion, food, music and sex in Europe (6 credits)
GCIN2033. Gender and creative industries: An introduction (6 credits)
GRMN3033. Gender equality in German-speaking countries and the European Union (6 credits)
JAPN2045. Sex, gender, and technology in Japan (6 credits)
JAPN2095. Gender and sexuality in modern Japanese literature (6 credits)
JAPN3064. The Tale of Genji (6 credits)
KORE2034. Gender, sexuality, and family in Korea (6 credits)
SINO2013. Women and gender in Chinese history (6 credits)
Faculty of Education
MEDD8869. Gender and Education: International and Comparative Perspectives (6 credits)
Faculty of Law
LLAW3071. Equality and non-discrimination (6 credits)
LLAW3220. Gender, sexuality and the law (6 credits)
LLAW3239. Law and social justice at the intersections: gender, race, religion and sexuality (6
credits)
Faculty of Social Sciences

SOCI2011. Gender and crime (6 credits)
SOCI2012. Gender and society (6 credits)
SOCI2013. Gender in Chinese societies (6 credits)
SOCI2021. Marriage and the family (6 credits)
SOCI2081. Sexuality, culture and identity (6 credits)
SOWK2037. Human sexuality (6 credits)
Introductory Course
GEND1001. Introduction to Gender Studies (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the discipline of Gender Studies. Students will develop an
understanding of gender both as a subject and as a category of analysis. Students explore gender-related
topics, including gender relations and identities, women, and sexualities. As a category of analysis,
students will use gender to interrogate cultural production and social systems, paying close attention to
how gender intersects with other categories of social difference, such as sexuality, race, ethnicity, class,
and ability. Students will connect the assigned academic readings to “real-life” examples in the news,
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media or their everyday lives thereby producing new theoretical understandings of gender and sexuality
within the contexts of Hong Kong, Asia and the world.
Advanced Courses
GEND2001. De-colonising gender (6 credits)
This course aims to decenter European and North American knowledge about gender and introduce a
new Asia-centered approach to studying gender, sex, and sexuality. The course will introduce students
to theoretical models that challenge the historical privilege of Whiteness and the West in Gender Studies,
including Orientalism, the Subaltern School, and Intersectionality. Students will also look at gender
theories from colonized/post-colonial or non-Western places, such as China, Japan, South Korea and
India. Drawing transnationally from gender theory, the course will propose new models for talking
about gender, sex, and sexuality in Hong Kong, China, and Asia.
Prerequisite: GEND1001 or CLIT1002 (for students admitted in 2017-18 or before).
GEND2002. Gender, race and beauty (6 credits)
This course examines beauty, skin, and cosmetics from the nineteenth century to today. Students will
consider the similarities, differences, and interconnectedness of beauty practices across time and place,
examining how they reveal global and local structures of gender, race, and class. The course will
consider how entrepreneurs shaped beauty markets, how advertisements visually represent ideals of
feminine and racialized beauty, and how people have felt about their physical beauty.
GEND2003. Gender, generation, and leadership (6 credits)
This course considers the intersection of gender, generation, and leadership in theory and practice. It
also cultivates research, writing, and critical thinking skills building on the key objectives of the Gender
Studies Program. We begin with student reflections on their own “leadership stories,” then expand class
discussions to think about community and global leaders in light of key insights from gender and
leadership studies scholarship. In addition to considering how identity and institutional formations
shape each other we will draw on gender studies perspectives to historicize and interrogate workplace
buzzwords and legal terms including “glass” and “bamboo ceilings,” “leaky pipelines,” “diversity and
inclusion,” “affirmative action/positive discrimination,” and “unconscious/implicit bias.” Intersectional
analysis of leadership will illuminate the barriers to power and position that exist when gender intersects
with racial, ethnic, gender, economic, sexual, geographic, or religious discrimination (or any
combination of the aforementioned). We will discuss case studies of transformative leaders who have
shaped policies, institutions, and localities in gendered and gender-conscious ways. Throughout the
term we will pay special attention to leadership and change in Hong Kong, China, and Asia today,
drawing on the expertise of selected guest lecturers who are leaders in various settings and workplaces
here in the region. Learners will combine reading and reflection with active participation in class
discussions, small-group projects, and leadership training seminars.
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GEND2004. Gender in visual and material culture (6 credits)
The practice of Gender Studies, and indeed the experience of gender, frequently crosses disciplinary
boundaries. This course will give students access to approaches derived from a number of disciplines,
including art history, cultural studies, and material culture, which will enable them to develop and
extend their understanding of how objects, images and other kinds of representations are implicated in
and predicated on discourses of gender. The course will explore topics including fashion, architecture,
design, fine art and photography, and print and new media, covering a broad territory of times and
places. Students will develop a critical understanding of some of the key debates that have structured
feminist theories of representation, and their relationship to the general field of visual culture. Emphasis
will be placed on engagement with resources and research methods specific to visual topics, including
object sessions and museum visits where appropriate, with the aim of providing students with tools and
skills that they can utilize throughout their undergraduate careers.
GEND2005. Religion, gender, and sexuality (6 credits)
This course examines religion, gender and sexuality as crucial systems of power that shape our world.
Rather than introducing gender and religion according to the categorization of “world religions,” this
course applies a thematic approach. It aims to show how gender is understood differently across culture
and society as variations of a theme, while reflecting on the religious practices and gender norms of
their own social and cultural backgrounds and the cross-cultural issues.
GEND2006. TransAsia: navigating transness and intersections in Asia (6 credits)
This course serves as the first transgender focused gender studies course in the Gender Studies
Programme. The course will introduce and discuss the concepts and theories of transness, transgender
and otherness using some of the Western literature while incorporating and focusing on the Asian
perspectives with Thailand, Hong Kong and the Philippines as focus.
This course will also focus on narratives and history of transness and otherness in 3 Asian contexts:
Hong Kong, Thailand and the Philippines. The course will look into the evolution of gender identities,
roles and expressions and sexualities in these societies and weave the intersections in these narratives.
We will study the current situations of trans, non-binary and "other" people in these societies and how
their transness and otherness impede them from being fully integrated in their societies. We look into
ways colonisation (Hong Kong, Philippines) and non-colonisation (Thailand) affect their transness and
collectiveness. Finally, we hope to invite social justice allies through this course to help us map action
plans to share with them so they can be helped in improving their states in their respective societies.
GEND2007. Sexuality and culture (6 credits)
The study of sexuality obliges a reading of the theories of both Sigmund Freud and Michel Foucault.
While Freud argues that the sexual instinct and civilization are irreconcilable and society must repress
the sexual, even at the cost of producing neurotics, Foucault thinks that societies and discourses produce
sexuality, sexual types, and sexual behaviour as a form of control. Textual discussions to examine the
application of psychoanalytic theory in the representation of sexuality in culture will include
internationally acclaimed classics of both film and literary texts. Intensive reading is mandatory and
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expected of students who will be guided through the examination of the writings of Sigmund Freud,
Michel Foucault, Jacques Lacan, and other theorists who have contributed to the legacy of
psychoanalysis as a tool for the reading of culture.
GEND2008. Queer theory and women's perspectives (6 credits)
This course introduces queer theory across a range of disciplinary and historical contexts, with an
emphasis on approaches and issues centering women’s perspectives. While outlining basic concepts
and debates within queer studies, the course focuses on highlighting work by/on women and reflecting
upon intersections between queer theory and feminisms. The nature of “women” will necessarily be
interrogated from intersectional perspectives dealing with issues of ethnicity/race, class, and
transgender identities.
We will begin by examining poststructuralist concepts of power and resistance alongside the context of
1990’s queer activism in the United States. Readings include classic texts on topics such as sexual
hierarchies, the lesbian continuum, and problems of intersectionality within queer movements.
Significantly, the emphasis will be on “translating” such texts and theories to everyday experiences in
Hong Kong. In addition to writing assignments designed for this purpose, readings will cover topics
including the introduction of queer theory in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China; queer
Sinophone studies; and queer diasporas. Through this course, students will develop a foundation for
queer approaches and engage closely with questions of solidarity and coalition-building within and
beyond queer studies.
GEND2009. Feminist and queer literature in Asian contexts (6 credits)
This course provides a survey of feminist and queer/LGBTQ literature with a focus on texts from
regions of Asia and the Asian diaspora. While centering narratives by women or queer-identifying
authors, we will address basic issues surrounding the representation of gender and sexuality and
interrogate broader discourses of “feminist” and “queer” within Asian cultural contexts. What role do
literary (and popular) narratives have in feminist and queer movements within Asia or centering Asian
identities? What forms of solidarity are made possible through stories, across lines of gender, sexuality,
nationality, race, and other difference? Through its exploration of Asian contexts, the course works
against a historical lack of visibility for non-white, non-Western literary voices. The course emphasizes
literary fiction and relevant theory/criticism but will also incorporate other forms such as poetry,
memoir, comics, zines, and games.
GEND2010. Feminist science and technology studies (6 credits)
As an interdisciplinary field that spans history, anthropology, cultural studies, geography, and
sociology, science and technology studies asks fundamental questions of how our world—driven by the
ever-emerging advances in science and technology—is also culturally shaped by our understandings of
“science” and “technology.” This course takes a feminist perspective to science and technology studies,
meaning that the central analytic in our quest is power: how do “science” and “technology” also
manifest and manage difference? How is that difference unequally distributed, treated, institutionalized,
and experience? And how is that difference part and parcel of “science” and “technology”? A feminist
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perspective, focused on difference, thus draws attention to the myriad of difference produced, unevenly
so: gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, ability, health, nationality, and class.
GEND2011. Feminism in popular culture (6 credits)
This course explores how feminist thought and theory has been manifested in popular culture texts and
impacted understandings of gender, sexuality and diversity. Students will become familiar with a range
of theories and methods used in contemporary feminist theory and cultural studies to study
representations in popular culture and to ascertain how constructions of gender and power are
integrated. Examples to be examined include popular texts in film, television, music and digital media.
Students will also critically appraise how developments in the feminist movementhave influenced
depictions of gender and sexuality in these various facets of popular culture.
GEND2012. Queer feminisms and Japan: approaches to stories, politics, and imagination (6
credits)
How do we “read” Japanese culture through queer and feminist perspectives? We commonly find
depoliticized views of Japanese culture centering on escapism and the exotic—in “Western” countries
but also in places such as Hong Kong. In contrast, this class emphasizes analysis of gender and sexuality
grounded within cultural and historical context, tracing the politics of imagination and desire
surrounding Japanese literature, manga, television, and film. It touches upon popular male authors to
suggest how critique of sexism can exist side by side with pleasure found in problematic texts. Namely,
however, students will be exposed to a broader range of Japanese cultural texts alongside relevant
scholarship, and learn to analyze how texts intersect with gender and sexual politics, ethnicity/race,
class, colonialism, and imperialism. Topics include those such as queer and feminist literature; BL, yuri,
and otaku cultures; the impact of transnational queer/LGBTQ politics and feminisms; the circulation of
Japanese texts within Hong Kong, mainland China, and Taiwan; and the broader context of girls’ culture
in East Asia.
What does it mean to practice border-crossing solidarity built on our understandings of political,
cultural, and historical realities of the places in which we live? This course outlines problems and
theoretical questions that arise when we study gender and sexuality in Hong Kong, connecting gaps in
theory with our lived everyday realities. It calls for the study of queer and feminist issues in Hong Kong
to engage with colonial histories and layered imperialisms; dynamics between “local” identities, ethnic
minorities, mainland Chinese, and expats; and tensions between Cantonese, English, and Mandarin.
Namely, feminist and queer ethical practices require an ongoing self-reflexive investigation of the
positionalities and places from which we think, feel, and seek to connect with others.
With this starting point, we can begin to theorize solidarity and hope found by engaging with
experiences of feminists, queers, racial/ethnic minorities, and those otherwise marginalized in places
outside of Hong Kong. How do we enter into fraught conversations across geographical space and time
as well as linguistic and political boundaries, often through “bad feelings” and collective trauma? While
drawing from Hong Kong studies, the course includes topics such as women of color, Black, Asian
American, postcolonial, and transnational feminisms and queer of color critique; transnational flows of
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queer politics and feminisms through translation and multilingualism in Chinese-speaking contexts;
diasporic queer feminist activisms alongside Sinophone studies; recent Japanese and Korean feminisms;
racial hierarchies and Orientalisms; femininities and masculinities in East Asia; and creative expression
of racially marginalized feminists and queers.
GEND3001. Internship in Gender Studies (6 credits)
The Gender Studies internship offers students an opportunity to take their classroom knowledge into
the community. Drawing on previous coursework in Gender Studies, students will apply a critical and
intersectional knowledge of gender and sexuality to an experiential learning endeavor that demonstrates
a real impact on society. An internship proposal must be submitted to the course supervisor the semester
before the proposed start of internship. The student must pass an interview with the organization before
being allowed to register for this course. The duration of the internship will depend on the arrangement
between the student and the organization, but should involve at least 40 contact hours of service for the
organization. Students will check-in with the supervisor at least twice to discuss internship progress.
Students will complete a written report and critical reflection on the internship experience, signed by
the organization.
Prerequisites: GEND1001 or CLIT1002 (for students admitted in 2017-18 or before), and at least one
2000-level Gender Studies course.
GEND3002. Work and our futures (6 credits)
What will the future of work look like, and how do we prepare for our future careers? If in the future
every industry will be touched by automation, what transferrable skills does Gender Studies and the
Humanities offer that robots and AI cannot replicate? How do we translate the unique knowledge and
experiences of a Gender Studies major into a career? Students will explore how Gender Studies scholars
examine such workplace problems as the gender pay gap and unconscious bias and will develop skills
for navigating their own career journey, from building a professional network to negotiating a first job.
Final year Gender Studies majors are strongly encouraged to take this course.
Capstone Course
GEND3901. Gender Studies research (capstone experience) (6 credits)
This capstone experience aims at providing Gender Studies majors in their penultimate or final year an
opportunity to produce a final project. The course introduces students to doing research on Gender
Studies in original and secondary sources. The course will introduce students to the methods of gender
studies. Through a rigorous series of guided steps, students will work both collaboratively and
independently to produce a research paper or equivalent project.
Note: For Gender Studies majors only.
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LINGUISTICS
In the Department of Linguistics, students can investigate a variety of different languages and through
such investigations, come to a better understanding of the shared structure and broad variation of the
world’s languages. The BA programme provides a firm foundation so that those students who wish to
do so can go on to pursue advanced studies in linguistics.
The undergraduate programme in Linguistics permits students to combine in a single field a variety of
Arts and Social Sciences subjects and to develop their analytic skills in depth. Students are encouraged
to explore with members of staff the many relationships of linguistics with other fields in order to
discover the programme that best suits their individual goals and interests.
The department offers the following majors and minors:
I. Major in General Linguistics

II. Minor in General Linguistics
All courses are assessed by 100% coursework. Coursework assessment may take a variety of formats,
including projects, term-papers, essays, portfolios, class tests, and student presentations.
All are taught as one-semester courses. Course availability is subject to staffing considerations.
(I) MAJOR IN GENERAL LINGUISTICS
General Linguistics is a broad and varied field that covers the study of human language in all its aspects.
In the Department of Linguistics, students may major in General Linguistics and a number of streams
(concentrations) have been defined to help them to select their courses.
The Sound stream focuses on the mental representation of speech sounds (phonology) and their
physical properties (phonetics). A structured series of courses equips students with theoretical
knowledge and practical skills for studying articulatory and acoustic phonetics, sociophonetics, and
typology of sound systems and phonological acquisition, while a capstone experience provides students
with a practical opportunity to engage in experimental research.
The Grammar stream focuses on the various ways languages encode similar meanings to explain the
similarities and differences we observe among the world’s languages, and how the structures shared
among languages may be modeled. We emphasize documentary approaches through the collection of
primary data in the field and the laboratory.
The Language and Mind stream focuses on the study of language from psychological and neural
perspectives. It aims to address questions like how we acquire language, how we comprehend and
produce language, how our language use interacts with other cognitive functions, what it means to be
multilingual, and how we represent language in the mind and brain.
The Language Contact and Change stream addresses how languages change through social pressures
and when speakers of different languages interact. We concentrate on linguistically diverse regions and
undertake field trips to Asia, Africa, and Europe to study language contact and change in real-life
situations.
The Quantitative Linguistics stream focuses on how linguistic issues can be investigated with
mathematics and computer science. We address how natural language can be processed by machines
(speech recognition, speech synthesis, text mining, machine translation etc.), and also how large
databases, statistical models or computational simulations can offer fresh perspectives on fundamental
linguistic questions.
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Course selection depends on students’ intended specialization. Students are encouraged to check the
Linguistics website for the courses under the different streams and to discuss with staff members which
combination of courses is most relevant to their specific interest(s).
These streams only serve as guidelines to help students build their study plan and understand how
different courses relate to each other. While it may make sense to complete all the courses of a stream
deemed of interest by a student, there is no requirement to complete one or several streams, and there
will be no official recognition of the completion of a stream. Students are completely free to choose the
courses they want in and across streams.
Students majoring in General Linguistics are required to complete 72 credits of Linguistics courses,
including
(a) LING1000 “Introduction to language” (6 credits), with a grade C- or above;

(b) LING2004 “Phonetics: Describing sounds” and LING2050 “Grammatical description” (12
credits), ideally in the second year;
(c) one of the following courses (6 credits), ideally in the second or third years:
LING2009 “Languages of the world”
LING2034 “Psycholinguistics”
LING2056 “Sociolinguistics”; and
(d) 48 credits of levels 2000 and 3000 advanced Linguistics courses, including at least one capstone
course.
Students should enroll in the ‘English in the Discipline’ course for Linguistics. This course provides a
learning experience which combines English enhancement with the acquisition of disciplinary
knowledge and skills.
(II) MINOR IN GENERAL LINGUISTICS
Students minoring in General Linguistics are required to complete 36 credits of Linguistics courses,
including
(a) LING1000 “Introduction to language” (6 credits), with a grade D or above;

(b) two of the following courses (12 credits), ideally in the second or third years:
LING2004 “Phonetics: Describing sounds”
LING2009 “Languages of the world”
LING2034 “Psycholinguistics”
LING2050 “Grammatical description”
LING2056 “Sociolinguistics”; and
(c) 18 credits of level 2000 advanced Linguistics courses.
Level 1000 Courses – Introductory
LING1000. Introduction to language (6 credits)
This course is an introduction to linguistics, the scientific study of language. The course begins with an
introduction to the field, and with a discussion of what ‘language’ is. We then learn how speakers use
language forms to convey meaning. This includes an introduction to the study of (i) sound patterns
(phonetics and phonology); (ii) word structure and sentence structure (morphology and syntax); and,
(iii) meaning (semantics and pragmatics). These are some of the more fundamental tools that linguists
use to analyze language. We also introduce you to the main areas of inquiry in the field, including
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language variation, language and the brain, language acquisition and linguistic diversity. The aim is for
students to get an overview of the diverse field, as well as understand and appreciate the foundations of
linguistics.
Note: This course is a prerequisite for the majors and minors in General Linguistics and all Introductory
and Advanced Linguistics courses, except for LING1004.
LING1004. Language structure for language learning (6 credits)
Learning a foreign language can be daunting; teaching a foreign language to bewildered students can
be frustrating. This course is for the learner and teacher alike; we will look at general properties of how
language is structured -- both generically and through specific examples -- starting with the sounds that
make up languages and moving to how those sounds form word, how those words form sentences, and
how those sentences are interpreted to have both specific and contextual meanings.
Prerequisite: None.
Level 2000 Courses – Introductory
LING2004. Phonetics: Describing sounds (6 credits)
Phonetics studies the sounds of speech, as a topic in itself and as a basis for studying other levels of
language structure such as Phonology and Morphology. This course focuses on articulatory phonetics;
the speech mechanism; the description and classification of sounds of languages; sounds in context;
prosodic features; tone and intonation; and practical work.
Prerequisite: LING1000.
LING2009. Languages of the world (6 credits)
This survey of the world’s languages covers how languages are classified into families and types as
well as issues of linguistic diversity and endangered languages. The course involves regular practical
work. The course satisfies the prerequisite for the advanced course, Language typology, and also
provides useful background for all courses in linguistics.
LING2034. Psycholinguistics (6 credits)
This course is an introduction to psycholinguistics and will examine issues concerning how language is
acquired and processed in the mind. Essential concepts of the mental processes involved in language
comprehension and production and contemporary research will be covered in this course. There will
also be practical laboratory classes.
LING2050. Grammatical description (6 credits)
This course aims at giving the student a comprehensive introduction to basic concepts used in the
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description of morphology and syntax, independent of any model of grammar. Exercises accompany
the topics introduced. Example analyses are drawn from various languages. The following topics in
morphology and syntax will be covered: words, morphemes and morphs, word classes, immediate
constituents, phrase structure, functional relations, sentence structure. The course provides a grounding
in grammatical concepts useful for further study in grammatical theory, typology and language teaching.
LING2056. Sociolinguistics (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the study of the relationship between language and society. The
course includes topics like language variation and change, language and gender, multilingualism and
language contact, and language policy. Aspects like the distinction between language and dialect will
be covered next to how language attitudes shape our communicative behaviour and the way we perceive
speakers. The course has both theoretical and empirical content and includes many case studies and
practical exercises from languages and regions around the world. This course is recommended for
linguistics majors and is an important asset for anyone who seeks to understand how language affects
how we relate to each other in society.
Level 2000 Courses – Advanced
LING2003. Semantics: Meaning and grammar (6 credits)
This course focuses on structural and cognitive aspects of meaning which are relevant to the description
and theory of grammar. Examples will be drawn from Cantonese, Mandarin and English together with
some other European and Asian languages.
LING2012. Experimental phonetics and phonology (6 credits)
The course covers the theoretical and instrumental study of the acoustic properties of speech sounds;
classificatory criteria; speech analysis and synthesis; experimental techniques; and laboratory work.
Prerequisite: LING1000 and LING2004.
LING2013. Language typology: The study of linguistic diversity (6 credits)
Typology investigates the structural diversity of the world’s languages. Topics covered include: notions
of language type with particular reference to morphology case marking, and word order; areal
distribution of features; universals of language and their explanation.
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LING2018. Lexical-functional grammar (6 credits)
The course offers an intensive introduction to the architecture of Lexical-Functional Grammar, with a
discussion of how this syntactic theory addresses issues such as levels of representation, lexical integrity,
complex predicates, serial verbs, optimality, and the syntax - semantics interface.
LING2022. Pragmatics (6 credits)
The course introduces students to Pragmatics, the study of meaning in context. Topics include: linguistic
meaning, speaker intention, interpretation and understanding, context, deixis, reference, conversational
implicature, inference, presupposition, speech acts, politeness, and relevance theory.
LING2023. Discourse analysis (6 credits)
This course covers fundamental concepts and methods in Discourse Analysis. Several approaches that
describe and explain the structure and function of spoken, written and other types of discourses will be
presented (e.g. ethnomethodological approach, conversation analysis, and interactional
sociolinguistics). Examples will be drawn from different discourse genres, such as everyday
conversations and various professional encounters to investigate how language is used. Many examples
for this course will come from the unique sociocultural context of Hong Kong. Data collection and
handling and practical applications of discourse analytic approaches will constitute an important part of
the course as well as the assessment for the course.
Non-permissible combination: EDUC2204 or EDUC3202.
LING2027. Phonology: An introduction to the study of sound systems (6 credits)
The goal of the course is to introduce students to the basic concepts in phonology and various
phonological systems of human languages. Students acquire experience in analyzing language data and
formulating phonological rules.
LING2030. Morphology (6 credits)
This course offers an introduction to Morphology, the study of how words are formed, including how
new words are coined, and how forms of words vary depending on the surrounding syntactic context.
You will be introduced to various morphological phenomena found in human languages (e.g., inflection,
derivation, compounding, allomorphy). We consider how morphology interacts with other domains of
language such as syntax, phonology, and semantics. We also discuss what morphological phenomena
tell us about how words are represented and processed in the human mind. A major goal of this course
is to deepen your skills in analyzing linguistic data, and thus much of this course will be devoted to
working through data in a variety of languages.
Prerequisite: LING1000, LING2004 and LING2050.
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LING2032. Syntactic theory (6 credits)
The course explores recent theoretical approaches to syntax, focusing on generative grammar.
LING2036. Child language (6 credits)
The focus of this course is on how children acquire a first language, including a consideration of the
stages of language development, the biological basis of language acquisition, language disorders and
cross-linguistic differences in language acquisition.
LING2037. Bilingualism (6 credits)
This course aims to provide a theoretical understanding of bilingualism from a psycholinguistic and
neuropsycholinguistic perspective, with emphasis on bilingual language development and mental
representations of the two languages. Various aspects of bilingual behavior such as code-switching and
language mixing and various factors that may affect bilingual behavior such as age-related differences,
the influence of the first language, the role of attitudes, motivation and learning contexts will be
discussed and examined.
Non-permissible combination: PSYC0038.
LING2040. Languages in contact (6 credits)
This course is an introduction to the linguistic and social dimensions of language contact and change.
Topics include multilingualism, lexical and grammatical borrowing, code-switching, language shift and
the emergence of new languages, among them the creole languages of Asia, the Americas and Africa.
Presentations, film viewings, in-class discussions and online and offline exercises during lectures and
tutorials will provide the opportunity to apply and learn concrete techniques of linguistic analysis. The
course is especially relevant to students interested in East-West contacts, the Americas and Africa,
colonialism and globalization, and linguistic and cultural change.
LING2047. Optimality theory (6 credits)
This course introduces current issues in Optimality Theory, a formal theory of grammar applicable to
phonology, morphology, and syntax.
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LING2048. Language and cognition (6 credits)
This course examines various issues regarding cognition and language. Topics to be covered are:
• How is language processed and represented in the mind and the brain?
• Commonalities and particularities of cognitive and neuro-cognitive processing of different
languages (e.g., English and Chinese).
• First and second language learning. What are the critical factors that facilitate language learning?
• The Chinese language and the brain; language and reading disorders.
• Applied cognitive psychology of language. Headline designs for newspaper, TV program, and
advertisement. Cognitive basis of persuasion.
LING2053. Language and the brain (6 credits)
This course is an introduction to the representation and processing of language in the human brain, the
systems and processes that enables us to speak, understand speech, learn languages, and read and write.
Through attending the course, students will acquire in-depth knowledge of how language is developed,
processed, and organized in the brain. Traditional as well as most recent research from linguistics,
cognitive neuroscience (e.g. brain imaging) and the study of language disorders will be reviewed.
LING2055. Reading development and reading disorders (6 credits)
This course aims to provide a deep understanding of reading development and reading disorders in
different written languages. Through attending the course, students should be able to understand how
different cognitive processes contribute to the development of skilled word reading and text
comprehension and what possible problems children may encounter during the course of reading
development. Effective treatment and instruction approaches will also be discussed.
LING2058. Topics in Cantonese linguistics (6 credits)
This course focuses on distinctive aspects of the Cantonese language as spoken in Hong Kong. The
language will be viewed in its areal and historical context. Grammatical topics will include parts of
speech in Cantonese, verbal aspect, noun classifiers, and sentence-final particles, with a particular focus
on aspects of syntax which diverge from written Chinese and Putonghua such as dative, passive and
comparative constructions. Topics of sociolinguistic interest such as the use of Cantonese as a written
language, ‘lazy pronunciation’ and the growth of ‘trendy language’ will also be addressed.
LING2059. Writing systems (6 credits)
Writing is probably the most significant and fundamental cultural invention in the human world. It
provides the means to record all aspects of spoken language in a permanent form, to convey information
to others, to aid memory, to record historical events and to communicate to others across space and time.
This course will investigate different features of writing, from its development, aspects of its
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classification, and its role in civilization and society. Students will be introduced to familiar and
unfamiliar writing systems from around the world and will be able to understand and objectively assess
different writing types during the course.
LING2060. Languages of China (6 credits)
This course surveys languages spoken in China (including Taiwan). These languages belong to various
families such as the Sinitic, Tibeto-Burman, Tai-Kadai, Hmong-Mien, Mongolic, Turkic, Tungusic and
Austronesian etc. The emphasis of the course will rest on the structure of selected languages from these
families rather than the historical relationship between them. The course involves practical work and
provides useful background for other courses in linguistics.
LING2061. Linguistic fieldwork (6 credits)
In this course, students will learn techniques and strategies for eliciting, recording, and archiving data
about an unfamiliar language. These skills are necessary for adding to our knowledge of the world's
languages. Students will work with a native speaker of an unfamiliar language throughout the semester,
both in class and in tutorial sessions, to identify interesting properties of the language, collect data, and
ultimately write up a grammar of a subpart of the language.
Prerequisite: LING1000, LING2004, LING2027 and LING2050.
LING2062. Experimental syntax (6 credits)
This course examines different approaches to the study of syntax. Traditionally topics in grammatical
theory have been explored using introspective judgements from native speakers. This course critically
assesses the role of acceptability judgements in syntactic studies, and explores different approaches that
can be taken. The course will cover how to design and run acceptability judgement experiments, and
introduce students to the current thinking and debate on the proper role of experimental syntax. Students
will critically assess results that have been obtained in experimental syntax through engaging with
extensive readings of recent research. Students will complete homework assignments and a project
during the course of the semester.
LING2064. Language in Africa (6 credits)
Over 2000 languages belonging to six major language families are spoken in Africa, making it the
linguistically most diverse continent. This course covers the linguistic diversity of Africa in its social
and cultural context in order to foster a multidimensional understanding of the role of language in
society in general. The course includes the study of the linguistic structure and social functions of
specific African languages (e.g. Swahili, Arabic, Zulu), covers language contact and language loss,
European colonial languages spoken in Africa (English, French, Portuguese, Spanish), and the use of
African languages and African writing systems in the media, education, and their role in nation-building.
Pre-requisite: LING1000.
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LING2065. Endangered languages: Issues and methods (6 credits)
This course introduces students to current issues in the field of endangered languages. Students gain an
understanding of current theories of language change, shift and death. We examine the nexus between
globalisation and loss of linguistic diversity, as well as the tension between modernity and decrease of
minor traditional cultures. Students tackle current responses and methodologies involved in language
documentation and language revival which aim at slowing down, or preserving, endangered languages.
We also discuss skeptical responses to the discourse of endangerment and analyse their foundations.
After this course students will be able to understand the reasons that cause language use to change and
languages to die out. They will be able to engage in the basic practices of documentation, and have a
nuanced understanding of the methods used in revitalisation.
LING2066. Variation analysis (6 credits)
Language is inherently variable. No two people speak the same way, nor does one person use the same
speech patterns in all contexts. This type of variation is not random, but structured, and depends on the
identities of the speaker and their audience, the topic of conversation, the speaker's attitude, and a variety
of other social and linguistic factors. This course will introduce students to the field of variationist
sociolinguistics, which is concerned with the systematic study of language variation and its relationship
to linguistic structure and social meaning. This course will focus on phonetic, phonological, and
morphophonological variation, but variation at other levels of linguistic structure will also be addressed.
Students will learn to describe and interpret patterns of linguistic variation, discuss and evaluate primary
studies of sociolinguistic variation, and implement research methods and computational tools for
investigating variation. Students will synthesize these skills by conducting a small-scale original study
of sociolinguistic variation as a final project.
Pre-requisite: LING1000 and LING2004.
LING2067. Natural language processing (6 credits)
Natural Language Processing (NLP) addresses how machines analyze, produce and understand natural
language. The field lies at the crossroads of linguistics and computer science and encompasses a wide
range of techniques including automatic speech recognition, text mining, machine translation, and
speech synthesis. The goal of this course is to provide a thorough introduction to basic methods and
issues of NLP, with a specific focus on text mining. Flipped classroom will be used for most of the
lectures to allow more learning activities and hands-on practice in class. No previous experience in
programming is required for this course, and students will experiment with various dedicated software
and interfaces.
Non-permissible combination: LING2001.
LING2068. Computational approaches to language (6 credits)
Computational approaches are becoming increasingly popular in the social sciences and in the
humanities, and linguistics is no exception. Large databases, computer models and statistical analyses
– to mention better-known research paradigms – allow to revisit long-debated issues in the field, such
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as how languages are born, change, compete or die. This course provides an overview of the available
methods and of their application to sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, phonology, syntax and other
fields. Students will be acquainted with various approaches and eventually be able to assess the benefits
of such approaches for their own research. Flipped classroom will be used for most of the lectures to
allow more learning activities and hands-on practice in class. Students will acquire basic skills in
computational linguistics, such as extracting data from existing linguistic databases or analyzing the
outputs of simulations focusing on linguistic diversity or language change.
LING2069. Origins of language (6 credits)
How and why how human beings acquired language in prehistory is key to understanding who we are
today. This course takes a broad perspective on language as a communication system among many
others. It adopts a multidisciplinary approach spanning linguistics, paleo-anthropology, ethology and
comparative psychology. Students will reflect on animal and human communication contrastively, on
attempts to teach language to animals, on past biological and behavioral cues of language evolution,
and on recent cases of language emergence such as creoles, sign languages, and artificial languages in
experimental settings. This course is communication-intensive and highly interactive. Tutorials and
assignments are aimed at enhancing writing skills and digital literacy through methods such as reflective
writing, video making and analysis, and communication games.Pre-requisite: LING1000.
LING2070. Historical linguistics: Languages, genes and human migrations (6 credits)
The history of the world’s languages is deeply linked to our history as a species of diverse and inter-
connected human communities. This course provides a survey of the latest developments in historical
linguistics, with a focus on computational approaches to the relationships between languages, genes
and cultures. Students will cover traditional principles of historical linguistics, before getting acquainted
with more recent phylogenetic algorithms and other modelling attempts. Debates around the origins of
modern languages (e.g. the question of monogenesis versus polygenesis) will be introduced. The
diversification of modern languages will be placed within the context of the migrations of early and
later Homo sapiens, as revealed by patterns of genetic, phenotypic, and cultural diversity today. The
constraints and drivers underlying language change will also be emphasized. Throughout the course,
the dispersals of speakers of the Bantu family of languages in Africa will serve as a case study.
LING2071. Introductory statistics for the humanities (6 credits)
Quantitative studies are growing more and more common in the humanities, and a knowledge of
statistics is quickly becoming a valuable asset to follow and conduct research in fields such as
linguistics, history or literature. This course aims to equip students with a solid understanding of
fundamental concepts and tools in statistics, so they can better approach statistical analyses in research
studies and conduct their own research with common basic statistical tools. Flipped classroom will be
used for most of the lectures to allow more learning activities and hands-on practice in class. The free
software Jamovi will be introduced and used to conduct statistical analyses.
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LING2072. Advanced statistics for the humanities (6 credits)
Having an advanced knowledge of statistics is quickly becoming a necessity to follow the wealth of
quantitative studies published in the humanities. Building on the “Introductory statistics for the social
sciences and the humanities” course, this course will lead students closer to current statistical practices
in fields such as linguistics, history, literature etc. Topics such as multiple regression, pseudoreplication
and parsimony will be covered, along with techniques such as regression modelling, dimensionality
reduction or clustering. Flipped classroom will be used for most of the lectures to allow more learning
activities and hands-on practice in class. The free software Jamovi and R will be introduced and used
to conduct statistical analyses.
LING2073. Advanced topics in syntax (6 credits)
In this course, students will learn techniques and strategies for understanding, modeling and explaining
syntactic phenomena. Students will be exposed to theoretical models and develop their skills in analysis
and argumentation. These skills are necessary for the development of linguistic theory and ultimately
to our knowledge of the world's languages. The course consists primarily of lectures and tutorials, with
assignments to solidify the students' understanding of the material and a report of an original piece of
research.
Pre-requisite: LING1000, LING2032 and LING2050.
LING2074. Introduction to second language research (6 credits)
This course provides a general introduction to research in second language acquisition (SLA). The goal
is to introduce students to important findings from SLA research and a range of contemporary
approaches to SLA research. This course involves an independent research project and an in-class
lecture component.
Pre-requisite: LING1000, LING2004 and LING2050.
LING2075. Issues in language documentation (6 credits)
This course will introduce various practical, philosophical and ethical issues involved in language
documentation. Topics to be covered include: the goals of language documentation and revitalisation,
ethical and practical issues of working with speakers, the social responsibilities of linguists in the field,
methods for recording and annotating audiovisual data, working with specialist software aimed at field
linguists (including, but not limited to, FLEx and ELAN), and metadata/archiving standards for
documentary materials. Some basic background in morphology, syntax and phonetics is desirable.
LING2076. Mind and body: A holistic approach to the sounds of language (6 credits)
The study of the sound systems of human language is unique in that it considers both the role of our
body (Phonetics) and mind (Phonology). How we internalize sound systems (Phonology) is often
clearly dependent on the operation of our body (Phonetics); yet grammatical generalizations of sound
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systems can also abstract away from the physical properties of sounds. How different or similar can
phonology and phonetics be? Where exactly does the border between the two lie? Over the course of
this semester, we will examine both classic approaches and current theories of the phonology/phonetics
interface, and will consider the roles of articulatory, perceptual, and cognitive forces in creating and
maintaining phonological patterns. We will also consider the implications of phonological and phonetic
findings for theories of embodied cognition to understand the nature of body and mind interaction in
creating the sound systems of human language.
Pre-requisite: LING1000, and LING2004 or LING2027.
Level 3000 Courses – Capstone
Students majoring in Linguistics should choose at least one capstone course in their third or fourth year.
LING3002. Extended essay (capstone experience) (6 credits)
This is a one-semester capstone course for individual research on a topic chosen by the student in
consultation with staff, in preparation for possible postgraduate work and is offered for majors only.
Students intending to study this course are required to attend an interview at the beginning of their third
year to give a short presentation on their proposed topic. The thesis should normally be 5,000-6,000
words in length. There is no written examination but an oral exam will be required.
Note: For General Linguistics majors only.
LING3003. Linguistics field trip (capstone experience) (6 credits)
This is a capstone course for students majoring in General Linguistics. The field trip typically takes
place in the summer between the third and fourth year. Students majoring in General Linguistics should
plan their courses with this in mind. The aim of the course is to provide an opportunity for students of
linguistics to have first-hand experience with languages as they are spoken and used in particular
settings, and to carry out an empirical investigation on some aspect of a language ‘on-site’ (e.g.
structural, cognitive, socio-cultural, or technological aspects of a language). The field trip is the best
way of putting knowledge about language structure and use into practice, and forms an essential part of
a linguist’s training.
To satisfy the requirements of the course, students should (1) participate in a field trip of one to two
weeks (e.g. to Asia, Europe, or Africa), led and supervised by faculty members; (2) carry out an
empirical investigation of a linguistics topic in consultation with their supervisors; and (3) write up and
hand in a report upon return from the field trip.
Assessment: 100% coursework (participation in the pre-trip course and the field trip and a written
report).
LING3004. Senior seminar (capstone experience) (6 credits)
This capstone course is available by invitation to students with outstanding records and/or those
considering postgraduate study and research. Participants will read and present primary research
literature and debate issues in the field.
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LING3005. Advanced topics in reading, language and cognition (capstone experience) (6

credits)
This course is a continuation of the course “Reading Acquisition and Developmental Dyslexia”. It aims
to provide an in-depth understanding of key issues and up-to-date research topics in reading and
language. Specific focus will be on the cognitive and neural processes in word reading and reading
comprehension, and the development of these processes. Topics such as models and theories of fluent
reading and reading development, biliteracy development, biological bases of reading, types of reading
disorders (e.g., developmental and acquired dyslexia), teaching of reading, assessment and treatment of
developmental dyslexia, and experimental and quantitative methodologies for obtaining data in reading
research will be covered. Through attending the course, students will learn to read and write scientific
research reports, evaluate methodologies and interpret empirical data, design and conduct experiments
on reading processing, and analyze research data using statistical packages such as SPSS. This course
will help students to develop a range of skills essential for doing research in reading and language.
Pre-requisites: LING1000 and LING2055.
LING3006. Laboratory linguistics: Practicum (capstone experience) (6 credits)
In the past decade, the field of linguistics has increasingly looked to experimental results to confirm
and extend its understanding of language patterns. In this course, we will (a) examine some of the issues
involved in deriving experimentally testable predictions from a theory, (b) designing and running an
experiment, and (c) interpreting the results. This course involves two main activities; first, students will
read and present most recent articles on laboratory linguistics and participate in group discussion.
Second, students will actually get involved in experimentation to gain practical skillset needed in
laboratory linguistic research.
LING3007. Seminar in psycholinguistics (capstone experience) (6 credits)
The goal of this course is to introduce to students key topics in the field of psycholinguistics in greater
depth and provide them with hands-on research experience.
HISTORY
The History programme at HKU is a carefully designed curriculum that gives students a broad general
knowledge of history with necessary skills of historical analysis, writing and research.
Courses in the Department of History are open both to B.A. students who wish to major in History and
to other students in the Faculty of Arts who are not taking, or intending to take, History as a major.
Students from the Faculty of Social Sciences and other faculties are also welcome in most courses
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offered by the Department of History, and a public examination result in History is not a prerequisite
for any first-year course.
The Programme is offered both as a major and minor. It consists of introductory and advanced courses.
Introductory courses are normally taken in the first year while advanced courses are normally taken in
subsequent years.
To obtain a major in History, students are required to complete:
• One 6-credit History course at the 1000-level;

• 12 credits of introductory courses from any Arts programme(s) (which may include
additional credits in 1000-level History courses); and
• 54 credits of advanced History courses, including at least one 6-credit capstone course; of
these 54 credits, at least 12 credits must be in “Asian history” and at least 12 credits must
be in “Western history”; this requirement may be met by taking either survey or seminar
courses.
Students must take at least 6 credits of capstone courses listed under Capstone Experience Courses,
designed to allow students in their final year to apply disciplinary knowledge and principles learned in
the previous years. In some cases, students in the sixth semester of study may be permitted to enrol in
selected capstone courses.
Minor in History
Students from the Arts Faculty and other faculties are welcome to declare a minor in History. To obtain
a minor in History, students are expected to take a total of 36 credits with the following components:
• One 6-credit History course at the 1000-level; and

• 30 credits of advanced History courses.
HISTORY COURSES
Students should consult the Department of History Office to find out which courses are to be offered in
a given semester.
INTRODUCTORY COURSES
Students intending to major/minor in History must take at least one Introductory History course.
HIST1010. An introduction to European history and civilisation (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the development of European civilisation from its earliest beginnings
in the Fertile Crescent through the classical age of Ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire, to the
Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Enlightenment and the French Revolution.
Selected highlights from these topics will be treated in the lectures and seminars, and coursework
assignments will seek to establish linkages between modern western civilisation and its historical
foundations. This course is valuable for history students, but should also appeal to others studying
literature, art, music or philosophy. It will be especially useful for European Studies Majors. All students
are welcome.
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HIST1014. The early modern world (6 credits)
This course offers a broad historical survey which aims at introducing students to the various
interactions between the major civilisations of the world from the time of the European Renaissance
until the early phase of the Industrial Revolution. The geographical coverage of the course will include
Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. The course will adopt a comparative approach
where possible and will be particularly concerned with the theme of globalisation. This course does
not aim to be a comprehensive survey of all aspects of the history of the early modern world, but it does
range widely in attempting to acquaint students with important developments in the areas of culture,
religion, politics, society, and the world economy.
HIST1016. The modern world (6 credits)
This course offers a broad historical survey which aims at introducing students to the major
developments in world history, in a period from the late eighteenth century to the present during which
the world became increasingly interdependent. The course will adopt a comparative approach where
possible and will be particularly concerned with the theme of globalisation. This course does not aim
to be a comprehensive survey of all aspects of the history of the modern world, but its range allows
students to acquaint themselves with important developments in the areas of culture, religion, politics,
society and the world economy.
HIST1017. Modern Hong Kong (6 credits)
This course explores the history of Hong Kong since the early 1800s from several angles: British
imperial history, Chinese history, world history, and as a place with its own identity. Topics include:
the opium wars, law and the administration of justice, gender and colonialism, Hong Kong and Chinese
nationalism, the Japanese occupation, the 1967 disturbances, Hong Kong identity, the fight against
corruption, the Sino-British negotiations and the retrocession to Chinese sovereignty, and developments
since 1997. The goals of the course are to familiarize students with the history of Hong Kong, introduce
the ways in which historians have approached this history, explore how Hong Kong’s past has shaped
its present, and help students learn to read and write analytically. No previous knowledge of history or
Hong Kong is required.
HIST1018. Europe in the long nineteenth century, 1789-1914 (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the development of European nation states from the French
Revolution to the outbreak of the First World War. It focuses on political, economic and social
structures, on important historical events, and on various ideologies and national identities of the
European powers. It will also deal with the histories of smaller countries. The course will adopt a
comparative approach where possible and will be particularly concerned with presenting similarities
and differences in the historical development of European nation states in the long nineteenth century.
HIST1020. Introduction to the history of gender and sexuality (6 credits)
This course offers a broad introduction to history of gender and sexuality from the eighteenth century
to the present. It studies how ideas about masculinity and femininity, and sexual identity and desire,
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have changed over time and across cultures. The course will adopt a comparative approach, surveying
changing norms about gender and sexuality in different regions of the world over time. Over the course
students will be introduced to the major themes and questions in gender history, including but not
limited to: the history of marriage, intimacy and the family, the relationship between science and ideas
about sex, the intersection of race, class and sex in the construction of identities, and the role of religion,
politics, law and the economy in shaping gender hierarchies and sexual norms.
HIST1021. Introduction to modern legal history (6 credits)
In recent years legal history has emerged as a thriving field, drawing on ideas from across disciplines
to better understand the relationship between legal institutions and practices and historical change over
time. Exploring the ways in which the development of law shaped societies across the world in the
early-modern and modern period, this course will offer students a broad introduction into this history.
We will examine a wide range of questions that touch on law’s relationship to topics of fundamental
historical importance, including political movements, gender and race relations, economic change,
colonialism and imperialism, and religion and tradition. Taking a global and comparative approach to
these themes the course will take case-studies from across Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. No
previous knowledge of legal history is required.
HIST1022. Introduction to environmental history (6 credits)
This course will introduce students to the relatively new but increasingly important field of
environmental history. After looking at how the field has evolved over the last few decades, during a
time of increasing environmental instability, this course will examine the central themes that have
dominated this field and track how these have changed over time. In the process, this course will
highlight the ways in which environmental historians have transformed the discipline of history and
unsettled traditional ideas about our relationship with the world around us. Reading key texts in the
field alongside primary documents we will explore these new approaches pioneered by environmental
historians and assess their importance for the contemporary world. At a time when the climate crisis
has emerged as one of the most important problems confronting our planet, this course will examine
the past, present and future of environmental change and probe the forces shaping them.
HIST1023. Modern East Asia (6 credits)
In this course, we will explore the history of modern East Asia, with a particular focus on China, Japan
and Korea, from around 1800 to the present. We will not simply study the histories of individual
countries but also pay attention to how countries and regions within East Asia interacted and influenced
each other. This course will take students from the turn of the 19th century through the arrival of
Western imperialism, and from the establishment of the treaty port system to the Japanese occupation
of much of East Asia during World War II and the historical development of the region during the Cold
War. The course aims to provide students with a solid understanding of the historical development of
modern East Asia, which, in turn, will allow students to better comprehend current developments,
interactions and conflicts in the region.
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ADVANCED LEVEL COURSES
(A) Survey Courses
All candidates for the degree of B.A. or from any faculty may enroll in the second- or third-year courses
offered by the Department of History. Survey Courses are intended to introduce the history of a
geographic area, a country, an event, a historical problem or theme in a specific period. These courses
will normally involve two lectures per week.
HIST2003. Twentieth-century China (6 credits)
This course examines the political, social, economic, intellectual and diplomatic history of China from
the last decade of Manchu rule to the Communist victory in 1949. Attention will be drawn to the
historical forces of continuity and change, and to the themes of nationalism, modernization, militarism,
democracy and revolution.
HIST2013. Twentieth-century Europe, Part I: The European Civil War, 1914-1945 (6 credits)
This period can be seen as a Thirty Years’ War fought over the problem of Germany, beginning with
the First World War, 1914-18, and climaxing with the total defeat of Germany at the end of the Second
World War, 1939-45. Tensions between the Great Powers were exacerbated by new ideologies such as
Fascism, Nazism and Communism, which appeared in Europe as part of a general crisis in Western
Civilisation after the First World War. An attempt will be made to evaluate the debate between different
schools of historians on what Fascism, Nazism and Communism signified. Finally, one of the main
aims of the course is to describe, and explain, the mass murders involving the deaths of millions carried
out by a new breed of leaders such as Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.
HIST2014. Twentieth-century Europe, Part II: Europe divided and undivided, 1945-1991 (6
credits)
After the Second World War, Europe was divided into two camps, with Germany itself split into
Western and Communist portions. The survey of the Western camp will focus on British, French and
West German politics, social change, student revolts, and the growth of the consumer society and mass
culture. In studying the ‘Other Europe’, the course will concentrate on the way Communism evolved
and changed in the Soviet Union and its Eastern European empires, concluding with the dramatic
popular revolutions that so suddenly toppled the Communist regimes in Eastern Europe in 1989 and the
even more momentous collapse of Communism in the former Soviet Union in 1991. As the pace of
change in the whole of Europe increased so dramatically in 1989, the course ends with a series of
questions. What are the prospects for European unity, economically and politically? What role will the
new unified Germany have in Europe? What are the prospects for Russia and the other republics that
have emerged from the ruins of the Soviet Empire?
HIST2015. The United States before 1900 (6 credits)
This is a general survey history of the United States from the colonial era up to 1900. Emphasis will
be primarily on the nineteenth century. Key areas of focus include: industrialization and economic
growth, urbanization, frontier communities, immigration, slavery, the Civil War, socio-political reform
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movements, and the Spanish-American War. This course is continued by The United States in the
twentieth century, though the two courses can be taken separately.
HIST2016. The United States since 1900 (6 credits)
This course continues the survey of United States history begun in The United States before 1900,
though it can be taken separately. It traces the United States’ response to its adjustment from an agrarian,
small-scale society to a large-scale, urban, industrialized nation, characterized by large organizations.
Concurrently, it covers the development into a global power with interests throughout the world.
HIST2018. The foreign relations of China since 1949 (6 credits)
This course studies developments in China’s foreign relations after 1949, with reference to historical
influences, ideological premises, and practical political, strategic, and economic considerations. Special
attention is given to the interaction between theory and practice in China’s foreign relations, the
evolution of the impact of China’s foreign policy on international politics and vice versa, and the
assessment of major paradigms.
HIST2021. Nineteenth century Russia, 1800-1905 (6 credits)
This course surveys developments within the Russian Empire from the duel between Alexander I and
Napoleon through the Revolution of 1905, the dress rehearsal for the Revolution of 1917 which
destroyed Tsarism. This course focuses on internal developments, rather than on foreign policy; and
thus includes topics such as Slavophilism vs. Westernizers, the tsarist reaction, and then reform under
Nicholas I and Alexander II, the revolutionary movement from the Decembrists to the Bolsheviks,
industrialisation, the Nationalities Question, and the peasantry before and after Emancipation. This
course requires no prior knowledge of European history.
HIST2031. History through film (6 credits)
This course looks at the manner in which film has portrayed events in history, considering the degree
to which film can enhance or be detrimental to our understanding of history. Students may expect to
gain some appreciation, not just of the films themselves, but of the degree to which any movie is the
product of a certain historical period and reflect its values and preoccupations. This course should be
particularly enlightening to students who are taking other United States history courses and American
Studies majors.
This course will provide a chronological overview of education in Hong Kong from its colonial
beginning to the present day. It will examine the development of the education system in relation to
political, social, and cultural changes in a colony growing under two competing world powers, and
identify the politics shaping education reform leading to the post-colonial era. The course will also
explore the construction of identities and social hierarchies through education; and in what ways
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schooling and education practices were shaped by differences of gender, cultural, political and religious
ideals. Students will be introduced to a wide range of primary sources and their application in the
research and writing of education history.
HIST2062. From empire to EU: Culture, politics and society in twentieth-century Britain (6
credits)
The course explores British politics, culture and society from the eve of World War I to the dawn of the
third millennium. We will analyze and seek to understand some of the fundamental transformations
that have occurred over the last century examining a number of prominent themes, including party
politics, Britain and Europe, empire and decolonization, and domestic social transformations.
Additionally, we will look closely at how the fortunes of different social groups evolved across the
period, focusing in particular on ethnic minorities, women and young people.
This will be an issues-based course, exploring themes of 20th century British history in relation to the
wider European context and exploring how they have had an impact on the nature of British and
European society today. The subject matter of the course will be shaped around the study of the
evolving political system, the effect of industrial (and post-industrial) change on contemporary society,
and the relationship of Britain to its former empire, to Europe, and the rest of the world.
HIST2063. Europe and modernity: Cultures and identities, 1890-1940 (6 credits)
In this course we look at key social and cultural aspects of European ‘modernity’ in the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries, exploring in particular the way Europeans from all kinds of backgrounds were
defined and defined themselves in relation to work, leisure, race, gender, regions and cities. We look
at the impact of new forms of cultural expression such as advertising, cinema, sport and leisure, as well
as the identities (of age, class, gender, race and ethnicity) which Europeans adopted and rejected in their
pursuit of ways of belonging within the cultural parameters of urban modernity. In relation to this we
will consider expressions of enthusiasm for ‘the modern,’ as well as outbursts of dissatisfaction or
irritation with modern civilisation, expressed not just in aesthetic forms but also in violence against
those identified as ‘outsiders.’
HIST2068. The intellectual history of twentieth-century China (6 credits)
This course follows the thematic approach, with attention paid to both the intellectual leaders and the
intellectual developments in China during the twentieth century. The leaders include Liang Qichao,
Cai Yuanpei, Chen Duxiu, Hu Shi, Li Dazhao, Lu Xun, Gu Hongming, Lin Shu, Liang Shuming, Tao
Xisheng, Chen Yinke, Chen Lifu, Xiong Shili, Zhang Wentian, Qian Mu, etc. The discussion of the
intellectual waves focuses on such themes as traditionalism, cultural conservatism, liberalism,
westernization, modernization, and Marxism.
HIST2069. History of American popular culture (6 credits)
From well before its inception as a nation, popular culture was an important part of American society.
This course draws on recent work in cultural history and considers selected expressions of popular
culture in the context of particular historical periods. We will move chronologically from the 18th
century to the present drawing on diverse samples of historical documents and texts including
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newspapers, magazines, advertisements, photographs, music, cartoons, radio, television programs,

films, websites, and blogs. Along the way we will examine difference and common ground between
historical eras and modes of popular culture.
HIST2073. Prussia in the age of absolutism and reform, 1648-1815 (6 credits)
Brandenburg-Prussia and the Hohenzollern Dynasty dominated the period of German history between
the end of the Thirty Years’ War and the French Revolution. Under the Great Elector and the Prussian
Kings, Prussia became a military and political power within Europe, demonstrating its strength in many
European wars. It also practiced mercantilism, religious tolerance and an enlightened absolutism. The
reign of King Frederick the Great (1740-1786) is marked by wars, economic initiative, and the
promotion of Enlightenment ideas. Prussia’s capital Berlin became a European centre of science and
culture in those years. During the Napoleonic period, the country was able to start a reform movement
that paved the way for a modern German nation state.
The course will be organized around such themes as: political rivalries and wars in the 17th and 18th
centuries; economic, social and intellectual changes in early modern Europe and their effects on
Brandenburg-Prussia; mercantilism; Enlightenment; absolutism and enlightened absolutism; religious
toleration; promotion of sciences by academies; the development of Berlin and Potsdam as royal
residences; the defeat of the Prussian army by Napoleon; the Prussian Reform Movement of Stein and
Hardenberg; and the War of Liberation.
HIST2076. Germany and the Cold War (6 credits)
During the Cold War period, Germany was divided into two independent states for more than forty
years: The western-oriented Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern-oriented German
Democratic Republic (GDR). Under the auspices of the respective superpowers, USA and USSR, the
Bonn and the East Berlin governments developed their own political and economic systems but also a
distinct way of life in society and culture. In the international scene, the FRG was a founding member
of the European Communities and became one of their staunchest supporters, while the GDR found
itself reduced to satellite status inside the Soviet-dominated Eastern Bloc. The ‘German Question’
remained open until the sudden downfall of the socialist-communist East Berlin regime in 1989 and the
peaceful reunification in 1990, events, which also marked the end of the Cold War in Europe.
The course will not only treat Germany as a case study of the Cold War period but will also deal
extensively with important phases, milestones and persons in the history of the divided country in a
comparative approach.
Non-permissible combination: HIST2135.
HIST2077. Eating history: Food culture from the 19th century to the present (6 credits)
This course is an introduction to cultural history with a specific focus on the relatively new and rapidly
expanding academic field of food history/food studies. The approach will be thematic rather than
chronological. In an effort to deepen interdisciplinary as well as disciplinary knowledge, we will engage
texts and theoretical perspectives from other fields/disciplines in addition to history.
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HIST2078. Renaissance Europe, 1453-1648 (6 credits)
The intellectual upheavals of the Renaissance and Reformation changed the cultural and religious
outlook of the whole European continent and opened the way for the emergence of the modern European
state. This course therefore begins by considering the classical background to the Renaissance in
Europe and seeks to explain how the intellectual changes of the fifteenth and early-sixteenth centuries
contributed to the awakening of religious dissent in the 1520s. These developments are placed in the
context of the general political history of the period and the course traces their impact through to the
end of the Thirty Years’ War.
HIST2079. Early modern Europe, 1648-1789 (6 credits)
This course examines a crucial period of European history in which the emergence of the modern state,
the birth of capitalism, and the expansion of European influence into the American and Asian
hemispheres laid the foundations of the modern world. While the course concentrates primarily on
political changes in Europe between the Thirty Years’ War and the French Revolution, considerable
attention will also be paid to social, economic and cultural developments in this period. This course
therefore provides a backdrop to the events of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries which have helped
to shape modern Europe.
HIST2082. Europe and its others (6 credits)
This course is an interdisciplinary exploration of the evolution of European perceptions of non-

European peoples and cultures from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. Students will learn to
investigate how Western representations of non-Europeans were shaped by the various political debates,
scientific theories and colonial ideology that dominated European societies of the time. The course uses
the conceptual frameworks and methodologies of history and postcolonial studies to analyze a wide
range of primary materials that include visual documents, travel narratives, fiction, scientific texts,
philosophical treatises, and documentaries.
HIST2083. Gender, sexuality and empire (6 credits)
Colonial history has been traditionally dominated by narratives of military conquests, pacification,
economic exploitation, and political administration, in which the dominant players were explorers,
military commanders, soldiers, administrators, and settlers. This course introduces students to a new
way of looking at colonial history through the lens of gender. Students will explore how gender and
sexuality were used by the colonizing nations to construct the image of their imperial self and manage
their relationships with the colonized peoples. Some of the topics we examine include the emergence
of “imperial” manliness as a model for manhood, the deployment of sexual(ized) and gender categories
in racial stereotyping of the colonized, the politics of interracial mixings, and the rhetoric of imperial
motherhood and womanhood. The case studies of the course are based mainly on primary textual and
visual materials related to the British and French empires, the two leading imperial powers of the late
19th and early 20th centuries.
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This course focuses on two ‘new sciences’ arising in the late nineteenth century that have shaped the
modern understanding of sexual behavior -- sexology and psychoanalysis. It looks at key thinkers who
pioneered sexology such as Havelock Ellis, Edward Carpenter, Richard von Krafft-Ebing, and Marie
Stopes alongside the acknowledged founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud. It will investigate
primary sources in sexual science that have been subject to censorship and not generally available, until
recently, for comparative study with Freudian psychosexual discourse. It will consider the
historiographical debate (particularly among gay and feminist historians) as to whether these early
investigators of sexology and psychoanalysis formulated progressive or repressive definitions of
sexuality. It will explore the far-reaching consequences that these thinkers had on attitudes to the body
and perceptions of gender and sexual difference.
HIST2086. Bismarck: The Iron Chancellor (6 credits)
Otto von Bismarck, a member of the Prussian nobility, began his political career as a conservative
deputy of the Prussian diet, became Minister-President and served as Chancellor of the new German
Empire. He was regarded as one of the leading European statesmen of his time. During his life span
from 1815 to 1898, dramatic upheavals in political, constitutional, economic and social history took
place in Prussia and in other parts of Germany, which had a deep impact on European history in the
19th and early 20th centuries. Therefore, the course will not deal with Bismarck’s personality and
career stations alone but will also study the German Confederation and the German Empire, the
Revolutions of 1848-49, the Unification Wars with Denmark, with Austria and with France, German
domestic and foreign policies since 1871, and major developments that led into the First World War.
HIST2091. The British Empire (6 credits)
This course examines the history of the British Empire from the late eighteenth century to the end of
the twentieth century. The British Empire once spanned so much of the globe that it is impossible to
understand the history of the modern world (including Hong Kong) without considering the role of
British colonialism and imperialism. Topics include: the cultural and material foundations and the
economic, political, and social consequences of empire; the relationship between metropole and
periphery; collaboration and resistance; the dynamics of race, gender, and class; the relationship
between empire and art; new national and local identities; decolonization, and independence; and the
legacies of empire. The goals of the course are to familiarize students with the history of the British
Empire; introduce them to the ways in which historians have approached this history; and help them
learn to read and write analytically.
HIST2092. The United States and Asia (6 credits)
This course is a survey course covering U.S. relations with Asia, focusing largely on the twentieth
century, but reaching back earlier. Topics covered include: Principles of American foreign policy; the
early U.S. China trade; the U.S. and the opening of Japan; the U.S. acquisition of Hawaii; the Spanish-
American War, 1898; the Open Door Notes and the Boxer Rebellion; U.S. Policy, Asia, and World War
I; the Washington Conference System; U.S. Policy in the Philippines; the Coming of World War II;
World War II in Asia; the Occupation of Japan; the U.S. and the Chinese Civil War; the Korean War
and U.S. Pacific Strategy; the U.S. and Decolonization in Asia; the Vietnam War and Its International
Context; Japanese and Korean Economic Revival; Richard Nixon’s Opening to China; U.S. Responses
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to Tiananmen Square; the Impact of the Ending of the Cold War; the Effect of 9/11 and the War on
Terror; U.S. Pacific Strategies in the Late Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Centuries.
HIST2093. Hong Kong and the development of global business after the Second World War
(6 credits)
The course explores the history of international business in the twentieth century. It aims to equip
students with a comprehensive understanding of the causative factors that drove international business
in this period; to offer a firm basis for more advanced work in global business and its history; and to
provide the factual grounding and conceptual apparatus necessary to understand the contemporary
world. The course will examine the development of many aspects of present-day global business
activity, such as the emergence and global expansion of consulting, management, accountancy,
corporate law, and branding. Students will examine related developments such as the emergence of
business schools, their teaching and research foci, and their diffusion around the globe. The course
covers many geographical areas, but focuses on East Asia, and in particular Hong Kong.
HIST2096. The history of foreign business in modern China, 1800-1949 (6 credits)
After the end of the First Opium War of 1839–1842, China witnessed a rapid inflow of foreign goods
and capital. Different forms of foreign enterprises started to operate in various business sectors of
China’s treaty ports, where an international community of entrepreneurs, including Chinese, Europeans,
Americans, and Japanese, facilitated foreign trade and foreign investment in China. In this course, we
will examine the history of foreign business in China between the first half of the nineteenth century
and the Communist revolution in 1949. We will particularly study the history of British, German,
American, Japanese and French businesses in China and explore how they operated in China’s ports
and interacted with Chinese officials, merchants and bankers, what impact foreign businesses had on
Chinese economic development and China’s integration into the global economy, and to what extent
the history of foreign business in modern China can help us understand the operations of foreign
enterprises in China today.
HIST2098. A history of modern Taiwan (6 credits)
This course examines the political and economic processes that have shaped Taiwan as a part of China
until 1895, as Japan’s first colony and as the Republic of China on Taiwan since 1949. In particular, the
course surveys the evolution of Taiwanese political and economic development and scrutinises the
conditions that allowed the process of democratisation to take place on the island and its geopolitical
and social consequences. It examines Taiwan’s relations with its two key partners, China and the United
States, and accounts for the dynamics in this triangular partnership. Finally, the course looks at Taiwan’s
place in global economy and international relations.
HIST2103. Russian state and society in the 20th century (6 credits)
This course will analyze major themes and events shaping Russian history in the 20th century -- decline
of the Russian empire, the October revolution, the Civil War, the rise of the Soviet Union and World
War II, the Khrushchev era and the collapse of the Soviet state in 1991. The course will explore the role
of individuals, institutions and trends behind radical transformation of Russian/Soviet society.
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Particular attention will be paid to the lives of ordinary people affected by state policies and socialist
culture.
HIST2105. The rise of modern Japan, 1830s to 1950s (6 credits)
Japan’s rapid and remarkable transformation from a semi-feudal, isolated island nation to that of a
centralized nation state, empire, and eventual global power has had a profound impact on its people, its
Asian and Pacific neighbors, and indeed world history. This course explores that extraordinary
evolution and in doing so will not only help students understand Japan’s past, but also this nation today.
By introducing the history of Japan from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century, this course
explores what the ‘rise of modern Japan’ has meant to its own people and that of others in Asia and the
Pacific. Throughout, students will use Japan’s modern emergence as a window into its political, social,
cultural, environmental, economic, ideological, and military history. This course will focus
considerable attention on how Japan’s natural environment and this country’s emergence as a nation
state during a period of global industrialization and military expansion shaped the nature and trajectory
of Japan’s domestic transformations and its foreign relations. Finally, this course will help students
understand more fully how Japan’s modern emergence has changed its people, the nation, and the world
in fundamental and sometimes profound ways.
HIST2106. Imperial Japan: Its modern wars and colonial empire (6 credits)
In the one hundred years following its birth as a nation state in 1868, Japan became directly involved
in four major wars and countless military skirmishes. It also found itself indirectly involved in larger
coalition-based conflicts in Korea and Vietnam. Between the 1870s and 1945, moreover, Japan
amassed one of the largest colonial empires in history. This course explores both phenomena.
Specifically, we will examine the causes behind the wars Japan fought, how these conflicts were waged,
and what role they played in the rise, fall, and rebirth of Japan as a modern nation state. Rather than
focus on warfare in a strictly military sense, however, this course will emphasize the broader political,
ideological, diplomatic, economic, social and cultural aspects of Japan’s wars. This course will also
explore how and why Japan emerged as a major colonial power, how it ruled over and collaborated with
its colonial subjects, and how it dealt with resistance to its empire from within and from the international
community. Finally, this course will help students understand how and why Japan’s military and
colonial past has shaped Japan’s history and how they continue to influence this country’s relations
with virtually every country in the Asia and Pacific region today.
HIST2107. The Second World War in Asia and the Pacific, 1931-1952 (6 credits)
Few events in the modern history of Asia and the Pacific have been as important or as transformative
as the Second World War. This course explores the far-reaching effects that this conflict had on the
state, society, and individuals in, and between Japan, China, the United States, the Soviet Union, and
the British and French Empires. Importantly, this course will examine how this conflict helped change
war—conceptually and in real terms—from a narrowly defined engagement between military forces to
one that encompassed a ‘total experience’ involving the mobilization of virtually all segments of society.
In this course we will also trace the interconnectedness between the transformation of war and the
development of new technology, changed concepts of morality, ‘just war,’ and altered perceptions
concerning the relationship between the state and society, the soldier and the civilian. Finally, this
course will help students understand more fully how and why this war, and the numerous acts of
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barbarism that defined it, still influence relations today on personal, national, and international levels
in Asia and the Pacific.
HIST2108. Empire and the making of modern France (6 credits)
This course examines the history of the French empire and its links with the making of identity in
modern France. It focuses primarily upon modern French history as lived experience rather than on
‘high politics’ while also providing students with knowledge of key events, debates, theories and
concepts relating to theories of postcolonialism. The starting point for the course is an understanding of
metropolitan France as the centre of an imperial nation-state the ‘civilizing’ cultural influence of which
was understood to radiate out from Paris and large provincial cities to metropolitan France and overseas
colonies beyond the héxagone, transforming the peoples and societies with which it came into contact.
This course examines the multiple interrelationships developed between centre and periphery in the
modern era. It foregrounds the dual influence of metropole and colonies upon imperialism. In doing so
it engages with theories of race, identity, governance and culture. It traces the ways in which European
identity was reconceptualised in the colonies and how the European presence contributed to the
transformation of colonised societies. Examining the decolonisation process, the course also takes up
the controversial issues of how the history of the French empire has been written, and the French
contribution to the development of postcolonial theory.
HIST2109. Modern France: Society, politics and culture (6 credits)
The course discusses key events in modern French history, from the revolution to the present day. It
examines crucial moments in the evolution of French politics, culture and society, and the actors
involved, explaining their meaning and significance for France, Europe and the World. The course
examines the French contribution to modern culture, critical scholarly debates on the course of French
history and the experiences of different sections of French society as they engaged with the dramatic
changes of the modern era.
HIST2110. China and the West (6 credits)
This course analyses China’s political, economic, and cultural relations with the Western Powers from
the seventeenth century to 1949. Students will consider the changing structure of Chinese society in
order to understand how Imperial China perceived the West. Additionally, this course addresses
different strategies employed by the Western Powers to gain influence in China, ranging from
missionary work and the opium trade to military invasion. In the twentieth century, Chinese people
borrowed such foreign concepts as republican government, revolution, and nationalism to overthrow
the Qing dynasty and to launch political, economic, and social reforms that were unprecedented in scale
and human cost. This course aims to help students reflect on the perceived and real impact of Chinese
and Western civilizations on each other.
HIST2111. War and medicine in Europe, 1800-1950 (6 credits)
Warfare played a crucial role in shaping European modernity in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
If the experience of military conflict prompted medical innovation, reciprocally, scientific medicine
was central to the rationalization of the military. In ‘War and Medicine in Europe, 1800-1950’, students
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will explore interconnected developments in warfare and medicine, and consider how these
developments contributed to the rise of the modern state and to the modernization of European societies.
Particular attention will be paid to the relationship between war and infectious diseases. Topics covered
will include the rise of pathogenic theories of medicine in the 1860s and 1870s, sanitary discipline,
antiseptics and the discovery of penicillin. The course will begin with an account of the Napoleonic
Wars and the reorganization of French medicine. It will end with the establishment of public healthcare
provisions, notably the creation of the National Health Service in Britain, following World War II.
Although the principal focus will be on Western Europe, there will be some discussion of colonial
warfare and medicine. Throughout, emphasis will be placed on the ways in which military technologies
and the drive for efficient management determined medical practice, as well as the manner in which
changes in medical organization, together with shifting conceptions of health and disease prevention,
impacted upon military policy.
HIST2112. Technologies of empire: Science, medicine and colonialism (6 credits)
This course explores the emergence of bioscience and Western medicine as modern technologies that
underpinned Europe’s colonial expansion from the late eighteenth century to the twentieth century.
Employing specific case studies, the course investigates the changing role of professionals involved in
researching, developing, implementing and managing such medical technologies in a number of
colonial contexts from Africa, to the Subcontinent, the Pacific and Southeast Asia, including Hong
Kong. A key focus of the course is on the ways in which such technologies were integral to
governmental rationalities and served to legitimate colonial rule.
Students will examine this topic through three overarching themes. First, the course considers the
‘colonies’ as sites of experimentation, where ‘progressive’ scientific and medical knowledge was tested
in the field. Second, it examines the role of colonial encounters in the formation of Western technologies
and traces the complex dynamics between indigenous knowledge and colonial authority, and between
centre and periphery. Third, the course investigates the interrelationship between colonising processes
and the body, in particular the ways that biomedical technologies were deployed to regulate populations
through specific colonial institutions, namely hospitals, schools, prisons, workplaces and the military.
HIST2113. New worlds: Exploring the history of Latin America (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the history of Latin America from its earliest settlement to the present
day. Stretching from California to Patagonia, this region – which has also been eloquently called ‘the
first America’ – encompasses former Spanish and Portuguese colonies, hundreds of native cultures, and
its societies have resulted from an intermingling of Amerindian, European, African, and Asian cultures
that began half a millennium ago. We will explore the indigenous civilisations of the Mayas, Incas and
Aztecs, Iberian colonisation and the varied responses of indigenous peoples, the emergence of multi-
racial societies and hybrid cultures as the region became an early site of ‘globalisation’, and the
economic relations, revolutions, and frustrated dreams that have shaped the region’s
(under)development over the past century. Drawing on a wide array of media, including primary
sources, novels, art, and film, this course will give students the tools to understand how this dynamic
region has shaped world history. This course is also valuable to students of Spanish and Portuguese
languages, literature, fine arts, and political science.
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HIST2114. China and the wider world since 1600 (6 credits)
China has experienced remarkable transformation from the seventeenth century to the twentieth-first
century. What has happened in China since 1600 has had a profound impact on both its own people and
indeed the world. This course explores development of modern China from a perspective of
international history and emphasises the shared experiences the Chinese have had with the rest of the
world.
HIST2115. Sports and Chinese society (6 credits)
This course deals with sports and its impact on Chinese society. Through an in-depth exploration of the
roles of sports in defining the relationship between physical culture and Confucian culture, between
men and women, between physical education and national identity, between gold medals and national
pride, between politics and political legitimacy and international recognition, this course will highlight
the roles of sports in Chinese national development, nationalism, and internationalism.
HIST2117. Nanyang: The Chinese experience in Southeast Asia (6 credits)
This course provides a broad survey of Chinese settlement and society in Southeast Asia from the 15th
century until the late 1970s. Through a comparative and transnational approach it introduces key themes
of migration, diaspora, entrepreneurship and network. The social, economic and cultural aspects closely
associated with the history of the Chinese overseas, such as early Chinese migration, dialect
organizations, guilds, occupational structure, and Chinese merchant culture will be discussed. Students
will also be encouraged to consider new and important questions still relevant to the Chinese in
Southeast today. Was the Chinese story in this region as much about exploitation as entrepreneurship?
Why did postcolonial governments across the region come to regard the Chinese as such a ‘problem’?
And ultimately, what has it meant to be Chinese in a rapidly changing cultural and political landscape?
HIST2120. International trade and finance in the early-modern world (6 credits)
The modern economic world of international trade and finance is the result of developments which took
place in Europe from the early Renaissance through to the Industrial Revolution. This course will
examine the foundations of these developments focusing particularly on the pre-modern industrial base
of Europe, the change in European trading patterns from a Mediterranean to an Atlantic dominance
during the Renaissance, the growth of banking and other financial institutions in the early modern period,
and the role of urbanisation as a background to the major economic advances which took place during
the Industrial Revolution. This course is open to students from all faculties.
HIST2122. The history of sport in modern Europe (6 credits)
The course will focus on the development of modern sport in Europe (with a strong British focus), and
develop historical themes of class, gender, age, ‘race’ and locality. Particular emphasis will be given
to the history of sport in relation to themes such as nationalism, empire and public health, in addition to
the role of the state, the media and business in shaping and controlling the nature of contemporary sport.
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In brief, the course examines how and why sport has been located at the interstices of gender, race and
class and has produced, and been generated by, multiple and contested social identities.
HIST2125. Nazi Germany, the Holocaust and the Jews (6 credits)
This course provides an overview of the history and historical interpretation of Nazi Germany and the
Holocaust, with particular focus on the principal victim of this regime, the Jewish population of Europe.
This course examines in detail the development of the Nazi movement from the accession to power in
1933 until its culmination as perhaps the greatest destructive force in modern history with the Second
World War. With a focus on political and ideological aspects as well as cultural and transnational issues,
this course will also integrate the debates among historians when confronting this subject matter. This
comprehensive overview of Nazi Germany, the Holocaust and the Jews will examine how a dictatorship
arose out of a democracy; the role and importance of propaganda and new media; the establishment of
a racial state and the persecution of minorities; the responses to persecution and various forms of
resistance; global reception and responses to the Nazi state; film, music, art and the cultural politics of
German fascism; the causes of and evolution to the Second World War and the Holocaust; and
the principal interpretations of and continuing debates regarding the Holocaust and responses by the
wider world.
This course is an introduction to topics and themes within the broad domain of the history of the
American family. It engages an archive of material that illuminates various aspects of family life in the
US via speeches and documents, sociological surveys, popular culture, and life narratives. Lectures
will touch upon pivotal events and demographic shifts over the course of three centuries with particular
emphasis on the period from 1900 to the present. Drawing heavily on works and theoretical approaches
within the fields of social and cultural history, the course considers diverse accounts of family life as
well as stereotypes and generalizations about “America” and “American families” that circulate inside
and outside of the US. Students will consider their own family history in relation to lectures, readings,
and insights gleaned throughout the term.
HIST2127. Qing China in the world, 1644-1912 (6 credits)
This course examines Qing China’s frontier and foreign relations from the beginning to the end of the
dynasty, addressing specific administrative policies, their ideological and ritual background, and their
wider political, military, and economic context. Particular attention is paid to local variations on
individual Qing frontiers in response to differences in economic and trade conditions, terrain, and
prevailing religious and cultural norms.
HIST2129. Living through war: Society, culture and trauma (6 credits)
This course analyses war as a historical, social and cultural phenomenon. It goes beyond political and
military dimensions of war to explore its long-term effects on society. The wars caused death,
destruction, trauma, suffering and profound social change. War experiences unified and alienated
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people, fostering unique popular cultures, which will be examined through war narratives by witnesses,
war reporters, writers and historians, who exposed the human costs of military conflicts. This course
will examine several themes and case studies drawn from the major international wars of the 20th
century, including the Russo-Japanese War (1904-5), the Great War (1914-1918), World War Two
(1939-1945), the Korean War (1951-3), the Vietnam War (1954-1975), the Afghan War (1979-89), and
the Global War on Terror (2001-present).
HIST2130. The civilizing mission and modern European imperialism (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the history of the formation and dissemination of the discourse of
civilizing mission, one of the master narratives European powers deployed to justify and legitimate their
domination and exploitation of vast regions of the world during the heyday of high imperialism from
the late 19th century to the interwar years. The course is divided into three modules. In the first part of
the course, we engage in a critical study of the political, cultural, and scientific tenets underpinning the
discourse of the civilizing mission through a close analysis of some of the core texts European
politicians and thinkers had written on the subject. In module 2, we are going to examine how the idea
of the civilizing mission was sold to the general public of the metropoles through a vast array of media
ranging from textual and iconographic materials to state-sponsored propagandistic apparatuses such as
colonial exhibitions, museums, and monuments. In the last module, we will look at the responses
developed by both the colonized peoples as well as anti-colonial Europeans to challenge the claims that
European colonization would help to bring progress to the underdeveloped nations and improve the
lives of the subject peoples. The case studies of the course are based mainly on primary textual and
visual materials related to the British and French empires, the two leading imperial powers of the time.
HIST2136. The Graeco-Roman world: From Homer to Augustus (6 credits)
This course covers the history of the Graeco-Roman world during the first millennium BCE: from the
Greek Early Iron Age to the rise of the Roman Empire. The main topics include material culture, the
Greek city-states, the Persian Wars, Greek politics and theatre, Athenian imperialism, ancient daily life,
mythology and religion, Alexander the Great, the Hellenistic kingdoms, and the Roman Republic and
Empire (about 70/30% Greece/Rome). While the focus is on Greece and Rome, attention will also be
paid to their interaction with neighbouring cultures such as Persia and Anatolia, as well as to the
reception of the Classical world up until today. We will reads selections from many well-known ancient
texts in English translation.
HIST2137. Pandemic!: Contagious histories (6 credits)
This course considers the social, cultural and political impact of catastrophic infectious disease
outbreaks from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries. Focusing on specific case studies, including
cholera in Europe, The Third Plague Pandemic in Asia, the ‘Spanish Flu,’ and HIV/AIDS, which to-
date has claimed over 25 million lives, the course adopts a comparative approach to address four
interrelated questions: to what extent were these crises the consequence of the globalisation of infectious
disease? How have pandemics shaped development? In what ways have human societies produced the
conditions for disease to flourish? And, finally, what can past pandemics teach us about the future?
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HIST2138. Humanity in crisis: Humanitarianism in the modern world (6 credits)
This course charts the rise of humanitarianism from the formation of antislavery and missionary
movements in the nineteenth century to the establishment of the Red Cross, the Geneva Convention,
and peacebuilding interventions in the contemporary world. The course considers the relationship
between humanitarianism, diplomacy and the military, exploring the forces that have shaped modern
humanitarianism, including the development of the modern nation-state, warfare, terrorism, the media,
NGOs, and global governance. Finally, it explores the ways in which humanitarian interventions have
been justified in the name of justice, human rights, compassion, and expediency.
HIST2142. The German Empire, 1871-1918 (6 credits)
This course traces the rise and fall of the German Empire from its inception after the Franco-German
War of 1870/71 to its demise, in defeat and revolution, in 1918. It examines crucial moments in the
evolution of high politics, economy and society, and the actors explaining their meaning and
significance for Germany, Europe, and the world. Figures such as the Empire’s founder Bismarck, the
three emperors Wilhelm I, Friedrich III, and Wilhelm II, the imperial chancellors, and the militaries
will be studied, and major ideologies such as conservatism, liberalism, nationalism, socialism, and
imperialism will be examined. A global and transnational perspective will be employed when studying
the forces of unification, industrialisation, colonisation, and militarisation as they combined to propel
the German Empire from new nation to European major power which found itself militarily defeated at
the end of the First World War.
HIST2143. Love and loyalty: Women and gender in Chinese History (6 credits)
This course discusses two concepts – love and loyalty – in Chinese history through the perspective of
women’s history and gender studies. The purpose of this course is to provide students with a base of
knowledge regarding the changing historical experiences and contexts of women and gender in Chinese
history from ancient times to the present.
Non-permissible combination: SINO2013.
HIST2144. History of the Second World War in the West, 1939-1945 (6 credits)
This course will examine the Second World War in Europe and the Mediterranean. In exploring its
significance the focus will be on international relations and military affairs.
HIST2145. Tokugawa Japan, 1600–1850 (6 credits)
The establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate marked a turning point in Japanese history, bringing
peace to a country that had experienced centuries of civil and international warfare. The Japanese
economy flourished at first, but later periods were marked by successive crises and attempts at reform
by samurai rulers who saw an increasing gap between their ideal vision of Japanese society and the
emergent social realities around them. This course will examine the political, economic, social and
cultural life of the Tokugawa period, ranging from the intimate realm of the domestic sphere to Japanese
relations with other countries in the region. We will consider the development of popular education, the
structure and dynamics of the Tokugawa economy, the ways gender and social status shaped the daily
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lives of individuals, and the impact of interactions with China, Korea, and Europe. No prior knowledge
of Japanese history is assumed, and students will be encouraged to think critically and comparatively
about parallels between Tokugawa Japan and other early modern societies.
HIST2147. Germany’s Weimar Republic, 1918-1933 (6 credits)
The course surveys the history of Germany’s first republic named after the national assembly that
convened in Weimar in 1919 and drew up a new constitution after the German Empire had been defeated
at the end of the First World War. The Weimar Republic was influenced by changing parliamentary
majorities but democracy was working. Ensuing economic recovery led to political pacification. With
regard to the arts, science and culture some sections of the German people were for a short time able to
refer to the “golden Twenties”. It was a period characterised by an intense but brief flowering, since the
fall of the Republic could already be foreseen in the great global economic crisis of 1929. As a result
of the crisis, Hitler’s national-socialist movement became the strongest political force in Germany.
However, the turbulent fourteen years of the Weimar Republic were not only a desperate and grudging
experiment in democracy but also offered a panoply of world-wide recognised political, economic,
social, and cultural models, some of which blended imperceptibly into the Nazi ideology while others
survived until nowadays.
HIST2148. Sino-Southeast Asian connections in the age of maritime exploration (6 credits)
This course explores the historical connections between China and Southeast Asia that are often blurred
by the established geographical divisions of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. We will look at
the circulation of people, goods, ideas, and institutions that foster Sino-Southeast Asian connectivity
and examine how these exchanges further engendered societal, economic, and political changes. This
course is broadly divided into two periods. In the first half of the course we will examine Sino-Southeast
Asian connectivity before the arrival of Europeans by looking at, for example, the forging of overland
and maritime trade routes, tributary relations, networks of diasporas, and the spread of religion. The
second half of the course looks at how, due to enhanced maritime technology and Western presence,
these connections are further expanded within a wider and global context.
HIST2149. Contemporary China (6 credits)
This is a multi-disciplinary history course that aims to provide a comprehensive introduction to

contemporary developments in China using an analytical and forward-looking approach. The major
areas of investigation include China’s unique political system and the nation’s dynamics of reform,
growth strategy and its potential impacts on the world economy and global finance, social and cultural
dimensions of recent change, and external relations especially in regard to Asia, the United States and
the European Union. An introduction to China’s different geographical regions will help students to
understand and explore China’s complex environment as a vast country with a very long history. There
will be a two-day trip to Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the two major cities of southern China, while Hong
Kong’s position and relations with the Chinese mainland will also be considered. This course will be
offered in the Summer Semester only.
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HIST2150. Global capitalism: The last 100 years (6 credits)
This course will survey the fall and rise of global capitalism, from the first wave of globalization at the
turn of the century, through its collapse in the interwar period, and its second globalizing wave after
World War II. Any survey of capitalism is necessarily global, as all countries in one way or another
were confronted with its powerful political and economic impulses, even those, like the Soviet Union,
that were for a long time presumed to have laid outside of capitalism's ebbs and flows. These changes
in capitalism included the Great Depression, the construction of the postwar financial and commercial
regime known as Bretton Woods, the Cold War, decolonization, the financialization of the world
economy that began in the 1970s, the Asian crisis of the 1990s and the recent global crisis, all of which
will be covered in the course. We will explore the intersection between politics and
economics, providing a lens for understanding these crucial structural changes in the international
history of the 20th century and in the nature of capitalism. No prior knowledge of economics is required;
the course aims instead to explain basic concepts so that students may read and understand with
confidence any current events of contemporary international political economy, a crucial domain for
understanding the world we live in.
HIST2154. American capitalism in the long nineteenth century (6 credits)
This course will examine the development of American capitalism, with a particular focus on the period
from American independence in the 1780s until the First World War. In this period, the United States
grew from an Atlantic outpost to a major figure in a globalizing economy. This period saw the rise of
wage labor, the development of a market society, the emergence of corporations, the construction of
railroad networks, and the innovation of new financial and legal instruments. We will examine the
reasons for and effects of these developments, examining the culture as well as the economy of
capitalism. Writers ranging from popular pamphleteers to prominent novelists registered and
commented on these changes, and we will look at how the development of capitalism changed family
structures and ideas about the self. Finally, we will consider capitalism as a historiographical as well as
a historical phenomenon, and consider why historians today are drawn to this field.
HIST2155. Slavery and democracy in the United States (6 credits)
One of the enduring questions of American history is how professed ideals of liberty and self-
governance could, for so long, coexist with a brutal system of slavery. From the American War of
Independence (1775-1783) to the American Civil War (1861-1865), the role of slavery in the American
republic was the focus of near constant political debate. This course will look at the history of slavery
in the United States, in its social, economic, and political dimensions. We will first consider how slavery
functioned as a social system and what life was like for enslaved persons. The work they performed
was critical to the growth of American capitalism, and we will consider next the place of slavery in a
rapidly developing economy. The profitability of slave labor made its abolition a particularly
controversial topic, and we will consider finally how debates over the future of slavery were central to
American ideas of democracy and ultimately precipitated the Civil War. This course will help students
think critically about race as a category of analysis, and ask them to consider the ways in which political
ideology and economic practices are interrelated.
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HIST2156. American urban history (6 credits)
This course examines the development of American cities from the early nineteenth century to the
present, considering the governmental, infrastructural, and social challenges posed by urban growth.
The history of the city provides a critical lens into American culture and society. As the United States
urbanized in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, cities became the subjects of political debate,
engines of economic growth, and centers of cultural change. This course will trace the development of
urban spaces from the compact walking city to the dense industrial metropolis and finally to the
sprawling suburb of the late twentieth century. Using the United States as a case study, we will examine
the ways in which social inequality manifests in the urban landscape, and consider how infrastructure
created long ago continues to shape our lives. In order to do so, we will engage with a variety of primary
texts, including urban newspapers, maps, and the built environment itself.
HIST2157. Globalisation and Asia (6 credits)
This is a course designed for students who wish to acquire a better understanding of the major world
trends of development with special reference to Asian perspectives and experiences. The focus of
inquiry is Globalization from past to present together with its many promises, problems and challenges,
especially in the context of Asia’s regeneration since the 1980’s and its interactions with other parts of
the world. Particular attention will be given to China’s rise as a major economic power and its impacts.
The course will also look into the cultural aspects of change and address the issues of political and
social governance in a globalizing world.
This course revisits Hong Kong’s multifaceted history from a thematic approach with women as the
focus of inquiry. Embedded in the very fabric of Hong Kong society, women’s narratives, though often
being left out in history writing, have documented the encounters of cultures, the politics of patriarchy
and colonial rule, and the construction of class differences, gender inequality and cultural identities in
social, political and economic changes.
Drawing from a wide range of sources, this course examines women’s lives and experiences in colonial
Hong Kong under the themes of sex, marriage and family; female education; women at work; and
philanthropy and social activism. The course also discusses the role of narrative in historical
understanding, the use of gender as a category of historical analysis, and the link of the personal to
social change in writing Hong Kong’s history.
HIST2159. Chasing the dragon: Alcohol, drugs and imperialism in Asia, c. 1700-2000 (6
credits)
This course aims to introduce students to key themes and debates in the study of intoxicating substances
and imperialism, with a focus on Asia. It will explore the various uses to which alcohol and drugs were
put in the colonies and in the independent countries which were confronted with the realities of imperial
hegemony. It will unpack the myriad interests which underpinned and therefore characterised colonial
drug policy. Whilst it acknowledges the impact of colonial policies on the rise of nationalist movements,
the course seeks to transcend the paradigm of exploitation and resistance. For instance, it will examine
how the farms and monopolies that were established to ensure the steady supply of alcohol and drugs
introduced new opportunities as well as challenges for subject populations, and probe the transnational
networks that both enabled and regulated their consumption. To this end, students will be invited to
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think critically about the political, economic and social dimensions of the subject in order to derive a
nuanced understanding of the interrelationship between drugs and power.
HIST2160. Visualizing history (6 credits)
This is a hands-on course for learning how to “see” and analyze visual sources as historians do. Students
will work with a variety of historical sources such as photos, comics, maps, and movies. We will
consider theories about visuality, read successful examples of visual history, learn methods for engaging
with visual material (including how to apply lenses of gender, race/ethnicity, and class), and analyze
visual sources that students themselves select. By the end of the course, students will be able to see the
world anew.
HIST2161. Making race (6 credits)
This course examines the history of race and race-making in a global context. We begin by framing
theories of race, examining race as a social construct and understanding how race intersects with other
structures of social difference such as gender and class. We then examine histories of race-making at
several sites: race and the body (scientific racism, reproduction, and slavery), race and “civilization”
(colonialism and orientalism), race and culture (identity and consumables), race and space (borders and
segregation), and race and forgetting (privilege and memory). We may consider how race takes root in
hair and ramen, soap and tap dancing, sex and policing. By the end of the course, students will
understand how race travels across oceans and borders, but also how race is made every day, close to
home.
HIST2164. Making a metropolis: An urban history of New York City from New Amsterdam
to the age of Trump (6 credits)
This course aims to introduce students to the key themes and methodologies of urban history through
the lens of New York City. It asks students to explore the importance of place as a category of analysis
and consider how demographic change, civic regulation and industrial capitalism shape urban spaces
and environments. Using New York as a case study, the course will cover the major themes of urban
history, including immigration, industrialization, urban planning and municipal regulation, the
dynamics of race and class, and the role of commerce, culture and capital in the development of the
modern city. Each week students will work with primary sources that explore the different perspectives
and experiences of the urban populace, from city planners and architects to political bosses and social
radicals. In particular, students will use digital archives and visual sources to explore the construction
of New York City’s iconic neighborhoods and landmarks, including Greenwich Village, Harlem,
Central Park, the Empire State Building and Coney Island. The major essay will require students to
consider the key themes of course in the context of other global cities and to apply the methods of urban
history to a topic of their choosing.
This course introduces students to the political history of the United States from the bottom up by
looking at the diverse and dynamic social movements that emerged across the twentieth century. It
invites students to consider the interplay between people, power and the state in the making of U.S.
politics. The course traces a variety of social movements from the far left to the far right, emphasizing
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the interaction and overlap between different social movements. In particular, the course will trace the
long relationship between movements for women’s rights and the black freedom struggle. Overall,
students consider how and why social movements emerge in particular historical moments, what
constitutes a movement, and who organizes social movements, with a particular emphasis on the role
that race, gender, sexuality and class play within social movements. By identifying the goals, successes
and failings of different social movements, students will become familiar with the major themes and
issues in US political history from the late-nineteenth century to the present.
HIST2168. The idea of India, c. 1600-1992 (6 credits)
Home to great ethnic diversity and stark socioeconomic disparities, the world’s largest democracy
remains a fascinating enigma to many observers. This course aims to introduce students to key themes
in Indian history, from the earliest times to the recent past, so as to equip them with the knowledge and
perspectives that they need to understand the role of history in shaping contemporary India. Through
an examination of broad processes of political, social, and economic change, the course will invite
students to engage critically with the ideals that gave rise to this ‘unlikely nation’ and the forces that
have threatened to thwart those ideals at almost every turn. It will draw on debates pertaining to
secularism versus communalism, democracy versus dictatorship, federalism versus regionalism - to
name just a few - in unpacking the ‘idea’ of India.
HIST2169. History of love in modern China (6 credits)
How has the concept of love been introduced, adapted, and engineered for the building and rebuilding
of a modern nation? This course will look into the different adaptations and usages of love by China’s
writers, intellectuals, and political leaders, in order to reveal the versatile nature of love as a critical
mechanism within modern Chinese politics.
We will also discuss the role of emotions in the project of Chinese modernity and the meaning—and
most importantly, the politics — of love, and its relation to Christianity, Confucianism, popular
religions, and political religion.
HIST2170. The making of the Islamic world: The Middle East, 500-1500 (6 credits)
This course provides an introduction to the history of the premodern Middle East and Islamic
civilization. Rather than putting religion at the center, however, we will examine evidence for a variety
of interacting forces that played a role in long-term historical change, including the region's physical
environment, human ecology, politics, economics, technology, and social and cultural practices, in
addition to Islamic beliefs and rituals. In so doing, we will attempt to understand the shared features
that have distinguished Middle Eastern and Islamic societies. The course begins with a focus on the
region's environment and the ways in which farmers, pastoralists, and city-dwellers adapted, along with
the emergence of agrarian empires in Antiquity. With this background, we turn to the appearance of
Islam, the Arab conquests, and the formation of an Islamic empire. The remainder of the course explores
the evolution of Islamic civilization in the wake of the breakup of the early Islamic empire, including a
focus on institutions that survived until the early modern period, and others which can be found in
different forms today. Alongside lecture, we will read and discuss samples from key historical texts,
which will illustrate some of the challenges of reconstructing early Islamic history and the debates
surrounding the emergence and formation of Islamic civilization.
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HIST2171. American legal history (6 credits)
This course introduces students to major developments and controversies in US history through the
study of legal history. The course will be structured around court cases, primarily drawn from the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries, that illuminate the contested nature of citizenship and rights in US
history. It will emphasize the role that sex, class, race and religion have played in the construction of
rights and the production of tiered conceptions of citizenship. Throughout the course, students will
critically consider the role that law has played in shaping US society and evaluate the major
developments in American jurisprudence. Students will work directly with court case materials as a
primary source base and develop an analytical research paper on a topic of their own choosing.
HIST2172. Revolutionizing health in modern China (6 credits)
This survey course investigates the intersections of health, politics, and culture in the People's Republic
of China (1949 to the present). We will first investigate how the Communist revolution transformed
Chinese health care during the Maoist era, focusing on patriotic health campaigns, the standardization
of traditional Chinese medicine, and the barefoot doctor program. We will then examine how the
subsequent Reform and Opening era impacted health and disease, paying close attention to growing
differences between rural and urban regions. We will probe the sociopolitical logics of reproductive
control, the uneven privatization of health care, and the growing intersection of infectious disease and
health inequalities. In the final part of the course, we will explore emerging political and moral
economies of health in the contemporary period. Topics in this section include the linkages between
environmental pollution and cancer, the growing mental health epidemic, and the globalization of
biotechnology and experimental medicine. Students will have the opportunity to engage in original
research by conducting oral history interviews on Chinese experiences of health seeking and illness.
HIST2175. Medicine, propaganda, and colonialism in Asia: 1895-1945 (6 credits)
This course looks at medical propaganda produced in early twentieth century Asia. Through discussions
of films, photographs, posters, and pamphlets, students will become familiar with breakthroughs in
European medical science about 1900 and analyse how these insights were translated into public health
messaging. Students will learn about the motivations that shaped Dutch, French, British, American, and
Japanese colonial policies through the lens of medicine. Finally, through hands-on source analysis and
an introduction to visual theory, students will learn about the iconography of health, disease, and
medicine that pervades public health messaging today.
Assessment: 100% course work.
HIST2176. Doing business in modern China, 1800 to the present (6 credits)
This course will trace the evolution of Chinese businesses from the traditional Chinese family firm into
modern Chinese corporations between the early 19th century and the present day. We will explore how
different kinds of enterprises in China – ranging from shipping and merchant companies to banks,
railways and manufacturers – developed during the 19th and 20th centuries, how both private
entrepreneurs and successive Chinese governments tried to modernize Chinese enterprises, and how
Chinese businesses dealt with the growing foreign presence in the Chinese economy and China’s
increased entanglements with the global economy. While the focus of the course will be on the evolution
and modernization of Chinese business enterprises, the course will also take into account the larger
economic and political context these businesses operated in and explore how they took advantage of or
dealt with economic and political events and developments, such as the First World War or the Great
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Depression. Finally, we will also discuss how exploring the trajectory of Chinese business during the
19th and 20th centuries can help us better understand how Chinese businesses operate today.
HIST2177. The economic history of modern China, 1800 to the present (6 credits)
In this course, we will follow the development and transformation of the Chinese economy from the
early nineteenth century to the present day. We will first explore the basic characteristics of the
premodern Chinese economy before moving on the question of the "Great Divergence" and the reasons
why China fell behind the West in terms of economic development. We will then discuss the economic
depression China experienced in the first half of the nineteenth century and investigate the impact both
internal rebellion and foreign incursion had on the Qing economy. As we enter the twentieth century,
we will look at the efforts of both political and economic elites to modernise and strengthen the Chinese
economy – in particular attempts to push for industrialization – and evaluate to what extent they were
successful in the period before the outbreak of World War II. Finally, the course will explore the post-
1949 attempt at building a socialist economy in China and Deng Xiaoping’s post-1978 economic
reforms that led to sustained rapid economic growth. Overall, the course will offer students an
understanding of the historical development of the modern Chinese economy and a historical
perspective on the Chinese economy today.
HIST2178. Trials of history: The courtroom from historical perspective (6 credits)
The courtroom is a physical location where judges and juries sit to hear cases and deliver justice. It is
also a site of intrigue, drama and controversy, and as this course will examine, a tremendously rich and
important source of history. Taking a transnational and comparative perspective, this course will
examine how the trial came into being in its modern form. The course will first examine how various
components of the trial developed over time. Comparing these developments in different places and at
different times, case-studies will include the history of the judge, the jury, the professional lawyer, and
the expert witness. The course will then move through a series of courtroom trials that range from
everyday cases that received almost no attention in their time, to high-profile cases involving political
leaders and internationally famous celebrities. Placing these trials in their wider political, social and
cultural context, the course will encourage students to consider the place of law in history, and history
in law.
HIST2179. Law, empire and world history: From pirates to human rights? (6 credits)
The introduction of the ‘rule of law’ provided perhaps the most widely referenced justification for the
forcible imposition of imperial power around the globe in early modern and modern history. However,
discourse around British justice cannot be simply understood as an alibi propagated to consolidate
imperial legitimacy. Legal structures provided a ruling frame to organize, discipline and police newly
conquered societies, leaving lasting legacies in postcolonial nation-states, the British post-imperial state,
and in international law. Taking case studies from Ireland, India, Malaya, Hong Kong, Jamaica,
Australia, South Africa, Kenya and Aden, the course will examine the rise of imperial, and later
international legal orders, through various formative moments in the legal history of the British Empire.
In dividing the world into rulers and ruled, it is in the legal history of empire where we can begin to
consider the origins of concepts and questions that still dominate political discussions in the
contemporary world. These include human rights, humanitarianism, racism, violence, and sovereignty.
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HIST2180. The origins of scientific thought (6 credits)
This course examines the development of science in cultural and intellectual context from antiquity to
the early modern period. The course begins with an examination of perspectives towards the natural
world in the poetry, philosophy, and medicine of ancient Greece, and follows the movement of the
classical tradition into medieval Islam and Christendom. The final part of the course focuses on the
transformation of European science during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Throughout our
investigation of what ‘science’ has been in the past, we shall pay particular attention to issues that still
have relevance today, such as the interaction between science and religion, the importance of different
institutional settings for science, and the relationship between science and government.
HIST2181. A sea of stuff: Commerce and colonialism in the Indian Ocean, 1500-2000 (6
credits)
This course will explore and analyze commercial linkages across the Indian Ocean region from the early
modern period to the present day. We will examine the forces shaping commerce in the region and track
their fundamental transformations by paying close attention to particular commodities and the networks
within which they circulated. Students will be introduced to the field of commodity history and invited
to apply its insights to illuminate wider economic processes. Starting with a focus on pepper and other
spices that brought European conquerors to Asian shores, we will turn our attention to commodities like
tea, opium and cotton that have shaped the modern world before ending with a look at fossil fuels,
which power the contemporary world economy on the one hand while simultaneously posing a huge
threat to it on the other. Analyzing why trade in each of these commodities became particularly lucrative
at different historical moments, will allow us to interrogate and better comprehend economic systems
like mercantilism and capitalism and to assess their relationship with colonial expansion.
HIST2182. Seascapes and skylines: Environment and infrastructure in Asia (6 credits)
This course will interrogate the complex relationship between the "natural" world and built
environments in Asia. While the concepts of "nature" and "infrastructure" have been in use for a long
time, it is only recently that historians have begun to subject them to significant theoretical scrutiny.
The recent interest in engaging closely with the history of these widely used but often misunderstood
concepts has led scholars to question many commonly held assumptions about the two. While
environmental historians have shown the extent to which nature has been materially and discursively
constructed, a new generation of historians working on infrastructure has shed light on the contingent
and often unpredictable ways in which infrastructural networks have developed in the early modern and
modern periods. By bringing new scholarship on the environment in conversation with insights from
the emerging field of STS (Science and Technology Studies), this course will invite students to consider
how even the most pristine landscapes have been transformed by the human hand, and how our grandest
infrastructural projects bear the imprint of their physical environment. Through the course we will ask
whether Asia’s forests have been shaped any less by human activity than its dams and whether the
region’s biggest cities have really liberated themselves from their environments.
HIST2183. Geopolitics and grand strategy in the history of China’s foreign relations (6 credits)
This course examines how geopolitics and grand strategy designs have contributed to the shaping of
China's foreign relations from the Qing Empire to its transformation into a modern nation-state.
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Attention will be drawn to the patterns of change and continuity in China’s relations with both regional
neighbours and global superpowers through an interdisciplinary focus on the intersection between
political history, military history, international relations theory, and strategic studies.
HIST2184. China and Japan since the 19th century (6 credits)
This course examines the history of Sino-Japanese relations from the mid-nineteenth century to the
present day. It studies how political, economic, and cultural relations between the two countries have
evolved through multiple stages of conflict and cooperation. Throughout the course students will be
introduced to the following major themes: economic development and modernisation in East Asia,
colonialism and imperialism, Japanese and Chinese nationalism, cross-cultural fertilizations within the
Sinosphere, and the relation between war, memory, and national identity.
HIST2185. A history of propaganda in East Asia (6 credits)
This course focuses on the history of propaganda in East Asia during the twentieth century. It adopts a
comparative approach surveying recurring patterns and innovations in the propaganda of four political
regimes in the region: imperial Japan, the Republic of China, the People’s Republic of China, and the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Students will firstly be introduced to broad themes and issues
such as the nature of propaganda, the relation between propaganda and technological development, and
the role of propaganda in one-party states. The course then moves on to examine the following themes
through the lens of the propaganda production of these four polities: modernity, nationalism, racism,
imperialism, revolution, and the Cold War.
HIST2188. The making of modern South Asia (6 credits)
This course will explore the history of the Indian subcontinent from the 18th century to the present day.
We will begin by examining the twilight of the Mughal empire on the one hand, and the gradual
expansion of European power across the region on the other. After looking at the ways in which the
Portuguese and the Dutch established themselves around the Indian Ocean littoral at a time when
territorial control was firmly in the hands of local rulers, we will then examine how large parts of this
region were incorporated into the British Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the process we will
examine the pivotal political, economic and social transformations witnessed under colonial rule and
examine its legacies. Using a focus on South Asia to probe and better comprehend the development and
dissolution of colonialism, we will simultaneously probe forms of colonial control to identify the forces
that have most profoundly shaped the region today.
HIST2189. Terrorism: A global history from anarchists to ISIS (6 credits)
This course focuses on the history of terrorism from the late 19th Century to the early 21st Century. It
adopts a comparative approach surveying multiple terrorist campaigns across Europe, the Americas,
and the Middle East. Students will firstly be introduced to broad themes and issues such as “what is
terrorism?”, “who is a terrorist?”, and the connection between terrorist political violence and the rise of
modern forms of political control by nation-states and empires. The course then moves on to examine
these themes in depth by focusing on pre-World War II anarchist terrorism; far-right, far-left, and state
terrorism during the Cold War; and radical Islamist terrorism since the end of the Cold War.
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HIST2190. Animals in history (6 credits)
Animals, as the American naturalist Henry Beston (1888-1968) put it poetically, are “other nations,
caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the
earth.” This course examines the changing interactions of nonhuman animals and humans from the
eighteenth century to the present times. By exploring the ways these relations developed, the course
looks into the various socio-economic and cultural positions involving animals: in agriculture,
transportation, food, industrialization, warfare, medicine, experimentation, and sports and
entertainment. Taking a global and interdisciplinary approach to these themes, the course will
investigate animals within varying scales across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
HIST2191. History of Chinese Christianity (6 credits)
This course surveys the history of Chinese Christianity, spanning the seventh-century Nestorian
communities, Matteo Ricci and the Ming Dynasty, nineteenth-century missions and empire, and
Wenzhou ‘boss Christians’ in the twenty-first century. Over a broad chronology, this course highlights
how various Chinese Christianities shaped and reshaped based on changes in Christianity worldwide
and the shifting Chinese political, economic, social, and cultural context. Students will explore the role
of missionaries and indigenous agents, the many expressions of Christianity, and the tensions in forming
Chinese Christian identity. Using both primary and secondary sources, this course seeks to highlight
the thorny nature of religious encounter and its surprising outcomes in World History.
HIST2192. Introduction to modern Southeast Asian history (6 credits)
Southeast Asia is one of the world’s most diverse and multifaceted regions. Bounded by India to the
west, China to the east, and Australasia to the south, and some of the world’s largest oceans and most
contested waterways, it has long been a region in flux. This course aims to introduce students to the
Southeast Asian world and its past, from the early modern period through to the end of the twentieth
century. Specifically, this course will focus on both mainland and maritime Southeast Asia, examining
countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Myanmar, amongst others, and
their historical antecedents. Similarly, it will focus on the region’s transnational connections, stepping
beyond orthodox national boundaries. The course charts the rise and fall of local polities and Western
empires, the transnational and transregional movement of peoples, commodities and ideas, and the
evolving impact of Southeast Asia’s geographies, economies and environments. Students will be
introduced to areas of Southeast Asia that are seldom studied, and will be challenged to investigate
issues of historical significance, contemporary relevance and continuing social and cultural interest.
This course will encourage students to question how Southeast Asia shaped—and was shaped by—the
world around it, and how it has in turn impacted key issues in our contemporary society. Students will
be introduced to basic themes in historiography, and will be encouraged to evaluate source materials
and historical literature for bias and significance. Finally, this course will demonstrate why Southeast
Asia is such an important region worthy of historical investigation.
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HIST2193. A history of energy and humankind: From deep history to the present (6 credits)
In our modern environment, lit up by electric lights, connected by combustion engines and produced by
power stations, we often forget the extent to which society is ultimately powered by the sun. And yet
the means through which societies gather and deploy sun power affects the very way in which we
organize our social and political lives. This course will introduce students to the transformations
societies underwent in garnering solar power from wood, water, wind, plants and human and animal
muscle to solar power’s more modern forms of coal, oil and gas. From the Great Divergence of the late
18th century that saw the rise to prominence of the West over other regions of the world, through the
political changes that followed alterations in the energy regime from coal to oil, to the environmental
challenges we face today, we will examine energy as a driving force in history. The class will make a
global tour of technological, environmental, political, economic and social history in order to deepen
our appreciation of the ways energy has structured and continues to organize the world we live in.
HIST2194. Food and empire in colonial Asia (6 credits)
This course explores the cultural world of food and drink in colonial Asia (since 1500). By investigating
the economic, political, and cultural interactions of food and drink cultures, the course examines the
transformations and contestations as seen in the development of plantation economies, trading networks,
migration, foodways, national identities, food technologies, sanitation, nutrition, and environments.
Taking a global and interdisciplinary approach, the course will investigate the historical processes in
which colonialism and globalization have informed food and drink cultures in Asia.
HIST2196. Race, gender, and sexuality in American Empire since 1898 (6 credits)
This course explores the role of race, gender, and sexuality in the imagination of American empire since
1898. On the one hand, we will consider how dominant images of race, gender, and sexuality have often
served to conceal American imperialism, construct an image of U.S. racial democracy, and legitimize
violence and war. We will explore images that range from the exoticism of the China Mystique to the
primitivism of Josephine Baker’s banana skirt to the sexualized Latin American cartel queen. On the
other hand, we will also consider how imperial encounters opened up possibilities to imagine alternative
worlds, intimacies, alliances, and solidarities. We will consider the dissonance of Tejana divas in the
U.S.-Mexico borderlands, the diasporic solidarities of the Black Power movement through music, and
the multiracial alliances of Asian American activists during the Vietnam War. An exploration of culture
from nightclub shows to rock ‘n’ roll and Hollywood films will be an important component of this class.
HIST2198. World prehistory (6 credits)
The main goal of this course is to imbue students with a sense of what experts know about the ancient
world thus far, based on a reading of archaeological material culture and human remains. The methods
used and archaeology’s multidisciplinary approach to the study of the human past give us a range of
clues through which we may investigate what we used to do as a species, and the reasons why certain
technologies and cultural behaviors have persisted until contemporary times. Through lecture activities
and tutorial discussions, students will regularly encounter ongoing debates currently being held
regarding the study of prehistory: What meanings and values may we attribute to ancient objects, and
how can we be sure we are not imparting our modern-day assumptions on to prehistoric finds? Should
artefacts in museums be repatriated and returned to where they were found? What should specialists do,
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if anything, about the use of cultural heritage (or its destruction) in the name of political agendas and
ideologies? Archaeologists around the world are working hard at refining their methods and
substantiating their claims about humanity. Ultimately, students will discover where we came from, and
how we may all engage in conversations about our evolution and development since that point of origin.
HIST2199. The Mongol empire in world history (6 credits)
In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the Mongols established the largest continuous empire in
world history, stretching over most of the Eurasian landmass from Korea to Hungary and from the
Persian Gulf and Burma to Siberia. This course explores the history of this empire from a world-historic
perspective, with attention to the deep transformations in political, cultural, and intellectual history
brought forth by its establishment. Thus, we will learn more about the fundamental structure of the
Mongol nomadic empire and how it interacted with the various settled peoples it came to incorporate.
But we will also investigate the impact of the Mongol conquests on trade, technology, and culture, and
their heritage in the early modern world.
HIST2201. China and the Islamic world (6 credits)
This course explores the long-interlocking history of two major world civilizations, China and the
Islamic world. Temporally and spatially broad, the course covers the 1,400 years since the rise of the
Tang Dynasty to the east and Islamic caliphates to the west. For most of these fourteen centuries, China
and the Islamic world have been home to the largest, most splendid cities of their time. Before the
European expansion, these cities served as pivotal points in a dense network of material and cultural
exchanges that accounted for most of the world’s economic activity and some of its most impressive
cultural achievements. Their richness all but erased from memory by colonial conventions, territorial
divisions, and restrictive interpretations of history, these exchanges tell a story of interconnectedness
and difference in Asia. In the face of a present-day resurgence of nationalisms and increased rigidity
of frontiers worldwide, it has become especially urgent to chart this deep historical interconnection.
HIST2202. Christianity in Asia (6 credits)
In 1910, 18% of the world’s Christians were in the Global South. One century later, this number has
exploded to 61%, with one fifth in Asia and the Pacific. How and why did this astronomical increase
take place? This course surveys the history of Christianity in Asia from the early modern period to the
present, focusing on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries while covering China, Japan, Korea,
Southeast Asia, and others. Over a broad chronology, this course highlights how Asian Christianities
were shaped and reshaped within specific regional contexts and in parallel with changes in Christianity
worldwide. Students will explore the interactions between missionaries and indigenous Christians, the
various expressions of Christianity, and context-specific constraints such as imperialism, nationalism,
and broader interreligious settings. Using both primary and secondary sources, this course illustrates
the shape of Asian Christianity from past to present, the thorny nature of religious encounter, and its
surprising outcomes in World History.
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HIST2203. The Philippines and the Asia-Pacific world (6 credits)
The course examines the development of Philippine society from the precolonial beginnings and the
onset of Spanish colonization (mid-1500s) to the second EDSA People Power Revolution in 2002. By
situating the Philippines within the connections and movements of Asia and the trans-Pacific world,
this course investigates Philippine culture and society as a product of internal and external contexts,
contestations, and transformations. Significant topics include: colonization, ilustrado nationalism,
modernization and urbanization, reform and resistance, migrant diaspora, neocolonialism, and conjugal
dictatorship. The course also seeks to compare and contrast the Philippines with the development of
colonial Hong Kong to demonstrate similarities and differences of colonial rule, the connections
between them, and the trajectories of these relationships.
HIST2204. Technology and society: A modern history (6 credits)
This class introduces students to the history of technology since the late 18th century. We will cover
both the major tenets of the development of technology during the past two centuries and major debates
among historians of technology. The course will not only cover major technologies that have influenced
and changed modern society, such as the steam engine, railways or the computer, but also explore how
new technologies and modern society influenced each other. The scope of the course is global, but it
will particularly focus on developments in Europe, North America and East Asia. By the end of the
course, students will have developed a better understanding of the historical development of technology
in the modern period, which, in turn, will give them a new perspective on the role technology plays in
society today.
HIST2205. Digital history: From concordances to big data (6 credits)
This course investigates how the advent of computing and society’s ongoing digital transformation have
influenced historical practice. Students will be introduced to the major topics and debates in digital
history, including the fragility of new media, the creation of biographical databases, data analytics, and
computer-assisted interpretations of the past. Hands-on lab sessions will teach computational methods
tailored to historical inquiry, such as digital forensics, text mining, geographic information systems,
network analysis, and machine learning. On this foundation, students will develop their own digital
history project, which will either apply a computational approach to a traditional historical research
topic or reimagine how historical research should be conducted in an age of big data. No background
in programming is assumed.
The following courses are classified as ‘survey courses’ and are counted towards the major and minor
in History: AFRI3006, AMER2053, ARAB2025, ARAB2027, ARTH2108, CHIN2225, CHIN2226,
EUST2017-2019, EUST3015, EUST3018, EUST3020, JAPN2089-2093 and SINO2013. Please refer
to the relevant syllabuses for details.
(B) Seminar Courses
Seminar Courses involve more advanced study of special topics in History and a higher level of training
in the use of primary documents or historiography. These courses will normally offer no more than one
lecture per week, but will also include one hour of seminar, tutorial or workshop classes each week.
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The seminar courses listed may not be offered every year. Students should consult the Department of
History Office to find out which Seminars are to be offered each year.
HIST2046. The modern European city: Urban living and open spaces (6 credits)
Over the past century and a half, the majority of Europeans have become urban dwellers. On an
individual, civic, national and international level, every aspect of social life has been influenced by this
evolution. Consequently, the study of cities provides a powerful perspective upon European history.
An essential part of the process of urbanisation involved the allocation of urban open spaces to specific
social and cultural functions. A key focus for public and private life, the city’s open spaces – parks,
gardens, streets and squares – had a fundamental influence upon the nature of urban living. As those in
positions of power influenced the provision and purpose of these areas, important developments in
European social, economic, cultural and political life were linked closely to the evolution of open spaces
in cities.
In this course the changing use and allocation of urban open spaces and the evolution of meanings of
public and private space will provide a lens through which the development of modern European cities
will be analysed. The importance of open spaces will be addressed with recourse to a number of key
themes, including the ‘greening’ of cities of the nineteenth century, the construction of ideal Fascist and
Socialist cities in the 1930s, functionalism and post-war reconstruction, and the ‘sustainable city’ of the
1990s. By the end of the course the students will not only be more familiar with historical approaches
to urban ‘space’ but will also have received an introduction to the evolution of European cities and the
changing cultural importance of public and private open spaces.
Responses to and representations of young people provide a valuable insight into the values of the
societies and cultures that generated them. The aim of this course will be to compare changing
experiences of growing up with evolving representations of the life-stages used to identify the young
(childhood, adolescence and youth) in the nineteenth- and twentieth century world. It therefore
considers what it has meant to be young in different times and places. Through comparison of
experiences and representations the course will reconsider the validity of terms used to describe the
young, highlight the social, political and cultural motives for advancing different roles and
representations of young people and generate a broad insight into regional patterns of similarity and
difference in the history of this group. This course aims to teach students the importance of the historical
context in shaping young people’s lives by addressing variables such as class, gender and race. It will
also introduce students to a variety of different methodological and theoretical approaches to the topic.
HIST2053. The Cold War (6 credits)
This course focuses upon the emergence and development of the Cold War in the 1940s and 1950s. It
takes into account the new scholarship based on evidence from former Soviet, Eastern European, and
Chinese archives since the early 1990s. Students are expected to make extensive use of documentary
sources.
HIST2070. Stories of self: History through autobiography (6 credits)
Who has felt authorised to narrate their life history and what has compelled them to tell explanatory
stories that make sense of their lives? How accurate is it to call autobiography the history of the self?
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Do we encounter other histories or selves in autobiography? What is the history of autobiography and
how do we read it? Historians reading autobiography for documentary evidence of the past and
endeavouring to write about it objectively will find that their task is complicated by the autobiographer’s
subjective and often highly creative engagement with memory, experience, identity, embodiment, and
agency. This course is intended for students who wish to explore the interdisciplinary links between
autobiography, history, literature, and personal narrative, and to acquire strategic theories and cultural
understanding for reading these texts.
HIST2081. Gender and history: Beauty, fashion and sex (6 credits)
How do societies define what it means to be a man and a woman? Everyone, whatever their age, sex or
social status, has an opinion on this issue, even if this is not always articulated consciously. Often, in
fact, ideas about gender - the relations between the two sexes - are assumed to be ‘natural’ or ‘normal’
and timeless. However, by analysing the question of what being a ‘man’ and being a ‘woman’ means
at different times and in different places this course sets out to illustrate how these identities are socially
constructed. HIST2081 aims to introduce students to the various ways through which scholars have
sought to understand gender over time. Beginning with the earliest efforts to write ‘women’s history,’
selections from the recent deluge of historical writing and new research on gender will be highlighted.
The topics to be covered will include beauty norms, dress reform, prostitution, women’s suffrage, the
impact of War on constructions of manhood and womanhood, permissiveness in the ‘swinging’ sixties
and so on, down to the present day. A comparative geographical focus will be used, and the course will
draw on a wide variety of material from the Early Modern period to the 21st Century, to facilitate the
study of changing gender norms.
HIST2089. History’s closet: Clothing in context (6 credits)
Fashion has been called the mirror of history, and this seminar course will examine how the growth of
the fashion industry, the democratization and mass production of clothing, and changing dress styles in
outer as well as underwear reflect new understandings of women, their bodies, sexuality, and roles in
society from the mid-nineteenth century through to the present day. HIST2089 will introduce students
to a large, complex and vibrant field of study and suggest how the relationship of women to fashion
constitutes a complicated pattern of conformity, self-expression, resistance, and subversion in which
issues of identity, ideology, nationality, race, ethnicity, religion, class, and socioeconomic aspirations
compete for influence.
HIST2095. The World Wars through documents (6 credits)
This course focuses upon the two world wars. It aims at helping students to assess and analyze critically
different types of documents generated in the process of war, and to enhance their ability to handle
original sources. It is taught as a seminar course, with students required to attend one lecture and one
seminar per week. The course focuses upon a variety of documentary materials, including: official
reports; public statements; speeches; newspaper and media reports; propaganda; letters; diaries;
memoirs; and oral histories.
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HIST2097. Mao (6 credits)
The aim of this seminar is to critically examine existing accounts of the life of Mao Zedong, whether
he is portrayed as a great revolutionary, a paranoid tyrant or a mass murderer. We will do so by
exploring not only a variety of secondary sources, including texts, images and films produced by
historians, but also by looking at some of the primary sources which have been used in biographies of
Mao Zedong, for instance his own writings, interviews with journalists, reminiscences by
contemporaries and key documents from the campaigns he instigated.
HIST2116. Oceans in history (6 credits)
This seminar explores the historical role of oceans as spaces of human interconnection and global
transformation. Oceans have long been studied as linear conduits of exploration, imperialism, piracy,
etc. Beneath these currents, historians have also taken new soundings in the depths, revealing stories
of voluntary and forced migrations, of resistance and empowerment, of sudden fluctuations and
centuries-long patterns, and of loss and gain. Focusing on the ‘Age of Exploration’ (1450~1800), we
will read noteworthy historical scholarship that has made the ocean its unit of analysis, its
transformational element. As our point of departure, we begin with Fernand Braudel’s vision of the
Mediterranean as a coherent region unified by its internal sea. We shall then navigate the new history
of the Atlantic, with its emerging stories of transatlantic slavery, radicalism, changing ecologies, and
diasporas. We conclude on the latest frontiers of Pacific history, and in humanity’s first ocean, the
Indian Ocean.
HIST2118. Chinese and Americans: A cultural and international history (6 credits)
China and the United States are two very important nations in the world today. Their interactions and
relations have had deep impact on both Chinese and American lives and the rest of the world. This
course will explore Sino-American relations in the last several hundred years with special focus on their
shared values and experiences and emphasize both diplomatic and people-people relations from cultural
and international history perspectives.
HIST2119. Changing lives: Women’s history from Fin-de-Siècle to the interwar years (6
credits)
The decades of late 19th and early 20th centuries had witnessed the emergence of new identities for
women variously described as “Eve nouvelle,” “the New Woman,” “xin nuxing,” or “la garçonne.” In
this course students will be introduced to the historical formation of these new images of women
through a critical reading of a diverse range of primary sources such as advice literature, women’s self-
writings, fiction, visual arts, and periodicals. A comparative cross-cultural perspective which draws on
case studies from different national and cultural contexts will be adopted in this course.
HIST2123. Meiji Japan, challenges and transformations, 1853-1912 (6 credits)
This course examines the transformation of Japan from a decentralized semi-feudal society to that of a
highly centralized nation state and burgeoning regional power from 1853 to 1912. In essence, this
seminar course explores the challenges, successes, and failures of nation building in Japan at a time of
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heightened international imperialism in East Asia and the Pacific and upheaval at home. It explores how
Japan’s governing elites attempted to create a stable state and society that balanced oligarchic rule with
participatory democracy, economic authoritarianism with international capitalism, cosmopolitanism
and internationalism with traditional cultural values, beliefs, and practices, and local and regional
identities with those of the emerging Japanese nation state. Moreover, this course focuses on the
writings, ideas, hopes and fears of people, elites and non-elite actors, who helped forge and maintain
the institutions that helped make Japan a modern state and society.
HIST2124. Taishō and Shōwa Japan: Perfecting state, society and nation, 1912 to 1989 (6
credits)
This course examines efforts undertaken by elites, institutions and citizen groups to overcome
problems—perceived and real—that many believed modern Japan faced in both the domestic sphere as
well as internationally. At home, these problems included: urbanization and poverty, exploitative
industrialization, pollution, and labor unrest, socialism and ideological threats, moral degeneracy, crime
and juvenile delinquency, agrarian decline and economic depression. Abroad, these threats included
international diplomatic and economic isolation, racial inequality and discrimination, and foreign
imperialism. Apart from exploring the perceived problems of Japan, this seminar also examines the
various prescriptions advocated by officials and non-governing elites to ameliorate the afflictions that
many believed threatened state, society, and the Japanese nation and empire. In doing so, this course
will examine how and why concepts of reform, reconstruction, restoration, and even radical revolt and
warfare influenced politics, economics, society, and Japan’s relations with foreign powers during much
of the twentieth century.
This course focuses on novels about girlhood/womanhood, with a particular emphasis on growing up
in the US. Accompanying films will be considered as will the ways in which these texts concurrently
“teach” history and are themselves historical documents. Noting various critical responses to (and
public debates surrounding) these novels, lectures will explore diverse types of cultural/historical work
the novels do as they tell stories about particular times, places, people, and episodes in US history.
Supplementary reading/discussion considers author biography/autobiography, conduct literature, myths,
visual art, and recent theoretical works on youth and gender. The course considers the ways in which
novels reflect and influence historical changes and will underscore connections between “real” and
imagined girls, and how both have helped to shape and are shaped by notions of race, nation, gender,
sexuality, and consumption in both the US and Hong Kong.
HIST2133. The Weimar Republic through documents, 1918-1933 (6 credits)
In this seminar course students learn to assess and analyse critically different types of documents
generated in the period of Germany’s Weimar Republic (1918-1933). Students’ ability to handle
original sources will be enhanced by identifying documents clearly, set them in their historical context,
comment on specific points, and sum up the documents’ historical significance. A variety of
documentary materials is used, including: official reports; public statements; speeches; newspaper and
media reports; letters; diaries; and memoirs. Students’ presentations in a weekly seminar are combined
with one lecture per week.
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HIST2134. The Third Reich through documents, 1933-1945 (6 credits)
generated in the period of Germany’s Third Reich (1933-1945). Students’ ability to handle original
sources will be enhanced by identifying documents clearly, set them in their historical context, comment
on specific points, and sum up the documents’ historical significance. A variety of documentary
materials is used, including: official reports; public statements; speeches; newspaper and media reports;
letters; diaries; and memoirs. Students’ presentations in a weekly seminar are combined with one lecture
per week.
HIST2135. Cold War Germany through documents, 1945-1990 (6 credits)
generated in West Germany and East Germany during the Cold War (1945/49-1990). Students’ ability
to handle original sources will be enhanced by identifying documents clearly, set them in their historical
context, comment on specific points, and sum up the documents’ historical significance. A variety of
documentary materials is used, including: official reports; public statements; speeches; newspaper and
media reports; letters; diaries; and memoirs. Students’ presentations in a weekly seminar are combined
with one lecture per week.
HIST2139. Greek religion, society and culture in the Classical Age (6 credits)
This seminar course focuses on the social, cultural and religious life in ancient Greece in the fifth
century B.C., a period also known as the ‘Golden Age of Athens’. It will approach Classical Greece
from its political, social and cultural contexts, paying particular attention to the interaction between
religion and politics and other categories in the historical process. Major themes that will be discussed
include ethnicity and identity, gender relations, the Athenian invention of democracy, mythology and
religion, Greek drama, archaeology of sacred space, Greek art and architecture, and the
monumentalization of the Greek past. Students will encounter a range of evidence from literary texts to
Greek poetry and drama, archaeology of cult, Greek art and iconography. Classical Athens will be the
focus because of the preponderance of surviving evidence from Athens, but other Greek cities will also
be considered.
HIST2140. Health, medicine and society in late imperial and modern China (6 credits)
This course will first examine the historiography of the history of health, medicine and society in the
West and in China. It will then look at the changing meaning of disease, health, and the body in
traditional and modern Chinese society. The course will be composed of lectures and discussions based
on English publications in the history of medicine, with occasional reference to Chinese primary sources.
Students are required to read assigned materials and participate in discussions.
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HIST2146. The Cultural Revolution, 1966-76 (6 credits)
Over the past decade or so, a whole diversity of new sources have changed the ways in which historians
approach the Cultural Revolution. We will work very closely with these sources, which range from
archival evidence to oral history, in order to develop specific skills of documentary analysis and
historical interpretation. The student will also be introduced to a series of historical debates about the
Cultural Revolution. What was the Cultural Revolution? Why did Mao launch it? What did it achieve?
Why did so many students respond to his call? What role did the army play? Historians are divided over
these issues, and many other historiographical problems as well. One way to making these questions
more interesting will be to move beyond the narrow confines of elite politics in Zhongnanhai, the
headquarters of the party in Beijing, and take into account the many ways in which the Cultural
Revolution was experienced by people of all walks of life. The skills to be acquired during the seminar
are not specific to the Cultural Revolution, but are part of the baggage of the historian that can be used
in other fields of the arts and humanities, from a critical reflection about the nature of one-party states
to an awareness of the huge diversity of human behaviour in times of extreme terror and violence.
HIST2151. God, guns, sex: Religion, revolution, and gender in late imperial and modern
China (6 credits)
This course discusses the interrelationship between religion, revolution, and gender in Chinese local
society from the late imperial to modern times. The purpose of this course is to provide students with a
base of knowledge regarding the changing historical experiences and contexts in Chinese history in the
past three centuries. It aims to help students better understand how politics and revolutions constructed,
challenged and transformed religious identity and gender relations in local communities. The course
will be organized chronologically with specific thematic focus on different regions of China. We pay
particular attention to analyze how power relations in local society are shaped by the negotiation
between the state and local discourses of gender and religion.
HIST2152. Late socialism and the 1989 revolutions (6 credits)
This course covers the history of late socialism from the late 1960s to the collapse of communism
around the world in the 1980s. Despite its origins in the Russian Revolution and in Stalinism, the
Communist world underwent important changes in this period that more immediately explain the
political and social reality today of Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and other countries that
adopted Communism. The course will explore these changes—from the rise of mafia networks in
Eastern Europe to the ideological and cultural changes toward individualism and the free market—as
well as the historical currents that flowed into the revolutions of 1989. We will look at the different
interpretations scholars have developed to explain these revolutions, examine witness accounts, and
consider their ongoing influence and changing meaning in post-socialist societies as well as their
significance to us today.
HIST2153. Stalin (6 credits)
Stalin looms large in the imagination of people everywhere. In the West, he came to be a part of a
democratic identity that often understood itself in contrast to that ruthless, totalitarian dictator. In Russia
itself, Stalin is increasingly seen as a ruthless, but historically necessary leader. The one issue everyone
agrees on is that his will changed the fate of a vast Eurasian landmass stretching from Central Europe
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to the Pacific, encompassing what are today dozens of countries. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union
in 1991, a wealth of archival documents has come to light that have reshaped our understanding of both
Stalin and Stalinism. This seminar will look at the different, contentious accounts of both his life and
the society and system of rule that bear his name. We will examine these debates among historians,
and consider the different methodologies and primary source bases that have served to analyze this
Georgian of humble origins who so decisively shaped the 20th century.
HIST2162. Saving the world: A history of global humanitarianism (6 credits)
This course explores an age-old question of humanity: why do we give to distant strangers in need?
Investigating this question across time and cultures will help students better understand what lies behind
the human impulse to assist those who suffer, whether from natural disasters, famine, or human
brutality. In examining global humanitarianism from both theoretical perspectives as well as through
numerous historical case studies ranging from 18th century abolitionists’ campaigns to the 2004 Indian
Ocean Tsunami, students will better understand the factors that influenced people give more to some
“distant strangers” than others. We will also assess the role that the media, religious organizations,
NGOs, and governments have played in fostering empathy, sympathy and mobilizing relief. A broad,
cross-cultural and multidisciplinary approach will enable students to assess whether history’s examples
of humanitarianism suggest that compassion toward sufferers is an innate human characteristic or
primarily a constructed phenomenon. We will also explore what humanitarians have hoped to achieve
through giving apart from the amelioration of misery, and ask whether giving has primarily been
altruistic or opportunistic. Finally, where possible, we will explore how recipients have interpreted
humanitarian offerings, welcomed and used aid, expressed gratitude, or even resisted the charitable
impulses of people far away.
HIST2166. Gender and sexuality on trial: A global history of sex and scandal, 1690-1990 (6
credits)
This course uses the courtroom as a site to study historical controversies surrounding sex, gender and
sexuality from around the globe. The course will investigate a wide range of legal cases concerning
such issues as interracial sex, infanticide, murder, adultery, divorce, cross-dressing and witchcraft. In
each class, students will study several cases that illuminate these themes from different geographical
and national contexts. The course assumes no prior knowledge in legal history or gender history. It will
use legal cases to introduce students to key concepts in gender history, examining moments when social
rules have been transgressed to consider the ways that the boundaries of gender and sexuality have been
constituted, challenged and maintained over time. In doing so, the class will explore the instability of
sex, gender and sexuality as categories of identity while also examining how such categories have
constructed and reinforced social hierarchies. Finally, students will analyze the role of the law in
constituting the boundaries of sex, gender and identity, and consider how people have used the
courtroom as a site for social change.
HIST2167. Anarchism, radicalism, utopianism: Actors, communes and movements in the

modern world (6 credits)
Anarchism is a global phenomenon—the same holds true for radicalism and utopianism. They have
been serious strands of cultural, political and social thought and practice providing critical interventions
in the modern world. Even actors, groups and movements with conflicting political and religious
aspirations shared similar goals and means of liberation, and many of them tested their ideas in
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communal projects. Despite verifiable similarities and connections across national, imperial and
regional boundaries, anarchism, utopianism and other strands of radical thought and revolutionary
practice have been and still are often approached within (mostly nationally) confined perspectives—the
most predominant being Eurocentric. This course, on the contrary, brings nineteenth- and twentieth-
century anarchism, radicalism and utopianism into conversation. It will cover a variety of actors,
communes and movements in and between Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia and the Americas. It attempts
to overcome the dismissal of anarchism, radicalism and utopianism as idealistic or premature
interventions, and demonstrate the horizon of possibilities anarchist, radical and utopian theory and
practice has to offer—then and now.
HIST2173. American antistatism (6 credits)
By the late twentieth century, the United States had emerged as the predominant global superpower
with the world’s largest military and economy. Despite the undeniably strong presence of the US state,
both domestically and internationally, many Americans remained deeply skeptical of centralized state
power and drawn to “small government” politics. This seminar course addresses this apparent paradox
by tracing the long history of anti-statist ideas in US politics from the American Revolution to the
present. Students will study the great variety of people drawn to anti-statist politics across US history
including the Revolutionary founders in the eighteenth century, laissez-faire capitalists in the nineteenth
century, anarchists and anti-vaccinationists at the turn of the twentieth century, libertarians and anti-
communists at the mid-twentieth century, African-American and white leftist anti-statists in the 1960s-
1970s, and the array of evangelicals, free market advocates, and social conservatives who embraced
anti-statist politics at the end of the twentieth century. In this course, students will be required to develop
a research essay across the semester on an aspect of American anti-statism of their choosing.
HIST2174. Hell in the pacific: The Japan-America War and its legacies today (6 credits)
The conflict between Japan and America changed our world and altered the way war has been
conceptualized and fought ever since. This four-year struggle, waged over the largest and most diverse
theatre of war in history, was also defined by some of the most savage acts of brutality ever witnessed
during 20th century combat. Well-established rules or principles of war were routinely abandoned by
both combatants and afterwards in the “war crimes” trials that followed. What accounted for the savage
inhumanity unleased during this conflict and the scale upon which it was delivered? Why did it become
so easy to obliterate the distinction between combatant and civilian and how did this development
change the nature of conflict, surrender, and post-conflict “justice” then, and to this day? Why did two
empires that had grown increasingly tied economically over the previous thirty years ultimately reverse
course quickly and jeopardize all they had forged? In exploring these and other questions, students will
be encouraged to examine the Japan-America war within larger thematic frameworks and through “big
ideas,” rather than merely a narrow investigation of individual battles or elite level personalities. By
doing so, students will be offered opportunities to develop new understandings of one of the most
gratuitous and consequential performances of inhumanity in history.
HIST2186. Death and destruction from above: A history of aerial bombing, from zeppelins to
drones (6 credits)
Since World War I, millions of soldiers, civilians, and suspected terrorists have died as a result of aerial
bombing. Conventional and atomic bombings, moreover, have resulted in the destruction of countless
military targets and the incineration of vast square kilometres of urban landscapes. What factors have
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made this possible, accepted, and “legal”? Throughout this course, students will explore the
technological and military developments that have made such killing and wanton destruction possible.
Moreover, students will examine the ideological, political, and doctrinal thought from Douhet to Mutual
Assured Destruction (MAD) that has not only attempted to legitimate, but advocate, the targeting of
civilians from above. Students will also be asked to investigate why legal proscriptions or conventions
against aerial bombing never materialized in the pre-World War II era and examine why many nations
have still refused to adhere to any restrictions on aerial warfare. Upon completion of this course,
students will have a better understanding of how airpower, whether in the form of bombers, ICBMs, or
unpiloted drones, has revolutionized warfare and changed the way strategists have conceptualized
targets. Students will also gain a better understanding of how the indiscriminate yet effective
employment of air power has often obliterated any distinction between combatants and civilians in
today’s world.
HIST2187. Critical approaches to the end of empire in Southeast Asia (6 credits)
During the first half of the twentieth century, most of Southeast Asia was administered by Western
empires. After WWII, however, these colonial governments collapsed and gave rise to new post-
colonial states. Decolonisation precipitated some of the greatest changes to shape modern Southeast
Asia: the rise of post-colonial nationalisms, the reconfiguring of local identities, and the re-organising
of geopolitical alignments and economic systems. But, as this course will show, many of the most
profound changes were not simply these processes of imperial withdrawal, but rather the active, popular
attempts at wresting freedom. This course challenges students to critically explore experiences of
decolonisation that are seldom covered in history. What about ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities
who were left behind in post-colonial state formation? What about women, children and other subaltern
voices? It will encourage students to familiarise themselves with important themes in historiography
relating to empire, decolonisation and post-colonial state formation in a number of comparative
Southeast Asian contexts, including—but not limited to—Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, the
Philippines and Malaysia.
HIST2195. The United States and China: An international and transnational history, since
1945 (6 credits)
This course explores the history of international and transnational relations between China and the
United States. The course begins with the end of the Pacific War and the origins of the modern Sino-
American relationship in the postwar era and ends with a consideration of the contemporary relationship
between the United States and a risen China.
HIST2197. The Chinese Revolution, 1921-1949: A documentary approach (6 credits)
This research seminar approaches the Chinese Revolution (1921-1949) from a documentary point of
view, using a variety of primary sources. The main objective is to help students identify, assess and use
a variety of different documentary sources, mainly archival material but also published documents, for
instance memoirs, eyewitness accounts or even diaries. Students will learn how to approach history
from the bottom up and formulate their own interpretation on the basis of documentary analysis.
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HIST2206. Between the two rives: The rise of the world's first civilizations (6 credits)
This course explores the world’s first civilizations that emerged from Mesopotamia, a historical region
of West Asia that primarily occupies modern Iraq, and in the broader sense, parts of present-day Iran,
Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey. It covers the period of Mesopotamian history from the Chalcolithic period
(c. 6,000–4000 BC), a transition period from the Neolithic revolution (c. 10,000–4,000 BC) to the Urban
Revolution during the Bronze Age (c. 3,500–1,155 BC), when southern Mesopotamia was first
permanently settled by a Sumerian-speaking, West-Asian people, to the fall of the Neo-Babylonian
Empire in 539 BC. The course will guide students to explore and assess key aspects and processes of
the emergence and development of the major Mesopotamian (primarily Sumerian, Babylonian, and
Assyrian) civilizations, with a focus on urban, regional, and imperial development, within the
framework of global history. These include: the transition from the Neolithic settlements to Sumerian
city-states and later to imperial capitals, prominent and multifunctional institutions represented by their
monumental buildings; law and order; major scientific advancements (e.g., mathematics, astronomy,
and medicine) and technological advancements (e.g., data and information management); conception
and organisation of time and history; major aspects of cultural development (e.g., literacy, literature,
mythology, religion, and philosophy); physical and communication infrastructure development;
household and daily life, warfare; and the rise of major empires. Attention will also be given to
continuities and discontinuities, tradition and innovation, and cultural exchanges in the development
and transmission history of the Mesopotamian civilizations. We will also examine the impact of the
Mesopotamian civilizations on the wider regions and on later periods of history, such as biblical Israel,
Classical civilizations, a process which contributed to the Mesopotamian civilisations' prestigeous
status in the world's cultural heritage and memory. We will also explore an unabated and renewed
influence of the Mesopotamian civilisations on the modern world, starting with a series of momentous
archaeological discoveries of epigraphical/textual, architectural, and other material remains from the
early 19th century, and the sensational decipherment of cuneiform texts towards the end of the century,
which galvanized the long-standing historical and cultural interests, prompted heated intellectual and
theological debates (e.g., the Bible-Babel controversy), and were used for social, cultural and political
identity constructions by the competing Western powers (e.g., British, French) and the rulers in Iraq
(e.g., Saddam Hussein). Students will be assigned readings from modern scholarly publications as well
as from ancient sources (in English translation).
HIST3022. History by numbers: Quantitative methods in History (6 credits)
This course seeks to introduce students to the various quantitative approaches used by historians in
research and to provide an opportunity for students to learn to use some of these methodologies in a
workshop environment. Its focus is therefore both theoretical and practical, and students will learn
skills which will be readily transferable to the workplace. This course is available only for History
majors in their final year of study.
Note: For History majors and minors only.
HIST3025. Hitler and the National Socialist ideology (6 credits)
Adolf Hitler’s books Mein Kampf (My Struggle) and Zweites Buch (Second Book), both written in the
1920s, offer a clear and succinct statement of his views on the world. Preaching a message of hatred,
violence and destruction the books reveal both the presence of a genocidal mentality and the statement
of an implicitly genocidal message. Much of the interpretative challenge lies in appreciating the
significance of the simple but extensive sets of synonyms and antonyms that Hitler uses throughout his
writing. However, if we wish to understand how the National Socialist genocide of the Jews occurred
it is with Hitler’s books that we must start. In the course we will concentrate on those writings and
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evaluate their intellectual and philosophical roots in a 19th and early 20th century tradition, and their
background and motivation in Hitler’s own biography.
HIST3027. Natural disasters in history, 1700 to present (6 credits)
Natural disasters have had a destructive and often transformative impact on cities and rural landscapes,
cultures and societies, and nation states for much of history. This course is designed to encourage
students to look differently at natural disasters and their role in shaping the histories of peoples and
nations across time and space from 1700 to the present. Using natural disasters as revealers or windows
into the past this course will compel participants to think critically and creatively about fundamental
relationships in society: What makes a natural phenomenon such as an earthquake, a cyclone, or a
volcanic eruption a natural disaster; how have people interpreted disasters and what does this tell us
about our relationships with religion, science and technology; how have disasters been portrayed or
represented in art, literature, and the media and for what interpretative ends; and how have disasters and
the reconstruction processes that followed been used by opportunistic leaders or non-governmental
agencies to redevelop landscapes and remake societies? By focusing on case studies from around the
globe from 1700 to the present, this course will cross cultures, disciplines, and time, and demonstrate
how disasters and catastrophes are cultural constructions that reflect and reinforce, yet sometimes
overturn our understanding of nature, science, society, and the cosmos.
HIST3029. Transnational history: A new perspective on the past (6 credits)
How can we move beyond ethnocentric approaches to history focusing upon the nation? What is the
significance of the movement of individuals and institutions through networks spanning places, spaces,
regions and political units to processes of historical transformation? Recently, calls have been heard for
historians to respond to critiques of the national and comparative paradigm by adopting what has been
referred to as a “transnational” or “entangled” perspective on the past. This involves the study of the
flow of ideas, people and commercial goods across the networks and institutions that linked and overlay
particular political units, rather than the units themselves. This course allows students to become
familiar with this new perspective. Through small group discussion it provides an opportunity to discuss
the problems and possibilities of transnational history and to critically evaluate recent works advancing
attempts to move “beyond the nation” from fields as diverse as the history of empire, migration, politics,
and youth.
HIST3065. Workshop in historical research (6 credits)
The research skills and methodologies used by historians are based on the critical analysis of primary
and secondary sources. Competency in these skills and an acquaintance with the various methodologies
of the historian are central to advanced studies in the historical discipline, but these skills and
methodologies are also highly transferable to the workplace. In this course, students will work in small
groups on a research project. Learning will be through directed group discussions and coordinated
individual research tasks. The course will introduce students to a wide range of historical sources, equip
them with the skills to analyze and interpret those sources, and will also encourage students to develop
leadership and team-work roles in solving real historical problems.
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HIST3075. Directed reading (6 credits)
The aim of this intensive reading course is to provide an opportunity for students to pursue a specialized
topic of study with a faculty member. Throughout the semester, the student and teacher will consult
regularly on the direction of the readings and on the paper or papers (not to exceed 5,000 words) that
will demonstrate the student’s understanding of the material. This course cannot normally be taken
before the fifth semester of candidature and is subject to approval. Students wishing to take this course
should consult with a teacher who is willing to supervise the reading project before enrolling.
HIST3076. Tourism and history (6 credits)
Tourism has been described as the largest peaceful movement of people. It also plays an important
economic function in many societies. But tourism is never simply about travel and economics. It both
reflects and influences identity, culture, society, urban planning, politics, and history. National or local
identity, for example, is often forged though images produced or reproduced for tourists, while tourism
often represents how a place views itself, how it is viewed by others, and how it wants to be viewed.
This course considers these issues by examining a range of works on tourism worldwide and asking
how they apply to tourism in Hong Kong since the mid-1900s. The course examines both the outward-
facing aspects (a place presenting itself to the world) of tourism and the inward-looking aspects
(convincing the local public that it should open that place to tourists).
HIST3077. Gandhi: A global history (6 credits)
This course will focus on the life, ideas and legacies of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. One of the
most significant, controversial, and complicated political actors in modern history, the course will give
students an opportunity to think critically about his philosophy of non-violence, his critique of
modernity, and his opposition to colonial rule. The course will be divided into three modules. The first
module will examine Gandhi before his national and international prominence, focusing upon his
childhood in India, his legal training in Britain, and his turn towards political activism in South Africa.
The second module will examine Gandhian political thought and action in the context of India’s rising
nationalist movement and through to his assassination in 1948. The final module will trace the global
legacy of Gandhian ideas in non-violent movements across the world, spanning South Africa, Myanmar,
the United States of America, and Hong Kong.
HIST3078. Cold War science fiction (6 credits)
Science Fiction as a genre was established at the turn of the 20th century, partly, as a medium through
which to envision a future beyond capitalism, in other words, as a means to envision socialism. Some
of the genre’s foundational tracks in both the United States and Russia made for important discussions
on this question. With the advent of the Cold War, science fiction continued to provide an important
venue in both the East and the West for imagining liberal and socialist futures and for making critiques
of liberal and socialist presents. Historians of the Cold War routinely invoke an almost existential battle
between capitalism and socialism as the core of the object of their study: the Cold War. But they rarely
show much understanding or interest in what these two systems were historically. This course follows
science fiction writing in both East and West to develop a more grounded understanding of the Cold
War as a battle between two systems than that provided by Cold War historians. It will provide a
schematic history of the Cold War, while fronting questions of historiography as well as those of social
thought arising from science fiction texts.
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HIST3079. The 1970s: A global history of the decade that changed the world (6 credits)
All decades are special, but the 1970s was perhaps a bit more special than most. That decade introduced
a transformation from one kind of modern industrial society to another. Scholars often think of it as the
origins of our current era. This course will survey what that means, while exploring the radical changes
the decade introduced in economy, culture, politics and global society. From the rise of a new
conservatism, through the rage of punk music, to deindustrialization in the rich world and the
development of so-called service economies, the 1970s saw social transformations globally of a range,
depth and consequence that makes it unique. We will aim to develop a holistic view of these changes
in order to better understand our present and possible futures.
HIST3080. Historical gaming (6 credits)
History takes many forms in the world around us. It is an academic discipline practiced professionally
in universities. It is taught out of textbooks in schools. And it often takes the form of commercial
entertainment, such as heritage sites, museums, movies and magazines. In the past few decades,
computer games have emerged as another popular source of representations of the past as entertainment.
But while such games regularly feature the past as a setting, historians have rarely taken them seriously
or considered them as a potential medium for the delivery of historical research. However, some
historians, especially those concerned that professional history with its emphasis upon detailed evidence,
critical argument and open debate should be more accessible, have begun to explore the benefits of
using this medium to push beyond the limitations of written history. They have asked new questions.
Can computer games help historians to reach new audiences? Could this medium allow the immersive
effects of film and the complexity of written scholarship to be combined? This course focuses upon
history as practice and methodology. It challenges students both to reflect upon the disciplinary
conventions of academic history and to innovate by applying these to the medium of gaming. In the
course, students design a historical game based upon academic research, combining truthfulness with
playability, and enhancing access to the past as a source of open-ended discovery and critical debate.
HIST3081. Sporting together: Sports in the shared history of Sino-American relations, 1870s
to the present (6 credits)
This course connects the history of China and the United States, and US-China relations through sports.
It is well-known that ping pong diplomacy between Mao Zedong and Richard Nixon in the early 1970s
broke deep hostilities and established better relations between the People’s Republic of China and the
US. Less well-known is that sports not only shaped the respective national developments of China and
the US, but more importantly, played an important role in establishing a shared history of Sino-
American relations from 1870s to the present. This course aims to study this long-ignored yet important
topic. The seminar will first discuss historical issues concerning the way sports influenced and shaped
Chinese and American national developments. Then we will devote time to the historical question of
how sports became an effective vehicle or tool to bring Chinese and Americans together diplomatically,
culturally and socially.
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HIST3082. Birth counts: The politics of reproduction in the modern world (6 credits)
This seminar course explores the history of human reproduction from the early nineteenth century to
the late twentieth century. Over time, human ability to reproduce and control fertility led to the rise and
fall of civilizations across the globe. Using case studies from various national contexts, the course
inspects how the state, medical professionals and social activists strove to encourage births and regulate
fertility. It demonstrates the interactive influence of political, social and cultural factors on pregnancy,
childbirth, birth control and infertility treatments. Through small group discussion, it also provides an
opportunity for students to explore different ways of tackling existing and future population problems.
The following courses are classified as ‘seminar courses’ and are counted towards the major and minor
in History: CHIN2235, CLIT2076, CLIT2093, EUST3012. Please refer to the relevant syllabuses for
details.
(C) Capstone Experience Courses
HIST4015. The theory and practice of history (capstone experience) (6 credits)
This course aims to acquaint students with some of the theoretical and practical considerations which
underlie the study and writing of history by considering the development of the discipline of history
from its beginnings in the ancient world through to the postmodernist critique. The course is especially
recommended to those who wish to pursue history at the postgraduate level. All students taking
HIST4017. Dissertation elective (capstone experience) are required to take The theory and practice
of history (capstone experience).
HIST4017. Dissertation elective (capstone experience) (12 credits)
This is a research course which requires submission of an extended written dissertation. All students
taking the Dissertation elective are required to take HIST4015. The theory and practice of history
(capstone experience).
Co-requisite/Prerequisite: HIST4015.
Note: For History majors only; a whole-year course.
HIST4023. History research project (capstone experience) (6 credits)
Students who wish to undertake a research project on a specialized historical topic in either semester of
their final year of study may enroll in this course with the approval of the Head of the School of
Humanities on the recommendation of the departmental Undergraduate Coordinator. The course aims
at providing an opportunity for intensive research leading to the production of a long essay (not
exceeding 7,000 words) which will be supervised by a faculty member with expertise in the chosen area
of study.
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HIST4024. Writing Hong Kong history (capstone experience) (6 credits)
This course looks at various themes, problems, and issues in Hong Kong’s history since the 1800s.
Rather than focusing on historical events, we will look at the ways in which certain themes have been
studied. Thus we will be less concerned with dates and facts than with analysis and interpretation.
Topics include: general approaches to Hong Kong history, the Opium War and the British occupation
of Hong Kong, colonial education, regulation of prostitution and the mui tsai system, colonial medicine,
colonialism and nationalism, WWII and the Japanese occupation, industrialization and economic
development, history and identity, legacies and artifices of colonial rule, and history and memory. The
goals of the course are to introduce students to the ways in which scholars have approached Hong Kong
history, assess how theories based on other historical experiences can be used to understand Hong Kong
history, and help students learn to argue effectively in written and oral presentations.
HIST4026. History publishing (capstone experience) (12 credits)
This course expects students to draw together the various strands in their undergraduate history training
in a project which aims to (1) allow individual students to produce a professional piece of historical
writing suitable for publication, and (2) bringing several of these written outputs together in a volume
designed and produced by the course participants. The course will enable students to learn all the stages
and methods of book production through practical involvement in creating a published volume of
historical essays as a group project. Publishing professionals will be involved in teaching the course
and professional standards will be encouraged throughout the project work. This course will be of
particular interest to students who are interested in pursuing careers in any area of publishing, but it will
also be valuable to those who intend to pursue postgraduate studies or careers in writing.
Note: For History majors only; a whole-year course.
HIST4028. History without borders: Special field project (capstone experience) (6 credits)
Enrolment in this special course is extended to students majoring in History by invitation, and on a
performance-related basis. For those students invited to apply for enrolment this exclusive capstone
course will provide an opportunity to design their own field project in a subject related to the History
discipline. It will also provide funding to support field work undertaken across geographical, political
and cultural borders, in Hong Kong and/or overseas. The course thus provides History majors with a
unique, funded opportunity to design, plan and make their own creative contribution to historical
knowledge.
Students invited to submit a project proposal must do so by the specified deadline. The department
panel will then notify applicants of approval or non-approval within the period specified. Those
students eligible to enroll in the course who are interested in taking up the Department’s invitation and
whose project proposals are successful will be provided with financial support to be used for the purpose
agreed. A range of innovative activities may be designed by students, including, for example, travel
overseas to conduct field research, the editing and publication of a special online journal, attendance or
organisation of a conference, workshop, or specialist history summer course. Each student will be
supervised by a staff member working in a related field.
Note: For History majors only, and by invitation.
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HIST4030. Europe fieldtrip (capstone experience) (6 credits)
This course will engage students in a particular historical theme or period of history, in one or more
geographical areas of Europe through a field trip to examine historical sites and historical remains in
the field or in museums and archives. The nature of the field trip will vary from year to year depending
upon the expertise of the teacher and the needs of students.
Note: This course may be taken as a Summer Semester course before the commencement of the final
year of studies.
HIST4031. East Asia fieldtrip (capstone experience) (6 credits)
This course will engage students in a particular historical theme or period of history, in one or more
geographical areas of East Asia through a field trip to examine historical sites and historical remains in
the field or in museums and archives. The nature of the field trip will vary from year to year depending
upon the expertise of the teacher and the needs of students.
HIST4032. Great Kanto earthquake and the reconstruction of Tokyo (capstone experience)
(6 credits)
This course explores the most deadly and destructive natural disaster in Japan’s history, the Great Kantō
Earthquake of 1923 and the reconstruction of Tokyo. In a general sense, this course will encourage
students to reflect on the interconnections between nature, science, religion, the media, arts, politics,
economics, the built environment, and society that large-scale disasters reveal. In a specific manner,
this course will challenge students to explore questions such as: what did this catastrophic earthquake
mean to the residents of Tokyo, how did they and others interpret this calamity, how was this localized
or regional disaster constructed as ‘Japan’s greatest tragedy,’ why did grandiose plans for a
reconstruction imperial capital fall victim to contentious political debates, how was the city rebuilt and
what influences shaped its design, and how did people mourn and remember the dead and commemorate
this catastrophe?
Assessment will focus on students developing an extended research essay drawn from a large collection
of translated primary sources, images, and art.
HIST4033. Museums and history (capstone experience) (6 credits)
Museums have become one of the most popular ways of telling history. Many scholars argue that
museums are not neutral places; rather, they are often used for a wide range of strategic purposes:
regulating social behavior, building citizenship and national identity, and expanding state power. But
museums also face a variety of constraints and challenges: culture, money, politics, physical space,
locating and selecting appropriate artifacts, and forming narratives. This course considers these issues
by looking at history museums and heritage preservation in Hong Kong. The goals of the course are to
familiarize students with a range of theoretical approaches to museum studies; explore the ways in
which museums and heritage preservation can be used to further certain political, cultural, and
commercial agendas; and help students learn to write an analytical research essay based on readings
and museum fieldwork.
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HIST4034. Oral history and ethnographic research methods (capstone experience) (6 credits)
Oral history and ethnographic research are important ways of recording the past that provide powerful
alternatives to conventional written history. While the written record often privileges elite viewpoints,
oral history and ethnographic research have the potential to document the voices of ordinary people and
highlight the dynamics of everyday life. This course explores the practice, politics, and ethics of oral
history and ethnographic research. Students will learn the skills required to conceptualize, conduct,
analyze and disseminate oral history interviews and ethnographic research in the unique postcolonial
British/Chinese/global context of Hong Kong. The first part of the course will provide a historical
overview of oral history. We will examine key theoretical perspectives and discuss a variety of case
studies in order to understand the value and potential of oral history and ethnographic research methods.
We will pay close attention to issues of power, including the politics of memory and how researcher
attributes (such as gender, age, race, nationality, family history, etc.) shape interview dynamics. In the
second part of the course, we will focus on the practical skills required to conduct and analyze oral
history interviews and ethnographic research in Hong Kong. Students will gain experience documenting
oral histories and conducting ethnographic fieldwork with subjects and topics of their choice. We will
discuss key issues such as interview strategies, transcription, indexing, and narrative analysis. We will
examine important ethical and legal considerations, including questions of informed consent and
institutional research ethics compliance. The third part of the course will provide students with the
opportunity to reflect upon and disseminate their research experiences. We will discuss the challenges
and dilemmas involved in conducting oral history and ethnographic research. Students will gain
experience disseminating their research results through an oral presentation and online exhibit.
HIST4035. History applied: Internship in historical studies (capstone experience) (6 credits)
This capstone course allows students to apply historical thinking in the community. Under the
supervision of the course coordinator students select from among a wide variety of partner institutions,
organizations, associations, businesses and others, and embark upon the collaborative challenge of
uncovering their past. Instead of simply requiring students to work for specified hours at ‘historical
sites’ (museums, archives, etc) the course requires them to use the research techniques and
methodological approaches they have learned in the discipline to construct and present a history of their
selected community partners. They build preparatory research into polished consultancy papers
detailing key findings about the partner, their development over time, and the passions and
preoccupations of the individuals who have played an especially prominent role in their development.
The course provides History students’ with a unique opportunity to design, plan and present creative
contributions to historical knowledge and to engage with community members in discussions about the
value and potential uses of history in the present. During the internship, students prepare and present
their research-based consultancy paper. They also write a journal critically detailing their own initial
expectations and reflecting upon the actual experience of conducting research, communicating their
findings and putting history to use.
HIST4036. World War III: A history? (capstone experience) (6 credits)
In 1949 Albert Einstein told his friend, chemist Alfred Werner, “I don’t know [what weapons will be
used in World War III], but I can tell you what they’ll use in the fourth – rocks!” This course explores
the weapons that convinced Einstein and others that WWIII would be a civilization-as-we-know-it
ending event. What were those weapons and the technologies behind them? How, where and why were
they developed, tested, deployed, used, stolen and reproduced? Why were these weapons almost used
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in 1962 and 1983 and what kept humanity from crossing the Rubicon of annihilation then, and at other
times? When has the limitation of such weapons proven effective or failed and why? Seminar
participants will explore these questions as well as examine the history of post-nuclear apocalypse
imaginary as expressed through film and writings to better understand how technological developments
and more accurate assessments of “the end” and “the aftermath” shaped popular culture and society.
MUSIC
The Department of Music offers courses designed to meet the needs of students reading for a degree
with either a specialist or non-specialist emphasis on music. Our curriculum has been designed with the
following aims in mind:
⚫ To deepen students’ understanding of the functions, concepts, structures, and values of music
and its role in society;
⚫ To broaden students’ knowledge of the diverse musical cultures of the world and their
histories, styles, and ideas;
⚫ To train students to think critically about music and equip them with the verbal skills which
will enable them to articulate their thinking;
⚫ To promote creative activity in the composition and performance of music as a mode of
discourse that uniquely complements other modes of discourse in the humanities;
⚫ To provide a comprehensive education that integrates the activities of scholarship,
composition, and performance, connecting them to the larger world of learning in the
humanities, the sciences, and commerce.
The curriculum consists of a series of courses covering a wide range of topics and approaches at
introductory and advanced levels. Cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary interests are particularly
encouraged.
All courses carry 6 credits unless otherwise specified. Prerequisites, if required, are stated in the
course descriptions. In exceptional cases, these requirements may be waived. All major and other course
selections are subject to the approval of the Head of the School of Humanities on the recommendation
of the Department’s Undergraduate Coordinator.
Music Majors
First year music scholars and intending majors must take:
MUSI1023 Materials and structures of music (6 credits)

MUSI1025 The art of listening (6 credits)
An introductory course taken from any Arts programme (6 credits)
A major in Music shall consist of 54 credit units of Level 2000, 3000, and 4000 courses from the music
syllabus taken in the third to eighth semesters. As a prerequisite, music majors must take:
MUSI2010 Music of China (6 credits)

MUSI2070 Fundamentals of tonal music (6 credits)
MUSI2074 Introduction to contrapuntal styles and techniques (6 credits)
MUSI2081 Music in Western culture I (6 credits)
MUSI2082 Music in Western culture II (6 credits)
In addition, all music majors must take at least 24 elective credits from Level 2000, 3000, or 4000
advanced courses, of which at least one course should be a Capstone Experience course (see below),
and no more than two courses can be performance courses (MUSI2047, MUSI2066, MUSI2068,
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MUSI3019, MUSI3021, MUSI3032, MUSI4001, and MUSI4002). This also applies to exchange credits
transferred to fulfil the major requirements.
Capstone Courses
Capstone Experience is a graduation requirement for music majors. Capstone Experience courses are
designed to allow students to advance their analytical thinking by permitting the application of
disciplinary knowledge and principles learned in the first and second years. The requirement can be
fulfilled by taking at least one of the following courses:
MUSI3028 Red is the colour: music and politics in post-1949 China (capstone experience)
MUSI3029 Music and scientific thoughts: past and present (capstone experience)
MUSI3030 Tonal counterpoint (capstone experience)
MUSI3031 Special study (capstone experience)
MUSI3032 Special performance study (capstone experience)
MUSI3033 Topics in ethnomusicology (capstone experience)
MUSI3034 The qin (capstone experience)
MUSI3035 Music analysis II (capstone experience)
MUSI3037 Opera (capstone experience)
MUSI3039 Methodological perspectives in music II (capstone experience)
MUSI4002 Advanced music performance 4 (capstone experience)
MUSI4003 Dissertation (capstone experience)
Music Minors
To obtain a minor in Music, students are required to take “MUSI1025 The art of listening” (6 credits)
and at least ONE of the following two courses:
MUSI2081 Music in Western culture I (6 credits)

MUSI2082 Music in Western culture II (6 credits)
In addition, all music minors must take at least 24 elective credits of Level 2000, 3000, and 4000 courses
from the music syllabus taken in the third to eighth semesters, of which at least three courses should be
advanced courses, and no more than two courses can be performance courses (MUSI2047, MUSI2066,
MUSI2068, MUSI3019, MUSI3021, MUSI3032, MUSI4001, and MUSI4002). This also applies to
exchange credits transferred to fulfil the minor requirements.
Level 1000 Courses
All Level 1000 courses are introductory courses and are normally taken in the first year.
MUSI1004. Introduction to musics of the world
This course introduces a range of musical traditions from around the world and examines them in their
social, cultural, and historical contexts. The course explores music as both a reflection and creation of
society, discusses issues raised by cross-cultural research, and provides a theoretical framework for
understanding the relationship between music and culture. Formal lectures will be supplemented by in-
class demonstrations and hands-on experience of selected musical styles.
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MUSI1018. Advanced music performance 1 (for students in their first year of study)
This one-year course provides students with the opportunity to develop their musicianship and perform
in public. The coordinator offers the students advice in choosing repertoire, helps them plan their
rehearsals and performances, and invites both local and overseas visitors to conduct two-hour
masterclasses. The students offer two public recitals, one in the Autumn semester and one in the Spring;
attend all masterclasses; write programme notes for their chosen pieces; and discuss their selection of
works with the course coordinator. Repertoire changes every year and reflects the students’ abilities as
well as interests. Places in this course are limited and admission is by audition.
MUSI1022. Performance study 1 (for students in their first year of study)
Students taking this course have to enrol in two performance ensembles or workshops offered by the
Music Department over two semesters. Ensembles may include the HKU Chamber Singers, HKU Early
Music Ensemble, HKU Gamelan, and HKU Percussion Ensemble. Performance workshops offered vary
from year to year and may include individual or group lessons in voice, percussion, or any instrument
of the student’s choice, as approved by the Music Department.
MUSI1023. Materials and structures of music
This course develops students’ conceptual and perceptual understanding of the basic materials and
structures of music, including rhythm and meter, intervals and scales, modes and keys, as well as
melody, harmony, and contrapuntal practices. The course integrates ear training with the analysis of a
wide array of musical examples. Students completing this course are expected to have established a
clear and solid understanding of the rudiments of music, and be able to make practical demonstrations
of this knowledge. The course will serve as a thorough review of aural and theoretical skills necessary
for those intending to major or minor in music. It is also available as an elective to students in other
departments who seek a solid foundation in music fundamentals.
MUSI1024. Jazz: history and appreciation
This course will examine jazz from its origins to the present, its relation to other forms of music
including blues, gospel, R&B, soul, etc. Different styles within the jazz genre will also be explored,
including Early Jazz, Swing, Bebop, Cool Jazz, Hardbop, Soul Jazz, Bossa Nova, Post-bop, Avant
Garde, etc. Special attention will also be given to pivotal figures in the history of jazz such as Louis
Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Charlie
Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Ornette Coleman.
Representative and monumental instrumental and vocal recordings from the past one hundred years will
also be explored. Class time will be spent listening to, analyzing, and discussing a wide variety of
recorded jazz performances and watching jazz videos. Visiting artists may also be invited to perform in
class and lecture on relevant topics.
MUSI1025. The art of listening
Music moves us, and we know not why, and it is harder still to explain what we are listening to. Taking
these issues as a point of departure, this course introduces students to a wide array of music, as well as
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a range of ways of thinking, talking, and writing about music. Attention will be given to the
development of listening skills and the vocabulary necessary to articulate an engaged response to the
repertoire studied. The majority of music dealt with will be drawn from the classical music repertoire,
with supplementary examples from other musical cultures when appropriate.
Level 2000 Courses
Except for the two introductory courses MUSI2010 and MUSI2070, all Level 2000 courses are
advanced courses. Introductory courses are normally taken within the second year of study, while
advanced courses may be taken within the second, third, or fourth. Note that the two performance
courses MUSI2047 and MUSI2066 are designated for students in their second year of study.
MUSI2010. Music of China
This course presents the essential features of the music of China, its role in Chinese culture and history,
and its position in world music. Subjects will include the qin and other musical instruments, theatrical
genres such as kunqu, Peking opera and Cantonese opera, narrative songs such as Peking drum song,
Suzhou tanci, and Cantonese nanyin, folk songs, and music in Confucian, Buddhist, and Taoist rituals.
The course aims not only to introduce students to traditional Chinese music, but also to explore the
nature of Chinese culture through its musical practices. Important works of Chinese music will be
introduced, as well as issues such as change/stasis, politics/aesthetics, theory/practice, literati/masses,
professional/amateur, ritual/entertainment, home-grown/foreign-influenced, and Han/Minority.
MUSI2015. Popular music
This course is an introduction to the historical and sociocultural study of popular music. The course will
mostly focus on Anglo-American and East Asian popular musics of the second half of the 20th century
up to the present. The goal of the course is to develop our analytic and critical tools to better understand
popular music and culture in our daily lives, and to familiarize ourselves with the dominant themes and
issues in the study of popular music.
MUSI2026. Fundamentals of music composition

Conducted in the form of lectures, seminars, and one-to-one supervision, this course presents theoretical
and practical bases of music composition with a view to expand students’ knowledge about styles,
structures, notation, and score presentation. The emphasis is on the applications of these knowledge via
both composition and analysis of repertoire. The course culminates in a workshop showcasing student
compositions.
Prerequisite: MUSI1023, or instructor’s consent.
MUSI2029. Chinese music history
This course introduces the history of China through an examination of selective source material
including bells from the bronze period, the Book of Music attributed to Confucian philosophy, the
earliest known musical notation of a composition from the 6th century A.D., major encyclopaedic
compilations of musical sources from the Song dynasty, and Mao Zedong’s Talks at the Yan’an
Conference on Literature and Art in 1942.
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MUSI2044. Film music
What does music contribute to a fiction film? When is it used? And why is it there in the first place?
Directors use music with an effect in mind and it is music’s force in the “here and now” of the movie-
going experience that we will try to describe. To do so, we will study films from various cinematic
traditions through the various ways in which music functions within them as a powerful meaning-
making element. Under the assumption that film is an audio-visual medium, we will examine individual
works representative of different genres––musicals, horrors, dramas, comedies, and cartoons.
Consideration will be given to the relationship between music and image as well as music and sound as
they emerge from close readings of individual scenes. We will also look at how music is represented in
the story world of the film, whether a character performs, listens to, or ignores it.
MUSI2047. Advanced music performance 2 (for students in their second year of study)
MUSI2054. The piano
The course is open to all students with either some experience with, or interest in, the piano. It offers
an overview of the history of the piano through a montage of lectures that focus on the personalities
that were involved with it, the repertories they either composed for or performed on it, and the social
and cultural milieus that provided the context for its extraordinary rise as arguably the most important
instrument in the history of Western classical music. Students will be given the opportunity to study the
piano as a medium of musical exploration and expression, the occasion for the display of virtuosity, a
staple of the 19th-century bourgeois home, and an object of almost maniacal veneration. The course
will end with an overview of the dissemination of the piano in East Asia, with particular reference to
the piano culture of Hong Kong.
MUSI2055. Chinese opera
This course starts with an exploration of the structural and theoretical aspects of Chinese Opera,
including the classification of tune types, text setting, and performance practice. While examples are
mostly drawn from kunqu, Peking opera, and Cantonese opera, other regional derivatives will also be
introduced for comparison and analysis. The second half of this course comprises a series of reading
and examination of representative operas and their performances, through which the interplay between
Chinese opera and its religious, social, cultural, and political contexts is investigated.
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MUSI2059. Music, mind, and body
This course considers music as a phenomenon of human behaviour and examines various aspects of the
relationship between music, mind, and body. We will explore questions such as how humans came to
be musical, how people listen to, understand, and perform music, and why we listen to and make music.
Following the evolutionary bases for musicality and the psychoacoustic/physiological foundation of
auditory perception, we will move to the cognitive issues of how the mind represents musical structures
and how expectation works in the process of listening to music. We will also consider the role of the
multimodal body in performing and listening, music and emotion, and music and the brain. The
significance of social and cultural contexts for musical experience will be underlined, and the embodied
approach will be introduced in the discussion of music, mind, and body. Students will have the
opportunity to pursue their own interests in-depth within the individual project.
MUSI2066. Performance study 2 (for students in their second year of study)
MUSI2068. University gamelan
This one-year course introduces students to the exciting world of Balinese gamelan. Students will learn
to play all the instruments of the gamelan gong kebyar while working together as an ensemble to
perform both traditional and contemporary music. The gamelan performs on a regular basis and often
collaborates with composers and other instrumentalists. No prior musical experience is needed for this
course.
MUSI2070. Fundamentals of tonal music
This course further explores tonal procedures, of which the fundamentals were introduced in
“MUSI1023 Materials and structures of music”. It examines the tonal logic and the voice-leading
principles of diatonic and basic chromatic harmonic practices. Simple formal structures such as binary,
ternary, and sonata forms are explored. Students completing this course are expected to have attained a
thorough understanding of tonal syntax in the context of diatonic and simple chromatic harmony and to
be able to analyze music in simple forms.
Prerequisite: MUSI1023.
MUSI2074. Introduction to contrapuntal styles and techniques
This course examines the principles of linear structure and voice-leading through an intensive study of
species counterpoint in two and three parts. This will help students to understand the logic of music –
how notes fit together, their implications and resolutions. In turn, this will provide students with a solid
basis for analysing and composing music.
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MUSI2076. Instrumentation and orchestration
This course provides students with a working knowledge of the instruments of the modern orchestra.
Instrumentation study investigates the technical idiosyncrasies and timbral potential of individual
instruments. Orchestration covers fundamental techniques in combining instruments for various
ensemble contexts. Throughout the course students will undertake analysis, listening, and scoring
projects, and will acquire the skills to create professional-quality scores and parts.
MUSI2077. Music and culture: an overseas field trip
This course focuses on the study of music and its cultural context during an overseas field trip. Students
may study performance in a traditional setting or conduct an ethnographical study. Students will be
required to produce a field-trip report after their return.
MUSI2079. Introduction to arts administration
This yearly course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive overview of arts administration,
with a supervised practicum element. Through discussions, interaction with guest speakers, and project-
based internships, major topics to be explored include planning, development, marketing, artist relations,
organizational structure, outreach, venue management, as well as issues and challenges commonly
faced by arts administrators today.
MUSI2080. Music analysis I
This course endeavours to develop students’ understanding of tonal procedures in the melodic and
harmonic construction of music during the 18th and 19th centuries, focusing in particular on the music
of the Classical period. Students are expected to develop skills in music analysis, primarily through
examining Schoenberg’s ideas of motif, phrase, period, sentence, and developing variation, in order to
understand the construction of tonal form.
MUSI2081. Music in Western culture I
The course examines topics in musical practices, works, and aesthetic ideas from the 17th to the mid-
19th centuries. Various musical styles as well as conceptual ideas behind the musical practices are
examined. The course emphasises the socio-cultural context in which the music was created, performed,
and consumed, as well as its relationship to the other art forms. Together with MUSI2082, the course
promotes students’ foundational knowledge in music history and stylistic listening skills. It is also
designed to enhance student’s ability to critically think about music and communicate these thoughts.
The focus of course content may vary from year to year.
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MUSI2082. Music in Western culture II
The course examines topics in musical practices, works, and aesthetic ideas from the mid-19th century
to the present day. Various musical styles as well as conceptual ideas behind the musical practices are
examined. The course emphasises the socio-cultural context in which the music was created, performed,
and consumed, as well as its relationship to the other art forms. Together with MUSI2081, the course
promotes students’ foundational knowledge in music history and stylistic listening skills. It is also
designed to enhance student’s ability to critically think about music and communicate these thoughts.
The focus of course content may vary from year to year.
MUSI2083. Music performance (for exchange students from overseas)
Exchange students taking this course have to enrol in three music performance components
administered by the Music Department over one semester. Possible components include Advanced
Music Performance and Performance Study ensembles/workshops, including HKU Chamber Singers,
HKU Early Music Ensemble, HKU Gamelan, HKU Percussion Ensemble, and EITHER Vocal
Workshop OR Instrument Workshop, as approved by the Music Department. Entry to the course is at
the discretion of the Head of the School of Humanities on the recommendation of the Department's
Undergraduate Coordinator.
MUSI2084. Books, images, and artifacts: historical sources for Asian music
This course will take you to the heart of how music history is written. What are the raw materials from
which the timeline of human discourse is constructed? When were the sources written, where did they
come from? Who wrote them and why? Are the sources and their interpretation trustworthy? Depictions
in the visual arts tell their own story too, especially in respect of instrumental technique, ensemble
formation, social context, and performance practice. For the most ancient types of music, archeological
artifacts are the only sources that scholars can deploy. Where were the artifacts excavated? What were
their conditions? Were similar objects recovered elsewhere? How can these treasured items be
preserved from degradation? By answering these questions, this course explores the material culture of
music from pre-modern China and her neighbouring countries. Emphasis will be on the fields of
organology, archaeology, source studies, ritual studies, as well as collecting and archiving.
MUSI2085. Recording techniques and sound design
This course covers fundamentals of studio recording techniques and sound design. The first part of the
course is devoted to conceptual and practical skills needed for quality sound productions. The second
part teaches the basics of sound design as well as their application for moving images and other media.
Students will learn theories, techniques, and will develop their own aesthetics in sound design through
a variety of hands-on projects.
MUSI2086. The Music business
This course explains how the music business works today, especially in this region. It aims to provide
what a student needs to know to get started in the industry.
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MUSI2087. Entrepreneurship and music
The class will focus on providing students with an overview of entrepreneurship and investment
opportunities within music industry. We will explore ways to identify business opportunities in the
music business and create value. Specifically, with respect to start-ups, we will focus on how to identify
an opportunity, build a business plan, raise capital from strategic and/or financial investors, and how to
execute the strategy/grow the company. Further, we will also explore exit strategies for these ventures.
Relating to investment opportunities, we will explore the value of music catalogues, learning how to
value the content and identify undervalued assets prime for investment. We will discuss how to manage
these music catalogues once acquired, in order to extract maximum value. Additionally, we will discuss
M&A structures/valuation and execution in the music Industry. Finally, we will explore routes to
creating valuable music IP (including TV show formats, streaming programs, music festivals).
Throughout the class, we will strive to provide students with the tools (qualitative and quantitative) to
identify entrepreneurial opportunities, evaluate the upside and risks, structure deals and manage ideas
and assets to create value.
Level 3000 and 4000 Courses
Level 3000 and 4000 courses are all advanced courses. All Level 3000 courses can be taken in either
the third or fourth year, except for the two performance courses MUSI3019 and MUSI3021, which are
for students in their third year of study only. All Level 4000 courses can only be taken in the fourth
year.
MUSI3019. Advanced music performance 3 (for students in their third year of study)
MUSI3021. Performance study 3 (for students in their third year of study)
MUSI3023. Composing for the concert world
A continuation of MUSI2026, this course guides students to adopt an eclectic approach in writing music
by introducing them to a wide array of strategies in organising and manipulating various musical
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parameters. It also helps students to experiment with the incorporation of extra-musical inspiration and
alternative aesthetics.
MUSI3024. Composing for the commercial world
This course helps students to write music that works for a given practical application such as film music,
theatre music, multimedia performances, radio/television commercials, web pages, New Age music,
and popular songs. Students are required to work on topics that vary from year to year.
MUSI3028. Red is the colour: music and politics in post-1949 China (capstone experience)
This course examines the relationship between music and politics in post-1949 China. It aims to provide
students with a critical perspective on the complex role that politics has played in shaping contemporary
Chinese musical culture. Major issues explored include music and national identity in modern China,
the conflict between Western-style conservatories and Chinese traditional genres, music as propaganda
under the Maoist regime, music of the Red Guards and Jiang Qing’s model works during the Cultural
Revolution, music in post-Mao China, and the politics of globalization since the 1990s.
MUSI3029. Music and scientific thoughts: past and present (capstone experience)
This course investigates the link between music and science in Western history. Music has been
frequently associated with science, but the way the two realms have been interconnected with each other
varies throughout history. In exploring each case of scientific thoughts on music in history, students are
expected to obtain a contextual understanding of music and science as socio-cultural products and to
gain insight into the interdisciplinary nature of the study of music.
MUSI3030. Tonal counterpoint (capstone experience)
This course investigates the contrapuntal styles of the 18th century with special reference to the works
of J.S. Bach. Students are expected to develop a comprehensive understanding of the techniques and
stylistic features of 18th-century counterpoint through score analysis and compositional projects. A
substantial original work in 18th-century style is required as a final project.
MUSI3031. Special study (capstone experience)
In this course, the student works on a one-to-one basis with a supervisor throughout the year. The project
may be an extensive research paper or a composition portfolio. Students planning to take this course
must demonstrate competence in the particular area in which they wish to work. Entry to this course is
at the discretion of the Head of the School of Humanities on the recommendation of the Department’s
Undergraduate Coordinator.
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MUSI3032. Special performance study (capstone experience)
of the student’s choice, as approved by the Music Department. This course may be taken to fulfil the
capstone requirement. Entry to the course is at the discretion of the Head of the School of Humanities
on the recommendation of the Department’s Undergraduate Coordinator.
Prerequisite: Completed at least one of MUSI1022, MUSI2066, or MUSI3021.
MUSI3033. Topics in Ethnomusicology (capstone experience)
This course is an introduction to the theories and methods of ethnomusicology, which is the study of
music in its sociocultural context. Historically, ethnomusicologists have tended to focus on non-
Western musical traditions, although more recent trends have opened the field to include any music
culture, regardless of origin or place, including popular musics, Western art and contemporary musics,
as well as folk and traditional music cultures. This course will provide an overview of the history of the
discipline, as well as introduce students to the key themes and issues that have shaped ethnomusicology
up to the present time. The focus of the course content may vary from year to year.
MUSI3034. The qin (capstone experience)
Redolent of the scholar, aristocrat, and literatus, the qin has a deep and distinguished lineage within the
pantheon of Chinese musical traditions. This course is a survey of qin music from the late Bronze Age
to the present times. Several themes are examined in detail: basic playing skills, semiotics of notation
and the earliest known qin score, different styles and pivotal figures, representative works from the
repertoire, typological analysis of historical instruments, and transmission and appropriation of the qin
in East Asia. Readings from musicology, anthropology, archaeology, and art history introduce a variety
of approaches to the interpretation of qin music.
MUSI3035. Music analysis II (capstone experience)
This course is an in-depth introduction to Schenkerian analysis. Through a series of assignments,

students will learn voice-leading procedures and concepts of tonal coherence, as well as engage in
critical and historical reflection on such theories.
MUSI3036. Chromaticism and post-tonal techniques
This course examines chromatic harmonies and larger forms in classical music, and is a continuation of
MUSI2070. The later part of the course will focus on the post-tonal techniques, using the pitch-class
set theory and other methods to analyze contemporary music.
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MUSI3037. Opera (capstone experience)
This course will chart the history of opera in the Western world in both its relationship to social and
political history and that of other major musical and theatrical genres. Through the close reading of the
genre, students will learn about opera as the art of singing, poetry, and stagecraft, and make their
acquaintance with some of the remarkable protagonists of its history, be they singers or composers,
poets or designers, impresarios or monarchs. Attention will also be placed on the strength and resilience
of local, as opposed to national or continental, traditions, such as the ones that flourished in Rome and
London in the 17th century, Naples in the 18th, or St. Petersburg in the 19th, to name a few. The course
will also provide students with an appealing and vivid demonstration of the diversity of musical and
literary traditions in Europe during the period between ca. 1600 and 1900. The course will end with a
reflection on the current state of Western opera as performed and consumed in East Asia, with particular
reference to China.
Note: Not taken MUSI2063.
MUSI3038. Methodological perspectives in music I
This course aims to equip students with critical research methods by focusing on specific musical works
(in any media), artifacts, or issues. It approaches an object of investigation from various methodological
perspectives (e.g., historical, theoretical, philosophical, and anthropological), and will provide an
overview of the reception history of the scholarship around the object as well as the latest research. The
course promotes students’ critical reflection on such methods and scholarly traditions. The object for
investigation may vary from year to year. During the course, students will be required to formulate their
own research question and carry out their own research. The course is designed to give undergraduates
insights into the ethos of post-graduate research and form a bridge between the two “realms.”
Prerequisite: MUSI2070; and either MUSI2081 or MUSI2082.
MUSI3039. Methodological perspectives in music II (capstone experience)
This course aims to equip students with critical research methods by focusing on specific musical works
(in any media), artifacts, or issues. It approaches an object of investigation from various methodological
perspectives (e.g., historical, theoretical, philosophical, and anthropological), and will provide an
overview of the reception history of the scholarship around the object as well as the latest research. The
course promotes students’ critical reflection on such methods and scholarly traditions. The object for
investigation may vary from year to year. During the course, students will be required to formulate a
research proposal and to give a written presentation in the form of a conference paper. The course is
designed to give undergraduates insights into the ethos of post-graduate research and form a bridge
between the two “realms.”
Prerequisite: MUSI2070; and either MUSI2081 or MUSI2082.
MUSI3040. Electroacoustic music
This course explores both historical and current creative approaches in electroacoustic music through
a variety of research and composition projects. Composers, repertoires, techniques, stylistic and
aesthetic trends from approximately 1900 to present will be covered.
Prerequisite: either MUSI2085 or MUSI2067, or instructor’s consent.
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MUSI3041. Music and the environment
This course concerns the relationship between music and the environment, broadly construed. The key
question this course asks is, how can we understand music as an ecological phenomenon? The course
aspires to answer this question in several ways: firstly, the course will introduce ecological models of
musical and cultural analysis; secondly, we will discuss the concept of nature in various music traditions,
including Western art music and Japanese traditional music, among others; and thirdly, the course will
attend to the role of music in the ongoing global environmental crisis. Components of the course will
cover soundscape studies, ecocriticism, as well as the more recent field of ecomusicology.
MUSI4001. Performance study 4 (for students in their fourth year of study)
MUSI4002. Advanced music performance 4 (capstone experience) (for students in their fourth
year of study)
MUSI4003. Dissertation (capstone experience)
This two-semester research course requires submission of a musicological dissertation or a substantial

composition portfolio. Students wishing to take the course must contact their proposed supervisor(s) in
advance to secure agreement for the project. It is recommended that this be done before the end of June.
Entry to this course is at the discretion of the Head of the School of Humanities on the recommendation
of the Department’s Undergraduate Coordinator, and is contingent on the student providing a working
title, plan, and bibliography no later than 1 September.
Prerequisite: MUSI3031 or supervisor’s recommendation.
PHILOSOPHY
Studying philosophy improves our critical and creative thinking. It helps us understand our society, and
our system of beliefs and values. In addition, philosophy provides excellent training for a variety of
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professions. Most philosophy courses are organized as lectures or seminars and typically include
tutorials. All courses are assessed by 100% coursework.
Major in Philosophy (72 credits)
Students wishing to major in Philosophy must complete 72 credits of courses, including:
• Either PHIL1012 or PHIL1034 (6 credits);

• 12 credits of introductory courses taken from any Arts programme(s), which may include
additional credits in 1000-level Philosophy courses;
• 54 credits of Philosophy courses from among those at the 2000-, 3000-, and 4000-levels,
including PHIL3920 or PHIL4810 or PHIL4920 (capstone experience).
Minor in Philosophy (36 credits)
Students wishing to minor in Philosophy must complete 36 credits of courses, including:
• Either PHIL1012 or PHIL1034 (6 credits);

• 30 credits of Philosophy courses from among those at the 2000- and 3000-levels.
Recommendations about Course Selection
• The Department welcomes students who want to study philosophy but have no intention to
major or minor in Philosophy. We do recommend that they complete PHIL1012 or PHIL1034
before enrolling in courses at the 2000- level or above.
• PHIL1012 or PHIL1034 is usually taken in the first year of study, but students may also take
them in other years.
• Courses at the 2000- level are divided into four groups according to their subject matter:
o Knowledge and reality
o Mind and language
o Moral and political philosophy
o History of philosophy
We strongly recommend major students to select courses from all four groups to ensure a
broader training in philosophy.
1000-LEVEL COURSES
All 1000-level courses are introductory courses with no prerequisites. They are open to students in all
years of study.
PHIL1012. Mind and knowledge: an introduction to philosophy (6 credits)
This course is an introduction to philosophical issues about mind and knowledge. These include
metaphysical questions about what minds are, such as whether the mind is something non-physical or
whether it is some kind of computer, and questions about what knowledge is and how we can obtain it.
We also address epistemological questions about the limitations of human knowledge, such as whether
we can really know what other people’s experiences are like or whether God exists.
PHIL1034. Ethics and politics, East and West: an introduction to philosophy (6 credits)
This survey course is a comparative introduction to philosophy focusing primarily on topics in ethics
and politics. Lectures and readings will draw equally on the Chinese and Western philosophical
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traditions and indicate various respects in which the two can be put into dialogue. Readings include
Confucius, Mòzǐ, Mencius, Dàodéjīng, Xúnzǐ, Zhuāngzǐ, and Hán Fēi, on the Chinese side, along with
Plato, Aristotle, Epictetus, Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Bentham, Mill, Marx, Nietzsche,
Bakunin, Russell, Berlin, Hart, Wolff, Rawls, Nozick, Taylor, and Scanlon, on the Western side.
PHIL1068. Elementary logic (6 credits)
This is an introductory course in formal logic. Formal logic uses special symbolic notations to study
reasoning and arguments systematically. In this course we shall look at some basic concepts in logic,
and learn how to use special logical symbols to construct and evaluate arguments. We will cover proof
systems in propositional logic as well as predicate logic.
Note: Students who have taken PHIL2510 may not take this course.
2000- LEVEL COURSES
The following courses are normally open to students in the second, third, and fourth years of study.
Please note that not all of them are offered every year. The Department will publish on its website the
list of courses that will be offered in the coming academic year.
The courses are divided into four groups. Philosophy majors are recommended to select courses from
different groups to ensure a broader exposure to different areas of philosophy.
Group I: Knowledge and Reality
PHIL2000. Tools for Philosophers (6 credits)
This course is an introduction to some of the basic logical and formal techniques and concepts in
contemporary analytic philosophy. Very often they are taken for granted in specialist philosophical
writing. The aim of the course is to explain the meaning and application of these ideas clearly without
the less important details, focusing on their philosophical relevance to show how these ideas can
improve the clarity of various debates. The ideas to be discussed are taken from areas such as formal
logic, probability theory, mathematics, linguistics, and the philosophy of language.
PHIL2100. Paradoxes of decision (6 credits)
The aim of the course is to introduce a variety of tools from decision theory. Decision theory is arguably
one of the most important topics in philosophy because of its pervasive influence on a wide range of
traditional philosophical topics, including ethics and epistemology. The central question is: which
actions are rational in the face of risk or uncertainty? Some of the writings on this topic are very
technical, but the course will try to skip over technicalities as much as possible and introduce most of
the main topics via a series of paradoxes or puzzles. Topics which will be covered include objective
and subjective expected utility theory; Newcomb’s problem and causal decision theory; game theory
and the Nash equilibrium; and evolutionary game theory and the evolution of the social contract.
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PHIL2105. Vagueness, indeterminacy, and uncertainty (6 credits)
Many major areas of philosophy somehow have to deal with imprecision, or the absence of various
facts. For example, many of the terms of ordinary language, such as `is bald', are vague. Many questions,
such as when a human being becomes a person, do not seem to have determinate answers. Even when
there are facts, we are often uncertain of them. But we need to reason about these topics; we need to be
precise about imprecision. This course will examine a variety of tools for doing this. Some of these
tools have a technical flavour, such as nonclassical logic and probability theory. While the course does
not presuppose mathematical knowledge, it does assume that students are prepared to philosophically
engage with such tools.
PHIL2110. Knowledge (6 credits)
Theory of knowledge deals with the nature and possibility of knowledge and its limits. We shall address
questions that include: Is Scepticism possible? Are some kinds of knowledge more basic than others?
Are our views of the world really true or just elaborate stories that serve our purposes? Can philosophers
learn about knowledge from psychology and physiology? What could philosophers add to their stories?
Is there one concept of justification (reason) or many (social and cultural differences)? Is truth an
important goal of knowledge?
PHIL2115. Skepticism and relativism (6 credits)
Is knowledge of the world possible? And is there even an objective world for our knowledge to be about?
These are the topics of skepticism and relativism. Skeptics challenge our ability to know anything about
the world. Relativists contest that there is no absolute, objective truth. In this class, we will study both
historical and contemporary thinking about these perennial topics. We will address ancient arguments
for skepticism, but also look to more contemporary relativistic thinking about science, morality, and
other matters.
PHIL2120. Topics in analytic philosophy (6 credits)
An advanced introduction to contemporary philosophy, this course will focus on a few areas of lively
current debate. Students will have an opportunity to critically examine a sample of the best recent work
in analytic philosophy. Careful attention will be paid to the roots of these debates in early analytic
philosophy.
PHIL2130. Philosophy of science (6 credits)
If we want to find out about the world around us, we look to science to provide the answers to our
questions. But why? What justifies our faith in this enterprise? In this course, we shall investigate three
related questions. First, what is the scientific method? We shall examine answers ranging from the rigid
prescriptions of Popper to the anarchism of Feyerabend. Second, what reason do we have to think that
the explanations provided by science are true? Here the answers range from optimism based on the
success of science, to pessimism based on our repeated rejection of past theories. Along the way, we
shall critically consider notions such as progress, objectivity, and the difference between science and
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non-science. We shall examine how philosophical questions arise in actual scientific practice. Third,
what is the relation between science and society?
PHIL2140. Philosophy of social science (6 credits)
The social sciences have descriptive and normative components. They attempt to understand and
explain human life and activities. But they also provide the basis for, or make, recommendations about
how human life and activity should be. The course will look at one or both of these aspects of the social
sciences. Some of the social sciences, such as economics, are quite mathematical. In years in which
these are studied, students should be prepared to discuss the interpretation and implications of major
theorems, such as Arrow's impossibility theorem in social choice theory, or Harsanyi's aggregation
theorem in welfare economics.
PHIL2210. Metaphysics (6 credits)
Metaphysics is perhaps the broadest area of philosophy because it takes everything as its subject:
metaphysics is the study of reality. This class, of course, cannot cover everything, but we will tackle
some of the most persistent metaphysical questions that have troubled thoughtful people for centuries.
At the same time, metaphysics is one of the most contested areas of philosophy. Different philosophers
mean very different things by ‘metaphysics’, and a vast number of topics and questions are classified
as ‘metaphysical’. While some philosophers regard metaphysics as the most fundamental philosophical
discipline, others have rejected metaphysics as meaningless or misguided. In this class, we will explore
a variety of metaphysical topics, and come to better understand this controversial area of philosophy.
Among the questions we might explore are: What makes an object identical across time and change?
What is the nature of space and time? Does God exist? Do we have free will? Are there universals, or
just particular objects? Does everything exist in the same way, or are there different ways of being?
Why does anything exist at all? Many of us think that we know the answers to these questions, but do
we have good reasons for these beliefs? In this class, we will learn to appreciate the difficulties that
these questions pose, and develop the sort of critical skills necessary to come to have good reasons for
our beliefs about these fundamental and timeless philosophical issues.
PHIL2217. Issues in contemporary metaphysics (6 credits)
Metaphysics is a very broad subject area, within which different, more specific debates can be
distinguished. This course will focus on one or two specific, longstanding such debates in metaphysics.
Examples of such topics include: the nature of properties, theories of modality (necessity, possibility),
realism and antirealism. For the exact topics in a given year, contact the course coordinator.
PHIL2312. Probability, epistemology, and ethics (6 credits)
This course provides an introduction to topics in ethics and epistemology which involve questions about
probability. Traditional views about ethics and epistemology say little about probability. But at least in
epistemology, a more recent view is that just about all epistemology should be understood in terms of
probability. It is at least arguable that probability is just as important for ethics. The course will survey
a number of topics in ethics and epistemology where the “traditional versus probabilistic” contrast arises,
and will examine the strengths and weaknesses of each.
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PHIL2420. Chinese philosophy: metaphysics (6 credits)
We study Chinese views of reality, human nature, language, wisdom and the relation of each to human
society. Our main texts will be Daoist texts from the classical period, but we shall also discuss Neo-
Daoism, Buddhism and Neo-Confucian metaphysics.
PHIL2421. Taming the infinite (6 credits)
Many philosophically puzzling phenomena involve the notion of the infinite. At the same time, there
are a variety of well-developed mathematical techniques for talking about such things as infinite (or
infinitesimal) size. The course describes the conceptual bases of some of these techniques, and how
they may be applied to philosophical problems.
PHIL2422. Philosophy of gender and race (6 credits)
What is sexuality, gender and identity? What is race? In this course we will study philosophical theories
of gender, race and sexuality, and examine how issues of gender/racial identity and sexuality pose
challenges to traditional philosophical categories and theories. The course may be organized
thematically around a variety of topics: oppression, body, metaphysics of sex and gender, metaphysics
of race, epistemology, sexual identity and orientation, and technology. Students will be exposed to
different theories, and will read both classical texts and cutting-edge contemporary scholarship.
PHIL2900. Formal epistemology (6 credits)
Formal epistemology consists of a family of formal techniques that are used to inform and clarify
traditional problems in epistemology. The course provides a basic introduction to these techniques and
their applications to classical and contemporary problems to do with knowledge and belief, with a strong
focus on uncertainty.
PHIL2901. Social epistemology (knowledge and society) (6 credits)
How does the community in which we are situated shape our capacity of and access to knowledge? Are
humans innately social - and, if so, to what extent does this bare fact render us inherently objective or
subjective? Finally, the real world poses clear impediments and challenges to our ability to know - what
is the appropriate response to instances where important voices are drowned out by biases,
presumptions, or group preferences? These are all questions that intersect domains of ethics,
epistemology (study of knowledge), and social philosophy at large -- which social epistemology strives
to tackle. Through vivid case studies and exemplars, alongside theoretical frameworks of interest, this
course aims to introduce students to a rapidly burgeoning field of philosophical enquiry.
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Group II: Mind and Language
PHIL2075. The semantics/pragmatics distinction (6 credits)
One of the central issues in contemporary philosophy of language and linguistics concerns whether and
where one should draw the line between semantic meaning and pragmatic meaning, or the meanings of
the words and sentences a speaker uses, and what a speaker means in using those words and sentences.
One reason the issue is central is that there are debates over the semantic meanings of certain
expressions, e.g. names and definite descriptions. Without a general account of the difference between
semantic and pragmatic meaning, these debates cannot be settled. Another reason the issue is central is
that there are some who, in a roughly Wittgensteinian manner, deny that there is any real sense to be
made of the notion of semantic, or literal, meaning. According to them, there is, therefore, no line
between pragmatic and semantic meaning at all. In this course we will try to determine whether the
distinction can be drawn, and, if so, where.
PHIL2220. The mind (6 credits)
The human mind is the nexus of a number of great mysteries. What is the nature of self? Is the mind
identical to the brain, or is it an immaterial substance? Is Artificial Intelligence possible, and can
computers experience emotions and other feelings? Are our actions free, or are they determined by our
genes and upbringing? We shall be exploring some of these issues and other related topics in this course.
PHIL2225. The philosophy of artificial intelligence (6 credits)
This course provides an introduction to the philosophy of artificial intelligence. Central questions
include: In what sense is artificial intelligence a form of intelligence? Can computers achieve a form of
intelligence that far surpasses human intelligence, i.e., can we reach the so-called Singularity? Does the
Singularity pose an existential treat to humanity? Can computers be conscious? Can we communicate
and share a language with AI? Can and should decisions made by AI be explainable to humans? What
is algorithmic bias and what can be done about it? What are our moral obligations towards AI?
PHIL2230. Philosophy and cognitive science (6 credits)
We shall look at some of the philosophical issues involved in studying minds and behaviour
scientifically. We might discuss questions such as: Can we explain all mental phenomena in
computational terms? What is consciousness? What is the role of language in thinking? How useful
are neural networks in understanding the mind?
PHIL2245. Philosophy and emotions (6 credits)
What is an emotion? Is it a feeling, like the sensation of butterflies in the stomach that we experience
when we are in love, or is it something more complex, something like a thought or a judgement? What
is the relationship between emotions and knowledge? Why do we form emotions in response to things
that we know are not real, like literature and movies for example? These and other questions will be the
focus of this course.
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PHIL2260. Seminar in mind and language (6 credits)
The philosophy of mind and language occupies a central place within analytic philosophy. This course
provides an advanced introduction to selected topics in the area, through intensive reading of recent
publications. The course will be conducted mainly as a seminar, and students are required to give
presentations and to participate in discussion. This format is intended to help students deepen their
understanding of analytical and argumentative skills in philosophy. Topics might include: the semantics
of natural language, philosophical foundation of linguistics, consciousness, philosophical issues relating
to mental representation.
PHIL2410. Mind and language in Chinese thought (6 credits)
The philosophy of mind and language plays a crucial role in the philosophical dialectic of classical
China. This course will guide students in reconstructing this dialectic and exploring its philosophical
significance by interpreting and critically evaluating selected early Chinese philosophical texts that treat
mind, language, and interrelated aspects of psychology. Issues to be discussed include the nature and
functions of the heart-mind (xīn), its relation to other organs, the nature of perception and knowledge,
semantic theories, and the role of language in knowledge and action. Texts may include the Analects,
Mozi, Mencius, Daodejing, Xunzi, Zhuangzi, and Lushi Chunqiu. Students will be encouraged to read
the original sources in Chinese, but translations will be made available for those without reading
knowledge of classical Chinese.
PHIL2510. Logic (6 credits)
This is an introduction to formal logic. We will review sentential and predicate logic. We will discuss
theorems about formal systems of logic, including soundness and completeness. Time permitting, we
will discuss advanced topics such as Gödel’s incompleteness theorems, computability, Tarski’s
theorem, or modal logic. Students are expected to know some elementary formal logic before enrolling
in this course. In preparation, students can take PHIL1068 or study the online material on logic produced
by the department. For further details, please contact the department.
PHIL2511. Paradoxes (6 credits)
Paradoxes are arguments which proceed from highly plausible assumptions, through highly plausible
and usually simple steps to highly implausible conclusions. Some examples: Zeno’s paradoxes of
motion, Kant’s antinomies, the Liar and the paradox of the surprise examination. What such paradoxes
show is that there is something deeply wrong with some of our most fundamental ways of thinking. We
shall attempt to find solutions to certain of these paradoxes. Students are expected to know some
elementary formal logic before studying this course. To prepare for the course, they can either take
PHIL2006, or study the online material on logic produced by the department. For further details, please
contact the department.
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PHIL2520. Philosophy of logic (6 credits)
When thinking about inference, a number of concepts come to our attention, such as truth, logical
constants, propositions, necessity, consequence, logical form. Various questions with which the course
deals include: “What is the relation of Logic to reasoning?”; “What does the existence of paradoxes tell
us about our accepted logical principles?”; “What is the best way to represent arguments in ordinary
language if we wish to study the validity of such arguments?” “Are there types of discourse which are
by nature fuzzy, demanding a fuzzy logic for their representation?”; “Must logic fit empirical facts, or
is it a ‘pure’ discipline?” Students are expected to know some elementary formal logic before studying
this course. To prepare for the course, they can either take PHIL2006, or study the online material on
logic produced by the department. For further details, please contact the department.
PHIL2530. Metaphilosophy (6 credits)
This course will consist in a critical examination of various recent topics in metaphilosophy - that is,
the philosophy of philosophy. Our focus will be on the nature of philosophical knowledge, and the
possible methods for acquiring it. We will begin by looking at theories of a priori knowledge, from
modern philosophy to early analytic to contemporary. Then, we will examine more recent debates
surrounding the use of intuition in philosophical theorizing, as well as discussions of the methods of
conceptual analysis, reflective equilibrium, and thought experimentation. Finally, we will look at the
rise of a recent methodological movement known as ‘experimental philosophy’, and examine several
critical responses to it.
PHIL2610. Philosophy of language (6 credits)
What is a language, and what is involved in knowing or understanding a language? In this course we
will see how philosophers and linguists answer such questions as the following: What is a language?
What makes linguistic expressions meaningful? What can logic tell us about the grammar of natural
languages? Are human beings born with a universal grammar? What is the difference between what
we mean and what we convey when we say something? How does a metaphor work?
PHIL2651. Bad language: the philosophy of non-ideal language use (6 credits)
In this course we explore non-ideal language use. We live in a world where speakers often are non-
cooperative: they lie, mislead, insult, say things that makes no sense, silence, and coerce each other.
This course provides an introduction recent work on these non-ideal aspects of language use. Topics
to be discussed include: Lying and misleading, slurs and pejoratives, linguistic silencing, online speech,
generics and defective reasoning, and the speech act of consent.
PHIL2652. Language of the internet (6 credits)
From emojis, hashtags and GIFs, to a plethora of new punctuation and speech styles, the internet and
social media has changed language and the way we communicate. This course will cover the evolution
of language in the digital age, provide a comprehensive survey of new research on the many linguistic
innovations of the internet (e.g., emojis, hashtags, GIFs), and a forum for discussion of their value and
place in language and society at large.
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PHIL2653. The ethics and philosophy of digital technologies (6 credits)
New digital technologies, from driverless cars to twitter to facial recognition software, pose a variety
of new philosophical and ethical challenges. What are these challenges, and how can we respond to
them to ensure informed and responsible innovation? This course will consider case studies covering
three broad philosophical/ethical themes: (1) fairness in AI systems, (2) fake news and epistemic
infrastructure, and (3) bias and discrimination in the digital age.
PHIL2654. Problems of the self (6 credits)
The idea of the self plays an important role in our conceptual scheme, but what is the self? Is it a physical
or immaterial thing? Does it really exist? In this course we adopt an interdisciplinary approach to
investigate various philosophical problems about the nature of the self. This might include topics such
as: dualism, personal identity, self-consciousness, the extended self, relational identity, and other related
topics.
PHIL2655. Philosophy of perception (6 credits)
We fundamentally depend on sensory perception for our ability to know and act in the world. This basic
reliance on perception often takes for granted that we are directly experiencing the world as it exists
independently of our minds. But, is this deeply held assumption actually true? Can it be true given our
scientific knowledge of how the brain generates experience? This course is a contemporary introduction
to some central philosophical puzzles about the nature of perception. We will first consider several
competing accounts of what we experience when we accurately perceive the world vs. when we
experience illusions and hallucinations, such as sense-data theory, representationalism, and naïve
realism. Then, we will investigate several philosophical questions that arise from the scientific study of
perception: How does perceptual consciousness arise in the brain? Is there a boundary between
perception and other processes like attention, conceptual cognition, and emotion, and, if so, is that
boundary permeable? What effects, if any, could the interaction of perception and cognition have on
the structure and scope of experiential contents, and on the epistemic status of our perceptual beliefs?
Is it possible to train our perception to experience the world more richly and accurately?
PHIL2656. Philosophy of virtual reality (6 credits)
This course provides an introduction to the philosophy of virtual reality – and more generally to
technophilosophy. Central questions include: What is a virtual reality and how is it related to augmented
reality? How can we know that we’re not living in a simulated reality? Is a virtual object, say a virtual
fork, real and if so, is it a real fork? Can we live a good life in a simulated reality? What is the connection
between mind and body in virtual reality? What do words mean in virtual reality?
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PHIL2657. Colour and sound (6 credits)
In this course, we will discuss colour and sound from the philosophical perspective, focusing on their
ontologies and relations to perception. Key questions include: How is colour different from other visible
properties such as shape and size? Is sound a property or an event of vibration? Where is sound—in the
surrounding medium or at its perceived location at the sound source? Can colour and sound exist
unperceived? How can there be any objective colour and sound if our perceptions of them vary across
subjects and external situations? Can we see anything without seeing colour? Can we hear anything
without hearing sound?
Group III: Moral and Political Philosophy
PHIL2080. Marxist philosophy (6 credits)
The world has changed a great deal since the time of Marx. But Marxism, duly updated and refined,
still has a lot to teach us about the nature of human society and historical change, the capitalist
organization of society, the foundation and limits of liberal democracy, the constitution of power and
the political. These and other issues raised by Marxism are, or ought to be, among the central concerns
of political philosophy or philosophy of history. We will examine how Marxism, especially
contemporary Marxism, can serve as a useful critique of liberal political philosophy and liberal political
institutions. We will also discuss how Marxism itself needs to be transformed or reconceived in order
to create an appealing democratic vision of genuine contemporary relevance.
PHIL2095. Truth and propaganda (6 credits)
What is the nature of truth? How is the notion of truth used and/or abused? These questions are the
focus of the course. We begin by exploring the philosophical debate over the nature of truth: is truth
correspondence with reality, pragmatic utility, or something that can’t be defined at all? Then we will
turn to how the notion of truth gets deployed in political and ordinary contexts, including an examination
of the relationship between truth and propaganda. Further topics to be explored may include post-truth,
fake news, truth in science, truth in ethics, and similar issues.
PHIL2101. Paradoxes of Cooperation (6 credits)
The course deals with applications of game theory and decision theory to important philosophical
problems to do with cooperation. These problems arise especially in ethics, epistemology, political
philosophy, philosophy of social science, and social choice theory. Problems of cooperation arises
between different people, and also the same person at different times. Many of the problems to be
discussed take the form of simple and easily understood paradoxes. Puzzles about cooperation include:
How does language arise? Can rational agents make credible threats or promises? How does what a
group believes depend on what its members believe? Do rationality and common interest guarantee
cooperation?
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PHIL2310. Theories of morality (6 credits)
Moral judgments are about what is good or bad, right or wrong, and virtuous or vicious. Normative
theories (like utilitarianism) try to explain what sorts of behaviors and actions are good or bad, or right
or wrong. The topic of this course, however, is metaethics. Metaethical theories are about normative
ethical theories: they try to explain what is distinctive about moral judgments, and how they are similar
to or different from other kinds of judgments. In this course, we shall explore the nature of moral
judgments, and how they are related to motivation, truth, and objectivity. Do moral judgments always
accompany motivation to act in a certain way? How can moral judgments be true or false? Is morality
relative or absolute? These are the key metaethical questions we shall explore together in the course.
PHIL2315. Value theory (6 credits)
The aim of the course is to examine a variety of questions about goodness. It will cover three main
topics: goodness for people; the distribution of goodness for people; and the goodness of creating new
people. Topics to be covered include: the quality of experience, desire satisfaction, and objective goods;
interpersonal comparisons, primary goods and capability sets; the measurement of goodness for people;
utilitarianism; fairness and equality; giving priority to the worse off; the impartial spectator argument;
veil of ignorance arguments; Harsanyi’s aggregation theorem; the nonidentity problem; and the
repugnant conclusion. The course will pay special attention to the way the utilitarian and contractualist
traditions treat these topics, and what they agree and disagree about.
PHIL2318. Virtue ethics (6 credits)
Until recently, most philosophical approaches to ethics focused on issues of right action. Virtue ethics
focuses instead on issues of character. The last couple of decades have witnessed a revival of virtue
ethics, with many contemporary ethicists taking their cues from prominent historical figures who
approached ethics in a more character-centered way. This course will focus on both the historical roots
of virtue ethics as well as its more recent revival.
PHIL2319. Moral psychology (6 credits)
The fundamental issues of moral philosophy concern such things as character, agency, moral
deliberation and judgment, moral emotions, and moral perception. Each of the major ethical theories
presupposes different sorts of motivational structures and gives preference to different accounts of these
phenomena. Moral philosophers are particularly concerned with the intrinsic moral value of such things
as good intentions, empathy, and good or virtuous character.
PHIL2320. Happiness (6 credits)
Happiness is something we all strive for, despite the fact that we have only hazy and inconsistent notions
of what it would involve. Is it a psychological state or the condition of living a good life? Is it to be
gained by withdrawing from the world, or engaging in it? Are we, in some sense, designed to be happy,
or is it always an impossibility? This course will lead students through some of the most influential
conceptualisations of happiness in the Western tradition. We will consider, in detail, the work of
Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics), J.S.Mill (Utlitarianism) and Freud (Civilisation and Its Discontents).
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This focus will allow us to explore a range of ideas about the nature of happiness and the possibility (or
impossibility) of our achieving it. Particular emphasis will be placed on the ongoing influence of these
conflicting ideas in our contemporary world.
PHIL2323. Well-Being (6 credits)
This seminar investigates two important issues in ethics and philosophy more generally. First, what is
the nature of well-being? Second, how is well-being related to the moral good? In pondering the first
question, we will entertain some of the most popular theories about the nature of well-being, including
hedonism, the informed desire view, and more complicated variants and alternatives. A major concern
here are the issues that arise when we say that the specific content of someone’s well-being depends on
subjective attitudes (e.g., desires, preferences). A major dividing line in 20th- and 21st-century welfare
theory is between subjectivist and objectivist theories. In pondering the second question, we will ask
whether it is (necessarily or contingently) to one's benefit to be morally good to some degree, and
whether well-being is the only value to be taken as a moral good worth promoting.
PHIL2324. Philosophy of humor (6 credits)
This course provides an introduction to the philosophy of humor. Central questions include: What is a
joke? What makes something funny? Is a sense of humor an evolutionary advantage? What is the
relationship between humor and other kinds of art? If a joke is racist, or otherwise morally objectionable,
does that make it less funny? Is humor uniquely human, or do other animals experience humor? Is there
such a thing as an objectively funny joke, or is humor necessarily subjective?
PHIL2340. Moral problems (6 credits)
Many practical problems give rise to moral controversies. Among the questions to be considered in this
course are “Should one person treat all others equally?”; “Is abortion a type of killing, and is it
acceptable?”, “Should certain types of pornography be banned?”; “Can capital punishment be
justified?”; “Is it right to take affirmative action in favour of groups who have been discriminated
against in the past?”; “Should old people be helped to die, if that is what they wish?”. These are all
“large-scale” questions, but we shall also be discussing less grand, but no less important moral dilemmas
that we each confront from time to time.
PHIL2341. Bioethics (6 credits)
This course will examine some of the most debated questions in bioethics both from the perspective of
individual decision-making and population level policy making. Some of the questions to be discussed
are, ‘Can researchers conduct medical experiments on human beings?’; ‘Should parents have a right or
a duty to create genetically enhanced “designer babies”?’; ‘Should we have a market for organs?’;
‘Should the government “nudge” people to eat healthy and exercise?’; and ‘What are the limits of
personal responsibility in health?’. While discussing these questions, this course will also explore
concepts that are often encountered in arguments in bioethics such as coercion, dignity, and autonomy.
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PHIL2345. Social contract theories (6 credits)
In this course we study the major modern theories of social contract, starting with the seventeenth-
century Leviathan of Thomas Hobbes, which places the state above its subjects. Later in the same
century John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government argued that the contracting parties to the state
would seek protection of their property above all, and that they could dismiss a non-performing
government, an inspiration for the American Revolution. Jean-Jacques Rousseau rejected the positions
of Hobbes and Locke, basing his social contract on the will of all jointly to secure the common good,
or “general will”. John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice in the twentieth century bases the democratic system
on a conception of social justice grounded in equality of basic rights and regard for the least advantaged
members of society.
PHIL2350. Philosophy of law (6 credits)
We shall set the scene by contrasting classical Western and Chinese views of law. Then we shall focus
on what moral and political presuppositions are required to justify the rule of law. This will guide our
view of how one ought to reason in interpreting the law, and finally see what the implications of theory
of law are for our views of punishment, rights, justice, equality, responsibility, insanity, and negligence.
This course should help you evaluate the arguments for the importance of the rule of law in Hong Kong.
PHIL2355. Theories of justice (6 credits)
All of us care about justice but perhaps you seldom pause to reflect on the nature of justice and the
many difficult issues which justice raises. This course introduces you to these issues and systematic
ways of thinking about them. In a nutshell, justice is concerned with the question, how should the
benefits and burdens of social cooperation be distributed among members of society under conditions
of scarcity and conflicting values? Or, as Serge-Christophe Kolm puts it, “What should be done when
different people’s desires or interests oppose one another and cannot all be fully satisfied? Justice is the
justified answer to this question and its science is the theory of justice.” We will think about this
question at two levels: the distribution of fundamental rights and duties in the basic structure of society;
and the distribution of goods in particular domains, such as health care. Since controversy abounds at
both levels, we will discuss and compare a variety of positions, including those of John Rawls, Brian
Barry, Amartya Sen, Ronald Dworkin, Robert Nozick, Serge-Christophe Kolm, Norman Daniels, and
Francis Kamm. We will also consider whether, and to what degree, Western theories of justice such as
these are useful for thinking about issues of justice in Hong Kong and the PRC at large.
PHIL2360. Political philosophy (6 credits)
This survey course addresses fundamental questions in the history of political philosophy. Questions
about government, justice, property and rights will be addressed through the work of a range of
historical and contemporary thinkers. Philosophers to be studied may include Aristotle, Hobbes, Marx,
Rawls, and others.
PHIL2362. Liberal democracy (6 credits)
Liberal democracy is the dominant political value and form of government in terms of power and
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influence in the world today. It is supposed to be a coherent combination of liberalism and democracy,
and yet there are deep tensions between these two components. It is by identifying these tensions that
we can best understand the workings of liberal democracy as a form of government and assess its
plausibility and appeal as a political value. Within this context, such familiar topics as political agency,
freedom, rights, and private life will be seen in a fresh light.
PHIL2364. Rawls (6 credits)
John Rawls (1921-2002) was one of the most important political philosophers in the 20th century. This
course will appeal to students interested in many of the central questions addressed in political
philosophy (for instance: How should rights and liberties as well as material resources be distributed in
a society? Do citizens have a general moral obligation to obey their society’s law?), and especially those
aspiring for a more comprehensive understanding of the ideas of Rawls and how they have developed
over time.
To achieve this, this course will take up all of the central topics in Rawls’s philosophy, including: his
theory of Justice as Fairness as an attempt to reasonably resolve the conflict between the claims of
liberty and those of equality made in the liberal tradition; his theory of Political Liberalism as answering
to the problem of political legitimacy faced by a society marked by reasonable pluralism; and his Law
of Peoples wherein Rawls addresses the thorny issues of, among others, the limit of toleration and
inequality at the international level. This course will also examine the relative strengths and limitations
of Rawls’s ideas in light of various competing accounts of justice and political legitimacy.
PHIL2365. Philosophical problems of modernity (6 credits)
This course will focus on responses to one of the key questions that is posed by twentieth century
European philosophy: that is, what is the nature of this modernity in which we live? According to Marx,
the experience of modernity is one in which “all that is solid melts into air”; while according to some
contemporary philosophers this is precisely the experience of post-modernity. In this course, we will
examine the responses of key 20th century philosophers to the question of modernity and postmodernity
(these may include, Benjamin, Adorno & Horkheimer, Habermas, Foucault, Lyotard and Bauman).
Particular attention will be paid to the way this questioning has led to a reconceptualisation of ethics
and politics in contemporary societies.
PHIL2369. Environmental philosophy (6 credits)
In this course, we will study conflicts between different approaches to our relationship with nature, such
as when deontological views that value rights of individual animals conflict with
consequentialist/holistic views that value ecosystems and populations. Examples of such dilemmas are
when overabundant deer populations are killed because they damage forest growth, or when
governments exterminate invasive species to protect native ecosystems. We will also discuss humans'
role in nature as well as animals' place in culture and how we handle conflicts between humans and the
natural/animal world, such as when apex predators like wolves or lions prey on humans or livestock,
when we breed pets, or when our use of animals leads to outbreaks of zoonotic diseases.
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PHIL2375. Philosophy of art (6 credits)
This course focuses on the philosophical issues which arise when we consider the nature of aesthetic
appreciation and judgement. These are some of the questions which will be discussed in the course:
What is mimesis? Does art simply mirror nature? Is beauty merely “in the eye of the beholder”? What
differences might there be between aesthetic appreciation of art and aesthetic appreciation of nature?
What is the relation between art and society? What is the difference between the sublime and the
beautiful? These and other questions will be explored through the work of philosophers such as Plato,
Aristotle, Hume, Kant, Dewey, Heidegger Foucault and Lyotard.
PHIL2380. Philosophy and literature (6 credits)
This course introduces two ways of studying philosophy and literature in relation to each other. On the
one hand, we shall try to illuminate a range of philosophical, particularly ethical, problems through a
close reading of literary texts (which may include the work of Dostoevsky, Henry James, Franz Kafka,
and James Joyce). On the other hand, we shall bring the resources of philosophy to bear on questions
of literary theory and interpretation (for example, the role of the reader, the position of the writer and
the ethics of reading). Both philosophical essays and literary works will be used in the course.
PHIL2390. Philosophy of religion (6 credits)
Topics discussed will include: the nature of religious experience, the existence of God, life after death,
religion and morality, religion and reason.
PHIL2430. Chinese philosophy: ethics (6 credits)
An introduction to comparative moral philosophy, with readings drawn from the classical Chinese
tradition as well as from modern, analytical sources. Figures likely to be taken up include Confucius,
Mencius, Mo Tzu and Han Fei Tzu. Attention will be given to the historical development of Chinese
moral thinking through these key representatives. Questions to be taken up include the question of
whether traditional Chinese thought can have relevance to us in the modern world, and how our beliefs
about our nature may shape our beliefs about what is moral or immoral.
PHIL2435. Traditional Chinese political thought (6 credits)
What justifies the existence of political authority? Who should rule? By what means should rulers
govern? What is the proper relation between people and the state? How much freedom should people
have? To what extent can the state justifiably exert control over them?
These are among the major questions explored in political philosophy. Traditional Chinese thinkers
from the classical, late imperial, and early modern periods had intriguing, sophisticated views about all
of them—views that are distinct from yet intersect with those influential in the Western tradition. This
course will guide students in exploring and evaluating Chinese philosophers’ answers to these
questions, as presented in broad selection of texts from different periods in Chinese history. We will
work mainly with primary texts, which will be available in both the original Chinese and English
translation, supplemented by expositions in contemporary secondary sources.
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The course will emphasize student participation, with roughly half of the time devoted to lecture and
half to discussion. Students will be asked to prepare to discuss primary source texts and participate
actively in class discussion.
PHIL2480. Confucianism and the modern world (6 credits)
This course introduces some of the central ideas of Confucianism, particularly as they have been
developed by Neo-Confucian thinkers, and considers the contemporary meaning and relevance of these
ideas for societies with a Confucian tradition. The thematic focus of the course is on whether and how
(Neo-)Confucianism promotes or hinders economic, political and cultural modernization. We shall also
discuss how (Neo-)Confucianism interacts with Western ideas, and (in the case of the PRC) Marxism
in the process of social transformation.
PHIL2481. Philosophy of music (6 credits)
This course is an introduction to the philosophy of music. Central questions include: What is the
definition of music? What kinds of things are musical works? What factors are relevant for the
understanding and appreciation of music? How can music convey emotions? What is the role of
performance in music? How are musical recordings related to musical performances from the
perspectives of musicians and audience? Is improvisation fundamentally different from scored music?
What philosophical questions can we ask about the authentic-performance movement? Is the perception
of music a special kind of perception?
Group IV: History of Philosophy
PHIL2001. The beginnings of philosophy (6 credits)
The contents of this course will vary from year to year, but it is likely to include important early thinkers
like Plato and Aristotle in the West, and/or Confucius and Lao Tze in China.
PHIL2002. Early modern philosophy (6 credits)
This course is an introduction to the thought of the major figures of Western philosophy of the 17th and
18th centuries. We will read major works from among Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley,
Hume, and some lesser known pieces by some women writing in the era. In particular, we will focus on
the topics of self, world, and God. What is the self? What makes me the same person over time? What
is the nature of reality, and what can we know about it? What is the nature of God, and can we know
whether he exists? We will explore how these important thinkers thought about these questions, and
other important philosophical topics such as free will, causation, science, and skepticism.
PHIL2005. Hellenistic philosophy (6 credits)
After the classical period of Plato and Aristotle Greek philosophy saw a number of new developments
with decisive consequences for the western philosophical tradition. It is in the Hellenistic age that we
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see the re-emergence of atomist physics, the origins of the debate over free will and determinism, and a
turn towards scepticism concerning the possibility of knowledge both in Plato’s Academy and in Sextus
Empiricus’ Pyrrhonian response to the epistemological optimism of the Stoics and Epicureans. This
course will examine these developments as they played out not only in metaphysics, logic, and ethics,
but also in physics, medicine, grammar, and even music.
PHIL2010. Plato (6 credits)
This course offers a general introduction to the central concerns of Plato’s philosophy. It focuses on
Plato’s early and middle dialogues in which the enigmatic character of Socrates is central. It addresses
Plato’s teachings on the role of philosophy in the life of the individual, the relation between knowledge
and virtue, and his contribution to questions about the nature of love and desire.
PHIL2011. Aristotle (6 credits)
The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BCE) researched virtually every aspect of human
knowledge, producing works that influence philosophy and many other fields down to the present. This
course looks at his political and social philosophy; we will read his Parts of Animals, Politics and
Constitution of Athens, examining his concepts of nature, human nature, slavery, property, citizenship,
democracy, education and the ideal city.
PHIL2015. Classical Indian philosophy (6 credits)
This course introduces the vibrant debates that animated classical Indian philosophy. We will examine
how thinkers representing diverse traditions of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain thought advanced competing
philosophical visions through a shared commitment to rational argumentation. We will also appreciate
the unique contributions of these thinkers to universal philosophical questions such as: What is the
nature of reality, and how do I know? Who am I? What is consciousness? Does God exist? What
happens after I die? How and why should I act morally? What should be our highest goal in life?
PHIL2020. Descartes (6 credits)
The standard accounts of Descartes’ philosophy have tended to focus on his late metaphysics and
epistemology, but this course is intended as an introduction to many more of the interesting aspects of
Descartes’ thought. We shall, of course, discuss some of the standard issues in their rightful place (and
discuss what that place might be), but we shall also consider Descartes’ contributions to, and
philosophical thoughts about, e.g. physics, mathematics, and medicine. (N.B. No specialist knowledge
of these areas is required). The reading will be a combination of Descartes’ primary texts (recently
published in a very clear translation) and contemporary secondary material.
PHIL2025. Hume (6 credits)
David Hume (1711 – 1776) was one of the great founders of modern empiricism. This course will serve
not only as an introduction to Hume’s philosophy, but also as an introduction to modern empiricism as
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developed especially in the analytical tradition of modern philosophy. The course will appeal especially
to students interested in the theory of knowledge, metaphysics and philosophy of mind, as well as to
students interested primarily in the history of philosophy.
The course takes up key topics in Hume, such as: Hume’s theory of ideas; the formation of reason and
imagination; knowledge of the external world and skepticism with regard to the senses; induction;
causation, probability and the idea of necessary connection; personal identity; freedom and determinism,
reasoning in animals; miracles; virtue and vice in the context of Hume’s naturalism. Readings will be
drawn primarily from Hume’s A Treatise on Human Nature and An Enquiry Concerning Human
Understanding.
PHIL2027. Political philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (6 credits)
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), author of the Social Contract, reflected deeply on inequality,
citizenship and political life. As a native of the independent city-state of Geneva (Switzerland), he
advocated self-determination in the face of absolutism. In his late work, Considerations on the
Government of Poland (used for the 1791 Polish constitution), Rousseau put patriotism on the political
agenda. These reflections give us much food for thought today.
PHIL2030. Kant’s critical philosophy (6 credits)
The topic of this class is Kant’s Critical Philosophy, a period of Kant’s work beginning with the
publication of the Critique of Pure Reason in 1781. The focus of the course will be either on his
“theoretical philosophy”, especially the Critique of Pure Reason, or his “practical philosophy”,
especially the Groundwork for the metaphysics of morals.
For the former we will discuss central claims and arguments in the Critique: the distinction between a
priori and a posteriori, analytic and synthetic judgments, space and time, concepts and objects, the
nature of causation, the nature of the self, Kant’s critique of metaphysics.
For the latter we will discuss important concepts like the categorical imperative, acting from duty, and
the good will. We will contrast Kant's approach to the foundation of morality with competing moral
systems.
PHIL2035. Philosophy of the Enlightenment (6 credits)
The eighteenth-century European philosophical movement known as “The Enlightenment” called all
previous philosophy into question, destabilizing conventional views of humanity, nature, society and
the cosmos; the Enlightenment influences philosophy to this day. This course examines important
European thinkers such as Francis Bacon, Bernard Mandeville, Denis Diderot, Jean le Rond
D’Alembert, Julien Offrray de La Mettrie, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Immanuel Kant from a historical
as well as philosophical perspective.
PHIL2039. Kierkegaard (6 credits)
Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) is a profoundly original thinker, philosophically distinctive for his
pseudonymous polemics, Socratic interrogation of contemporary Danish ‘Christendom’, Pascalian
critique of Cartesian doubt, and existential attack on rationalism and idealist speculation, particularly
the Hegelian philosophical ‘system’. This course will focus on how these dialectical engagements and
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exchanges help to structure Kierkegaard’s conception of three ‘stages’ or ‘spheres’ of existence

(aesthetic, ethical, and religious) around the interrelated questions of truth and paradox, immediacy and
reflection, anxiety and despair, irony and humour, freedom and necessity.
PHIL2040. Nietzsche (6 credits)
Nietzsche occupies a special place in Western thought, both as a wholesale critic of the philosophical
tradition that went before him (e.g. Socrates, Kant), and as a precursor of certain philosophical trends
that are important today (e.g. Foucault, Derrida). This course offers an overview of Nietzsche’s
philosophy (including the will to power, perspectivism, nihilism, eternal return) and discusses
Nietzsche’s influence on contemporary thought.
PHIL2045. Subjectivity (6 credits)
Subjectivity emerges as an original and distinctive cluster of philosophical concerns under the impetus
of Fichte's influence, particularly on the Romantic movement in European aesthetics in the late 18th
and early 19th centuries. Subsequently with existential and phenomenological developments in
ontology and psychology these concerns expand from the dialectic between inwardness and objectivity
to the structures of selfhood and subjective experience, the phenomena of self-estrangement and
ontological insecurity, and the contrasting roles of understanding and explanation in the
phenomenology of subjective experience. This course will look at these developments in Kierkegaard,
Heidegger, Jaspers, Sartre, and others.
PHIL2060. Wittgenstein (6 credits)
Wittgenstein said that his aim in philosophy was “to show the fly the way out of the fly bottle”. By this
he meant that certain preconceptions, oversimplifications and poor analogies had led philosophers to
construct misguided theories about such things as sensation, meaning, understanding and the nature of
language, and that it was his task not to construct alternative theories but to point out the ways in which
the theorists (including his earlier self) had become entrapped. This programme may appear modest,
but Wittgenstein’s approach has had far-reaching consequences and his work has received more
discussion than that of any other twentieth century philosopher and has influenced philosophy and many
other disciplines.
PHIL2061. Later Wittgenstein (6 credits)
Wittgenstein’s later work brought about a philosophical sea-change. After a period of rapid evolution
in the late 1920s and early 1930s innovative developments emerge within the ‘linguistic turn’ he had
inaugurated in the Tractatus. There is movement from a logical and atomistic to a humanistic and
holistic conception of philosophy in which the contemplation of language acquires a new depth in light
of the inner connection it has with culture and human experience as a whole, addressing such questions
as: ‘How do we explain to someone what it means “to understand music”?’ ‘How is it that in general
human sacrifice is so deep and sinister?’ ‘Is there such a thing as “expert judgment” about the
genuineness of expressions of feeling?’
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PHIL2077. Habermas (6 credits)
The important German philosopher Habermas, combining strengths of the Continental and Anglo-
American philosophical traditions, has developed a highly influential theory on a wide range of moral,
political and historical issues. This course is designed to provide a general introduction to Habermas’s
interdisciplinary, comprehensive, and politically engaged way of doing philosophy. Topics covered
include discourse ethics, the public sphere, social action and rationality, technology and science as
ideology, the nature of modernity, and legitimation problems in late capitalism.
PHIL2443. Xunzi (6 credits)
Xunzi was an extremely influential Confucian of the late Warring States period whose writings are
among the most elegant and tightly argued in the history of Chinese philosophy. The Xunzi covers a
wide range of topics, including ethics, moral psychology, political philosophy, epistemology,
philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and even economics and military affairs. The aim of this
course is to guide students in close reading, interpretation, and analysis of the Xunzi, in order to develop
students’ ability to interpret and critique primary sources in Chinese philosophy. Class discussion will
focus on Xunzi’s epistemology, philosophy of language, ethics, political philosophy, and moral
psychology. Class meetings will be devoted to joint interpretation of passages from the Xunzi,
reconstruction of their arguments, and small-group discussion of topics assigned by the instructor. We
will also call attention to relations between Xunzi’s views and contemporary ethics, epistemology,
philosophy of language, and moral psychology.
PHIL2445. Mohism (6 credits)
The Mohists were the first Chinese philosophers to attempt to develop systematic ethical and political
theories and arguments. They came to advocate a Way that, they thought, best promoted benefit and
reduced harm. It called for an end to warfare, exclusive moral attitudes, moderation in social
expenditure, a rejection of traditional ritual extravagance, and conformity in moral judgment. In
defending this Way, the Mohists developed a philosophical vocabulary that became fundamental to
early Chinese philosophy. In this course we will study Mohist writings and some Confucian and Daoist
responses to them. The issues we discuss will include the role of government and the justification of
political authority; the integration of particular relationships within universalist moral frameworks; the
demandingness of ethics, especially of ethical or political views according to which the current state of
things is massively unjust; the nature of consequentialism; and Mohist ideas about language, knowledge,
and argument.
PHIL2450. Zhuangzi (6 credits)
In this course we shall explore different lines of interpretation of Zhuangzi’s Daoist philosophy.
Students will participate in defending either relativist, sceptical or mystical readings of key passages.
We shall start our analysis with the historical context and some textual theory. Then we shall discuss
several chapters in some detail, including the historical account of the development of Daoism in
“Tianxia”, the relativism in “Autumn Floods” and “Free and Easy Wandering”, and finally the analytic
scepticism and pluralism of the “Essay on Making Things Equal”.
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PHIL2451. Philosophers’ views of China in early-modern Europe (6 credits)
This course examines the varied views of China, its philosophy and government in the writings of
seventeenth- and eighteenth-century (“early-modern”) philosophers ranging from Leibniz to Rousseau.
The debates broached at the time (e.g. is China a model for Europe or not?) resonate down to the present
day.
PHIL2470. Moral psychology in the Chinese tradition (6 credits)
Issues pertaining to moral psychology played a central role in the philosophical discourse of ancient
China. This course will guide students in reconstructing this role and exploring its philosophical
significance by interpreting and critically evaluating selected early Chinese philosophical texts related
to motivation, moral education, moral cultivation, moral reasoning, and action. Class time will be
divided between lecture and discussion. Students will be asked to read primary source texts and
participate actively in class discussion. They will be encouraged to read the original sources in Chinese,
but translations will be available for those without knowledge of classical Chinese.
PHIL2800. Buddhist philosophy (6 credits)
This course will introduce students to Buddhist philosophy. Topics to be covered will likely include the
philosophy of the Pali sutras, early Mahayana philosophy, and Chinese Chan Buddhism. We will focus
on understanding Buddhist ideas and arguments, thinking about them critically, and reflecting on the
issues they raise.
PHIL2801. Neo-Confucianism (6 credits)
Our goal in this course is to become familiar with the longer arc of the history of Chinese philosophy
by focusing on one of the richest and most influential later philosophical movements in East Asia: Neo-
Confucianism. The Neo-Confucians were philosophers who were influenced by Buddhist and Daoist
ideas (especially their metaphysics, epistemology, and practices of mental discipline) and attempted to
develop sophisticated Confucian alternatives. Taking our cues from the Neo-Confucians themselves,
the principal philosophical themes will be ethical cultivation and agency, although we will have
opportunities to study the philosophers’ metaphysical views, theories of knowledge, theories of mental
discipline, and applied ethical and political views as well. To understand some of the technical
terminology and historical foundations of the movement, we will begin the term with short introductions
to Buddhist and classical Confucian precursors.
3000- and 4000-LEVEL COURSES
The following courses are open only to philosophy majors. Only one of them should be chosen to fulfill
the capstone requirement.
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PHIL3920. Senior essay (capstone experience) (6 credits)
This is a one-semester capstone course for third- and fourth-year Philosophy majors. Each student will
be required to audit and attend a 2000-level philosophy course (on top of the 54 credits of level
2000/3000/4000-level courses), and to write a substantial philosophy essay on a topic related to the
course under the supervision of an adviser of the student’s choosing. There is no need to register for the
course being audited, but it has to be a course the student has not completed before. The student must
obtain the approval of the course teacher and supervisor before the semester. (The supervisor may be
the teacher for the audited course, but need not be.) The essay is expected not to exceed 5,000 words,
and should be submitted in accordance with a schedule agreed upon with the supervisor. Assessment
will be based entirely on the completed thesis.
Non-permissible combination: PHIL4810 and PHIL4920.
PHIL4810. Senior seminar (capstone experience) (6 credits)
This is a one-semester capstone course for fourth-year Philosophy majors. The course will focus on
readings tailored to students’ interests. Students will be required to give a presentation and to complete
a 2,500 word essay on a topic approved by the course teacher.
PHIL4920. Senior thesis (capstone experience) (12 credits)
This is a full-year capstone course only for fourth-year Philosophy majors. Each student will write a
substantial philosophy thesis based on independent research, supervised by a teacher in the Philosophy
Department. A student must obtain prior approval in the third year from a teacher, who would agree to
supervise the project, and approve the thesis topic by June 15. Approval will only be given to students
with exceptionally good grades. The student will then have to work on the thesis over the summer and
be able to demonstrate progress made. If the progress is adequate, work on the thesis may continue; if
not, the student will have to take two other courses instead. The length of the thesis is expected to be
around 10,000 words, to be confirmed by the supervisor. It should normally be submitted not later than
the last day of classes of the second semester of the final year. Assessment will be based entirely on the
completed thesis.
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SCHOOL OF MODERN LANGUAGES AND CULTURES
All 1000-level courses are introductory courses and 2000-level and above are advanced courses unless
otherwise specified in the individual programme syllabus. Introductory courses are normally taken in
the first year and advanced courses can be taken in the second or third or fourth year. Please refer to
the syllabus of relevant major/minor.
Students with prior knowledge of a language but have not completed the prerequisite course(s) are
required to take an interview or test in order to enroll in a suitable course. Please contact the School of
Modern Languages and Cultures for details.
AFRICAN STUDIES
The African Studies Programme at the University of Hong Kong offers a Bachelor of Arts Minor in
African Studies, through which students can explore Africa as a study area from interdisciplinary
perspectives.
Minor (36 credits)
To obtain a Minor in African Studies, students are required to take the prerequisite course AFRI1001
“Foundations in African Studies”, 12 credits from core courses, and 18 credits from the interdisciplinary
elective courses listed below, totaling 36 credits.
A minor in African Studies consists of the following components:

AFRI1001. Foundations in African Studies

AFRI2011. Kiswahili I (6 credits)
AFRI2012. African soundscapes: Music and society in Africa (6 credits)
AFRI3002. Africa studies workshop (6 credits)
• Interdisciplinary elective courses (18 credits)

3 courses selected from the list below.
Pre-requisite Course
AFRI1001. Foundations in African Studies (6 credits)
This course will introduce the complex nature of the African continent from a wider interdisciplinary
perspective. Students will be exposed to Africa's geo-political particularities; complex history (pre-
colonial, colonial and post-colonial); diverse languages, peoples, culture and music, and rich literary
and artistic traditions. The course is also designed to give an overview of major theoretical debates on
Africa such as the questions of nation-building or the perception of Africa. It will also shed light on the
current economic and socio-political challenges that the continent faces as well as the opportunities it
presents.
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Core Courses
AFRI2011. Kiswahili I (6 credits)
Providing basic skills in an African language is one of the core objectives of the African Studies
Programme. This course thus introduces our students to standard Kiswahili, which is the lingua Franca
of East Africa. It is specifically designed to help students who have no prior knowledge to begin
carrying out basic conversations in Kiswahili. The course puts a special emphasis on the structural
aspect of the language delivering the lexical and grammatical basis while at the same time enhancing
the students’ capacity to converse in Kiswahili. The cultural aspects of the language will also be
introduced and highlighted since it is a necessary component used to enhance the communicative
competence.
AFRI2012. African soundscapes: Music and society in Africa (6 credits)
This course builds up on the introductory courses of our programme to pursue the exploration of Africa
by focusing on the music cultures of the continent. Lectures will discuss the cultural and historical
contexts in which various musical and performance genres have emerged. The griot traditions, mbalax
and high-life of Western Africa; the azmari tradition in Ethiopia; Rai in North Africa; Rhumba in
Central Africa as well as Mbaqana in Southern Africa will be discussed in the exploration of what we
call in this course African soundscapes. The course will enable students to critically view and challenge
existing perceptions of African music, Africans and Africa. No previous musical experience is
necessary.
AFRI3002. Africa studies workshop (6 credits)
This course involves attending seminars and workshops on advanced topics in African Studies
(including history, literature, linguistics, education, music, law, science, technology, and international
relations) by leading Africanist scholars.
Prerequisite: AFRI1001
AFRI2007. African Nobel Laureates in literature (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the literature of Africa by way of its Nobel Prize-winning authors
and their work, and will expose students to the major issues surrounding it. It will begin by questioning
the very meaning of the term “African literature,” before examining some of its most salient features
and issues such as its complex relationship with colonialism that made languages of Europe become the
literary languages of Africa; the various forms of narration in Africa; colonialism and resistance; the
tension between traditionalism and the African novel; as well as the complex relationship between
African continental and diasporic literature. It will also look at major contemporary African literary
movements and their historical significance.
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AFRI2010. Introducing contemporary African literatures (6 credits)
This course will expose students to the major issues surrounding it. It will begin by questioning the very
meaning of the term “African literature,” before examining some of its most salient features and issues
such as its complex relationship with colonialism that made languages of Europe become the literary
languages of Africa; the various forms of narration in Africa; colonialism and resistance; the tension
between nationalism and the African novel; as well as the complex relationship between African
continental and diasporic literature. It will also look at major contemporary African literary movements
and their historical significance.
AFRI2014. African linguistics (6 credits)
This course covers aspects of the phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics of major African
languages. It also deals with vowel harmony, tone, click sounds, the noun class system, verbal
extensions, serial verbs, and other complex constructions. The course will highlight important
sociolinguistic features of various regions in Africa and include specific examples.
AFRI2018. African Art(s) (6 credits)
This course is focused on helping students develop skills to see through, think about, and communicate
ideas about African arts. Students will combine visual, critical, and reflective modes of inquiry in
approaching both African artworks and ensuing articulations—(audio)visual, literary, scholarly, and
critical—of experiences/analyses triggered by those artworks. African arts will be considered from an
experiential, contextual, and humanistic, perspective, and so, connections to geography, history,
philosophy, and other arts will always be present. In this course students are thus expected to develop
experiences, reflect and articulate them in oral, written, and/or (audio)visual form.
AFRI2019. African cinema: “Film’in” Africa (6 credits)
This course deals with the rich diversity of African cinema from an aesthetic and anthropological
perspective. Students will focus on one specific film each week to delve into how cinematic artistic
expressions articulate core issues of the human condition framed by specific socio-cultural and politico-
historical circumstances. Questions of narrative and storytelling, representation and stylization,
(inter)mediality, etc., in African cinema will frame their analyses of specific contexts of production.
The course will disclose the different roles cinema plays in the African continent, provide a particular
perspective to the topic of Africa-China relations, and help students consider the place of the audience
in the African cinematic experience.
AFRI3003. Kiswahili II (6 credits)
This course is a continuation of AFRI2011, Kiswahili I and continues to build on the previous work.
Students will consolidate and develop their knowledge in the four areas of competence (speaking,
writing, reading and listening), with an emphasis on communication skills in contextual situations. In
this process, students will also get progressively acquainted with Kiswahili and its associated cultures.
In addition, the course also seeks to expose learners to various rhetorical devices that are vital in
Kiswahili discourse and culture.
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Prerequisite: AFRI2011
AFRI3005. Africa-China relations (6 credits)
In recent years, Africa and China have renewed their relations at many different levels. From political
engagement to increased trade and economic relations, and perhaps more importantly, to increased
contacts between ordinary Africans and Chinese. The figures of Chinese living in Africa, and Africans
living in China, have increased to a point that has no parallel in the history between these two regions.
What are the implications of contemporary Afro-Chinese engagements? What does this mean for the
future of these regions and the world? In order to provide answers to these questions, this course
introduces the main debates around Afro-Chinese engagements and analyses some of the associated
sociocultural, political and economic processes. Instead of simply reviewing the main literature on
Africa – China relations, this course takes you into a critical and interdisciplinary journey in which
crucial aspects of these relations are analysed through various texts and documentaries. Through
discussion and analysis, this course will challenge extant narratives about Africa – China relations and
will delve into the possibilities (i.e. opportunities and challenges) that this renewed engagement entails.
AFRI3006. Representations of Blackness in Asia (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the ways in which blackness has been constructed and represented
in Asia. While examining the historic involvement and place of Black people in the region, the course
explores the politics and dynamics behind contemporary discourses and media representations of
blackness. The course focuses on cases of regional and global media and literature considering them in
light of narratives such as the ‘rise of Asia’ and ‘China in Africa’.
AFRI3007. African art(s): Articulating and performing human experiences (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the role of art in human experience in the African continent. Students
will delve into the anthropological and conceptual basis of African artworks in different media—
audio/visual, musical, cinematic, literary, etc.—to examine the dynamism and diversity of African life
and systems of thought as articulated in artistic expressions. Through this holistic approach, students
will delve into the crucial and complex role that arts play in African life.
AFRI3008. African arts in museums: Collecting and exhibiting "Africa" (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the relevant role that exhibitions have played in the conceptualization
of African arts and African art history during the 20th century, as well as how these exhibitions have in
turn contributed to a reconceptualization of core concepts/issues in Western art history in the recent
past. Students will start from a critical analysis of the politics of exhibiting cultures in museums and
gallery collections through some of the most representative exhibitions of African arts during the 20th
century. In the second half of the course, students will create their own virtual exhibitions of African
arts as a means to experience the complexity and relevance of curatorial work and to reflect upon the
implications of their own representations of Africa.
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AFRI4001. Field trip to an African country (6 credits)
In this course, an experienced faculty member will lead students on a supervised two-week educational
field trip to an African country. The rationale is to closely observe and study an aspect of Africa
introduced in one of the courses on Africa Studies or in a related course. Leading up to the field trip,
students must participate in the intensive preparation that will take place in Hong Kong. After their
return, students will be required to complete a written report of about 5,000 words based on the
experience and knowledge they have acquired during the field trip.
AFRI4002. Readings in African Studies (6 credits)
In this course, a student will work with a faculty member to read a selection of primary and secondary
materials in an aspect of African Studies over a semester. Students will be required to complete a written
report of about 4,000 words based on a review of the literature provided.
The following non-AFRI advanced courses are also counted towards the minor:
AMER2057. African American cinema (6 credits)

EUST2018. Early modern Atlantic worlds, c. 1500-1800 (6 credits)
EUST2019. Atlantic revolutions, c. 1760-1830 (6 credits)
LING2064. Language in Africa (6 credits)
SOWK3092. Migration and mobility (6 credits)
AMERICAN STUDIES
The major and minor in American Studies provides an interdisciplinary approach to the study of United
States culture, considered in relation to the Americas and in the context of global languages, cultures,
and creative industries represented in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures (SMLC). Students
gain admittance to the programme by taking AMER1050. Foundations of American Studies, I: The
origins of the nation (6 credits). Normally students should take this course in their first or second
years, although they may take it at any time in order to complete the requirements for the major. There
are three more courses required for a major (AMER2021, AMER2050, AMER3050). For a minor,
there are only two more required courses (AMER2050, AMER3050). The remaining credits that are
required to fulfill the total number of credits of a major or minor will be taken from electives offered
(listed below) in the American Studies Programme and in collaborating departments across the Faculty
of Arts.
Major (72 credits)
In order to ensure reasonable coverage and interdisciplinary understanding, students who intend to
pursue a major in American Studies must take a minimum of 72 credits from the list below. Only in
exceptional cases may a waiver be granted for a core course.

AMER1050. Foundations of American Studies, I: The origins of the nation (6 credits)
credits)
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AMER2021. On the road again: Field trip in American Studies (6 credits)
AMER2050. Foundations of American Studies, II: Reconstructing the nation (6 credits)

AMER3050. Foundations of American Studies, III: Capstone experience (6 credits)

6 courses from the following list of approved courses including at least 3 American Studies
courses.
{Note:
Not all courses are offered in a given semester; students should check with individual units on
course availability; students should also check on course prerequisites and other enrollment
restrictions.}
American Studies
AMER2002. The road in American culture (6 credits)
AMER2014. A dream in the heart: varieties of Asian American culture (6 credits)
AMER2015. The American city (6 credits)
AMER2022. What’s on TV? Television and American culture (6 credits)
AMER2029. Current perspectives on the U.S. (6 credits)
AMER2033. Asia on America’s screen (6 credits)
AMER2035. Addicted to war? The US at home and abroad (6 credits)
AMER2037. Institutions in American life: home, education, work and play (6 credits)
AMER2038. American film, from Golden-Age Hollywood to New Hollywood and beyond
(6 credits)
AMER2039. The art of crime and its detection in the United States (6 credits)
AMER2040. Creating culture in the world: American creative industries in the age of
globalization (6 credits)
AMER2042. Consuming culture: decoding American symbols (6 credits)
AMER2045. Film beyond the mainstream: American art cinema (6 credits)
AMER2047. Religion in America (6 credits)
AMER2048. American literature (6 credits)
AMER2049. Immigrant nation: The cultural legacy of immigration in the United States (6
credits)
AMER2051. Extended essay in American Studies (6 credits)
AMER2052. Studies in American culture and society (6 credits)
AMER2053. History of US-China relations (6 credits)
AMER2054. Business and culture in the 21st century: US/Greater China connections (6
credits)
AMER2056. American capitalism (6 credits)
AMER2058. Rethinking law in modern and contemporary art (6 credits)
AMER2059. 20th century American rock music in a global context (6 credits)
AMER2060. US/Latin American cultural interactions (6 credits)
AMER2061. Argentina and Chile dictatorships: Building resistance in literature and film (6
credits)
AMER2062. Disability and human rights in American Studies (6 credits)
AMER2064. Art, time, and new media (6 credits)
AMER2065. Radical artistic practice in the shadow of Hollywood (6 credits)
AMER2066. Art and crime (6 credits)
AMER2067. Art and money (6 credits)
AMER2068. Magical realism in Latin American literature and film (6 credits)
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AMER2069. Contemporary Latin American theatre and dramatists (6 credits)

AMER2070. Connecting East Asia and the Americas: A multimedia odyssey (6 credits)
AMER2071 Practically joking: Humor and the creative impulse (6 credits)
AMER2072 Field Trip: Between nostalgia and forgetting, the global exhibition industry (6
credits)
AMER3007. Dissertation in American Studies (12 credits)
AMER3008. American Studies internship (6 credits)
Art History
ARTH2020. American art (6 credits)
ARTH2030. Towards the global (6 credits)
ARTH2031. Modern Western architecture (6 credits)
ARTH2092. Photography in North America (6 credits)
ARTH2096. Contemporary art: 1960s to the present (6 credits)
ARTH2100. Body, gender and sexuality in contemporary art (6 credits)
ARTH2101. Installation and participation (6 credits)
Comparative Literature
CLIT2092. Modern American poetry: Politics and aesthetics (6 credits)
English Studies
ENGL2055. American gothic: Haunted homes (6 credits)
ENGL2165. Legal fictions: United States citizenship and the right to write in America (6
credits)
European Studies
EUST3018. European empire: Comparative British and French imperialism (6 credits)
EUST3020. The making of the West: From Descartes to Rorty (6 credits)
Geography
GEOG2078. Cities and the Urban World: A Global Introduction to Urban Geography (6
credits)
GEOG2128. Economic geography (6 credits)
GEOG3414. Social Justice and the City (6 credits)
GEOG3425. Cities of the western hemisphere (6 credits)
Global Creative Industries

GCIN2001. Creative industries in practice: Labor, organization and management (6 credits)
GCIN2002. Commercializing creativity: A cultural critique (6 credits)
GCIN2003. Cultural policy: A complex marriage of business, politics and culture (6 credits)
GCIN2008. Advertising: Cultural and organizational dynamics (6 credits)
GCIN2012. Introduction to video games studies (6 credits)
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GCIN2015. Entrepreneurship in creative industries (6 credits)

GCIN2020. New media and social media (6 credits)
GCIN2026. Applied law to creative industries and laws: An introduction (6 credits)
GCIN2027. Intellectual property, knowledge and creativity: Mapping out the legal issues
(6 credits)
GCIN2034. Political communication, cultural policy and creative industries (6 credits)
History
HIST2015. The United States before 1900 (6 credits)
HIST2016. The United States since 1900 (6 credits)
HIST2031. History through film (6 credits)
HIST2069. History of American popular culture (6 credits)
HIST2113. New worlds: Exploring the history of Latin America (6 credits)
HIST2155. Slavery and democracy in the United States (6 credits)
HIST2171. American legal history (6 credits)
HIST2173. American antistatism (6 credits)
HIST2174. Hell in the pacific: The Japan-America War and its legacies today (6 credits)
HIST2186. Death and destruction from above: A history of aerial bombing, from zeppelins
to drones (6 credits)
HIST2189. Terrorism: A global history from anarchists to ISIS (6 credits)
HIST2190. Animals in history (6 credits)
HIST2195. The United States and China: An international and transnational history, since
1945 (6 credits)
Philosophy
Politics and Public Administration

POLI2105. Introduction to comparative politics (6 credits)
POLI2106. Introduction to international relations (6 credits)
POLI3005. Capitalism and social justice (6 credits)
POLI3010. Democracy and its critics (6 credits)
POLI3044. United States politics (6 credits)
POLI3047. United States foreign policy (6 credits)
POLI3079. Global justice (6 credits)
POLI3080. Global political economy (6 credits)
POLI3113. On the ethics of violence (6 credits)
POLI3130. Latin American politics (6 credits)
Sociology
SOCI2011. Gender and crime (6 credits)
SOCI2087. Urban society and culture (6 credits)
SOCI2092. Social spaces (6 credits)
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Spanish
SPAN2029. Introduction to the cultures and history of Latin America (6 credits)
SPAN2031. Field trip to a Spanish-speaking country (6 credits)
Translation
CHIN2358. Journeys to the East: Translation and China in the Literary Imagination of the
West (6 credits)
Minor (36 credits)
Students may take American Studies as a minor by completing 30 credits of second-, third-, and fourth-
year courses. Of these courses, students must take:


• The remaining 3 courses may be drawn from the following (18 credits):
AMER2038. American film, from Golden-Age Hollywood to New Hollywood and beyond
(6 credits)
credits)
AMER2054. Business and culture in the 21st century: US/Greater China connections (6
credits)
credits)
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AMER2071 Practically joking: Humor and the creative impulse (6 credits)
AMER2072 Field Trip: Between nostalgia and forgetting, the global exhibition industry (6
credits)
Core Courses
This is the first of three foundation courses in American Studies (including AMER2050 and
AMER3050). This course is an introduction to early American Hemispheric history and culture,
focusing on the gradual transformation of European-American settler societies into the modern
industrial nation-states across the American continent. Situating developments within a global context,
the course will open with a pre-Columbian contextual discussion, followed by European colonial
expansion in the early modern period and conclude with the Spanish-American War or Cuban
Independence War in 1898. Topics will include native-colonial relations during European settlement;
imperial conquest and competition in the Atlantic world; the rise of slave-based economies and patterns
of slave resistance; the relationship between religion and social change; the establishment of capitalist
social relations in the nineteenth century; and the dynamics of race, class, gender and sexuality in early
life in the American continent across different countries, including The United States, Canada, Mexico,
Cuba, Haiti, Colombia, among others. Particular emphasis will be given to the political, social, and
ideological ramifications of the Wars for Independence and migration waves.
Prerequisite: Nil
AMER2021. On the road again: Field trip in American Studies (6 credits)
Concentrating on North American points of interest from cities to landscape to cultural sites—this
course will explore the variety and complexity of American life. Locations to be visited in the summer
will typically vary in the years the course is offered. We will trace important historical developments
of the United States through site visits as well as explore contemporary issues of American society and
culture.
Prerequisite: AMER1050
This is the second of three foundation courses in American Studies (including AMER1050 and
AMER3050). In this course, we will focus on period from after the Civil War to the twenty-first century
and on the internal problems and international conflicts that shape the face of the United States today.
Among the topics for study and discussion may be the post-Civil War Reconstruction Era, the changing
terms of civil rights, policies of racial segregation and desegregation, the Gilded Age, immigration at
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the turn of the 20th century, the gangster-friendly Jazz Age, the Great Depression, World War II, the
worldwide Cold War and the conformist ‘50s, the struggle for civil rights, the psychedelic flower-power
‘60s, and the Vietnam War and its aftermath, the wars on terror, and the influence of multinational
corporations on United States electoral politics. Through lectures and class debates we will attempt to
compare our popular knowledge of America with the sometimes different historical reality behind it.
From documentary sources and literary nonfiction, through film, novels, comic books and rap music,
we will lay foundations for a better understanding of the United States and its changing relation to the
world.
This course is the third of three foundation courses in American Studies (including AMER1050 and
AMER2050). It required of all majors in the American Studies Programme and is designed to cap
students’ university careers with a rigorous, interdisciplinary and theme-based program of study. The
specific area of study may vary from year to year depending on students’ background, interests and the
expertise of the instructor. Students will deepen their research and writing skills, conduct discussion
sessions, participate in intensive group work, get involved in a mentoring program and continue to hone
the critical thinking skills nurtured during their education in American Studies. The seminar will seek
ways to prepare students to make the transition from the university setting to a variety of employment
settings.
Elective Courses
The popular hit song, “Hit the road, Jack,” is as much a part of American culture and slang as Jack
Kerouac’s bestselling account of his life on the American highway, On the Road. For better or worse,
North Americans have always been on the road, pushing westward towards California, Oregon and
British Columbia, moving around the country in pursuit of the American Dream, or just driving along
Route 66 to escape the mundane suburban life. This restlessness and the ease with which large segments
of the population move and resettle characterizes many aspects of US and Canadian life, turning the
road into one of the most powerful symbols in North American literature and culture. Through the
analysis of various media forms, which may include film, fiction, music, material culture and
architecture, this course will consider the road in America as reality and icon, extending it to the recent
emergence of the Internet and the “information highway.”
Prerequisite: Nil
Like so many other immigrants to the United States, Asians – Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, Vietnamese,
Koreans, etc. – were also drawn by the dream of Golden Mountain. Yet once in America, they would
confront not only promise and possibility but the dream’s betrayal: hostility, rejection and exclusion.
This course will explore the varieties of Asian American cultures that emerge out of the painful,
disruptive struggles between expectation and reality faced by these immigrants and their children, and
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the representation of their experiences in the arts, media, politics and popular culture. Asian Americans
are frequently stereotyped as model minorities for striving after the American dream of education,
wealth and political representation. We will examine and challenge this “model minority” idea in
American life and politics, especially as it relates to inter-minority conflict and cooperation, as
individual American minority groups attempt to achieve their own version of American success.
Prerequisite: Nil
In 1800 only 6% of Americans lived in cities; in 2000 this number was more than 80%. As a center of
growth, power and cultural diversity, the American city has always occupied a crucial place in
America’s vision of itself as a new nation. “A cruel city, but a lovely one, a savage city, yet it had such
tenderness”–this quote from Thomas Wolfe’s A Vision of the City is representative of the varied cultural
representations of the American urban environment as a place where fortunes and lives are made or lost.
Through an examination of literature, art, architecture, photography, film and music, this course will
take a closer look at some of the greatest as well as the “baddest” American metropolises, looking for
a way to understand the people who live, commute, work, create, govern, commit crime and conduct
business in them.
Prerequisite: Nil
Television has been a powerful force in US history and culture. American TV shows and programming
styles have been exported globally, and are modified to suit diverse cultural settings, including Hong
Kong. The United States exerts significant global influence, in part because of its success in marketing
itself, both domestically and abroad, through media and entertainment. While many contest the content
or perspective of American media, few are exempt from its impact. This course offers students a chance
to consider the impact of television inside and outside of the US and explore how the American media-
machine reaches into every facet of the nation’s life as well as into the lives of people around the world.
Topics to be discussed in the course may include the history of television, strategies for critical viewing,
war and TV, educational television, television’s domination of politics, youth culture and TV, the
technology behind television programming, and finally TV programming in Hong Kong.
Prerequisite: Nil
Students in this course will be discussing current and past events as reported in newspapers, magazines,
television, literature, films and on the internet. The course will focus on domestic issues facing
Americans at home as well as on political, economic and cultural links between the United States and
other nations. Pedagogy will be student-centered and require students to participate regularly in (and
at times lead) discussions. Typical topics may include the analysis of the American political system
and the presidency, the relationship between business and politics, the role of sports in American life,
the fallout from September 11, the rise of rap and hip-hop, manufacturing media, regionalism, stand-up
comedy and social satire, and the US university system. These and other issues will form the basis of
the course taught, on occasion, with the help of representatives of various disciplines across the
spectrum of the arts, humanities and social sciences.
Prerequisite: Nil
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“The Orient” has always held a dual attraction of romance and danger outside Asia, and this tradition
has since been reinforced by Hollywood. The allure of wealth, trade and exoticism that brought millions
of Americans across the Pacific provided rich material for movie drama. This combination of
geographical attraction and cultural appeal was further reinforced during the wars the United States
fought in Asia. War, violence and romance fill America’s movie screens, pulling in vast crowds and in
the process shaping and mis-shaping America’s view of Asia. Asking what is Asia and how far it
extends, this course will explore cinematic representations of the continent and its people as constructed
by Hollywood during more than a century of selling romantic myths to a public that often has no first-
hand experience of Asian culture and no firm grasp of its history.
Prerequisite: Nil
The Vietnam War was the first war in the age of the television and the first war that America lost. The
emotions aroused by the loss of American lives and the images of violence and brutality made TV and
Hollywood important actors in the war for hearts and minds. This course will examine the multiple
wars, police actions, military invasions, armed “liberations,” coups d’etat, political assassinations,
“regime changes” and other euphemisms for military aggression and intervention on an international
scale. Among other issues discussed may be international weapons trade, the Cold War, the two World
Wars, international peace keeping, “wars” on drugs and/or terrorism, and the state of civil liberties in
the US. In the process we will also examine the role of movies, television and journalistic reportage in
shaping public opinion and thus indirectly the American perception and misperception of the rest of the
world.
Prerequisite: Nil
Institutions structure the lives of all Americans. While institutions can be thought of in terms of discreet
organizations—Harvard University, the New York Stock Exchange, National Basketball Association,
the Metropolitan Museum of Art—or even the buildings in which these organizations are housed, in the
broader sense, institutions are the forms into which social activity is organized. Among the most
fundamental institutions of this latter type are the family, school, business and leisure. Each of them is
associated with values, beliefs and practices which, taken together, help to constitute American culture.
The course will examine these and other types of institutions in order to understand the origins of the
values, beliefs and practices which they embody. We will also study how these values, beliefs and
practices may have been influenced by such factors as ethnicity, race, class, religion and geographic
region, and how the institutions and the ideas they embody have persisted or changed over time. In the
process, we will seek to identify common themes, and to consider how certain tensions—for example
between individualism and community, democracy and excellence, service and profit—have shaped
each of these institutions, and through them, American society. Finally, we will consider the extension
of these institutions, and their values and practices, beyond the United States, asking how American
ideas about home, school, work and play have impacted and interacted with other cultures, including
Asian.
Prerequisite: Nil
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AMER2038. American film, from Golden-Age Hollywood to New Hollywood and beyond (6
credits)
Hollywood is known to spin dreams, visions and illusions but, caught-up in the big-screen experience,
viewers often forget that these dreams and illusions are spun within particular social and cultural
contexts. Films are woven into national myths, myths are woven into the society that builds them, and
society is woven into the people that create and recreate America everyday as they live, work and go to
the movies. This course will look at many of the biggest, most famous and most representative
Hollywood blockbusters—films and their movie-star icons—that in many ways define American
culture. We will consider films from the so-called Golden Age of Hollywood win the studios ruled the
theater to the era of New Hollywood when directors drew increasing inspiration from European films.
Students will be introduced to various genres that have become synonymous with Hollywood, among
them the action thriller, classic and revisionist western, MGM musical, film noir and police story,
science fiction, romantic comedy, Disney animation, and others. The experience of these films and their
contexts will broaden our knowledge of American cultural values and help us critique these values, so
that the reality of American life is explored alongside its ideals. The course will also aim to enhance
critical and creative thinking as well as speaking and writing skills.
Prerequisite: AMER1050 or GCIN1001 or CLIT1008
Images of the police permeate our international world of news and entertainment. In our daily lives we
expect them to protect us in moments of distress but might not trust their authority to carry guns or to
exercise physical power over us. This course considers the police as a modern institution of law
enforcement by taking a close look at how they get represented in films, television shows, and
journalism for audiences in the United States, the Americas and throughout the world. The course
emphasizes contemporary depictions of the policing, but we will also consider the philosophical basis
for law enforcement and the literary precedents that have shaped ways of telling a good story about
solving a crime and arresting the perpetrator. The texts we read, watch and discuss may include: early
literary stories of solving crimes; instructional materials that train police officers; procedural police
dramas in TV and film; legal documents outlining the rules of arrest and interrogation and use of force;
journalistic accounts of sensational police events; and early rock and roll music and music videos by
contemporary hip-hop artists.
American creative industries companies exist primarily as for profit businesses. This course critically
examines the relationship between American media and cultural content and the business context of its
production and distribution. The seminar will introduce students to the business structures and practices
of major American media industries such as film, television, music, comics, theme parks, and video
games. As the United States are the most dominant global producer of media and cultural content, the
course will give particular attention to overseas distribution strategies both conventional and online.
The course will then critically examine examples of contemporary media and cultural content in light
of their commercial origins and global distribution and consumption such as Hollywood movies, HBO
Original Series, Disney comics and theme parks, animated television series, popular music, or
massively multiplayer online games. Students will research a case study of one American creative
industries company in which they will follow one cultural product form its inception to production,
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distribution and consumption.

Images of America (as revealed in Hollywood films, television, advertisements, music and music videos,
news media and consumer products) shape our vision of US culture. In a course specifically designed
with Hong Kong students in mind, we will study and decode cultural products mediated to us by the
increasingly global American media. We will approach national culture, including popular culture, as
an extension and creation of national myths and propaganda and explore why Americans are so attached
to certain symbols, and what these symbols mean for the United States as a whole. In the course of our
discussions we may touch on the symbolism and reality of the American Dream and the myth of “rags
to riches,” the notion of success, materialism and consumerist culture, as well as on the national and
international symbols that for many define the image of America. We may also consider distinctions
between high and low/popular cultures and see how class, gender and race affect notions of culture.
Prerequisite: Nil
While American and international cinema has been dominated by large Hollywood productions, some
of America’s most important, most popular, and most critically acclaimed films from the 1910s to the
present have been art films, which were often produced independently from the major Hollywood
studios. This course will first consider approaches to conceptualizing the art film and examine the
question whether art films constitute a separate film genre or whether they are better defined by their
production and distribution. We will discuss how art films distinguish themselves from classical
Hollywood film and find out which formal characteristics they have in common despite their apparent
heterogeneity. In addition to careful analysis of film form, we will consider the films’ meanings in their
historical contexts and discuss how they represent the American experience differently compared to
mainstream film. Films discussed may include independent art house, experimental, documentary, and
low budget films, as well as Hollywood productions, which exhibit the director’s auteur style. Selected
films may include examples from directors such as D.W. Griffiths, F.W. Murnau, John Ford, Maya
Deren, Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Terrence Malick, Martin Scorsese, Francis
Ford Coppola, Robert Altman, John Cassavetes, Sam Raimi, Spike Lee, Jim Jarmush, David Lynch,
Abel Ferrara, Gus van Sant, John Sayles, the Coen brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson, Todd Solondz,
Richard Linklater, Quentin Tarantino, Darren Aronofsky, and Christopher Nolan.
This course surveys the history of religion in America, with a focus on the ways in which religious
beliefs, movements, and conflicts have shaped—and continue to shape—how Americans view the
world, their country, and ideals of self and society. The course provides the necessary religious context
to understand defining moments in American history, characteristics of American culture, and the
critical issues being debated in contemporary American society. It uses religion as a lens for viewing
the lives of ordinary Americans from the 17th century to the present through primary sources such as
sermons, heresy trial transcripts, diaries, sacred texts, advertisements, and novels, with the additional
use of multimedia and reading from secondary scholarship.
Prerequisite: Nil
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This course considers a selection of essays, novels, poetry and short stories by great American authors
in the twentieth century. The course will offer a survey of excellent literature by interpreting themes
that are important to American culture and that will allow us to compare and contrast styles of writing
and patterns of narrative development. The reading list will embrace the rich cultural, ethnic and racial
diversity of the twentieth-century literary scene in the United States and the class discussion will pay
careful attention to the social context in which these authors wrote and published their work. The
reading list may include a manageable amount of reading chosen from important authors such as Henry
James, Robert Frost, W.E.B. Dubois, F. William Faulkner, Allen Ginsberg, Langston Hughes, James
Baldwin, and Toni Morrison.
Prerequisite: Nil
credits)
From its very foundation, the American culture has been fundamentally shaped by the arrival of
immigrants who for many varied reasons decided to live and work in the United States in search of
economic opportunity. This course considers the cultural, social, economic and political consequences
of immigration as well as the changing patterns of immigration over the past nearly two hundred and
fifty years. We will consider the shifting trends of peoples’ arrivals from Europe, Africa, South and
Central Americas, and Asia, and compare and contrast their accounts of becoming “American.” We
will trace the ways that many immigrants maintain ties with their original homeland or even travel back
and forth between nations. Keeping in mind the changing legal contexts of immigration, we will
analyze contemporary debates about who deserves citizenship and explore connections between
contemporary conflicts over immigration policy and the early historical developments of the nation’s
borders. The syllabus will include a manageable amount of reading from writers such as Jacob Riis,
Willa Cather, Anzia Yezierska, Louis Chu, Henry Roth, Sandra Cisneros, Chang-Rae Lee, Gish Jen,
Edwidge Dandicat, Frank McCourt, and Jhumpa Lahiri.
Prerequisite: Nil
This is a directed reading and research course aimed at students who would like to pursue an
individualized programme of research in American Studies under the supervision of a mentor, typically
(though not necessarily) an American Studies Programme instructor or an American Studies Board
member. The student is responsible for approaching the instructor in advance and obtaining consent
for supervision. The coursework will normally consist of designing the project around a topic relevant
to the Programme, compiling a bibliography, research and reading, and finally writing a research paper.
The student has to submit a research paper proposal (at least 500 words), a detailed outline, and a
working bibliography no later than the first school day after reading week. The full research paper (at
least 7500 words) shall be completed and presented for examination by the end of the examination
period of the semester in which the course is taken.
Students enrolled in this course may not enroll in AMER3007.
Co-requisite: AMER2050
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This course will explore rotating themes in American culture and society and is typically taught by a
visiting professor from the United States. Discipline and thematic focus of the course will vary from
year to year depending on the area of expertise of the instructor and will be announced on the website
of the American Studies programme during the years in which it is offered.
Prerequisite: Nil
This course is a survey of economic, cultural and political relations between China and the United States
from a historical perspective from 1784 to today. Main themes include modern US and Chinese pursuits
of wealth and power, the changing international conditions of bilateral US-Chinese relations, the
influence of domestic politics and ideology, the effects of prejudice and misunderstanding on relations,
and political and strategy today. Topics include but are not limited to US-China trade, the US urge to
change China, Chinese immigrant experiences in the US, US imperialism in Asia, China’s
modernization and forced opening to the West, World War II, the Chinese Revolution, the Cold War,
post-Cold War Chinese Communism and the structure of US-Chinese strategic, economic and political
relations today.
Prerequisite: Nil
AMER2054. Business and culture in the 21st century: US/Greater China connections (6 credits)
This course is designed to familiarize students with business practice in the United States and in
American corporations operating in Hong Kong, laying foundations for a better understanding of the
individuals and institutions driving the economy. Weekly sessions will include lectures and, whenever
possible, discussions with members of the American business community in the Asia-Pacific region.
Topics may include: U.S. business history and economic cycles, American entrepreneurs, the ethics and
etiquette of U.S. corporate culture, government/business relationships, gender and business, glass
ceilings and opportunities for advancement, and business and technological change.
Prerequisite: Nil
This course invites students to write new stories about African American history and culture. We engage
with Black voices and ideas by analyzing museum objects, movies, dance, photos, art, science fiction,
and scholarly work. And we unpack concepts such as Blackness, cultural appropriation, and
intersectionality. Key course themes include how we construct race and gender; how bodies become
sites of knowledge and conflict; how Blackness is understood in Hong Kong (from Darlie to hip hop);
and how we record, display, and share history and memory through museums, music videos, and more.
Prerequisite: Nil
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This course explores the dynamics and development of American capitalism, from the era of slavery to
the financial crisis of 2007. In this period the United States emerged as the dominant financial and
industrial power of the global order. The development of American capitalism produced unprecedented
material wealth but also growing inequality and class- and race-based social divisions. This course
explores the ever-shifting dynamics of capitalism over four centuries, and will allow students to explore
the cultures of capitalism from a number of perspectives. Topics will include Wall Street tycoons and
the culture of the stock exchange; the growth of global American consumer chains like McDonald's and
Starbucks; the varieties of working-class and immigrant life in the modern American city; and the
devastating effects of financial crises on the lives of ordinary Americans.
Prerequisite: Nil
This course introduces students to culturally significant films directed by African Americans. Students
will come to understand the social and historical context of the films and filmmakers and be able to
understand how and why these films are culturally significant to African Americans in particular, but
also America in general. Through research, viewings, and discussion, students will gain a better grasp
of the complex issues that inform and influence African American cinema. Students will gain an
understanding of and be able to discuss African American film culture and history in relation to
American culture and history as a whole. Students will learn about significant African American
screenwriters, directors, and actors and their relevance to African American history and culture.
Students will understand the importance and function of African American films within their social,
political, and historical contexts. Students will be able to watch, analyze, and critique African American
films with a thorough understanding of the theoretical and cultural contexts within which such critiques
should be grounded.
African American culture is integral to American culture, especially in the realm of popular
entertainment. African American literature, music, and film have both reflected and influenced
American cultural reality for over a century. African Americans’ involvement in the American film
industry, as actors, writers, producers and directors, has been simultaneously improving and fraught
with difficulties. Working within a unique set of constraints and considerations, African Americans
have contributed immensely to the American cultural and cinematic landscape, in both obvious and
subtle ways. This course examines those contributions, the people who made them, and the myriad ways
they have been helped and hindered by the system within, or around which, they work. African
American cinema is a uniquely multifaceted medium that provides a viewpoint from which to
experience and understand the African American cultural experience in particular and American culture
in general.
Prerequisite: Nil
Art and law (Art + Law) is distinct from the practice of art law. While the latter occupies the field of
art business, the former considers how art and law might be mutual endeavors, one informing the other.
This class focuses on the former, considering how artists have provoked, represented, wielded, refined,
tested, expanded, and unconventionally complied with private and public law. This intersection of art
and law invites questions: Who or what authorizes or bestows the label of art? What is the basis for this
authority and how are artworks influenced by, and/or function in opposition to, such authorizing forces?
Can and how has the law been represented in art? How have artworks and artists disrupted legal regimes
through civil disobedience (the breaking of a law); and how has dissent been expressed through uncivil
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obedience (the following of a law in a hyperbolic, literalistic, and unanticipated manner)? Although
global in outlook, the cases under discussion are largely (although certainly not exclusively) Western
in focus. Yet, the topics considered in this class might be applied to any number of geographic and
cultural arenas. This course is not a history of art law, and neither is it a history of art symbolically
looking at law; rather, this class examines the mutually influencing spheres wherein art activates,
images, provokes, interacts with, and even interferes with the law.
Prerequisite: Nil
This course will introduce students to the history of rock music as an American phenomenon and
examine the growth and influence of the art form in a global context. The significant people, places,
and technologies will be discussed, and the social, cultural, and political implications of rock music’s
global movement will be examined.
Prerequisite: Nil
This course will explore the relationship between US and three specific Latin American cultures during
the twentieth century. Each context will offer a different way in which US and Spanish-Speaking Latin
American cultures interact with each other. The first case will be the Latino presence in the US through
the reading of the most canonical work by a Chicano author: The House on Mango Street (1984) by
Sandra Cisneros (1954--). The following context will see interactions between the Harlem Renaissance
author Langston Hughes (1902-1967) and Afrocuban poet Nicolás Guillén (1902-1989). Finally, the
course will delve into poetic responses to US military and political intervention in Nicaragua from one
of the fathers of Latin American poetry, Rubén Darío (1867-1916) and two contemporary poets, priest
and political activist Ernesto Cardenal (1925--) and feminist poet Gioconda Belli (1948--).
Prerequisite: Nil
credits)
This course will explore the development and impositions suffered by two Southern Cone countries’
dictatorships: Chile (1973-1990) and Argentina (1973-1983). Apart from contextualising the beginning
and aftermath of each regime, the course will delve into the dynamics of resistance in both literature
and film from artists that denounced the atrocities committed by those dictatorships in terms of human
right violations be it at the time they took place or as an exercise of collective memory. In the case of
Chile, there will be a close examination of canonical works by Diamela Eltit’s E. Iluminata (1983), and
Roberto Bolaño’s By Night in Chile (2000). The Argentinian dictatorship will be studied through the
famous Mothers and Shadows by Marta Traba (1985) and a selection of short stories by Mariana
Enríquez (2016). The course will have a cinematic component with two films from each country—
Machuca (2004) and Nostalgia for the Light (2010) focused on Chile, and The Official Story (1985)
and The Secret in their Eyes (2009) from Argentina—to emphasise the relevance of articulating
discourse opposing authoritarianism.
Prerequisite: Nil
260
In this course, we consider the intersections between disability studies and human rights discourse and
its applications to a transnational American Studies. After establishing a brief overview of the field of
Disability Studies, we examine the history of disability rights in the US. We consider notions of the
normative body, a brief history of eugenics, and the development a critical discourse that cuts across
medical, social, and legal constructions of disability. We then consider recent patterns in disability
culture and activism, especially in relation to the passing of Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990
and the subsequent implications of this act. As we engage in the close study of disability culture,
activism, and the law, we uncover how each one provides the means for envisioning more inclusive
communities. In addition to focusing on disability rights in the United States, we also apply this study
to a unit on the global discourse on disability and human rights.
Prerequisite: Nil
This course approaches an examination of contemporary artistic practice, time, and new media from an
interdisciplinary and transitional perspective. How, in recent artworks, is time evoked and denied,
measured and transformed, linear and looped? How has an interrogation of speed, duration, and scale
become interwoven with a consideration of art and new media from the late 1960s till today? How has
contemporary telecommunication (instant, real time) altered time in a finite world? How has
telepresence shifted how we conceive of the space-time duality? Why do we conceive of time in
economic terms: “spend” time, “waste” time, “free” time? As Jonathan Crary argues, the era of late
capitalism’s non-time operates on a twenty-four-hour clock in which management of attentiveness and
the impairment of perception combine with compulsory routines and mimesis. This encourages a
revisitation of the history of perceiving and communicating with and through various media of the last
century. This class interrogates the intersections of art, time, and new media within a broader
consideration of historical, technological, and labor-based revolutions and theoretical shifts.
Prerequisite: Nil
This course offers an historically rooted examination of artistic practice in California from the Second
World War through the end of the Cold War—addressing the intertwined nature of art and politics, the
influence of the film industry and the poets and musicians of the West Coast, the potentials and the
pitfalls of art and technology, experiments in clay and plastics, issues of hybridity and identity in
immigrant communities, and the polemics of conceptual, performance, feminist, and socially-critical
artistic practice. We will look at the aftereffects of superficial geographic divides, and the real and
artificial disciplinary canyons between New York and California. How does erasure and masquerade
function in a locale defined as “free from history”? What might be achieved and destroyed when artistic
practices make indistinguishable the divisions between fact, half-truth, and fiction? And how is art
making in California inextricably linked (whether through use, abuse, or denial) to the filmic imaginary
of Hollywood, to the urban and natural environment, and to the politics and polemics of diaspora?
Prerequisite: Nil
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Art and crime (Art + Crime) is a gripping intersection. It overlaps with but also remains distinct from
art crime. This class will consider key issues in art and crime such as: the valuing mechanisms of the
art market, financial regulation, cultural property and repatriation, art heists, speculative crime, looting
and illicit trade, true crime, forensic architecture, vandalism, and the world of counterfeits and forgeries.
We will discuss the events surrounding The Gardner Museum heist (1990) and its afterlife in various
narratives (Hacking the Heist, Empty Frames) and artworks (Sophie Calle, Last Seen…), and creative
projects by Janice Kerbel, Barton Lidice Beneš, J.S.G. Boggs, Tom Sachs, Maurizio Cattelan, Dennis
Oppenheim, Ulay, Richard Prince, Ann Messner, Ricardo Dominguez, Kathryn Clark, Núria Güell and
Levi Orta, Robert Rauschenberg, Banksy, and Gordon Parks, among others. We will analyze how art is
caught up in criminal activities as well as how it re-enacts, visualizes, and/or participates in such
activities. In other words, this class considers not only art crime, but also those artworks for which crime
is subject, content, and/or medium of expression.
Prerequisite: Nil
Art and money circulate in (uncomfortable) proximity. The art world is not a benign entity; it is
embroiled in games of speculation and valuation that play-out within many and varied intersecting and
overlapping markets. This class considers the systems within which art circulates and is valued, as well
as those creative endeavors intruding, interloping, and intervening into arenas of exchange. How is trust
intertwined with the metrics of (cultural/financial) value, and how do creative endeavors mediate
varying levels of complicity, ambivalence, intervention, and antagonism? This class will examine
projects by artists/artist-groups including, but not limited to: Marcel Duchamp, William Harnett, J.S.G.
Boggs, Donald Evans, Andy Warhol, Lee Lozano, Lise Autogena and Joshua Portway, Núria Güell and
Levi Orta, SUPERFLEX, William Powhida, Paolo Cirio, Cassie Thornton, Michael Marcovici, Art
Reserve Bank, Michael Marcovici, Caroline Woolard, and Femke Herregraven, among others. We will
analyze whether and how art functions: as an asset, commodity, and even currency (exchangeable); as
a password for radical maneuvers and experiments; and as the “dark matter” on which the art world
depends. In other words, this class considers not only the economies of art, but also the artworks for
which these economies as subject, content, target, and even the medium of expression.
Prerequisite: Nil
This course will delve into one of Latin America’s most renowned literary and filmic movements:
Magical Realism. There will be an introduction to its starting point, ‘the real marvelous’ through the
reading of Cuban Alejo Carpentier’s 1949 seminal novel The Kingdom of this World. Carpentier’s
work will be followed by an introduction to the life and works of Colombian Nobel Prize Laureate
Gabriel García Márquez (Gabo) and the readings will be focused on his 1994 novel Of Love and Other
Demons. The final unit of literary works will cover Chilean Isabel Allende’s most acclaimed novel The
House of the Spirits (1982). In every case, there will be a contextualization of each literary work and
detailed readings of passages in order to understand the magical realist elements of these, and how they
reflect aspects of Latin American cultures and identities. The filmic part of the course will encompass
two relevant films: Like Water for Chocolate (Alfonso Arau, Mexico, 1992) and The Dance of Reality
(Alejandro Jodorowski, Chile, 2014). Together with critical essays on each text and film, the course
will follow the most recent publication on the topic: Magical Realism and Literature, Ed. By
Christopher Warnes (CUP, October 2020). Students are expected to develop their critical thinking by
approaching both texts and films through a variety of theoretical constructs relevant to each material.
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Prerequisite: Nil
This course will focus on key Latin American dramatists and explore some of their important works
through the medium of English. Only a broad representative coverage will be possible, but dramatic
works by three major women dramatists and two major male dramatists will be studies in depth. The
work of Brazilian theatre practitioner and drama theorist, Augusto Boal, with his Theatre of the
Oppressed will be assessed in relation to its influence on international contemporary theatre. A Boal
and Shakespeare expert from Brazil, Prof Emeritus Aimara da Cunha Resende, will be invited to record
a guest keynote lecture on the impact of Boal’s pioneering work, and short extracts from his key texts
Theatre of the Oppressed and Aesthetics of the Oppressed will be read and discussed as a follow-up.
Boal’s enormous influence in non-mainstream theatre, particularly community theatre and playback
(both popular in Hong Kong in recent decades), might well provide interesting material for student’s
initial short assessment piece. A representative play by each of three other major Latin-American
dramatists, Sabina Berman (Mexico), Ariel Dorfman (Chile) and Griselda Gambaro (Argentina) will be
read and discussed, preferably shorter or one-act plays. Dorfman’s internationally performed full-length
play and his most famous, Death and the Maiden will be studied in some depth as a key text. An
example of the work of U.S.-based Cuban emigrée writer Maria Irene Fornés will illustrate the impact
of Latin American dramatic writing and ideas of theatre in North America. General themes will be
social and self-identity (including gender), education and empowerment, power relations and responses
to trauma, all in the Latin-American context.
Prerequisite: Nil
The increasing interconnectedness of China and Latin America in the 21st century has attracted
attention towards new global flows in cultural, economic and political areas, and prompted reflection
on the contribution of diasporic Chinese, Korean and Japanese communities to the construction of a
Latin American identity. This course aims to bring together students in different majors offered at
SMLC for the study of the cultures and history of the Americas, including North America, Latin
America and the Caribbean. The teaching and learning methodology includes extensive use of VR
(virtual reality) and other multi-sensory tools to facilitate immersion in the foreign environments such
as virtual field trips to locations of historical, experiential or cultural significance and museums. The
teaching methodology makes the “virtual” experience also a social and more-or-less simultaneously
experienced event including exploratory and open-ended learning experiences that promote social-
emotional engagement with material and individuals, and nurture long-term application of learned
concepts. Aiming to decenter or expand text-centric pedagogy toward more multi-modal and multi-
sensory learning experiences in the context of Universal Design for Learning, the course combines VR
experiences, 360 film, with face-to-face and distance-learning methods. This is an innovative,
transdisciplinary course both in terms of the content and skills, including multimedia and intercultural
communication, that students will acquire through it.
Prerequisite: Nil
AMER2071. Practically joking: Humor and the creative impulse (6 credits)
What does the phrase ‘practically joking’ mean to you? Is it a prank? Does it mean joking for a practical
purpose? Is it almost a joke, something at the threshold but not quite there? Philosopher Simon Critchley
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argues that people align themselves with a community based on how they experience humor. We have
all giggled at puns, satires, caricatures, jokes, parodies, cartoons, pranks, and more, but do we ever stop
and think about how and why such humor operates? Why are some jokes able to cross social and cultural
borders while others only translate to a select few? And is laughter a required byproduct of a joke, or is
it simply one of many possible reactions? This course takes humor seriously. Seriously, this is not a
joke. The class considers how humor intersects with the visual, performative, textual, filmic, and even
legal (indeed, laws and rules are the substrate of much humor). We look at everything from cartoons,
paintings, and performances to memes and viral jokes, and we consider the shifting nature of humor in
a post-internet era of instantaneity. If humor is what makes us human, what does it mean when an AI
formulates a joke and people laugh?
Prerequisite: Nil
AMER2072. Field Trip: Between nostalgia and forgetting, the global exhibition industry (6
credits)
Biennials, triennials, manifestas, documentas, and art fairs. Today’s largescale exhibitions evince a
global reality, one in which an international cadre of artworks and financial resources flow from city to
city and country to country. These exhibitions are cyclical, aesthetic-political phenomena negotiating
pressures to be both locally relevant and globally legible. Critic-theorist-philosopher Boris Groys
articulates the cadenced rhythm of the gaps between events as reflecting “accurately enough the time
span between nostalgia and forgetting.” Contemporary art operates as signifier of cultural prestige for
the nouveau riche while big exhibitions are designed for the mass of anonymous visitors. How has the
division of labor between artist (producer) and curator (exhibiter) shifted in an era of late-capitalism
and amidst the rise of international contemporary arts tourism? How do exhibition spaces negotiate the
classed tensions between neutral and politicized space, and public and private property? This course
explores the global art market through a study of its key sites, both historically and today. We will
explore local events in Hong Kong such as Art Basel, auction previews, and gallery and museum
exhibitions (M+, Para Site). And we will travel internationally on a one- to two-week field trip (either
during reading week, January, or June) to an art event such as the Venice Biennale, the Whitney
Biennial (New York City), the New Museum Triennial (New York City), the Bangkok Art Biennale,
the Shanghai Biennale, documenta (Kassel, Germany), Manifesta (nomadic), or elsewhere. If travel is
interrupted, the class will explore exhibitions virtually.
Prerequisite: Nil
This is a directed reading course aimed at top students in American Studies who would like to pursue
an individualized program of research under the supervision of a mentor, typically (though not
necessarily) an American Studies Programme instructor or an American Studies Board member. The
student is responsible for approaching the instructor in advance and obtaining consent for supervision.
The coursework will normally consist of designing the project around a topic relevant to the Programme,
compiling a bibliography, research and reading, and finally writing the dissertation. A project proposal
consisting of a thesis statement, preliminary outline of research (typically 3-5 pages), timetable for
completion, and working bibliography will be filed with the Programme Coordinator no later than
November 30. The full dissertation (approximately 40-80 pages) shall be completed and presented for
examination by April 30 of the academic year in which the course is taken.
Prerequisites: AMER1050 and AMER2050
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The internship course provides top American Studies students with an opportunity to gain valuable
working experience in an American business or non-governmental organization, and to learn about
business practices and technologies. During the semester prior to the internship (internship duration
must be at least three weeks full time or comprise a minimum of 120 hours part-time), students will
pursue individualized research related to the industry of their hosting organization under the supervision
of a mentor, typically (though not necessarily) an American Studies Programme instructor or board
member. Through readings students will study theoretical frameworks from American Studies
disciplines that are suited to analysing the industry in question. Students will present their preparatory
research in a short essay, which includes their expectations for the internship. During the internship,
students will write a journal in which they reflect critically on their day-to-day experiences. To conclude,
students write a second essay after the internship in which they summarize their experiences and
compare them to their expectations as stated in the first essay. The host institution’s evaluation of the
intern’s performance will be included in the assessment. The final essay shall be submitted no later than
two weeks following the completion of the internship. Please note: Although we will do our best to
assist you in your search, students are responsible for obtaining the internship position and must present
the internship offer by the last day of the add/drop period to the programme director of American Studies.
All students who fail to fulfill this requirement will automatically be dropped from the course.
CHINA STUDIES
The China Studies Programme addresses the growing interest in the academic study of Greater China
(including Taiwan and Hong Kong/Macau) from a multi-disciplinary approach that includes
methodologies from fields in both the humanities and social sciences. Given China’s place in the world
today an intensive study of the country and its peoples that focuses on its history, language, culture,
politics, economics and society is crucial. As they prepare for their future careers, students will benefit
from thorough knowledge of historical and social change and development in China informed by
rigorous empirical research in the humanities and social sciences. In addition to rigorous training in
China studies, the programme also allows students to pursue a possible second major with a better
understanding of China as an empirical case subject, and to develop their interest and to enhance their
academic ability in area studies.
This joint cross-Faculty programme with two streams – one in Arts and the other in Social Sciences –
is a suitable learning platform for both international and local students. Courses introduce China’s
political, economic, social, and cultural traits in the past and present through various disciplinary and
topical perspectives. International students in both streams, if they are interested in studying the Chinese
language, may take Chinese language courses. All students are encouraged to develop comprehensive
mastery of Chinese language, culture and improved understanding of China’s social institutions through
a real-life context through the programme’s experiential learning opportunities and exchanges that focus
on China studies on the mainland, Taiwan, or any China studies center overseas. [Note: Every Social
Sciences student is required to undertake an internship and an out-of-Hong Kong program to graduate.]
Students should follow their respective Faculties’ regulations and syllabus governing the degree.
Students of the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Social Sciences who declare the stream of China
Studies major outside their home Faculty should select an additional major offered by their home
Faculty. BA students who wish to opt for the Social Sciences streams should refer to the Social Sciences
syllabus for this programme.
The Arts stream and Social Sciences stream in the China Studies programme are mutually exclusive.
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Major in China Studies: Arts stream
Candidates who wish to major (72 credits) in China Studies must complete:
a) Introductory courses (24 credits)

These should be completed in the junior years (i.e. Years 1 and 2)
i) Compulsory course (6 credits):
SINO1003. Greater China: a multi-disciplinary introduction (6 credits)
ii) Arts requirement (18 credits):

Three introductory courses from any Arts programme(s) (18 credits)
b) Advanced courses (48 credits)

i) Compulsory courses (12 credits):
SINO2002. China in the world: critical paradigms (6 credits); AND
ii) Capstone experience course (6 credits):

SINO3001. China Studies research project (capstone experience) (6 credits)
iii) Disciplinary elective courses (30 credits):

Arts stream Majors shall select 24 to 30 credits of ‘core electives’ from the course list(s)
provided by the Faculty of Arts and/or the Faculty of Social Sciences.
They may select 0 to 6 credits of ‘other electives’ from the course list(s) provided by the
Faculty of Arts or the Faculty of Social Sciences.
Minor in China Studies: Arts stream
Candidates who wish to minor (36 credits) in China Studies must complete:
a) Introductory course (6 credits)

Compulsory course (6 credits):

SINO2002. China in the world: critical paradigms (6 credits); OR
ii) Disciplinary elective courses (24 credits):

Arts stream Minors shall select 24 credits of ‘core electives’ from the course list(s)
provided by the Faculty of Arts and/or the Faculty of Social Sciences.
They cannot select any credits of ‘other electives’ from the course list(s) provided by
the Faculty of Arts or the Faculty of Social Sciences.
Major in China Studies: Social Sciences stream
Candidates who wish to major (96 credits) in China Studies must complete:

i) Compulsory course (6 credits):
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ii) Pre-requisite course (12 credits):

Two 6-credit courses from the Faculty of Social Sciences (12 credits)
These courses should be from the following five units, but not more than one from a
single unit (12 credits):
Geography
Psychology
Social Work and Social Administration
Sociology

The following should be taken in the first semester of second year
SINO2003. Contemporary China Studies: issues and perspectives (6 credits)
AND
One of the following courses that must be taken before the commencement of SINO3002
Directed project (capstone experience).
GEOG2120. Introductory spatial analysis (6 credits); or
POLI2104. Research methods in politics and public administration (6 credits); or
SOCI2030. Quantitative research methods (6 credits); or
SOWK2143. Social research method (6 credits); or
A disciplinary elective course for students who have taken one of the above four
methodology courses for their other major requirements.
ii) Capstone experience (6 credits)

The following course must be taken in Year 3 or above
SINO3002. Directed project (capstone experience) (6 credits)
iii) Disciplinary elective courses (60 credits)
For Social Sciences students

Social Sciences students shall select at least 30 credits (including the credits transferred
from exchange studies) of core electives for a major (Social Sciences stream) from the
course list provided by the Faculty of Social Sciences and/or the Faculty of Arts.
Disciplinary elective 24 credits of disciplinary elective courses

courses
Exchange studies* - 12 credits for fulfilling Global Citizenship requirement
- 12 credits counted towards disciplinary electives
Social innovation 12 credits for FOSS2018 Social Innovation internship
requirement
* Compulsory one-semester exchange programme in China Studies for Social

Sciences students with transfer of a minimum of 24 credits (taken in the 2nd
Semester of Year 2 or 3 and for major students only). The 24 credits should be
closely related to disciplinary elective courses listed below, and these courses will
be identified from the partnering universities in Mainland China, Taiwan and
overseas universities or China studies centres, by the Programme Coordinator.
Major students must obtain prior approval from the Programme Coordinator on the
course selection for credit transfer.
Candidates who opt to declare double majors in China Studies (Social Sciences stream),
Geography, Politics and Public Administration, Sociology and Social Policy and Social
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Development are allowed to undertake 24 credits of advanced free electives, to fulfil

the Faculty off-campus learning courses for the second major.
For non-Social Sciences students

Non-Social Sciences students shall select at least 36 credits (including the credits
transferred from exchange studies) of core electives for a major (Social Sciences stream)
from the course list provided by the Faculty of Social Sciences and/or the Faculty of
Arts.
Disciplinary elective 24 credits of disciplinary elective courses

courses
Exchange studies# Transfer of a minimum of 24 credits (taken in the 2nd
Semester of Year 2 or 3 and for major students only). The
24 credits should be closely related to disciplinary elective
courses provided by the Faculty of Social Sciences and/or
the Faculty of Arts, and these courses will be identified
from the partnering universities in Mainland China, Taiwan
and overseas universities or China studies centres, by the
Programme Coordinator or
24 credits of disciplinary elective courses
Social innovation# 12 credits for FOSS2018 Social Innovation internship or
12 credits of disciplinary elective courses
# Both social innovation and exchange opportunities are optional for non-Social
Sciences students.
Major students must obtain prior approval from the Programme Coordinator on the
course selection for credit transfer.
Minor in China Studies: Social Sciences stream
Candidates who wish to minor (36 credits) in China Studies must complete:

Compulsory courses (6 credits):

SINO2003. Contemporary China studies: issues and perspectives (6 credits)
AND
GEOG2120. Introductory spatial analysis (6 credits); or
POLI2104. Research methods in politics and public administration (6 credits); or
SOCI2030. Quantitative research methods (6 credits); or
SOWK2143. Social research method (6 credits)
ii) Disciplinary elective courses (18 credits):

Social Sciences and non-Social Sciences students shall select not fewer than 6 credits of
core electives for a minor (Social Sciences stream) from the course list provided by the
Faculty of Social Sciences and/or the Faculty of Arts.
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Core Courses
SINO1003. Greater China: A multi-disciplinary introduction (6 credits)
This course adopts multi-disciplinary perspectives to examine significant and complex issues of China
in the past and present. With a general survey of China, this course discusses China’s historical
development, revolutionary past, cultural traditions, formal political structure, the market-oriented
economic reform, and geographic, demographic and linguistic diversity, as well as contemporary issues
of environment, resistance and mass media. Central themes throughout the course include China’s
cultural identity, ethnicity, state-society relations, continuities and changes in China’s socio-political
values, and China’s role in the global order. The purpose of this course is to provide students with a
base of knowledge of China’s historical and contemporary experiences and contexts. It aims to help
students understand how China’s historical legacy impacted on today’s society, and how contemporary
politics and economics transformed China in a comprehensive way.
Prerequisite: Nil
This course surveys the history of the international scholarship on China from 1945 through to the
present as it transformed around the major academic centres in North America, Europe, Australia, and
Asia. We explore how these new paradigms have transformed China studies and brought the field into
productive engagements with broader intellectual currents and debates.
Prerequisite: Nil
This course examines and unravels the key features and outcomes of China’s experiences/ model in
reforms and development. After introductory lectures on the macro-development framework, students
are required to form project groups and select key issues for presentations in a series of research
seminars. Under the guidance of the course instructor, project groups are expected to make investigation
and data search on the selected issues. Current and emerging specific political, economic, and social
issues/ phenomena may include: globalization and the Chinese economy, environmental protection,
income disparity and poverty, civil service reform and corruption, population mobility and migrant
workers, human resources and employment, regional development (Pearl River Delta), civil society,
rural development, protest movements and social unrest, and various dimensions of integration in
Greater China. Guest lecturers may be invited to participate in research seminars.
Prerequisite: Nil
This course is intended to help China Studies majors and minors start their capstone projects. The
purpose is to give students a solid grounding in independent research skills. It provides students
analytical tools for thinking more deeply about the way “China” can be explored through various topics.
Students will learn research skills to interpret texts, images, concepts, and forms of human behavior,
that are generally applicable to all fields of China Studies. Students will also work with the course
instructor individually to develop a research proposal for their capstone projects.
Prerequisite: SINO1003
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Capstone Experience Courses
SINO3001. China Studies research project (capstone experience) (6 credits)
Students in this course pursue independent research and produce a research paper under the supervision
of a China Studies affiliated faculty member. This course is designed to provide students with the
opportunity to explore in depth a topic of interest to them in relation to China’s development and
position in the world. It can either adopt a single disciplinary methodology OR a multidisciplinary
problem-oriented perspective. Students undertaking the course will negotiate the topic in conjunction
with the program coordinator to determine its feasibility and ensure academic rigor. This course is a
capstone course.
Prerequisite: SINO2004
SINO3002. Directed project (capstone experience) (6 credits)
A directed study project involves an independent and empirical investigation on a specific political,
economic and social issue in contemporary China. Being an empirical study, data can be secondary
(review of existing data, government and research reports) or directly collected (through participant
observation, interviews, focus groups and surveys). Through the application of social science theories
and concepts, the project will assess and analyze the background and impact of the issue as well as
government policy responses. Students have to submit their project titles and proposals to the
programme coordinator for approval and assignment of supervisors at the beginning of the academic
year. Students have to submit their final project reports by the end of the academic year of study. The
directed project will be individually supervised by a China Studies affiliated faculty member. The length
of the directed project report will be a minimum of 5,000 words (excluding tables, bibliographies and
appendices).
Disciplinary Elective Courses
(Notes:
Disciplinary electives include all the non-compulsory SINO courses, core electives and other electives
of both faculties. Not all courses are offered in a given semester; students should check with individual
units on course availability; students should also check on course prerequisites and other enrollment
restrictions.)
SINO2001. China in the world: from sinology to China Studies (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the discipline of studying China which is known as Sinology in
western academic traditions and has more recently been re-styled as China Studies. Emphasizing
methodological issues and disciplinary dialogues, the course encourages students to reflect on the
historical and political conditions of knowledge production while training students in innovative and
boundary-crossing modes of inquiry.
Prerequisite: Nil
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SINO2005. Selected topics in China Studies: Urban China (6 credits)
In this course, we will study the process of urban development in China since (and largely as a result
of) its “reform and opening-up” policies dating back to the early 1980s. The course will examine the
position of cities within China’s institutional, demographic and socioeconomic transformations, and
will attempt to account for the Chinese situation within the context of -- and making comparisons with
-- urban development occurring in other parts of the world. The major purpose of the course is to help
students understand these transformational processes and what they meant for China and for the rest of
the world. The course will offer a detailed empirical view of China’s urbanization and a rigorous
conceptual understanding of city development through a close reading of scholarly research works in
the fields of sociology, demography, political science, economics, urban geography, and a wide array
of interdisciplinary pursuits.
Prerequisite: Nil
Students in this course examine the cultural industry sector in China and its interactions with the
international cultural industry scene. The course is designed to give students the opportunity to examine
a diverse range of media—including music, art, literature, film, advertising, blogs and tweets—in
relation to the society and industrial practices that propel ideas into commercialized or widely
circulating cultural products. The course places these cultural and commercial concerns in the changing
social and political context of contemporary China and its interactions with the rest of the world.
Prerequisite: Nil
Students in this course examine the various UNESCO’s World Heritage Listings in a range of countries
in the Asian region. The cultural, commercial and political aspects of World Heritage processes are
explored. Students develop an understanding of the contemporary significance of ‘tradition’ in the
formation of contemporary national identity as it is performed on an international stage. It examines the
challenges in managing, operating and protecting world heritage (environmental, historical and
intangible) as well as the associated political (domestic and international) disputes that surround each
heritage item. Students also explore the historical and cultural value of each listing.
Prerequisite: Nil
SINO2009. Popular protest and social movements in China (6 credits)
This course explores social movements in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the People’s Republic of China
through key social movement scholarship with these questions: when and why do social movements
occur; who joins or supports movements; how are movements organized; how do movements make
tactical choices; how do institutions influence movements; and what changes do movements bring about?
We examine these questions by focusing primarily on movements for democracy, labor movements,
and women’s movements.
Prerequisite: Nil
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SINO2010. China regional studies – Northeast (6 credits)
This course is one of several courses in the China Studies curriculum that introduces the historical and
contemporary characteristics of a particular region in China. Like other regional studies courses, this
class will emphasize the importance of conceptualizing China as more than just as a national entity and
looking beyond the traits of major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou to understand what
is “Chinese”. This course focuses on China’s Northeast, which includes Liaoning, Jilin, and
Heilongjiang provinces and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Students will explore the political,
economic, social, and cultural dimensions of this region, and analyze its development from the 16th
century to the present day. The course content will guide students to view the region from within as well
as to discern its relations with other regions and contributions to the rest of China.
Prerequisite: Nil
SINO2011. Taiwan Studies (6 credits)
This course is about the past and contemporary characteristics of Taiwan, which includes the main
island of Taiwan and the adjoining Matsu (Mazu), Kinmen (Jinmen), Penghu, and other minor islands.
Students will explore the political, economic, social, and cultural dimensions of this region, and analyze
its development from Dutch occupation in the 17th century to the present day. The course content will
guide students to view the region from within as well as to better understand its relations with other
regions and China.
Prerequisite: Nil
SINO2012. Chinese martial studies (6 credits)
This course introduces various features of China’s martial heritage and current practices of martial
culture. It gives students a distinctive opportunity to explore how martial arts and philosophy have
shaped many dimensions of Chinese life, including but not limited to war. Students will learn how
martial thought and behavior fulfill the needs for self-defense, health, intellectual enrichment, spiritual
development, entertainment, and cultural expression. Expert practitioners of martial arts and scholars
working in related areas such as Chinese medicine in Hong Kong will be invited as guest lecturers to
demonstrate how martial ethics and customs continues to affect Chinese social and cultural identity in
the present day.
Prerequisite: Nil
This course discusses two concepts – love and loyalty – in Chinese history through the perspective of
women’s history and gender studies. The purpose of this course is to provide students with a base of
knowledge regarding the changing historical experiences and contexts of women and gender in Chinese
history from ancient times to the present.
Prerequisite: Nil
Non-permissible combination: HIST2143
272
SINO2014. Muslim connections across Asia (6 credits)
Many introductions to Islam take the Arabian Peninsula as the starting point and origin of historical
processes of Muslim community formation. These are, in turn, assembled under one umbrella term and
genealogically fixed to territories in the Middle East. In this course we will explore Islam from a
different perspective, namely as made up of a complex web of connections which Muslims establish
through interaction. By looking at the results of historical and anthropological research we will,
departing from Hong Kong, follow these connections across different parts of Central, East, South,
Southeast and West Asia. In this regard, we will analyze and critically discuss the local, transnational
and transregional anchoring of Muslim connections under the conditions of trade, empire, pilgrimage,
and conquest.
Prerequisite: Nil
SINO2015. China Studies summer institute (6 credits)
This course offers students an opportunity to engage in experiential learning in a setting outside of Hong
Kong. Students will study the physical and human communities of the summer institute locales through
intensive learning activities including academic lectures and seminars, professional and site visits, and
research fieldwork. Students will complete projects based on the observations they make during group
activities and the execution of their independently designed research plans.
Prerequisite: Nil
Assessment: 100% coursework (graded on a distinction/pass/fail basis)
SINO2016. Anthropology of Central Asia (6 credits)
This course seeks to introduce students to Central Asia – a region including the five former Soviet
republics as well as parts of Afghanistan, China and Pakistan – through the lens of historical and social
anthropology. By reading core texts in the study of Central Asia we will first go back in history, to a
period when the region had not yet been dissected by the boundaries of modern nation-states. We will
then work towards an analysis of societal processes that led from colonialism to socialist revolutions
and different forms of nationalism. We will do so by looking at these processes as embedded in contexts
of everyday life in which social practices linked to economy, gender, law, religion, ethnicity, politics,
and local history intersect and entangle.
Prerequisite: Nil
SINO2017. Nationalism, ethnicity and identity in contemporary China (6 credits)
This course offers an overview of China’s various ethnic minorities and government policies toward
these groups. The PRC officially recognizes fifty-five ethnic “minorities”, such as the Uyghurs,
Tibetans or Mongolians, based on a Soviet definition of ethnicity. This course focuses on the historical
and current traits of these groups, the assimilation policies undertaken by the Chinese government, and
how minority groups have negotiated their social and cultural positions in the PRC since 1949.
Prerequisite: Nil
SINO3003. Internship in China Studies (6 credits)
This course offers students a learning experience in which they take this classroom knowledge into the
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community. Students will apply their intellectual skills to practical situations and make concrete
contributions to the organizations that sponsor and supervise their work. Internships may be conducted
at any point between the summer before a student enters Year 3 and the second semester of Year 4. The
duration of the internship will depend on the arrangement made between the student and organization
but should involve approximately 120 contact hours. Internships can be conducted during the semester
or at full-time equivalent during the lecture-free period.
Prerequisite: Nil
SINO3004. City and countryside in China (6 credits)
This field trip course supplements the programme’s home-campus based curriculum by enhancing
students’ experiential knowledge of various parts of mainland China. Each field study course will
generally be structured to include study and residence in one urban area and an adjoining rural area to
show the symbiotic relationship between “city” and “countryside.” Students participating in field study
courses must attend preparatory seminars to learn about the sites they are visiting and the skills they
need to perform their instructor-guided independent research, be fully engaged in all the activities that
they undertake during their 7-10 days' field study, and then present their research in oral and written
forms after they return to HKU.
Prerequisite: Nil
SINO3005. Science, technology, and society in China (6 credits)
This course will consider prevalent knowledge and outstanding issues in the history, philosophy,
sociology, and anthropology of science and technology in modern and contemporary China. The
selected materials in this course are intended not to survey the entire spectrum of knowledge in science
and technology in China but rather to emphasize certain salient topics and issues that will enable a solid
grasp of the historical emergences and modern divergences of science and technology in a transnational
context.
Prerequisite: Nil
Faculty of Arts
a) Core electives
Arts stream Majors shall select at least 24 credits of ‘core electives’ from the following course list
provided by the Faculty of Arts and/or the Faculty of Social Sciences listed below.
Arts stream Minors shall select 24 credits of ‘core electives’ from the following course list provided
by the Faculty of Arts and/or the Faculty of Social Sciences listed below.
School of Chinese (The following courses require proficiency in Chinese)

CHIN2130. Modern Chinese literature (1917-1949): fiction (6 credits)
CHIN2132. Contemporary Chinese literature (since 1949): fiction (6 credits)
CHIN2138. Chinese etymology (6 credits)
CHIN2139. Chinese phonology (6 credits)
CHIN2149. Chinese language from social perspectives (6 credits)
CHIN2152. Literature, modernity and nation in twentieth-century China (6 credits)
CHIN2153. Sinophone literature and film (6 credits)
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CHIN2162. Cantonese linguistics (6 credits)
CHIN2168. Modern Chinese grammar (6 credits)
CHIN2169. Modern Chinese rhetoric (6 credits)
CHIN2172. Hong Kong literature (6 credits)
CHIN2233. History of the Chinese legal system (6 credits)
CHIN2234. History of Chinese political institutions (6 credits)
CHIN2235. Sources and methodology (6 credits)
CHIN2243. History of Chinese science and civilization (6 credits)
CHIN2245. Examination systems in Chinese history (6 credits)
CHIN2246. Historical writings: texts and styles (6 credits)
CHIN2251. Chinese philosophy I: Confucianism (6 credits)
CHIN2252. Chinese philosophy II: Daoism (6 credits)
CHIN2254. Christianity and Chinese culture (6 credits)
CHIN2255. Chinese intellectual history (Part I) (6 credits)
CHIN2256. Chinese intellectual history (Part II) (6 credits)
CHIN2259. History of Chinese historiography (6 credits)
CHIN2266. History education and Chinese culture (6 credits)
CHIN2268. History of China-West cultural exchanges (6 credits)
CHIN2269. History of the Ming-Qing transition (6 credits)
CHIN2272. School education in Chinese history (6 credits)
CHIN2273. Socio-economic history of China (6 credits)
CHIN2274. History of material culture (6 credits)
CHIN2275. The culture of flower in China (6 credits)
CHIN2276. Religions on the Silk Road in ancient times (6 credits)
CHIN2277. Islam and Chinese culture (6 credits)
CHIN2278. Travel and economic development in Chinese history (6 credits)
CHIN2279. Neo-Confucianism in Song-Ming periods and contemporary religions and ethics (6
credits)
CHIN2280. Publishing and culture in Chinese history (6 credits)
CHIN2332. Translation in Hong Kong society (6 credits)
CHIN2348. Bilingual studies in media and popular culture (6 credits)
CHIN2358. Journeys to the East: Translation and China in the Literary Imagination of the West
(6 credits)
CHIN2372. Southeast Asian Chinese Literature in Translation (6 credits)
HKGS2014. Hong Kong literature (6 credits)
HKGS2017. Postcolonial Studies: the case of Hong Kong (6 credits)
School of English
ARTH2051. Art, politics, and society in modern China (6 credits)
ARTH2055. Crossing cultures: China and the outside world (6 credits)
ARTH2061. Contemporary Chinese art: 1980s to the present (6 credits)
ARTH2062. Land and garden in Chinese art (6 credits)
ARTH2083. The histories of printmaking and visuality in China (6 credits)
ARTH2085. Chinese calligraphy: Form, materiality and history (6 credits)
CLIT2052. Chinese urban culture (6 credits)
275
CLIT2074. Film and ideology in contemporary China (6 credits)

CLIT2087. Modern Chinese culture and society: Rebellions and revolutions (6 credits)
CLIT2090. Orientalism, China, and globalization (6 credits)
HIST2003. Twentieth-century China (6 credits)
HIST2018. The foreign relations of China since 1949 (6 credits)
HIST2068. The intellectual history of twentieth-century China (6 credits)
HIST2096. The history of foreign business in modern China, 1800-1949 (6 credits)
HIST2097. Mao (6 credits)
HIST2110. China and the West (6 credits)
HIST2114. China and the wider world since 1600 (6 credits)
HIST2115. Sports and Chinese society (6 credits)
HIST2117. Nanyang: The Chinese experience in Southeast Asia (6 credits)
HIST2127. Qing China in the world, 1644-1912 (6 credits)
HIST2140. Health, medicine and society in late imperial and modern China (6 credits)
HIST2143. Love and loyalty: Women and gender in Chinese history (6 credits)
HIST2146. The Cultural Revolution, 1966-76 (6 credits)
HIST2149. Contemporary China (6 credits)
HIST2197. The Chinese Revolution, 1921-1949: A documentary approach (6 credits)
MUSI2055. Chinese opera (6 credits)
PHIL2420. Chinese philosophy: metaphysics (6 credits)
PHIL2430. Chinese philosophy: ethics (6 credits)
PHIL2435. Traditional Chinese political thought (6 credits)
PHIL2451. Philosophers’ views of China in early-modern Europe (6 credits)
PHIL2470. Moral psychology in the Chinese tradition (6 credits)
PHIL2480. Confucianism and the modern world (6 credits)

AFRI3005. Africa-China relations (6 credits)
AFRI3006. Representations of Blackness in Asia (6 credits)
AMER2054. Business and culture in the 21st century: US/Greater China connections (6 credits)
EUST3012. The EU as a global actor and EU-China relations (6 credits)
ITAL2025. 700 years of Sino-Italian relations (6 credits)
JAPN2050. Creative industries in East Asia (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Japan) (6 credits)
JAPN2060. Contemporary Sino-Japanese relations (6 credits)
SINO2001. China in the world: from sinology to China Studies (6 credits)
SINO2005. Selected topics in China Studies: Urban China (6 credits)
SINO2009. Popular protest and social movements in China (6 credits)
SINO2012. Chinese martial studies (6 credits)
SINO2014. Muslim connections across Asia (6 credits)
SINO2015. China Studies summer institute (6 credits)
SINO2016 Anthropology of Central Asia (6 credits)
SINO2017. Nationalism, ethnicity and identity in contemporary China (6 credits)
276
SINO3003. Internship in China Studies (6 credits)

SINO3004. City and countryside in China (6 credits)
SINO3005. Science, technology, and society in China (6 credits)
Faculty of Business and Economics

ECON2273. Economic History of China (6 credits)
b) Other electives
Arts stream Majors may select 0 - 6 credits of ‘other electives’ from the Faculty of Arts or the
Faculty of Social Sciences listed below.
Arts stream Minors cannot select any credits of ‘other electives’ from the Faculty of Arts or the
Faculty of Social Sciences list below.
School of Chinese
CHIN2175. Historical-comparative linguistics and Chinese dialectology (6 credits)
CHIN2176. Chinese children's literature (6 credits)
CHIN2367. Advanced translation workshop E-C (6 credits)
CHIN2178. Topical studies of modern Chinese literature (6 credits)
CHIN2179. Topical studies of classical Chinese popular literature (6 credits)
CHIN2180. Topical studies of classical Chinese literature (6 credits)
CHIN2183. Introduction to Hong Kong Cantopop lyrics (6 credits)
CHIN2184. Understanding Hong Kong through mass media (6 credits)
CHIN2190. Field trip on Chinese language, literature, and culture (6 credits)
CHIN2284. Speaking of Hong Kong: Global voices (6 credits)
CHIN2285. Law, history and culture (6 credits)
CHIN2286. Special topics in the society and culture of traditional China (6 credits)
CHIN2287. Special topics on statecraft in traditional China (6 credits)
CHIN2371. Translation as a Hong Kong Phenomenon (6 credits)
HKGS2004. Hong Kong’s economic growth: a modernisation and internationalisation miracle (6
credits)
HKGS2005. An anthropology of Hong Kong’s belief systems and religious practices (6 credits)
HKGS2006. Engendering Hong Kong: sociological and demographic perspectives (6 credits)
HKGS2007. Geographic Challenges: the ‘space premium’ and Hong Kong society (6 credits)
HKGS2008. Introduction to Hong Kong Cantopop lyrics (6 credits)
HKGS2009. We are what we eat: Hong Kong food and foodways (6 credits)
HKGS2011. Hong Kong: Whose city is it? (6 credits)
HKGS2013. Law, history and culture (6 credits)
HKGS2015. Understanding Hong Kong through mass media (6 credits)
School of English
ARTH2107. Early art in China: Idea and image (6 credits)
CLIT2064. Hong Kong culture: Popular arts and everyday life (6 credits)
CLIT2065. Hong Kong culture: Representations of identity in literature and film (6 credits)
CLIT2075. Modern poetry: Hong Kong and beyond (6 credits)
CLIT2085. Hong Kong: community and cultural policy in the global context (6 credits)
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HIST2098. A history of modern Taiwan (6 credits)
HIST2148. Sino-Southeast Asian connections in the age of maritime exploration (6 credits)
HIST2157. Globalisation and Asia (6 credits)
HIST2172. Revolutionizing health in modern China (6 credits)
HIST2175. Medicine, propaganda, and colonialism in Asia: 1895-1945 (6 credits)
HIST2176. Doing business in modern China, 1800 to the present (6 credits)
HIST2177. The economic history of modern China, 1800 to the present (6 credits)
HIST2184. China and Japan since the 19th century (6 credits)
HIST2185. A history of propaganda in East Asia (6 credits)
HIST2199. The Mongol empire in world history (6 credits)
HIST2201. China and the Islamic world (6 credits)
PHIL2801. Neo-Confucianism (6 credits)

JAPN2074. Negotiating the “Sinitic” in Japanese literature (6 credits)
JAPN3027. Comparative study of phonetics in Japanese and Cantonese (6 credits)
KORE3041. Chinese-Korean translation (6 credits)
Centre of Buddhist Studies

BSTC2024. The Buddhist conquest of China (6 credits)
BSTC2029. Reading Chinese Buddhist texts (6 credits)
BSTC2030. Chinese Buddhist Calligraphy (6 credits)
BSTC2046. Buddhist Chinese language: Indian Buddhist Texts (6 credits)
BSTC2047. Buddhist Chinese language: Native Chinese Texts (6 credits)
a) Core electives
Social Sciences students shall select at least 30 credits (including the credits transferred from
exchange studies) of core electives for a major (Social Sciences stream) or 6 credits for a minor
(Social Sciences stream) from the following list and/or the core electives list provided by the
Faculty of Arts:
Non-Social Sciences students shall select at least 36 credits (including the credits transferred from
exchange studies) of core electives for a major (Social Sciences stream) or 6 credits for a minor
(Social Sciences stream) from the following list and/or the core electives list provided by the
Faculty of Arts:
GEOG2125. China’s natural environment and resources (6 credits)

GEOG2126. Globalizing China: the land and the people (6 credits)
GEOG3101. China’s tourism resources and management (6 credits)
GEOG3104. Globalizing China: development issues (6 credits)
POLI3022. Contemporary Chinese politics (6 credits)
POLI3023. Special topics in Chinese politics (6 credits)
POLI3031. Politics of economic reform in China (6 credits)
POLI3034. Public administration in China (6 credits)
POLI3051. Issues in Chinese political philosophy (6 credits)
POLI3059. China and the world (6 credits)
SINO3002 Directed project (capstone experience) (6 credits)
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SOCI2003. China’s vision for humanity: critical issues facing contemporary Chinese society (6
credits)
SOCI2013. Gender in Chinese societies (6 credits)
SOCI2052. Traditional Chinese society (6 credits)
SOCI2077. Media, culture and communication in contemporary China (6 credits)
SOWK2134. Social development in modern China (6 credits)
ECON2226. Chinese Economy (6 credits)
ECON2264. Political Economy of Development in China (6 credits)
STRA3706. China’s Business Environment (6 credits)
b) Other electives
Social Sciences students shall select 0 to 6 credits (including the credits transferred from exchange
studies) for a major (Social Sciences Stream) and 6 credits for a minor (Social Sciences stream)
from the following list and/or the other electives list provided by the Faculty of Arts:
Non-Social Sciences students shall select 0 to 12 credits (including the credits transferred from
exchange studies) for a major (Social Sciences Stream) and 6 credits for a minor (Social Sciences
stream) from the following list and/or the other electives list provided by the Faculty of Arts:
GEOG2127. Environmental management (6 credits)

GEOG3207. Environmental management: impact assessment (6 credits)
POLI3019. Hong Kong and the world (6 credits)
POLI3020. Hong Kong politics (6 credits)
POLI3024. Special topics in public administration (6 credits)
POLI3025. Managerial skills in public organizations (6 credits)
POLI3035. Public administration in Hong Kong (6 credits)
POLI3037. Managing people in public organizations (6 credits)
POLI3039. Public policy analysis (6 credits)
POLI3061. Hong Kong and South China: the political economy of regional development and
cooperation (6 credits)
POLI3115. Politics and public opinion (6 credits)
SOCI2002. Social stratification and social class: finding and knowing your place (6 credits)
SOCI2015. Hong Kong popular culture (6 credits)
SOCI2016. Hong Kong society (6 credits)
SOCI2036. Anthropology of South China (6 credits)
SOCI2075. Hong Kong: community and cultural policy in the global context (6 credits)
SOWK2023. Social policy issues in Hong Kong (6 credits)
SOWK2029. Comparative social administration (6 credits)
SOWK2050. Government and politics of social services in Hong Kong (6 credits)
SOWK2084. Theoretical foundations in social policy and planning (6 credits)
SOWK2102. Social work in school settings (6 credits)
SOWK2109. Working with ethnically diverse communities in Hong Kong (6 credits)
SOWK2122. Community building and the civil society (6 credits)
SOWK2209. Issues and interventions in mental health settings (6 credits)
EUROPEAN STUDIES
Brief description:
• The European Studies Programme is an interdisciplinary area studies programme which focuses
on European politics and governance, history and culture, Europe’s economy and its role in the
world, as well as its intellectual tradition, philosophy, and literature. The programme provides
a comprehensive and holistic introduction to Europe and the European tradition.
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• This programme is designed to provide students with the opportunity to develop their expertise
on European affairs, acquire sound knowledge of key developments in human history and
institutions that emanated from Europe, critically reflect on the contemporary challenges
Europe faces, assess the changing ways how Europe has engaged with the world including Asia
and China, and analyse and apply the ideas and philosophical traditions that emerge out of
Europe. The focus is on interdisciplinary learning. There is also a language requirement which
enables students to become conversant in one European language of their choice, thereby
allowing for a more concise appreciation of the culture and society of one particular European
country. At the end of the programme, students should be able to demonstrate a well-rounded
and nuanced understanding of the major tenets of the European traditions, as well as the
continent’s current political and economic structures in Europe and their development over time.
• It consists of introductory and advanced courses. Introductory courses are normally taken
within the first two years while advanced courses are normally taken in subsequent years.
• It is offered both as a major or a minor.
Major (72 credits)
Students are expected to take a total of 72 credits with the following components:
• Prerequisite courses (18 credits):

EUST1010. Foundations of European Studies (6 credits); and
{FREN1001. French I.1 (6 credits) and
FREN1002. French I.2 (6 credits)
or
GRMN1001. German I.1 (6 credits) and
GRMN1002. German I.2 (6 credits)
or
GREK1001. Greek I.1 (6 credits); and
GREK1002. Greek I.2 (6 credits)
or
ITAL1001. Italian I.1 (6 credits) and
ITAL1002. Italian I.2 (6 credits)
or
PORT1001. Portuguese I.1 (6 credits) and
PORT1002. Portuguese I.2 (6 credits)
or
RUSS1001. Russian I.1 (6 credits) and
RUSS1002. Russian I.2 (6 credits)
or
SPAN1001. Spanish I.1 (6 credits) and
SPAN1002. Spanish I.2 (6 credits)
or
SWED1001. Swedish I.1 (6 credits) and
SWED1002. Swedish I.2 (6 credits)}

EUST2010. European identity (6 credits)
EUST2020. European Studies in Europe (6 credits) (field trip)
EUST3010. European political and economic institutions and processes (6 credits)
{FREN2001. French II.1 (6 credits) and
FREN2002. French II.2 (6 credits)
or
GRMN2001. German II.1 (6 credits) and
GRMN2002. German II.2 (6 credits)
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or
GREK2001. Greek II.1 (6 credits) and
GREK2002. Greek II.2 (6 credits)
or
ITAL2001. Italian II.1 (6 credits) and
ITAL2002. Italian II.2 (6 credits)
or
PORT2001. Portuguese II.1 (6 credits) and
PORT2002. Portuguese II.2 (6 credits)
or
RUSS2001. Russian II.1 (6 credits) and
RUSS2002. Russian II.2 (6 credits)
or
SPAN2001. Spanish II.1 (6 credits) and
SPAN2002. Spanish II.2 (6 credits)
or
SWED2001. Swedish II.1 (6 credits) and
SWED2002. Swedish II.2 (6 credits)}
• Capstone experience courses (6-12 credits):

This is a graduation requirement only for a major and can be fulfilled by taking one of the
courses listed under “Capstone experience courses”.
EUST3003. European Studies dissertation (capstone experience) (12 credits)
EUST3004. European Studies research project (capstone experience) (6 credits)
• Interdisciplinary elective courses (12-18 credits):

2 to 3 courses from the list of interdisciplinary elective courses below.
Minor (36 credits)

EUST1010. Foundations of European Studies (6 credits)


3 courses from the list of interdisciplinary elective courses below.
Prerequisite Courses
EUST1010. Foundations of European Studies (6 credits)
This first-year course serves as an introduction to European Studies. It is a core requirement for students
wishing to major in European Studies, but it is also suitable for anyone seeking a broad understanding
of European society and culture. The course examines the forces which have led to Europe becoming
increasingly integrated (not the least being the sheer devastation of two world wars) as well as the
subsequent tensions and objections to that process. We study the processes and structures of the specific
institutions of the European Union and the Council of Europe as well as some of the major issues
confronting the EU now. We will also look at some major European domestic concerns as well as
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divergent foreign policy issues between Europe and the US. The approach is multidisciplinary,
embracing politics, economics, history, culture and religion.
Assessment: 50% coursework, 50% examination
Core Courses
This course, which is required of all European Studies majors in their second year, will introduce
students to the linkages between modern Europe, its historical foundations and its various national
identities. Issues of identity will include history, politics, society, languages, religion and culture from
the ancient to contemporary periods. Each week we will concentrate on one country. We will be asking
the question ‘What are the major characteristics of identity of a particular country?’ That is not an easy
or straightforward question and we will explore why the question is itself something of a problem.
EUST2020. European Studies in Europe (6 credits)

(This course is offered to European Studies majors only.)
This summer course, conducted for three weeks in Europe, is offered to European Studies majors
between their second and third years of study. This course gives students a direct experience of the
culture and politics of parts of Europe. In addition to visiting a number of European countries we will
be visiting key political European institutions in Brussels and Strasburg, and attending lectures by their
representatives. We will also be hearing lectures from political analysts, university lecturers and
representatives of other organizations. There will also be a range of cultural activities including visiting
historical sites, museums and art galleries.
Prerequisite: “EUST1010. Foundations of European Studies” AND “EUST2010. European
identity”
This course, which is required of all European Studies majors in their third year, will further familiarise
students with the major international economic and political institutions in Europe such as the European
Union and NATO. The organisation of the institutions will be explored along with the processes by
which decisions are made and changes can be introduced. Included in the syllabus will be an
examination of Europe in the international setting. Taught within a seminar type framework, students
will be encouraged to select, in consultation with a staff member, subject areas within the area of focus
for deeper examination.
EUST3003. European Studies dissertation (capstone experience) (12 credits)
Students in this course will be expected to submit a written dissertation based on research into an aspect
of European politics, history, culture or economics. The dissertation must be supervised by a teacher,
either in European Studies or in another department of the university. Students enrolled in this course
may not enroll in EUST3004.
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EUST3004. European Studies research project (capstone experience) (6 credits)
of a teacher, either in European Studies or in another department of the university. Students enrolled in
this course may not enroll in EUST3003.
Elective Courses
This course provides students with an in depth look at major issues surrounding some of the
fundamentals of modern European lifestyle in Europe. The subject takes both a historical and
contemporary approach, concentrating mainly, though not exclusively, on the change of habits that
came out of the style revolution of the 1960s.
EUST2012. Problems of contemporary European politics and society (6 credits)
This is an optional course aimed at second year undergraduate students. The course familiarises students
with European political systems, examines current issues which shape public debate and illustrates the
continent’s different political cultures. The aim of the course is to analyse how and why different
political systems and political cultures have formed in Europe and what implications this has for
contemporary European societies.
EUST2014. Classical roots of European civilization (6 credits)
This course looks at how European society and thought has been shaped by the contributions of the
classical age. Using an interdisciplinary approach, it examines the influence the Ancient Greeks and
Romans have had on different aspects of European civilization, including philosophy, art, literature,
science, politics, and language. The course is taught in lecture/small group format to allow students to
develop critical analysis and communication skills.
EUST2015. From cinema to society: Understanding Europe through film (6 credits)
This survey course will allow students to discuss key European issues as portrayed in a representative
selection of European films. The course will be tackled in two ways. First, by reading a selection of
films as representative of European culture and history, students will learn about issues and events that
are instrumental for understanding contemporary European societies such as the controversy
surrounding national and supra-national identities, the rise and return of fascism, the onset of social
revolutions, feminism, diversity of sexual identities, immigration, post-colonialism, and globalization.
Second, by focusing on the production and form of films, students will develop their critical and
analytical thinking skills through the examination of different styles of authorship and production, film
movements, film festivals, and transnationalism in connection with social developments. The language
of instruction is English.
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EUST2016. Creative industries in Europe in a global context (6 credits)
Students in this course examine the cultural industry sector in the European countries such as France,
Germany, Spain, etc. depending on students’ interest and the expertise of the instructor, and its
interactions with the international cultural industry scene. The course is designed to give students the
opportunity to examine a diverse range of media—including music, art, literature, film, advertising,
blogs and tweets—in relation to the society and industrial practices that propel ideas into
commercialized or widely circulating popular cultural products. The course places these cultural and
commercial concerns in the changing social and political context of contemporary Europe and its
interactions with the world.
EUST2017. World War I (6 credits)
This course considers the First World War, one of the most important events in 20th century Europe,
from an interdisciplinary perspective combining history, literary studies, and art and film criticism.
Students will consider the origins of the war, daily life during the war, feminism, propaganda, the war
in the European literary experience and in contemporary film, memory, and the war’s consequences in
visual art and international politics (including the rise of Soviet Communism). Geographic coverage
includes not only the Western Front, but also Italy, Austria, the Balkans, Russia, Turkey and the United
States.
This course considers the early modern Atlantic world, one of the most significant fields of inquiry in
European and American studies, covering the period from the European “discovery” of the Americas
until the Americas began to achieve political independence at the end of the 1700s. Many of the
interactions which spanned the Atlantic were imperial in character, and this course considers the British,
French, Spanish, Dutch and Portuguese imperial encounters with the Atlantic. However, these
encounters were not just imperial, they were also economic, environmental, intellectual, political and
literary, encompassing not only transatlantic empire, but also transatlantic commodities (such as sugar
and mahogany), transatlantic labor migration (including African slavery and European servitude),
transatlantic merchants and consumers, transatlantic political upheaval, and literature.
This course considers the wave of revolutions which rocked France and the British, French and Spanish
empires in the New World at the end of the 1700s and the beginning of the 1800s. These inter-connected
revolutions transformed France, and led to independence and revolutionary change in the United States,
Haiti, and much of Spanish-speaking Latin America. This course considers these revolutions both as
discrete national phenomena and as interrelated events fundamentally linked by Atlantic connections.
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EUST2021. The European revolutions (6 credits)
This seminar will introduce students to modern European revolutions and different ways of analyzing
and understanding them. Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy’s theory of revolutions will play a key role in
illuminating why some men start to fight while others keep quiet. The guiding questions are: What kind
of factors contribute to the outbreak of a revolution and what are the differences between revolutions,
uprisings, rebellions, civil wars etc.? Last but not least, this course will enable students to understand
why Europe is not a universe but a pluriverse in social and cultural terms.
EUST2022. European transitions – Germany and Central Europe after the Second World
War (6 credits)
In this unit we focus on the turbulent history of Central Europe after 1945. The emergence of
communism and its demise both at the level of ideas and as a political system will be studied. While
the primary focus will be on Czech, German, Polish and Slovak societies, the unit is relevant to Europe
at large. In fact, Central Europe ‘as an idea, a state of mind, a worldview’ (Konrad) cannot be reduced
to a geographic notion, and is better understood as a cultural and political project. We will study
different formulations of this project, and see how the ideals of dissident intellectuals, such as Vaclav
Havel, shaped the political development in Central Europe and beyond. The ideas developed in the
specific context of peaceful resistance against communism in Central Europe, for example, inspired the
protagonists of the Ukrainian ‘Orange Revolution’ in 2004. In addition to a set of essential reading,
students will be encouraged to study literary works, films and TV-documentaries.
EUST2030. The modern imagination in Europe (6 credits)
This course is an introduction to the modern imagination and changing aesthetic sensibility in the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in Europe. It emphasises some of the major stylistic
innovations and intellectual currents that have transformed the way in which Europeans (and now
increasingly the world at large) perceive and shape the world around them. The course combines
examples from literature (including drama), visual art and film. We will explore how the styles, currents
and works we are studying have emerged as creative responses to the great upheavals that have taken
place in European society with the rise of modernity.
EUST2031. Introduction to the syntax of Romance languages (6 credits)
This course will introduce students to the syntax of Italian and other Romance Languages (e.g. French,
Spanish, Portuguese). We will examine and analyze a range of topics such as word order, question
formation, dislocation phenomena, etc. We will adopt a comparative approach using tools of the most
recent theoretical linguistic analysis.
EUST3005. European Studies internship (6 credits)
The internship course provides top European Studies students with an opportunity to gain valuable
working experience in a European business or non-governmental organization. During the semester
prior to the internship (internship duration must be at least three weeks full time or comprise a minimum
of 120 hours part-time), students will pursue individualized research related to the industry of their
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hosting organization under the supervision of a mentor, typically (though not necessarily) a European
Studies Program instructor. Through readings students will study theoretical frameworks from
European Studies disciplines that are suited to analyzing the industry in question. Students will present
their preparatory research in a short essay, which includes their expectations for the internship. During
the internship, students will write a journal in which they reflect critically on their day-to-day
experiences. To conclude, students write a second essay after the internship in which they summarize
their experiences and compare them to their expectations as stated in the first essay. The host
institution’s evaluation of the intern’s performance will be included in the assessment. The final essay
shall be submitted no later than two weeks following the completion of the internship. Please note:
Although we will do our best to assist you in your search, students are responsible for obtaining the
internship position and must present the internship offer by the last day of the add/drop period to the
European Studies program clerical officer. All students who fail to fulfill this requirement will
automatically be dropped from the course.
Assessment: 100% coursework (graded on Pass/Fail basis)
EUST3011. European values in conflict (6 credits)
While Western Europe has presently experienced a rare if not completely unprecedented period of
prolonged peace that peace is far from being assured as it faces serious divisions along ethnic, religious,
cultural and political lines. We will be examining the hot spots and flash points today in Europe by
taking account of the deep historical roots of these problems.
This is an optional course aimed at final year undergraduate students. The course sheds light on the
history of the EU and the mechanisms and institutions through which it frames and administers its
external relations. It also explores the problems and challenges the EU faces in making its voice heard
in global affairs with particular attention being paid to the relations between the EU and China.
EUST3015. The Holocaust and its legacies (6 credits)
This course explores one of the most traumatic events of modern European history: the Holocaust. It
illustrates the complex interlinkage in the 19th and early 20th centuries between Europe’s rapid socio-
economic, demographic, military, and technological development on the one hand, and the gradual
emergence of dangerous racial, religious, ethnic, and nationalist cleavages and mindsets on the other.
The course examines 1) the political, cultural, and ideological currents that served as enabling factors
for the Holocaust, 2) the institutionalized mobilization of resources for mass genocide in the shadows
of World War II, and 3) the important political, legal, social, and attitudinal repercussions and legacies
of the Holocaust that affect and characterize European politics, philosophy, and culture until today.
Particular attention will be paid to the ‘politics of memory’ and its relevance for contemporary European
societies.
EUST3016. Europe and Scandinavia: Economies, business cultures, and social models (6
credits)
This course analyzes the ideational foundations, structural conditions, and cultural contexts shaping the
European and Scandinavian economy, its social welfare systems, and its diverse business cultures. It
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elucidates why and how European economies and companies have been successful in achieving a very
high level of competitiveness while developing extensive welfare systems. By focusing specifically on
Scandinavian countries, the course illustrates how cultural predilections and public attitudes influence
the ways of organizing the economy and society. The course also explores major future challenges to
these economic and social models (demographic decline, rising global competition, and economic
fragility of some welfare systems) and asks what China and Hong Kong can learn from the Nordic
experience.
This course will deepen your understanding of European imperialism and the Chinese experience with
European imperialism by exploring the broader currents of European imperial expansion from 1800 to
1945. This course emphasizes the British and French imperial missions in two countries: China and
Egypt. In addition, French and British imperial expansion in Southeast Asia, Japan, Madagascar, and
the Levant (present-day Turkey) will also be considered. Though many European countries participated
in Europe’s colonial expansion, this course will focus on the British and French experiences. The main
learning outcome of the course is for you to be able to assess critically the European colonial experience
and to examine critically its broader political, economic, historical, literary and artistic legacy.
The main purpose of this course is to introduce students to ideas and concepts that have shaped Western
civilisation, particularly Europe. It seeks to demonstrate that the current project of European unification
is best understood against a specific historical background which made it possible conceptually and
feasible politically. For example, the evolution of the concept of European citizenship can be traced
back to Rene Descartes, who presaged the notion of moral autonomy; to Jean Jacques Rousseau, who
conceptualised a Social Contract and the republican notion of citizenship; Immanuel Kant, who foresaw
the need for transcending the boundaries of nation-states; and finally and more recently to Jürgen
Habermas, who revived these ideals after the devastating experience of the two world wars in Europe.
This course is intended for students who have no previous knowledge of Russian. The main objective
of the course is to provide students with a firm foundation in the four language skills (reading, writing,
listening and speaking) as well as to offer insights into Russian-speaking cultures. Through an action-
based approach, this course should quickly enable participants to engage in simple conversations and
interactive situations. Students should understand and use familiar everyday expressions and basic
phrases. More specifically, they should be able to introduce themselves and others, ask and answer
questions about personal details and interact in a simple way. Classes will be conducted in small groups
in order to ensure a high degree of interaction between students and teachers.
The aim of this course is to develop students’ language proficiency at a higher level by building on the
skills acquired in RUSS1001. The objectives are to consolidate the knowledge acquired in the first
semester and to broaden participants’ foundation in Russian in the four language skills (reading, writing,
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listening and speaking) through an action-based approach. Classes will be conducted in small groups in
order to ensure a high degree of interaction between students and teachers.
Prerequisite: RUSS1001. Russian I.1
RUSS1021. Introduction to Russian culture and society (6 credits)
The course is designed to familiarize students with the culture of Russia. The topics will include
different aspects of culture (musical tradition, national holidays, fine arts, theatre, and cinema.
Significant events in the life of the nation and their impact on the culture and worldview of people will
also be considered. Students will have the opportunity to learn about Russian society and comprehend
the mysterious Russian spirit. To provide necessary references in support of the discussions, the course
will bring in background information on various aspects of Russia; its government, and its political,
social, and demographic environment. The teaching material and resources used for this course will be
in English, and the main medium of instruction will be English.
This course continues to build on work done in the First Year. The intention is to develop students’
understanding and use of Russian in the areas of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Class lectures
are based on interactive methods and approaches whereby participants are encouraged to be creative,
problem-solving users of the language at pre-intermediate level. Literary and non-literary Russian texts
selected from various sources will be used, with the aim of stimulating critical reading and discussion.
Class activities will also be supported by audio-visual and web-based materials which will help students
to familiarize themselves further with the actual usage of the language. Tutorial groups will be arranged
separately to practice spoken Russian.
This course is a continuation of RUSS2001. Russian II.1. The intention is to develop students’
understanding and use of Russian in the areas of speaking and listening, reading and writing. Class
lectures are based on interactive methods and approaches whereby participants are encouraged to be
creative, problem-solving users of the language at intermediate level. Literary and non-literary Russian
texts selected from various sources will be used, with the aim of stimulating critical reading and
discussion. Class activities will also be supported by audio-visual and web-based materials which will
help students to familiarize themselves further with the actual usage of the language. Tutorial groups
will be arranged separately to practice spoken Russian.
Prerequisite: RUSS2001. Russian II.1
RUSS2020. Contemporary Russia (6 credits)
This course is designed to review key aspects of Russia’s culture and politics as well as to offer a concise
introduction to the main stages of the country’s historical and territorial development. Topics will
include institutions and society (government, education, politics, economy, labour, media, etc.) and
essential cultural features (festivals, customs, traditions, etiquette, way of life, leisure, etc.). Major
events that have contributed to the shaping of the country will also be presented and their significance
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discussed. The role and place of the regions within this historical process will be examined, so as to
understand the correlation of distinct regional characteristics with related historical developments. At
the same time, the course will relate these facts to significant moments of the country’s recent history,
such as the post-war period of recovery, the desovietization process, the construction of the Russian
speaking world, the Eurasian Asian Economic Union, Customs Union projects and turn to the East
politics. The medium of instruction is English.
RUSS2021. Russian music and cinema from Lenin to Putin (6 credits)
The course offers an introduction to the development of Russian music and cinema and shows how
historical events, affected the content and form of songs and movies. It also explains how art was a way
of self-expression, the mouthpiece of propaganda, and at the same time the way to oppose the
government. Students will be offered to listen and watch various types of audio and video materials,
see how topics and approaches changed through the years and what is the role of music and cinema in
Russian culture. The teaching material and resources used for this course will be in Russian, and the
main medium of instruction will be Russian.
RUSS3001. Russian III.1 (6 credits)
In this course students continue to build upon work done in the First and Second Year. The intention
is to further expand students’ proficiency in Russian. Class lectures will make use of interactive
approaches so as to elicit creativity, problem-solving skills, and encourage the participants to become
advanced users of the language. Various literary and non-literary texts from Russia and other Russian-
speaking countries will be used, with the aim of stimulating critical reading and discussion. Learning
activities will also be supported by audio-visual and web-based materials which will help students to
better understand Russian and Slav languages socio-cultural environments. Tutorial groups will be
arranged separately to foster oral expression and debating skills.
Prerequisite: RUSS2002. Russian II.2
This course is a continuation of RUSS3001. Russian III.1. The intention is to further expand students’
proficiency in Russian. Class lectures will make use of interactive approaches so as to elicit creativity,
problem-solving skills, and to encourage participants to become independent users of the language.
Various literary and non-literary texts from Russian and other Russian-speaking countries will be used,
with the aim of stimulating critical reading and discussion. Learning activities will also be supported
by audio-visual and web-based materials which will help students to better understand Russian and Slav
socio-cultural environments. The selection of documents will serve as a basis for discussions pertaining
Russian society as well as the students’ own experiences of Hong Kong society. Tutorial groups will
be arranged separately to foster oral expression and debating skills.
Prerequisite: RUSS3001. Russian III.1
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European Studies majors must take twelve to eighteen credits from the following list, including courses
from at least two disciplines/Programmes. European Studies minors must take eighteen credits of any
courses from the following list.
{Note:
1. EUROPEAN STUDIES COURSES
EUST2014. Classical roots of European civilization (6 credits)
EUST2016. Creative industries in Europe in a global context (6 credits)
EUST2017. World War I (6 credits)
EUST2021. The European revolutions (6 credits)
EUST2022. European transitions – Germany and Central Europe after the Second World War
(6 credits)
EUST3005. European Studies internship (6 credits)
EUST3015. The Holocaust and its legacies (6 credits)
EUST3016. Europe and Scandinavia: Economies, business cultures, and social models (6
credits)
2. DEPARTMENTAL COURSES
Art History
ARTH2012. Italian Renaissance art and architecture (6 credits)
ARTH2013. Northern Renaissance art (6 credits)
ARTH2025. The art of the Baroque ca. 1560-1720 (6 credits)
ARTH2026. The age of revolution: Art in Europe, 1750-1840 (6 credits)
ARTH2027. The formation of modernity: Art in Europe, 1840-1990 (6 credits)
ARTH2028. Vision in crisis (6 credits)
ARTH2077. The European city in the early modern world (6 credits)
ARTH2082. Decorative arts in Europe (6 credits)
ARTH2102. The connecting sea: An introduction to East Mediterranean archaeology (6
credits)
ARTH2104. Art of Renaissance Europe (6 credits)
ARTH3021. Visual culture in the age of European expansion ca. 1450-1750 (6 credits)
China Studies
290
Comparative Literature
CLIT2003. Modern drama in comparative perspective (6 credits)
Economics
ECON2252. Theory of international trade (6 credits)
ECON2253. International Macroeconomics (6 credits)
ECON2272. History of economic thought (6 credits)
ECON2276. State, law and the economy (6 credits)
English Studies
History
HIST2013. Twentieth-century Europe, Part I: the European Civil War, 1914-1945 (6 credits)
HIST2014. Twentieth-century Europe, Part II: Europe divided and undivided, 1945-1991 (6
credits)
HIST2046. The modern European city: Urban living and open spaces (6 credits)
HIST2062. From empire to EU: Culture, politics and society in twentieth-century Britain (6
credits)
HIST2063. Europe and modernity: Cultures and identities, 1890-1940 (6 credits)
HIST2073. Prussia in the age of absolutism and reform, 1648-1815 (6 credits)
HIST2076. Germany and the Cold War (6 credits)
HIST2078. Renaissance Europe, 1453-1648 (6 credits)
HIST2079. Early modern Europe, 1648-1789 (6 credits)
HIST2082. Europe and its others (6 credits)
HIST2086. Bismarck: The Iron Chancellor (6 credits)
291
HIST2103. Russian state and society in the 20th century (6 credits)

HIST2108. Empire and the making of modern France (6 credits)
HIST2109. Modern France: Society, politics and culture (6 credits)
HIST2111. War and medicine in Europe, 1800-1950 (6 credits)
HIST2120. International trade and finance in the early-modern world (6 credits)
HIST2122. The history of sport in modern Europe (6 credits)
HIST2133. The Weimar Republic through documents, 1918-1933 (6 credits)
HIST2134. The Third Reich through documents, 1933-1945 (6 credits)
HIST2135. Cold War Germany through documents, 1945-1990 (6 credits)
HIST3025. Hitler and the National Socialist ideology (6 credits)
Language Programmes
FREN2027. French culture and society (6 credits)
FREN2221. A profile of contemporary France (6 credits)
FREN2222. Wine culture in France (6 credits)
FREN3001. French III.1 (6 credits)
FREN3021. Francophone literatures and identities (6 credits)
FREN3022. French and Francophone cinema (6 credits)
FREN3023. Media watch: Tracking French news (6 credits)
FREN3024. Modern French literature (6 credits)
FREN3026. Conveying otherness: French imaginings of Asia (6 credits)
FREN3030. Guided writing in French (capstone experience) (6 credits)
GREK3001. Greek III.1 (6 credits)
GRMN2023. Media and society (6 credits)
GRMN2027. Understanding Germany and her German-speaking neighbours (6 credits)
GRMN3001. German III.1 (6 credits)
GRMN3022. German project (capstone experience) (6 credits)
GRMN3028. Kino! Studies in German cinema (6 credits)
GRMN3029. History of the German language and German linguistics (6 credits)
GRMN3033. Gender equality in German-speaking countries and the European Union (6
credits)
ITAL2021. Italian reading course (6 credits)
ITAL2023. Italian lifestyle and culture (6 credits)
ITAL2024. Italian cinema (6 credits)
ITAL2026. A comparative overview of the Romance languages (6 credits)
ITAL3001. Italian III.1 (6 credits)
ITAL3021. Contemporary Italian literature (6 credits)
PORT2221. Portuguese reading course (6 credits)
PORT3001. Portuguese III.1 (6 credits)
RUSS2020. Contemporary Russia (6 credits)
SPAN2025. Spanish-writing workshop I (6 credits)
SPAN2027. Cultural icons from the Hispanic world (6 credits)
SPAN2028. Spanish for professional purposes (6 credits)
SPAN3001. Spanish III.1 (6 credits)
SPAN3023. Hispanic visual and literary cultures (6 credits)
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SPAN3028. Spanish for business and intercultural communication (COIL) (6 credits)

SPAN4003. Developing autonomy in Spanish language learning (capstone experience) (6
credits)
SWED2003. Nordic lights: Introduction to cultures and societies in Scandinavia (6 credits)
SWED3001. Swedish III.1 (6 credits)
{Note:
some language culture courses have a third-year language course prerequisite, students are
advised to check with the relevant Programmes}
Music
MUSI2054. The piano (6 credits)
MUSI3029. Music and scientific thoughts: past and present (capstone experience) (6 credits)
MUSI3037. Opera (capstone experience) (6 credits)
Philosophy
PHIL2010. Plato (6 credits)
PHIL2011. Aristotle (6 credits)
PHIL2020. Descartes (6 credits)
PHIL2025. Hume (6 credits)
PHIL2030. Kant’s critical philosophy (6 credits)
PHIL2040. Nietzsche (6 credits)
PHIL2060. Wittgenstein (6 credits)
PHIL2077. Habermas (6 credits)
PHIL2080. Marxist philosophy (6 credits)
PHIL2210. Metaphysics (6 credits)

POLI2105. Introduction to comparative politics (6 credits)
POLI2106. Introduction to international relations (6 credits)
POLI3005. Capitalism and social justice (6 credits)
POLI3010. Democracy and its critics (6 credits)
POLI3067. Liberalism and its limits (6 credits)
Sociology
SOCI2001. Classical social theory (6 credits)
SOCI3024. Modern social theory (6 credits)
Translation
CHIN2358. Journeys to the East: Translation and China in the Literary Imagination of the
West (6 credits)
GLOBAL CREATIVE INDUSTRIES
The creative industries have become one of the fastest-growing and increasingly influential sectors of
the global economy. As such, they have attracted the attention of almost everyone, from Government
policy makers to academics in a variety of disciplines (economics, economic geography, marketing,
management studies, sociology, organization studies, and social and cultural anthropology). The Global
Creative Industries Major provides an interdisciplinary framework for the study of the complex
relations and interactions between commerce and culture. It examines and analyzes the intertwined
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cultural, economic, social and political forces behind the commercialization of creativity and the
culturalization of commerce at an industry-level. Through its global and comparative emphasis, the
Programme aims primarily to engage students in examining different perspectives on culture and to
reflect critically on its changing roles, forms and contents in today’s society in which culture and
commerce increasingly overlap with each other.
This Programme establishes an East-West global framework for the comparative study of the creative
industries in Asia and the West. It provides students with a panoramic view of the emergence,
development and future prospect of the creative industries at global, regional, national as well as local
levels. It aims to examine some broad issues of creative industries in (I) digital media and entertainment,
(II) intellectual property rights and ethical issues, (III) branding, marketing and advertising, (IV)
cultural policy, governance, and politics, (V) management in creative industries, and (VI) experiential
learning in creative industries. It covers topics ranging from the cultural critique of the development of
the creative industries, to the examination of the process of cultural production by the way of the
assessment of cultural policy, as a means to provide students with chances to explore and analyse the
interplay of culture, business and politics.
A major in Global Creative Industries consists of a prerequisite core course (GCIN1001) and 12 other
introductory credits from any Arts programme(s) normally taken in the first year, plus 54 credits taken
in the remaining years of the Programme. These 54 credits consist of 24 credits of core courses
(GCIN2002, GCIN2003, GCIN2040 and GCIN4001) and 30 credits of elective courses listed below.
GCIN4001 is the capstone course designed to allow students to advance their analytical thinking by
permitting the application of disciplinary knowledge and principle.
A minor in Global Creative Industries consists of a 6-credit prerequisite core course (GCIN1001), 12
credits of core courses (GCIN2002 and GCIN2003) and a further 18 credits of elective courses as listed
below totaling 36 credits.
Major (72 credits)
A major in Global Creative Industries consists of 72 credits with the following components:
• Prerequisites course (6 credits):

GCIN1001. Introduction to global creative industries (6 credits)
credits)

GCIN2040. Research methods in creative industries (6 credits)
GCIN4001. Global creative industries research project (capstone experience) (6 credits)

Elective courses totally 30 credits selected from the list below, with at least 18 credits from the
same category (out of Category I to V).
• Capstone experience course:

This course will be offered to undergraduates in their fourth year.
NB 1: The capstone course designed to allow students to advance their analytical thinking by
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permitting the application of disciplinary knowledge and principles learned in the

earlier years.
Minor (36 credits)
A minor in Global Creative Industries consists of 36 credits with the following components:



Elective courses totally 18 credits selected from a category (out of Category I to V) from the
list below.
Core Courses
This introductory course will adopt an interdisciplinary approach to examine significant and complex
issues related to the emergence, development and prospect of the global creative industries. This course
is a prerequisite for all students intending to declare a major or minor in Global Creative Industries, but
it is also suitable for anyone seeking a broad understanding of the interplay between culture and creative
economy.
We will examine the concept of the ‘global creative industries’ by offering a brief overview of the
industries of advertising, art, fashion, antiques and crafts, publishing, music, performing arts, digital
entertainment, design, film and video as well as television and radio. We will survey and identify the
key players and characteristics of the emerging global creative economy by exploring the development
of creative industries in different regions, such as East Asia, North America and Europe. We will also
analyze the impact and implication of the growth of global creative industries on the role and function
of culture in society today. Our goal is to help students examine and reflect critically on the cultural,
economic, social as well as political forces that shape the form and content of global creative industries.
Prerequisite: Nil
This course is required of all students intending to major in Global Creative Industries. This course will
provide students an in-depth understanding of the mechanism of production, circulation, consumption,
regulation and representation of the global creative industries. We will examine the process of
commercialization of creativity and culture. We will focus particularly on how cultural products are
being produced, branded and reproduced at the industry-level. By drawing examples from a variety of
areas such as Korea, China, Hong Kong, Japan, America and Europe, we will demonstrate how the
business activities of the creative industries are shaped by and reshaping respective cultural traditions.
Our goal is to encourage students to critique the increasingly complex relationship and interaction
between culture and commerce.
Prerequisite: GCIN1001
295
This course is required of all students intending to major or minor in Global Creative Industries. This
course will examine the relationship between cultural policy and the development of the global creative
industries. We will analyze why and how the state intervenes in the production, distribution and
consumption of cultural goods and ideas. We will trace the development of cultural policies in different
countries through a comparative approach. We will also explore the impact and limitation of national
cultural policy in the global arena. Our goal is to help students identify and explain the complex
interaction among business, politics and culture behind the operation of the global creative industries.
Taught within a seminar type framework, students will be encouraged to select, in consultation with a
staff member, a country or an area of focus for deeper examination.
Prerequisite: i) GCIN2001 or GCIN2002 (before 2021/22 cohort); or
ii) GCIN1001 (from 2021/22 cohort)
GCIN2040. Research methods in creative industries (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the various research methods adopted by scholars in different
disciplines, and ethical issues in arising from their study of the creative industries. It starts with a
clarification of the differences between methods and methodologies, before going on to examine the
different methods used to conduct research in the creative industries by scholars working in cultural
policy, management studies, economic. geography, economics, and anthropology, among others. It is
then followed by introducing students various surveys of different research methods, including library
and archival research, in-depth interviews and focus group research, statistical surveys, fieldwork
participant observation, and goal-oriented policy research. This course ends with two lectures that, one
of which discusses the importance of ethical issues in research, as well as, more practically, the other
one teaches students how to apply for ethnical approval in their research projects.
of a teacher in Global Creative Industries. Students will be expected to explore in depth a topic of
interest to them in relation to the development of the global creative industries and the interaction
between culture and commerce. We will provide a research skills workshop for students undertaking
this course.
Prerequisite: i) GCIN2001 and GCIN2002 (before 2021/22 cohort); or
ii) GCIN2040 (from 2021/22 cohort)
This course is required of all students intending to major in Global Creative Industries. It examines the
actual operation and practices of the cultural and creative industries. We will investigate the roles of
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cultural worker, the complex organizational networks of the industries as well as the management
principles of people, resources and creativity embedded in the production system. We will analyze and
explain the social logics of a variety of prevailing business models of public and private cultural
enterprises. We will discuss theoretical and practical issues facing entrepreneurs, artists and managers
in the industries, for instance, funding, piracy, sustainability and marketing and branding. Our goal is
to help students understand the concrete details of the division of labor, institutional arrangement and
business principles of the global creative industries and challenge them to seek new solutions to the
existing problems.
Prerequisite: i) GCIN1001 (before 2021/22 cohort); or
ii) Nil (from 2021/22 cohort)
GCIN2005. Internship in global creative industries (6 credits)
This course enables students to understand the creativity and innovation process of cultural production.
It gives students chances to experience the practical business environment through onsite work and
interaction with creative and support personnel in creative institutions and companies. Students are
required to complete a report which examines the socio-cultural factors which affect the business
strategies and success of the creative enterprises. The major aim of the course is to develop students’
in-depth understanding of the interplay among the business operation of the creative industries and other
social, cultural and political forces. Students intending to undertake this course have to pass the
assessment for the confirmation of placement.
GCIN2008. Advertising: Cultural and organizational dynamics (6 credits)
This course enables students to study the cultural and organizational dynamics of the advertising
industry to understand the economic, social, cultural and material processes that underpin the whole
industry. Through an in-depth and comparative study of the creative processes, technology adaptation,
value chains, overall organizational structures, and consumer images of the industry, the course aims to
engage students in a critical discourse on the complex interplay between the economic and cultural
forces which drive the development of the advertising industry in the global market.
Prerequisite: Nil
The overall aim of the course is to analyse and understand the functioning of art worlds in a global
context. It is taught primarily by lectures, with accompanying tutorials, and focuses on the different
attitudes and values brought to bear on art works by different people in an art world. Because such
works are not just appreciated in aesthetic and historical terms, but are also traded as part of an art
market, the course seeks to tease apart the strictly cultural and aesthetic from other, social and economic,
aspects that affect the production, distribution and consumption of art works.
Prerequisite: Nil
297
This course is an introduction to the exciting new field of video game studies. The course starts with
tracing the historical background and recent development of the video game industry, followed by
discussions on the major methods and approaches used to analyze video games as a cultural product.
Through in-depth and comparative study of video games in social, economic, aesthetic, psychological,
and gender perspectives, the course aims to engage students in a critical discourse on the major debates
surrounding the medium.
Prerequisite: Nil
GCIN2013. Understanding Japanese video game industry (6 credits)
This course is a critical overview of the Japanese video game industry. Once a dominant force in video
game industry, the Japanese video game developers are now facing stiff challenges from both the
overseas developers and other emerging media of entertainment. The course starts with tracing the
history and development of the industry, followed by an overview of the process of creation,
development, marketing, circulation, and consumption locally in Japan. Then the focus will be shifted
across the borders, examining how Japanese video game products adapt and compete in the overseas
markets according to different local social, economic, and cultural circumstances.
Prerequisite: Nil
Creative entrepreneurs bridge the gap between arts/culture and economy/consumption. They are keys
in defining what culture to be consumed and promoted. This course discusses the most critical essences
of a successful Creative entrepreneur. It showcases a holistic approach of entrepreneurial process and
the importance of creativity and innovation in modern cultural industrial world. Through this
interdisciplinary program that covers theoretical and functional areas of recent development in global
and China creative industries, together with coherent and detailed knowledge of creative
entrepreneurship, students will learn how creative ideas, inventions, and skills are generated and
transformed into commercial and social ventures. Special emphasis will be placed on China context
where the industry is undergoing a booming time.
Prerequisite: Nil
Cultural industries often receive considerable supports from their governments. However, what makes
a creative enterprise grow is its ability to get strong financial supports in the market. As the cultural
industries are characterised by a high level of volatility and a strong dependence on human capital, their
fundraising solutions are unique and innovative. This course discusses and examines different financing
solutions to high-growth creative industries and how they are different from the traditional solutions for
manufacturing-based industries. With in-depth discussions of theories and case studies, students will
gain comprehensive understanding of business plan evaluation, the economics of different financial
solutions for creative industries and the key to a successful financing. Students will be also encouraged
to critically examine the interplay of cultural, economic and governmental influences upon financing
effectiveness. Special attention will be paid to China w hose the industries are booming.
This course is designed for non-business major students who are assumed to have limited background
knowledge of the fundamental concepts and practices of financing. Interaction is encouraged in classes,
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and fundamental theories are followed by practical suggestions and opportunities to apply them to the
case studies discussed in class.
Prerequisite: Nil
The course examines and compares the development of the luxury markets in different regions in East
Asia including Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Japan and Korea. Through in-depth case studies, the course
enables students to analyze various branding and marketing, business management, pricing and product
assortment strategies of luxury brands operating in East Asia. This course aims at enabling students to
identify the cultural specificity of the production, circulation and consumption of luxury goods in East
Asia and to reflect on the cultural concepts of pleasure and beauty embedded in the specific industrial
and social contexts.
Prerequisite: Nil
Students will learn from a variety of art professionals about their roles in the creative industry and how
they earn their living in Hong Kong. They will need to critically evaluate the industry structure from
different theoretical frameworks, formulate their own ideas and learn how to function in a sustainable
way in Hong Kong society. By the end of the course students should be able to assess the structure of
an individual organization, the industry and how it functions in the broad economic, cultural and social
system.
Prerequisite: Nil
Digitalization has become a central part of consumer life and the business world. Our economy, society
and culture are being significantly (re-)articulated and shaped of digitalization and the Internet. In
addition, new media and social media have become two very important pillars of creativity and
innovation, marketing and management practices for consumer and business, from designing, hiring,
reputation management to customer service. Different forms of new media, and social media, including
QR codes, YouTube, Facebook MeWe, Instagram, Pinterest, Netflix Amazon, and Apple TV+, etc. are
dramatically changing creative processes, technological development, value chains, buying behavior
and customer service in our society. The course aims to provide students with an insight into how new
media and social media inspire creativity and innovation, affect consumers and the society, as well as
the cultural and organizational dynamics of the business world.
Prerequisite: Nil
GCIN2021. Creative industries, supply chain management and business model innovations (6
credits)
This course will provide students with an in-depth understanding of the role of creative industries in
modern supply chain management, and business model innovations. We will examine the flow and
process of supply chain management which includes product design and development, raw material
sourcing, vendor selection, manufacturing, quality control, logistics, distribution and retailing. We will
299
focus particularly on how creative industries play their roles in each node of the supply chain. By
drawing examples from a variety of companies and field experiences from practicing experts, our goal
is to demonstrate to students and encourage them to critique the increasingly complex relationship and
interaction between creative industries and supply chain management. Guest speakers will be invited to
share field experiences, where and when necessary.
Prerequisite: Nil
GCIN2023. Fashion entrepreneurship (6 credits)
The fashion industry does not only need good designers but also entrepreneurs who understand the
language of design and designers. This course aims to provide the fundamental knowledge, skills and
values to students who have the desire to become fashion entrepreneurs in the future, with a focus on
start-up and small-scale business. The course will be taught through lectures, but will also include
external guest speakers’ seminars, workshops, projects on practical fashion businesses, visits to fashion
companies / boutiques, exhibitions and fashion shows.
Prerequisite: Nil
GCIN2025. Strategic fashion branding and marketing (6 credits)
This course allows students to learn the strategic theory and practices of branding and marketing in the
fashion industry through lectures, external guest speakers’ seminars and visits to fashion boutiques,
design studios and fashion companies. The course covers consumers’ behavior, branding through
products development, fashion communication strategy, fashion advertising, celebrity endorsement,
marketing events, public relations and sales promotion.
Prerequisite: Nil
The development of creative industries requires a business-friendly environment plus a legal

environment which respect the rule of law. This course explores the changing interface between the
creative industries and law. By studying the fundamental legal principles behind the economic
development of the creative industries such as contracts, the company, competition and intellectual
property, students will be able to learn about how the changes in laws may facilitate or hamper the
business environment for creative industries, or whether these laws may stimulate more creativity in
the work place or hinder the creativity by putting more legal restrictions. Apart from Hong Kong
materials, discussion may also be extended to some jurisdictions such as Greater China region and Asia
Pacific countries.
Prerequisite: Nil
GCIN2027. Intellectual property, knowledge and creativity: Mapping out the legal issues (6
credits)
The legal principles on the protection of international intellectual property form the basis of the values
of creativity goods. These also provide the framework for national protection of intellectual property,
though adaptations may be necessary taking into account of the different path of economic development
in different countries. This course aims to provide basic legal principles of the international intellectual
300
property rights protection at international level, such as the protection under TRIPs and WIPO. In
addition, international and regional institutions aiming at protecting intellectual property rights would
also be closely examined. Finally, in consideration of the technological innovations, this course will
also examine the ways how different government authorities deal with on-line privacy and digital law
enforcement.
GCIN2029. Understanding video games: How to design popular culture (6 credits)
The course looks at how elements in video games are drawn from existing popular culture and other
cultural products, and focuses in particular on the socio-cultural relations linking gaming with social
values, cultural beliefs, art and literature, politics, and money. It is taught primarily by lectures and class
work, and is attentive to both commercial and independent video games, comparing what we find there
with elements found in other established forms of culture, modern or traditional, commercialized or
independent. It thus looks at how video games are embedded in a larger and deeper context of cultural
organization and practices that brings together different worlds, and tries to explain why they took a
certain form, and why they are so popular and successful.
Prerequisite: Nil
This course investigates gender issues in the creative and cultural industries. The creative and cultural
industries cover business-related industries such as films, TV, video and music industries, but also
cultural sectors such as museums, galleries and libraries. However, given that a large number of female
workers and activists are working in the creative industries, the problem of unequal gender opportunities
still exists. Women are still often perceived to be less creative than men. The unequal and unnoticed
lives of women are often obscured by high-profile and highly-paid male workers who normally assume
the leadership roles in the creative industries. Further, the gender-related barriers that exist in other
industry sectors are also prevalent within the creative and cultural sectors. The key issues in the creative
industries are exemplified by the opportunity gap, wage gap and perception gap. By analysing the
development of selected sectors of the creative industries, this course explores discriminatory issues
relating to gender and the ways and means available to narrow inequality between men and women.
Prerequisite: Nil
This course provides an overview of political communication theories, modes, means and institutions,
aiming to understand the role of communication, media and public relations in the political context.
Key areas covered by the course include prevalent political communication theories, trends, the role
and impact of communication in the public opinion process, elections, debates, political campaigning
and advertising, art and visuality, and popular culture.
Prerequisite: Nil
GCIN2035. Digital economy, media and entertainment (6 credits)
This course provides a critical introduction to the latest development of the media and entertainment
301
industries in the digital economy. It introduces the key approaches and perspectives to the study of the
global media and entertainment industries. It invites students to examine the impact of digitalization on
the production, circulation, consumption and regulation of media and entertainment content. It also
interrogates the changing organization and management of the media and entertainment industries.
Drawing on international and especially Asian cases, the course explains the emergence of the major
digital entertainment forms today including social media, video games, online videos and live-streaming
and digital animation and visual effects.
Prerequisite: Nil
GCIN2036. Visual communication and marketing (6 credits)
Visual communication (VC) not just concerns about the graphics and layout of a presentation or a
product. When we do promotion or advertisement in both printed and non-printed media, VC is one of
the key components to an effective communication. In order to achieve this in the business marketing,
this course with multimedia lectures, case analysis and practical projects introduces the science behind
our brains and visual content, rules of visual design, sociolinguistics and cultural concerns, visual
semiotics theories, information design, data visualisation, storytelling skills, and brand identity building
in traditional, transitional, and new media.
Prerequisite: Nil
GCIN2037. Marketing and managing fandom (6 credits)
Fans are important assets that many of them are hardcore customers and loyal supporters to their objects
of affection. This course, compiles with interdisciplinary lectures and case studies, will discuss the
motivation, intention and personal development of a fan of someone or something, categorisation of
stereotypes of fans, the formation of fandom as a community to share common fan ideologies and
practices, strategies to manage and deal with conflicts between fans, non-fans and anti-fans, concerns
of political and copyright issues, and possible online and offline marketing and management strategies
in celebrities, ACG (anime, comics and games), sports, and brand businesses.
Prerequisite: Nil
GCIN2038. Entertainment markets and digital audiences in Asia (6 credits)
How the production, circulation and consumption of the entertainment content have been changed in
the digital economy will be examined in this course and it highlights the changing role of audiences in
the entertainment industries. The course will start with some of the core concepts and critical
perspectives needed to understand the entertainment market in digital economy. By critically analyzing
various case studies of the entertainment industries in Asia, it will then explore how digital technology
have transformed but also established the entertainment markets. In the last part of the course, it will
identify the various representations of digital audiences in the entertainment industries and investigate
how the role of digital audiences has changed from the passive actors to the active participants involved
in the digital entertainment industries. The assessment task enables students to develop a broad grasp
of the general contextual circumstances of digital economy within which entertainment industries and
markets organize and operate, and so is relevant to the role of digital audiences.
Prerequisite: Nil
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GCIN2039. New media and global popular culture industry (6 credits)
Popular culture or low culture is not limited to be consumed as entertainment as it cultivates various
sets of practices, beliefs, and shared meanings in societies. With social and cultural concerns, popular
culture also plays an important role in the economy. This course sets with multimedia lectures,
experience sharing and field studies, will let students to explore the businesses, collaboration between
businesses, as well as individual participants like KOLs and daigou-ers who contribute to the
socioeconomics in the global popular culture industry, such as popular music, celebrities, ACG, and
new media industries, in the digital age.
Prerequisite: Nil
GCIN2041. Legal protection of creative industries in international perspectives (6 credits)
This course aims to give a critical introduction and discussion of the international trading system and
the international trade laws, and how these helps to shape and define the creative industries nowadays.
The course will trace the origins of the international trading system and its development after the Second
World War and examines how international trade laws help to foster the economic development of
creative industries in global perspectives. In addition, this course will provide critical analysis of the
national and transboundary legal issues of the creative industries and how these would be resolved by
international institutions.
Prerequisite: Nil
GCIN2042. Selected topics in creative industries and law (6 credits)
The practitioners of the creative industries have to face legal issues from time to time. For example,
practitioners from the music industry need to face the legal issue of internet music service; the film
industry may also need to know the legal rights of the impact of OTT service; and the gaming industry
may also need to face the legal issue of money laundering. The rapid development of the creative
industries has some common issues such as copyrights and patent but there are some issues which are
unique to creative industries such as cyber-crimes and fraud. This course would trace the origins and
development of such issues and critically examine the ways and means to tackle these issues.
Prerequisite: Nil
GCIN2043. Traditional knowledge, creativity and laws (6 credits)
This course provides an overview of the traditional knowledge, its theories, modes, means and
institutions, aiming to understanding the relationship of it with creativity, and the legal protection which
helps to offer more support to local community. Key areas covered by the course include the theory of
traditional knowledge and creativity, the legal protection of traditional knowledge in national and global
perspectives, the traditional cultural expression and creativity, the trade mark and patent of the
traditional knowledge, the roles of WIPO and international economic cooperation in promoting and
protecting traditional knowledge.
Prerequisite: Nil
303
GCIN2044. Principles in branding and advertising (6 credits)
This course provides an overview of the theories in brand building and how advertising contributes to
the successful development of a “Brand”. Key areas covered by the course include fundamental theories
in branding, brand imagery, positioning and loyalty building, different types of advertising, the
ecosystem within the creative and advertising industry and how different culture have its impact on the
execution and style of advertising in various countries.
Prerequisite: Nil
GCIN2045. Commercialisation of brands (6 credits)
This course highlights the importance of commercialisation of a brand and provides an overview of the
theories and practical strategies for implementation. Key areas covered by the course include
identification of brand values, market identification, various options on commercialisation and business
models, effective distribution and effective business planning and tracking.
Prerequisite: Nil
GCIN2046. Corporate branding and communications (6 credits)
This course provides an overview of the theories in corporate brand building and how corporate
communications contributes to portraying, establishing and preserving a corporate brand. Key areas
covered by the course include fundamental theories in corporate branding, roles of corporate
communications, public/media relations, crisis management, brand advocacy and examine the
ecosystem within the creative and public relations industry.
Prerequisite: Nil
GCIN2047. Luxury brand and service marketing (6 credits)
This course provides an overview of branding strategies in the luxury markets and contrast it with the
approach in service/intangible goods marketing. Key areas covered by the course include the definition
and contribution of the luxury markets, luxury brand positioning and loyalty building strategies with
in-depth examination of the industry dynamics within a few luxury sectors such as jewellery and
watches, fashion & beauty. The course would also study how emotional selling and event marketing
contribute to building luxury and service brands.
Prerequisite: Nil
GCIN2048. Political economy of creative industries (6 credits)
This course aims to examine the creative industries in relation to the prevailing political and economic
processes in the society – specifically, the incentives, relationships, and distribution and contestation of
power between different agents and stakeholders within the industry. Such an analysis can support more
politically feasible and therefore more effective development strategies by setting realistic expectations
of what can be achieved, over what timescale, and the risks involved. Students are expected to analyse
cultural products and symbolic goods from the environmental, organisational, economic, business
model point of view, to invent new business models and analyse cultural products in terms of their
productions risk, and to examine cultural policies and creative industries/clusters policies.
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Prerequisite: Nil
GCIN2049. Ethics and cultural policy in a global economy (6 credits)
This course is designed to introduce the critical issues in relation to the formulation and implementation
of cultural policy from a normative perspective. It will provide a broad but reasonably detailed
examination of the central issues of moral philosophy, notably nature of responsibility, business ethics,
legal ethics, and will also consider how these can be applied to several contemporary problems in
relation to the operation, engagement and development of industries. By employing a comparative
perspective, cultural, political, institutional, economic and societal factors leading to the similarities
and/or differences in the foundation and practice of cultural policy are examined with reference to the
selected countries/regions. Upon the completion of this course, students can and should be aware of the
importance of morality in upholding professionalism, leadership, integrity, trust relations, diversify,
fairness, and freedom of expression in the industries.
Prerequisite: Nil
GCIN2051. Understanding cultural politics (6 credits)
Cultural politics refers to the way that culture—including people’s attitudes, opinions, beliefs and
perspectives, as well as the media and arts—shapes society and political opinion, and gives rise to social,
economic and legal realities. This course is designed to address what is cultural about politics and what
is political about culture by bringing together text and visual art that offer diverse modes of engagement
with theory, cultural production, and politics, to analyse how cultural identities, agencies and actors,
political issues and conflicts, and global media are linked, characterized, examined, and resolved, and
to elucidate how cultural theories and practices intersect with and elucidate analyses of political power.
Topics include representation and visual culture; media, film, and communications; popular and elite
art forms; the politics of production and consumption; art and aesthetics; the culture industry; cities,
architecture, and the spatial; sports and games; global capitalism; value and ideology; power, authority,
and institutions; and identity and performance.
Prerequisite: Nil
GCIN2052. Luxury markets in Europe (6 credits)
The course examines the development of the luxury markets in Europe from a comparative perspective.
It introduces students some basic concepts pertinent to luxury markets including ‘luxury market’ and
‘brand’. It is then followed by intensive discussions on various topics including branding and marketing
of luxury goods, luxury brand management, and pricing and product assortment, as well as strategies
of luxury brands. The second half of the course devotes to thorough discussion of various famous
European brands through which students learn to analyze various branding and marketing, business
management, pricing and product assortment strategies of luxury brands operating in Europe. This
course enables students to identify the cultural specificity of the production, circulation and
consumption of luxury goods in Europe and to reflect on the cultural concepts of aesthetic pleasure and
embedded in the European luxury industrial context.
Prerequisite: Nil
305
GCIN2053. Traditional cultures and the creative industries in the Arab world (6 credits)
The course aims to examine how traditions/cultures are being reinvented, represented, reproduced and
received in the process of cultural production in the Arab world. It explores how the cultural traditions
may contribute to the development of the creative industries in the Arab world. The course will be
divided into three parts. In the first part, it examines rich cultural traditions in the Arab world. It is then
followed by the examination of the relationship between cultural traditions and the development of the
creative industries in the Arab world. Finally, this course, through various case studies, identifies the
way that cultural traditions can be branded and marketed as cultural products in the Arab world.
Prerequisite: Nil
Majors must select courses totaling 30 credits from the following list of electives with at least 18 credits
from the same category (out of Category I to V).
Minors must select courses totaling 18 credits from the following list of electives from one category
(out of Category I to V).
{Note:
Category I: Digital Media and Entertainment
School of English

GCIN2029. Understanding video games: How to design popular culture (6 credits)
GCIN2035. Digital economy, media and entertainment (6 credits)
GCIN2038. Entertainment markets and digital audiences in Asia (6 credits)
GCIN2039. New media and global popular culture industry (6 credits)
Category II: Intellectual Property Rights and Ethical Issues

GCIN2027. Intellectual property, knowledge and creativity: Mapping out the legal issues
(6 credits)
GCIN2041. Legal protection of creative industries in international perspectives (6 credits)
GCIN2042. Selected topics in creative industries and law (6 credits)
GCIN2043. Traditional knowledge, creativity and laws (6 credits)

SOCI2006. Critical issues in media studies (6 credits)
306
Category III: Branding, Marketing, and Advertising
School of Chinese

AMER2071. Practically joking: Humor and the creative impulse (6 credits)
GCIN2008. Advertising: cultural and organizational dynamics (6 credits)
GCIN2025. Strategic fashion branding and marketing (6 credits)
GCIN2036. Visual communication and marketing (6 credits)
GCIN2037. Marketing and managing fandom (6 credits)
GCIN2044. Principles in branding and advertising (6 credits)
GCIN2045. Commercialisation of brands (6 credits)
GCIN2046. Corporate branding and communications (6 credits)
GCIN2047. Luxury brand and service marketing (6 credits)
JAPN2010. Japanese business: an anthropological introduction (6 credits)
Faculty of Business and Economics

MKTG3501. Consumer behaviour (6 credits)
MKTG3511. Advertising management (6 credits)
MKTG3523. Global marketing (6 credits)
MKTG3525. Services marketing (6 credits)

SOCI2089. Japanese consumer society and popular culture (6 credits)
Category IV: Cultural Policy, Governance, and Politics

AMER2072. Field trip: Between nostalgia and forgetting, the global exhibition industry (6
credits)
GCIN2048. Political economy of creative industries (6 credits)
GCIN2049. Ethics and cultural policy in a global economy (6 credits)
GCIN2051. Understanding cultural politics (6 credits)

SOCI2077. Media, culture and communication in contemporary China (6 credits)
SOCI2080. Media and culture in modern societies (6 credits)
SOCI2085. Understanding media (6 credits)
Category V: Management in Creative Industries
ARTH2056. Museum studies workshop (6 credits)
MUSI2079. Introduction to arts administration (6 credits)

307

GCIN2021. Creative industries, supply chain management and business model innovations
(6 credits)
GCIN2023. Fashion entrepreneurship (6 credits)

SOCI2086. Sociology of art (6 credits)
Category VI: Experiential Learning in Creative Industries

GCIN2005. Internship in global creative industries (6 credits)
JAPANESE STUDIES
The Japanese Studies Programme offers three courses of study: the Major in Japanese Studies, the
Minor in Japanese Language, and the Minor in Japanese Culture.
The Major in Japanese Studies combines intensive training in Japanese language with a range of
disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives into Japanese history, literature, society, and culture.
Students follow a core language pathway for three years, developing a high level of proficiency in
Japanese while simultaneously enriching their understanding of Japan through a diverse selection of
elective courses taught in Japanese and English. These electives fall into three categories:
List A: English-medium electives
List B: Japanese-medium electives
List C: Cross-listed electives offered in other Programmes
We encourage all students intending to major in Japanese Studies to participate in the exchange
programmes in Japan, preferably for a full academic year, since our most advanced courses assume a
familiarity with Japanese language and culture that is best acquired through in-country study.
The Minor in Japanese Language follows the first three years of the core Japanese language pathway,
presenting an attractive option for students wishing to learn Japanese to complement other courses of
study.
The Minor in Japanese Culture is taught entirely in English. It allows students to explore Japanese
society and culture through a rich variety of academic perspectives, without requiring study of the
Japanese language.
Admission to the Major in Japanese Studies requires a minimum grade of C+ in all three Prerequisite
Courses (JAPN1011, JAPN1088, JAPN1099). Admission to the Minor in Japanese Language
requires a minimum grade of C+ in the two language Prerequisite Courses (JAPN1088, JAPN1099).
The Major and Minor requirements listed below are for students with no prior knowledge of Japanese.
Students with prior knowledge of Japanese can complete a Major in Japanese Studies or a Minor in
Japanese Language by entering the core language pathway at a higher level and taking additional
elective courses to complete the total number of required credits. These students should contact the
School of Modern Languages and Cultures for information on the date and time of the placement test,
which is normally held during the first week of the add/drop period.
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Major in Japanese Studies (72 credits)

JAPN1011. Introduction to Japanese Studies (6 credits)
JAPN1088. Japanese language I (Part 1) (6 credits)
• Core language courses (24 credits):

JAPN2088. Japanese language II (Part 1) (6 credits)
JAPN3088. Japanese language III (Part 1) (6 credits)

One course chosen from List A (English-medium electives) (6 credits)
One course chosen from List B (Japanese-medium electives) (6 credits)
Two elective courses, chosen from List A, List B, or List C (12 credits)

JAPN3082. Japanese Studies internship: Capstone experience (6 credits); OR
JAPN4099. Japanese language IV (Part 2): Capstone experience (6 credits); OR
JAPN4101. Japanese Studies research project: Capstone experience (6 credits)
Note: Students intending to complete the Major in Japanese Studies should aim to complete the
three Prerequisite Courses JAPN1011, JAPN1088, and JAPN1099 during their first year of study.
These courses have a limited number of places. Year 1 students receive priority for enrolment, and
students in Year 3 or above are NOT eligible to enroll in these courses.
Minor in Japanese Language (36 credits)


Minor in Japanese Culture (36 credits)


Three courses chosen from List A (18 credits)
Two courses chosen from either List A or List C (12 credits)
Note: Students in Year 3 or above are NOT eligible to enroll in JAPN1011. Students in Year 3 or
above wishing to declare a Minor in Japanese Culture who have not completed JAPN1011 must
seek approval from the School of Modern Languages and Cultures to substitute an additional
elective course from List A in place of JAPN1011.
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Introduction to Japanese Studies is a survey course of Japan, examining various aspects of Japanese
history, culture, literature, film, politics and contemporary society. Students will not only learn about
Japan, but also learn how to analyse it critically. By the end of the course, students should have a broad
understanding of Japan and the different approaches and questions posed by the diverse disciplines
making up Japanese Studies.
This course is targeted primarily at those Faculty of Arts’ students who have enrolled in Japanese
language courses, but students from other faculties may take the course subject to availability. Students
in Year 3 or above are NOT eligible to enroll in this course.
Assessment: 100% coursework (presentations, essay assignments, etc.)
This introductory course is designed for complete beginners in the study of the Japanese language. The
fundamentals of the language will be presented through a carefully graded syllabus. While the emphasis
is on a thorough understanding of basic Japanese grammar and vocabulary, it also aims to develop
communicative competence in order to prepare students for smooth transition to the study of Japanese
at a more advanced level. Students in Year 3 or above are NOT eligible to enroll in this course.
Assessment: 100% coursework (including tests, quizzes, assignments/class performance and final
oral test)
N.B. Since Chinese characters are an integral part of this course and will be given no separate
introduction by the course instructors, students with no prior knowledge of Chinese characters should
ensure that they discuss this issue with their class teacher at the beginning of the semester.
This elementary Japanese course focuses on proficiency-based foreign language learning. While the
emphasis is on a thorough understanding of basic Japanese grammar and vocabulary, it also aims to
develop communicative competence in order to prepare students for a smooth transition to the study of
Japanese at a more advanced level. Students in Year 3 or above are NOT eligible to enroll in this course.
Prerequisite: JAPN1088. Japanese language I (Part 1)
Assessment: 100% coursework (including tests, quizzes, assignments/class performance and final
oral test)
N.B. Since Chinese characters are an integral part of this course and will be given no separate
introduction by the course instructors, students with no prior knowledge of Chinese characters should
ensure that they discuss this issue with their class teacher at the beginning of the semester.
Core Language Courses
This course is a continuation of JAPN1099. Japanese language I (Part 2). Students will learn
elementary vocabularies, grammar patterns and linguistic knowledge in grammar classes, which
provides the linguistic foundation for the acquisition of the four language skills of speaking, listening,
reading and writing in Japanese. These four skills are to be consolidated and enhanced by various
activities in class.
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Prerequisite: Minimum grade of C+ in both JAPN1088. Japanese language I (Part 1) and

JAPN1099. Japanese language I (Part 2), or equivalent
N.B. This course is designed for students who have successfully passed the first-year language course
JAPN1099, and are still at the elementary level. Students with an intermediate or upper level should
check with the applicable teachers as to their suitability for the course before enrolling in it. Students
may be required to take a placement test.
This course is a continuation of JAPN2088. Japanese language II (Part 1). Students will learn most
of the vocabularies and grammar of the elementary level, and develop the four language skills of
speaking, listening, reading and writing by applying what they have learnt. Students will proceed
gradually to the intermediate level.
Prerequisite: JAPN2088. Japanese language II (Part 1)
N.B. This course is designed for students who have successfully passed JAPN2088, and are still at the
elementary level. Students with an intermediate or upper level should check with the applicable teachers
as to their suitability for the course before enrolling in it. Students may be required to take a placement
test.
This course is a continuation of JAPN2099. Japanese language II (Part 2), and aims at developing a
more integrated proficiency in the Japanese language by building on the foundation students have
already acquired. Practical training will be given to further develop the four language skills of speaking,
listening, reading and writing, using a wide range of materials and activities. Students who took part in
a one-year exchange programme to Japan are not eligible to take this course.
Prerequisite: JAPN2099. Japanese language II (Part 2) or equivalent
Assessment: 100% coursework (test, quizzes, presentation and homework)
This course is a continuation of JAPN3088. Japanese language III (Part 1) and focuses on further
developing integrated proficiency in the Japanese language, with an emphasis on increasing accuracy
and fluency. The course aims at helping students acquire synthetic Japanese abilities. Students who
have taken part in a one-year exchange programme to Japan are not eligible to take this course.
Prerequisite: JAPN3088. Japanese language III (Part 1)
Assessment: 100% coursework (test, quizzes, presentation and homework)
JAPN3082. Japanese Studies internship: Capstone experience (6 credits)
This course offers students an internship learning experience by allowing them to take their classroom
towards their degree, and engage in a rich experience by working in an organisation or company that
has a real impact on society. The internship experience draws on coursework offered by the Department
of Japanese Studies and allows students to work in Japanese companies, or in companies which have a
strong connection to Japan and demonstrates the use of Japanese in the community.
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Prerequisite: JAPN2088. Japanese language II (Part 1) or JAPN3088. Japanese language III

(Part 1)
Assessment: 100% course work (graded on a distinction/pass/fail basis)
JAPN4099. Japanese language IV (Part 2): Capstone experience (6 credits)
Japanese language IV (Part 2) is for students who took part in a one-year exchange programme in
Japan or who have a similar level of proficiency in Japanese. The course consists of various learning
units to improve reading, writing, and oral/aural skills. Skills acquired in the language elective course
JAPN4088 Japanese language IV (Part 1) will be continuously applied to the learning activities
carried out in this course. Credit transfer for this course is not accepted.
Prerequisite: JAPN4088. Japanese language IV (Part 1) and/or the course instructors’ approval
JAPN4101. Japanese Studies research project: Capstone experience (6 credits)
The Japanese Studies research project will allow students to pursue independent research under the
supervision of a Japanese Studies teacher. The course is designed to provide students with the
opportunity to explore in depth a topic related to Japanese Studies. They may choose to adopt a
disciplinary approach (e.g. history, politics, literature, film, anthropology) or engage in a multi-
disciplinary approach, depending on the nature of the question or issue of inquiry. Students wishing to
take this capstone course should consult with a teacher who is willing to supervise them before enrolling.
Students must also complete a research proposal template and submit to their proposed supervisor
before the beginning of semester.
{Note:
List A: English Medium Electives
JAPN2010. Japanese business: an anthropological introduction (6 credits)
Japanese economic growth has been one of the most remarkable success stories of the past century.
Japanese management practices have emerged from Japan’s particular path to modernization and its
capitalist conditions. What are the characteristics of Japanese capitalism? In what ways do capitalist
economies differ from one another in their social organization, institutional embeddedness, gendered
relations, and modes of governance? What are the challenges of such differences for management and
economic performance in a competitive global economy? How have Japanese corporations responded
to the processes of globalization and neo-liberalization? In tackling these questions, we will analyze the
issues of industrialization, globalization and neoliberalism as well as a broad range of topics, including
those related to labor, industrial organization, management, the theory of the firm, gender, and economic
reforms in Japanese society. Thus this course challenges the common views of “Japanese management”
and “Japanese corporations.” It introduces the complex development of Japanese capitalism from the
early 19th century to the present and examines ongoing transformations within Japanese capitalism.
312
JAPN2011. Anthropology of Japan (6 credits)
This course explores the major institutions, ideas, and historical and contemporary issues that shape
Japanese culture and society today. Using an anthropological perspective, this course focuses on the
three major social institutions in Japan of home, school, and work in order to ground students in the
primary sociocultural structures of life in Japan, and also to think about how these institutions are
changing under new socioeconomic, demographic, and global transformations. In addition, the course
will examine ethnographic case studies to show how anthropologists have examined a variety of social
and cultural issues such as religion and ritual, ethnicity and immigration, youth and subculture, gender
and sexuality, and globalization in Japan.
JAPN2045. Sex, gender, and technology in Japan (6 credits)
This course introduces the social scientific study of gender, sexuality, and family in Japan from the
postwar to the contemporary period from a comparative perspective. For many people, Japan represents
a sweeping stereotype of extreme gender norms vis-à-vis contemporary Euro-American gender norms
and manifestations. Such stereotypes are employed not only by outsiders to critique the society
ethnocentrically, but also by some natives as well. Both sides frequently comment on the ways gender
and gendered expectations shape and even determine contemporary experiences of “being Japanese.”
Furthermore, stereotypes about gender and sexuality in Japan frequently overlap with and draw from
broader stereotypes about Japan vis-à-vis other Asian societies and Asian societies vis-à-vis Western
societies. By identifying these stereotypes and also critically questioning what gender means and how
it is being shaped in and shaping contemporary Japan, this course will offer an entry into theories of
gender studies and sexuality, and also introduce tools to critically analyze cultural differences
manifested in the issues of gender, sexuality, and family while at the same time learning more about
Japanese society and your own society.
JAPN2050. Creative industries in East Asia (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Japan) (6
credits)
Previously, research in media or cultural studies has paid much attention to the consumption of cultural
and media texts. This course, however, calls for their production to be examined, by focusing on the
creative industries in East Asia including Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. While it is important
to examine the inter-relation between production, circulation, consumption, regulation, and
representation when we study the meaning of a cultural text, production remains a primary and vital
moment in creating the meaning of a cultural text. Furthermore, while there are studies on the creative
industries outside East Asia, the production of media and cultural texts within the region has been little
studied. Given the fact that media and cultural texts in East Asia, such as Japanese comics, animation
and pornography, Korean and Hong Kong movies, and the Taiwanese performing arts, have spread and
had tremendous impact globally, an understanding of their production is increasingly important.
In this course, we shall explore how the recent trends in the political economies in East Asia have
influenced the production of media and cultural texts in the region; several important sectors within the
creative industries, including comics and animation, pornography, movie, popular music, and
performing arts in East Asia; the production and marketing strategies of several major corporations in
the region such as TVB in Hong Kong, Sony in Japan; and the manufacture of idols in the creative
industries.
313
Why do people like (or dislike) particular kinds of popular culture? What is “special” about Japanese
popular culture? How can we understand Japanese society and culture by studying Japanese popular
culture? Japanese popular culture is popular not only in Japan, but it has also become recognized as a
distinct and attractive form of consumption and fandom around the world—from the U.S. to Europe to
Asia. In this class we learn about how to understand and analyze Japanese popular and mass culture
from historical, sociological and anthropological perspectives. In other words, this is not a survey course
of different kinds of popular culture in Japan, but rather this course requires us to theoretically engage
in social scientific theories of popular/mass culture and to analyze the interpretations of meanings and
forms of particular “popularly massified” socio-cultural phenomena in Japan, and what analyzing them
can tell us about Japanese society more broadly. It further pushes us to examine how popular/mass
culture is embedded in the socioeconomic conditions of Japan, and how they affect and are affected by
global forces.
JAPN2060. Contemporary Sino-Japanese relations (6 credits)
Contemporary Sino-Japanese Relations is a course specializing in the study of one of the most intriguing
sets of bilateral relations in East Asia: Sino-Japanese relations. The overall theoretical approach of the
course is interdisciplinary in nature and draws heavily from the discipline of history and international
relations. The course aims to provide the students with an understanding of how geopolitics and regional
processes are complexly interlinked with the fate of these two nations since the industrial revolution
brought to Western powers to East Asia. It examines the evolution and experimentation by Japan and
China the philosophies and ideas that have underpinned the political and economic systems during the
different eras. Departing from their feudal systems, Japan and China flirted with republicanism, liberal
democracy, capitalism authoritarianism, imperialism, colonialism, militarism and nationalism before
engaging each other in a protracted and disastrous conflict that lasted for several decades. The course
then examines contemporary Sino-Japanese relations broadly conceived. Students are introduced to
topics by means of two broad survey lectures, and are invited to examine in greater detail, the various
controversial topics within this set of bilateral relations. It examines the following themes from the
perspective of Sino-Japanese relations: legacy of history (e.g. textbook writing, disposal of chemical
weapons, wartime apologies), nationalism and identity, the Pinnacles (Senkaku/Diaoyu) Islands dispute,
the Taiwan issue, the Korean Peninsula crisis and the competition for energy sources between China
and Japan.
JAPN2071. Introduction to modern Japanese literature (6 credits)
This course offers an introduction to modern Japanese literature, from the mid-nineteenth century to the
contemporary moment. Providing a panoramic view of major authors and literary texts in English
translation, the class explores important themes in modern literary representation and cultural
experience while situating Japanese literature in global contexts of modernity and postmodernity.
Readings mostly consist of primary literary texts, but relevant critical, historical, and visual references
(including images and films) are also assigned.
JAPN2072. Revolutionary origins of modern Japan (6 credits)
This course will examine the major political, economic, social, cultural and international developments
that occurred during the revolutionary 45-year period of late nineteenth and early twentieth century
314
Japan. In addition to exploring the creation of key national institutions including military conscription,
tax, and education, we will examine Japan’s emergence in East Asia as a colonial and military power,
as well as the role of different makers of modern Japan ranging from the Emperor and the Meiji
oligarchs, to the farmers and female factory workers.
JAPN2073. The ethnography of Japan (6 credits)
This course introduces the rich tradition of ethnography about Japan. By surveying ethnographic
writings from the late 19th century to the present, this course explores the variety, complexity, and
change in Japanese culture and society. In addition, this class also investigates methods and ethical
concerns of the anthropological study and representation of Japan. Readings primarily consist of
ethnographic writings by anthropologists and sociologists, but also include literary nonfiction and
journalistic pieces.
JAPN2074. Negotiating the “Sinitic” in Japanese literature (6 credits)
This course offers an introduction to Japanese literary negotiations with “China,” the “Chinese” and
“Chineseness,” ranging from celebration of shared cultural practices and aestheticization of China to
nativist resistance to Chinese cultural hegemony. Readings mostly consist of primary literary texts in
translation, but relevant critical, and historical references are also assigned.
JAPN2075. Introduction to postwar and contemporary Japanese literature (6 credits)
This course is an introduction to the literature from postwar and contemporary Japan between the late
1940s and the 2020s. Students will read a diverse range of literary texts from writers with different
backgrounds. Through close readings of novellas and short stories, the class explores a variety of themes
relevant to the narratives and their historical context. All readings will be provided in English translation.
JAPN2081. Japanese literature (6 credits)
This course is a survey of Japanese literature. Material will be presented in a chronological and thematic
fashion, with the aim of providing students with an overall view of literary trends. Content may include:
selected classical poetry and literature (Noh drama, poetry, diaries, and epic histories of the early feudal
and Warring States Period, scenarios of puppet drama and kabuki drama, novellas, feudal period
poetry); post-Meiji literature, and post WWII literature. The class format will include lectures and
discussion. Preparation for class (i.e. doing the reading) is an important part of your grade. All materials
are in English translation; no knowledge of Japanese is required.
JAPN2082. Japanese film and society (6 credits)
This course traces the development of Japanese film, from silent movies to the present, including anime.
In addition to covering the works of famous directors (Ozu, Mizoguchi, Kurosawa, Oshima, et al), the
birth of the Pure Film movement, Japanese imperialism, the American Occupation, and the postwar
“new wave” and the role of film criticisms may be examined in this course. This exploration of Japanese
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cinema will offer a perspective on the genre’s development in specific socio-cultural-historical contexts.
No prior knowledge of Japanese history, language or film is presumed. All readings on the course are
in English, and the films have English subtitles.
JAPN2083. Contemporary Japanese society and culture (6 credits)
This course is about contemporary Japanese society and culture. This course will provide students with
an understanding of key aspects of contemporary Japanese society and culture. Major concepts
necessary for the understanding of contemporary Japan will be introduced, and students will gain an
understanding of key problems faced by contemporary Japan, and the structures, practices, and
dynamics that inform these issues. Topics may include, but are not limited to: postwar politics,
economics, international relations, social and cultural movements, popular culture, demographics, war
and memory, gender and sexuality, minority issues.
JAPN2084. Studies in Japanese culture (6 credits)
This course offers an introduction to the culture, history, and society of Japan. The primary goal is to
develop a broad understanding of Japanese cultural, political, and social identities. In addition to a
variety of secondary sources, students will work with primary source materials (both non-fictional and
fictional works, i.e. laws, memoirs, essays, fictional stories, films, art, theater, etc.).
JAPN2087. Introduction to Japanese literature: Beginnings to 1900 (6 credits)
This course offers a panoramic view of Japanese literature – of representative authors, works, genres
and themes – from the beginnings in the 8th century through the early 19th century. In addition to
introducing students to the major traditions of pre-twentieth century narrative, poetry and theater, the
class also explores the rich cultural and social worlds of premodern and early modern Japan, such as
the Heian period imperial court, medieval warrior society, or Edo-period urban commoner culture.
JAPN2089. Twentieth century Japan: History, state and society (6 credits)
This course offers a broad historical survey of Japan and its society from the 1850s to the beginning of
Japan’s lost decades of deflation that began in the early 1990s. Students who complete this course will
have a deeper understanding of the key social, political, economic, international, and demographic
changes that have transformed Japan.
JAPN2091. Introduction to Premodern Japan (6 credits)
This course offers an introduction to the history of Japan up to the mid-nineteenth century. Topics to be
covered include: archaeological findings concerning the earliest cultures of the Japanese islands, the
influence of contacts with China and Korea, the development of writing and literary culture, varieties
of religious thought and practice, and the structures of economic and political power. This course
assumes no previous knowledge of Japanese language or history, and all required readings will be in
English.
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JAPN2092. Japan in the Tokugawa Period (1600-1868) (6 credits)
The establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate marked a turning point in Japanese history, bringing
peace to a country that had experienced centuries of civil and international warfare. The Japanese
economy flourished at first, but later periods were marked by successive crises and attempts at reform
by samurai rulers who saw an increasing gap between their ideal vision of Japanese society and the
emergent social realities around them. This course will examine the political, economic, social and
cultural life of the Tokugawa period. We will consider the development of popular education, the
structure and dynamics of the Tokugawa economy, and the ways gender and social status shaped the
daily lives of individuals. All required readings will be in English, but there will also be opportunities
for students with appropriate levels of linguistic ability to take advantage of available primary and
secondary sources in Japanese and classical Chinese.
JAPN2095. Gender and sexuality in modern Japanese literature (6 credits)
This course examines representations and constructions of gender and sexuality in Japanese literary
texts from the late 17th century to the contemporary moment, with a strong emphasis on 20th century
Japan. While offering an introduction to major authors, works and developments in modern Japanese
literature, the class also seeks to question and reevaluate critically theoretical concepts such as gender,
sex, femininity, masculinity, feminism, homosociality, and desire.
JAPN2096. Young Leaders Tour of Japan Field Trip (6 credits)
In this course, students will be led by an experienced faculty member on a supervised one-week visit to
Japan. Students will have the opportunity to use their Japanese language skills and apply their
knowledge of Japanese history, culture and society, in a range of real-life business, corporate,
educational and cultural settings. As future leaders, students will be encouraged to think about global
problems such as recovering from natural disasters, reconstruction, and corporate social responsibility
initiatives in society. Students will also have opportunities to meet Japanese business executives and
gain insights in to corporate life in Japan.
JAPN2098. Of courtesans, samurai, and vengeful ghosts: Japanese literature of the early
modern period (6 credits)
This course offers a panoramic view of the literature of the Edo period (1600–1868), one of the most
vibrant and productive moments in Japanese literary and cultural history, often described as “early
modern.” In addition to introducing students to major authors and texts—covering poetry, narrative
prose, theater, and important intellectual currents—the course will explore the various social worlds in
which early modern cultural and literary production was rooted: the worlds of the samurai, urban
commoners, or the courtesans in the "pleasure quarter."
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JAPN3029. Readings in Japanese Studies (6 credits)
This course is designed to provide students with a platform to extend their reading and analytical skills
in Japanese. Students will negotiate appropriate specific lists of readings relevant to their degree
composition and academic interests in consultation with their lecturers. Students wishing to take this
course should consult with a teacher who is willing to supervise the reading project before enrolling.
Prerequisite: JAPN1011. Introduction to Japanese Studies
JAPN3034. Introduction to classical Japanese (bungo) (6 credits)
This course provides a systematic introduction to the grammar of classical Japanese (bungo), which
was used up until World War II in much of Japanese writing. In addition to honing our understanding
of the classical Japanese language, we will also be reading and translating from original Japanese texts,
covering diverse historical periods (up to the modern period) and a broad range of genres (poetry,
narrative texts, essays, historical documents, etc.).
JAPN3038. Topics in Japanese popular culture (6 credits)
This course introduces students to a variety of materials taken from contemporary Japanese popular
culture and provides students with an opportunity to analyze these materials in the original Japanese
language. In addition, we will read scholarship on Japanese popular culture to equip students with
various frameworks and methodologies to study the cultural production of Japan from a global
perspective.
List B: Japanese-medium electives
JAPN3007. Translation (Japanese–English): Reading and translating modern Japanese

literature (6 credits)
In this course students will learn how to read and translate modern and contemporary Japanese fictional
texts, from Yoshimoto Banana to Natsume Sōseki. The first half of the course concentrates on postwar
and contemporary writers and the second half on pre-war writers. Objectives of the course are reading
for speed and accuracy, understanding grammatical structure, learning the fundamental techniques of
translation, and acquiring significant exposure to modern Japanese literature. We will not only pay close
attention to the grammatically and syntactically correct reading and understanding of the Japanese texts
but also in particular to problems pertaining to linguistic choice and idiomatic accuracy in English. The
final project will aim at an impeccable translation of potentially publishable quality in English.
Co-requisite: “JAPN3088. Japanese language III (Part 1) and JAPN3099. Japanese language III
(Part 2)”, or “JAPN4088. Japanese language IV (Part 1) and JAPN4099. Japanese
language IV (Part 2): Capstone experience”
JAPN3017. Business Japanese (6 credits)
This is a language elective course for third-year Japanese language students. The course will concentrate
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on basic concepts of ‘positive face’ and ‘negative face’ as proposed under the ‘Politeness theory’ and
will enable students to understand the underlying reasons why some behaviours are acceptable in
Japanese society and others are not. Emphasis will be placed on the differences between Japanese and
Hong Kong behaviours and practices. Students will also acquire basic spoken and written business
Japanese skills and the behaviours appropriate to a Japanese business context with a focus on the
language styles, vocabulary and phraseology needed to deal with a variety of business situations. By
the end of the course, students are expected to effectively employ the basic concepts in Politeness theory
and basic business language, as well as other knowledge acquired throughout the course, in the
presentation of a short skit. Students are strongly recommended to take JAPN3067. Japanese
pragmatics: Understanding the hidden meaning in the first semester.
Students enrolled in JAPN4088. Japanese language IV (Part 1) or JAPN4099. Japanese language
IV (Part 2): Capstone experience are not eligible to take this course.
Prerequisite: JAPN3017 is open to students who have successfully completed JAPN3099. Japanese
language III (Part 2) in their 2nd year; OR
Co-requisite: Students enrolled in JAPN3099. Japanese language III (Part 2) in their 3rd year.
Assessment: 100% coursework (assignments, quizzes and oral interview test)
JAPN3027. Comparative study of phonetics in Japanese and Cantonese (6 credits)
The course aims at a detailed description of the phonological systems of the two languages, both
Japanese and Cantonese. It will start with an introduction to the phonological inventories and phonetic
variants on both segmental make-up as well as prosodic structure. Students will be trained to transcribe
the two languages in both International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and the most common sets of
transcription used in foreign language textbooks. The psychotypological differences between the two
languages and English and/or Mandarin will also be introduced.
Students enrolled in JAPN4088. Japanese language IV (Part 1) or JAPN4099. Japanese language
IV (Part 2): Capstone experience are not eligible to take this course.
Prerequisite: JAPN3088. Japanese language III (Part 1)
Co-requisite: JAPN3099. Japanese language III (Part 2)
JAPN3028. Contrastive linguistics: Discourse analysis of Japanese and Cantonese (6 credits)
This Japanese-medium content course explores the structure and function of speech acts of the two
languages. Examples will be drawn from everyday conversations that include request, acceptance,
refusal, apology, etc. to investigate how people carry out conversations in order to accomplish their
goals in speech acts. Research methods will be introduced through analysis of sample speech acts in
Japanese. Students are required to collect conversation data in Japanese and Cantonese and analyze
structures, expressions, and intensions of the discourse, based on major theories in pragmatics and
present a comparative study on Japanese and Cantonese in the forms of written and oral report.
Prerequisite: JAPN3067. Japanese pragmatics: Understanding the hidden meaning
JAPN3041. Creative writing and speaking skills in Japanese (6 credits)
This course aims to enhance writing/speaking skills through various activities such as producing poetry
(Haiku and Tanka)/short stories and presenting them orally in Japanese. Students are expected to create
their own pieces independently and also collaboratively with others. The knowledge of storytelling
types/schema/structure will be introduced. Before oral presentation, students will be given instruction
on Japanese phonetics such as rhythm and intonation in order to deliver effectively and creatively.
Students who have completed JAPN2061 are not eligible to take this course.
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Co-requisite: JAPN3088. Japanese language III (Part 1) or JAPN3099. Japanese language III
(Part 2)
JAPN3062. Japanese through manga (6 credits)
This is a language elective course designed for students who have received approximately 230 hours of
formal instruction. It aims to help students further develop their basic levels of Japanese skills, using
Manga as the primary learning material. The items that are introduced in the Manga will be expanded
into various task-based activities such as story-telling and oral presentations. Through the course
materials, students will also learn about some aspects of Japanese society and everyday lives of Japanese
people.
JAPN3063. Selected readings in Japanese (6 credits)
This tutorial-based language elective course provides students with an opportunity to read and discuss
Japanese-language texts related to specific aspects of Japanese language. The course aims to enhance
students’ knowledge of the Japanese language and culture as well as their reading skills through the
examination of works by various authors. The focus will be on the Japanese way of thinking and how
it affects and forms the Japanese language.
Co-requisite: JAPN3099. Japanese language III (Part 2) or approval from the instructor
Assessment: 100% coursework (short quizzes, presentation(s) and essay assignment)
JAPN3064. The Tale of Genji (6 credits)
This Japanese-medium content course explores The Tale of Genji, the world-famous Japanese classic
written by Lady Murasaki. The novel consists of fifty-four chapters describing Genji’s romantic
involvement with a number of noble ladies who resided in the veiled imperial court in the 11th century
Heian era. It has been widely read as a story of love and hatred that vividly epitomizes human nature
that can be still observed in contemporary society. While focusing on the personalities and portraits of
major female characters who were tossed about by fate, the course also provides students with an
opportunity to study the background of The Tale of Genji, including fashion, aesthetics, traditional
events, and history. A range of familiar sources to students such as translations into modern Japanese,
comics, and dramas is mainly used for analyses.
Students who enrolled in or completed JAPN4088. Japanese language IV (Part I) or Japanese
language IV (Part 2): Capstone experience cannot take this course.
Prerequisite: JAPN3088. Japanese language III (Part 1) or JAPN3099. Japanese language III
(Part 2); OR
(Part 2)
JAPN3067. Japanese pragmatics: Understanding the hidden meaning (6 credits)
This Japanese-medium content course aims to help students acquire a basic understanding of Japanese
Pragmatics through analysis of a native Japanese speakers’ language usage in contrast with their own.
Native Japanese speakers use implicatures in communication to express their true feelings and
intentions (that only an informed listener can understand). For instance, one may choose to add or
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withhold information to exaggerate or soften the message. Through the pragmatic approach, students
will have the opportunity to contrast Japanese with their own language in order to analyze the
appropriate use of greetings. With Politeness theory, students will analyze why expressions in their own
language may be found to be impolite in the Japanese context.
Students who enrolled in or completed JAPN4088. Japanese language IV (Part I) or Japanese
language IV (Part 2): Capstone experience cannot take this course.
Prerequisite: JAPN3088. Japanese language III (Part 1) or JAPN3099. Japanese language III
(Part 2); OR
(Part 2)
JAPN3079. Japanese to Chinese translation (6 credits)
This language elective course aims to promote students’ skills in translating Japanese texts into Chinese.
Through discussions and regular practice, students will learn about the subtleties and complexities of
Japanese expressions, and how to render them into fluent Chinese.
☆Students who are enrolled in or have completed JAPN4088. Japanese language IV (Part 1) or
JAPN4099. Japanese language IV (Part 2): Capstone experience are NOT eligible to take this course.
JAPN3089. Basic translation (Chinese↔Japanese) (6 credits)
This elective language course aims to provide students with the basic skills required for translating
Chinese texts into Japanese and vice versa. Students will translate short, simple texts, chosen to
illustrate a range of sentence patterns in both Chinese and Japanese. Texts with more complex structures
will also be introduced to build up students’ translation skills.
☆The following students are NOT eligible to take this course. 1) Students who have taken JAPN3079.
Japanese to Chinese translation; 2) Students who are enrolled in or have completed JAPN4088.
Japanese language IV (Part 1) or JAPN4099. Japanese language IV (Part 2): Capstone experience;
3) Students who have taken JAPN2069.
JAPN4016. Advanced business Japanese (6 credits)
This is an advanced language elective course for students who are enrolled in JAPN4088. Japanese
language IV (Part 1) or JAPN4099. Japanese language IV (Part 2): Capstone experience. The
course focuses on written and spoken business communications in Japanese. The course provides
business simulation and allows students to play roles of company representatives.
Prerequisite: JAPN4088. Japanese language IV (Part 1) or JAPN4099. Japanese language IV
(Part 2): Capstone experience; OR
Co-requisite: JAPN4088. Japanese language IV (Part 1) or JAPN4099. Japanese language IV
(Part 2): Capstone experience
Assessment: 100% coursework (assignments, written/ oral quizzes, discussions and presentations)
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JAPN4021. Communication and society (6 credits)
This Japanese-medium content course explores the social behaviour of speakers of Japanese that is
embedded in their language use. Sociolinguistic approaches to Japanese culture are promoted through
students’ active participation in the empirical analyses of language variations in modern Japanese.
Coursework also includes reference to other languages such as English and Cantonese.
Assessment: 100% coursework (project, presentations, journal writing and essays)
JAPN4022. Introduction to teaching Japanese as a foreign language (6 credits)
This Japanese-medium content course introduces applied linguistics with a focus on teaching Japanese
as a foreign language to students who are interested in teaching the Japanese language to various levels
of learners. A wide range of topics will be covered in relation with language teaching and learning. The
coursework will also include practical aspects such as observing language classes, preparing lesson
plans, and conducting a lesson.
JAPN4023. “Nihonjinron”: The question of Japanese uniqueness (6 credits)
This Japanese-medium content course looks at major influential “Nihonjinron” texts written in the post-
war era. The term “Nihonjinron” refers to a genre of texts which discuss unique features of Japanese
society and people and have been written by authors of various fields. Students will be expected to read
a selection of key texts in their Japanese-language version in depth and examine them critically. The
historical background of each text will be discussed thoroughly to provide students with critical
perspectives on these texts.
JAPN4026. Collaborative community of inquiry: Hong Kong and Japan (6 credits)
Participants from HKU will be teamed up with students from a partner university (Hokkaido University,
Japan) and work collaboratively on the examination of current problems that the international
community faces. Each team will select a topic, conduct research, and recommend solutions that are
likely to improve situations. The inter-university communication will be done online, using
telecommunication systems. Online discussions and debates help the teams to prepare for poster
presentations and the individual participant to compose an essay, along with the information and
opinions resulting from the research.
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JAPN4088. Japanese language IV (Part 1) (6 credits)
This advanced course is for students who have taken part in a one-year exchange programme to Japan
or who have a similar level of proficiency in Japanese. The course consists of various learning units to
improve reading, writing, and oral/aural skills. Credit transfer for this course is not accepted. This course
is a prerequisite for JAPN4099: Japanese language IV (Part 2): Capstone experience.
Prerequisite: Course instructors’ approval
List C: Elective courses offered by other Programmes
Faculty of Arts
KORE2028. Society, culture, and politics of North Korea (DPRK) (6 credits)
School of Chinese
ARTH2048. Arts of Japan (6 credits)
ARTH3022. Visual culture of modern Japan (6 credits)
GEND2012. Queer Feminisms and Japan: Approaches to Stories, Politics, and Imagination (6
credits)
HIST2105. The rise of modern Japan, 1830s to 1950s (6 credits)
HIST2106. Imperial Japan: Its modern wars and colonial empire (6 credits)
HIST2123. Meiji Japan, challenges and transformations, 1853-1912 (6 credits)
HIST2124. Taishō and Shōwa Japan: Perfecting state, society and nation, 1912 to 1989 (6 credits)
Center of Buddhist Studies

BSTC2003. The Influence of Zen Buddhism on Japanese Aesthetics (6 credits)
BSTC2009. Japanese Culture and Thought: The Buddhist Impact (6 credits)

POLI3052. International Relations of East Asia (6 credits)
POLI3126. Politics of contemporary Japan (6 credits)
SOCI2017. Japanese economic institutions (6 credits)
SOCI2090. World city Tokyo (6 credits)
KOREAN STUDIES
The Korean Studies programme offers the Major in Korean Studies and the Minor in Korean Studies.
The objective of the Korean Studies programme is to bring participants to a high level of proficiency in
the language and to provide them with a sound knowledge of Korea within the interdisciplinary
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framework of Area Studies and to be able to discuss matters relating to Korea in a critical and analytical
perspective.
The Major in Korean Studies offers an interdisciplinary curriculum on Korea with intensive training
in the Korean language and a range of courses on Korean culture, society, history, and literature.
Students follow a core language pathway for three years of language training taught in Korean and
select elective courses which are taught in Korean or English. These electives fall into two categories:
List A: Korean Language electives
List B: Korean Studies electives
Students will be strongly encouraged to participate in a 3- to 4-week intensive language programme in

Korea during the summer either between their second and third year or third and fourth year of study.
Upon their return to HKU, they can apply for KORE3119 Overseas immersion language course –
Korean.
The Minor in Korean Studies provides students with a good command of the four different language
skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Students will also gain a deeper insight into the core
issues relating to Korea’s development, history and culture.
Admission to the Major in Korean Studies and Minor in Korean Studies requires a minimum grade of
C+ in all three prerequisite courses (KORE1001, KORE1002, KORE1021).
The Major and Minor requirements listed below are for students with NO prior knowledge of Korean.
Students WITH prior knowledge of Korean can complete a Major in Korean Studies or a Minor in
Korean Studies by entering the core language pathway at a higher level and taking additional elective
courses to complete the total number of required credits. These students should contact the School of
Modern Languages and Cultures or the Korean Language Programme Coordinator for further
information.
Major (72 credits)

KORE1001. Korean I.1 (6 credits)
KORE1021. Introduction to Korean Studies (6 credits)
Note: Students intending to complete the Major in Korean Studies should aim to complete the three
prerequisite courses KORE1001, KORE1002 and KORE1021 during their first year of study.
These courses have a limited number of places. Year 1 students receive priority for enrollment, and
students in Year 3 or above are NOT eligible to enroll in these courses.

KORE2001. Korean II.1 (6 credits)
KORE3001. Korean III.1 (6 credits)

KORE4007. Advanced Korean individual project (capstone experience) (6 credits);
OR
KORE4008. Korean Studies independent research project (capstone experience) (6 credits);
OR
KORE4009. Korean Studies research seminar (capstone experience) (6 credits)
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One course chosen from List A (6 credits)
Two courses chosen from List B (12 credits)
One course chosen from List A or List B (6 credits)
List A: Korean Language electives

KORE2021. Korean reading (6 credits)
KORE2041. Korean writing 1 (6 credits)
KORE2042. Korean listening: Genre and strategies (6 credits)
KORE3024. English-Korean translation: Practical skills (6 credits)
KORE3025. Korean for business (6 credits)
KORE3029. News project in Korean (6 credits)
KORE3037. Korean language through media (6 credits)
KORE3039. Introduction to teaching Korean as a foreign language (6 credits)
KORE3040. Presenting opinions in Korean (6 credits)
KORE3119. Overseas immersion language course – Korean (6 credits)
KORE4001. Korean IV.1 (6 credits)
KORE4003. Advanced Korean: presentation and media analysis (6 credits)
KORE4005. Advanced readings in Korean (6 credits)
List B: Korean Studies electives

Korean Studies
KORE2024. Korean Studies 1 (6 credits)
KORE2026. Topics in Korean culture and society (6 credits)
KORE2032. Korean literature in translation: sentiments and human relationships in
modern Korean fiction (6 credits)
KORE2033. Modern and contemporary Korea: modernity and social change (6 credits)
KORE2035. Society and thoughts in Korea (6 credits)
KORE2036. Korean society before 1900 (6 credits)
KORE2038. Global Korean pop culture (6 credits)
KORE2040. Topics in Korean visual culture and cultural studies (6 credits)
KORE2044. The Korean War: Origins, aftermath, reconstruction, and remembrance (6
credits)
KORE3026. Special topics in modern Korean literature (6 credits)
KORE3032. Directed readings in Korean Studies (6 credits)
KORE3034. Korean Studies internship (6 credits)
KORE3035. Korean Studies field trip (6 credits)
KORE3042. Advanced seminar in Korean Studies (6 credits)
KORE3043. Border-crossing literature from Korea and beyond (6 credits)
Art History
ARTH2097. Arts of Korea (6 credits)
ARTH2098. History of Korean paintings (6 credits)

POLI3052. International relations of East Asia (6 credits)
SOCI2066. The Asian economic miracles and beyond (6 credits)
GEOG2153. Smartphones, K-pop, and Kimchi: South Korea beyond the miracle (6
credits)
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GEOG3403. Exploring Korean cities and urban planning through K-movies and dramas
(6 credits)
{Note:
Not all courses are offered in a given semester; students should check with individual units on
course availability; students should also check on course prerequisites and other enrollment
restrictions.}
Minor (36 credits)

Note: Students intending to complete the Minor in Korean Studies should aim to complete the
three prerequisite courses KORE1001, KORE1002 and KORE1021 during their first year of
study. These courses have a limited number of places. Year 1 students receive priority for
enrolment, and students in Year 3 or above are NOT eligible to enroll in these courses.


ONE course with KORE course code chosen from List B
This introductory course is the first part of Korean I, which is designed for complete beginners (ab initio)
who are interested in learning the Korean language and culture. On completion of the course, students
will be able to participate in simple conversations related to daily life, and will have acquired a basic
knowledge of the written forms of the Korean language.
Prerequisite: Nil
This elementary Korean course continues to focus on proficiency-based Korean learning, further
developing students’ overall Korean language ability established in Korean I.1. On completion of the
course, students will be able to participate in simple conversations and write short essays related to daily
life. Also students will be able to produce appropriate discourse depending on the interlocutors.
Prerequisite: KORE1001. Korean I.1
The course provides students with a broad-based description of Korean culture and society from an
interdisciplinary perspective. It will include a brief historical overview on the country, examine various
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socio-cultural issues in traditional and modern Korea, and compare them to those of the other East Asian
countries. All coursework is in English.
Prerequisite: Nil
Core Language Courses
This course continues to focus on developing students’ overall Korean language ability established in
Korean I. 2. It aims to develop students’ proficiency to an upper-beginner level with equal emphasis on
reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. On the completion of the course, students will be able
to master basic grammar and vocabulary and write short essays in the Korean language. Students will
also be able to develop their communicative competencies in various situations and subjects through
role-plays, short speeches, and discussions.
This course is a continuation of KORE2001 Korean II.1. The aim of the course is to further increase
students’ ability in their use of spoken and written Korean, established in Korean II. 1, to an intermediate
level and express their opinions supported by reliable sources. On the completion of the course, students
will be able to acquire grammatical structures and essential vocabulary at an intermediate level so that
they can participate in situational conversations and write essays on various topics.
Prerequisite: KORE2001. Korean II.1
This course continues to build on the first and the second year’s work. The aim of this course is to
develop students’ Korean language proficiency to an upper-intermediate level and discuss current social
issues in contemporary Korea based on their knowledge of the Korean language and culture. Students
will be able to expand their Korean language proficiency to an upper-intermediate level through various
tasks and activities including role-plays, presentations, speeches and discussions.
This course is designed for students who have completed KORE3001. Korean III. 1 or who have
attained an advanced level of proficiency in Korean. On completion of the course, students will be able
to write descriptive essays and persuasive essays with complex grammatical structures and participate
in not only situational conversations but discussions related to topics in current affairs, social and
cultural issues at an advanced level of Korean through various tasks and activities including role-plays,
presentations and discussions.
Prerequisite: KORE3001. Korean III.1
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KORE4007. Advanced Korean individual project (capstone experience) (6 credits)
As the capstone course of the Korean language programme, this course provides students with the
opportunity to do an in-depth analysis of an approved topic and format, i.e. research paper, documentary
video, presentation, etc., of their choice, integrating the language skills and cultural knowledge they
have acquired during their studies. These individually supervised projects must be in Korean.
Students are required to obtain their supervisor’s approval for the topic, the research plan, and the details
of the format for the project that they wish to conduct at the beginning of the course. Contact hours are
minimal because students spend much of their time on the individual project.
Prerequisite: KORE3023. Korean writing 2 or KORE3024. English-Korean translation:
Practical skills or KORE3025. Korean for business or KORE3037. Korean
language through media or KORE3040. Presenting opinions in Korean or
KORE4003. Advanced Korean: presentation and media analysis
KORE4008. Korean Studies independent research project (capstone experience) (6 credits)
Students in this course pursue independent research and produce a research project, normally a research
essay, under the supervision of a teacher in Korean Studies. This course is designed to provide students
with the opportunity to explore in-depth a topic of interest to them in relation to Korean society and
culture. Students are required to obtain their supervisor’s approval for the topic. Individual meetings
with the supervisor will be scheduled in the first week of the semester, and contact hours are minimal
because students spend much of their time on individual projects. Students will be encouraged to engage
with original texts written in Korean, although the class will be conducted in English and assignments
should be written in English.
Prerequisite: KORE2032. Korean literature in translation: sentiments and human relationships
in modern Korean fiction or KORE2033. Modern and contemporary Korea:
modernity and social change or KORE2034. Gender, sexuality, and family in
Korea or KORE2035. Society and thoughts in Korea or KORE2044. The Korean
War: Origins, aftermath, reconstruction, and remembrance or KORE3032.
Directed readings in Korean Studies or KORE3042. Advanced seminar in Korean
Studies or KORE3043. Border-crossing literature from Korea and beyond
KORE4009. Korean Studies research seminar (capstone experience) (6 credits)
This is a small-group research seminar course and also a capstone experience for students in their final
year. This course explores aspects of Korean history, film, literature, culture and society at an advanced
level. The specific area of study may vary from year to year depending on students’ background,
interests and the expertise of the instructor. Students will have topic-focused workshops, intensive
group meetings, and also pursue a small research project. Students will be encouraged to engage with
original texts written in Korean, although the class will be conducted in English and assignments should
be written in English.
Prerequisite: KORE2032. Korean literature in translation: sentiments and human relationships
in modern Korean fiction or KORE2033. Modern and contemporary Korea:
modernity and social change or KORE2034. Gender, sexuality, and family in
Korea or KORE2035. Society and thoughts in Korea or KORE2044. The Korean
War: Origins, aftermath, reconstruction, and remembrance or KORE3032.
Directed readings in Korean Studies or KORE3042. Advanced seminar in Korean
Studies or KORE3043. Border-crossing literature from Korea and beyond
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{Note:
List A: KOREAN LANGUAGE ELECTIVES
KORE2021. Korean reading (6 credits)
This course is offered to students who have attained an intermediate level of Korean in order to further
enhance their reading comprehension and extend their knowledge of Korean society through an analysis
of contemporary texts in different styles. On the completion of the course, students will be able to
appreciate and discuss various genres of Korean literature such as short stories, myths, poetry, essays.
The teaching materials and the main medium of instruction will be Korean.
Co-requisite: KORE2002. Korean II.2
This course is an introductory writing course for students who have completed Korean I. One of the
main objectives of this course is to improve students’ writing skills, including accuracy, organizing
compound sentences into a paragraph, develop ideas coherently. Another main objective of this course
is to produce texts for appropriate situations, and students will investigate rhetorical structures and genre
characteristics of Korean texts.
KORE2042. Korean listening: Genre and strategies (6 credits)
This course is designed to enhance students’ listening comprehension in intermediate-level Korean.

Students will listen to the various types of listening texts such as daily conversations, announcements,
official interviews, and lectures. On completion of the course, students will be able to reach an
intermediate level of vocabulary and expressions for listening and use listening strategies for various
types of listening texts as well as the characteristic of colloquial Korean. The final goal of this course
is to strengthen the communicative competence of Korean language based on solid listening strategies.
Co-requisite: KORE2002. Korean II.2
This course is designed for students with an advanced level of Korean. This course provides various
activities related to elaborating ideas and organizing them for students to lead the writing procedure
more actively. Writing strategies will be introduced as well. Through these activities, students will be
able to expand their knowledge on the features of texts in different styles and produce texts that align
with them. Also, they will be able to produce cohesive texts at an advanced level in Korean with
complex sentences
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KORE3024. English-Korean translation: Practical skills (6 credits)
This course is an introduction to translating texts from English to Korean using a variety of texts written
in different styles. It will provide students with intermediate level translation skills, a further
understanding of Korean grammar and additional information on contemporary Korean topics. Special
attention will be given to the particular problems or common errors arising from differences in grammar
and other influences from the students’ mother tongue. Students will practice additional structures and
texts gradually. This is a practical rather than a theoretical course for translation. Students will be
expected to do practical work in class as well as at home.
KORE3025. Korean for business (6 credits)
This course is designed for students with advanced level of Korean who want to prepare their career at
a Korean-speaking company or institution by dealing with issues related to business activities, global
economy and trade. A variety of topics and situations will be covered, such as business correspondence
and etiquette, business meetings, data analysis, marketing strategies, etc. On completion of the course,
students will be able to handle various business situations in Korean. Classes will be conducted in
Korean.
KORE3029. News project in Korean (6 credits)
This course is based on Project-Based Language Teaching. Students are required to take the initiative
in learning and participate in classroom activities and discussions. This course is composed of two parts.
During the first few weeks, students will read newspaper articles and watch media materials (such as
Korean TV news clips), then discuss the materials in class. Students will be able to investigate the
features of Korean society and its current issues during this progress. During the second half of the
semester, students are required to work on a group project. Each group will select a topic regarding
Korean society that they want to examine further and make a TV news report on it. The group project
is designed to help students to acquire skills in independent learning, critical thinking and teamwork.
The teaching materials and the main medium of instruction will be Korean.
KORE3037. Korean language through media (6 credits)
This course is designed to improve listening comprehension and the understanding of the diverse
nuances of Korean language through the analysis of authentic Korean audio/video materials covering
different media such as TV news, TV dramas, TV documentary and movies. Students will learn to
analyze the situations of speakers in different scenarios and to distinguish different types of statements
used in media. Students will be encouraged to reflect on their own culture and language, establish
comparisons and present their own opinion on topics given in class. All the materials and the medium
of instruction will be in Korean.
Co-requisite: KORE3001. Korean III.1
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KORE3039. Introduction to teaching Korean as a foreign language (6 credits)
This course introduces second language teaching with a focus on teaching Korean as a foreign language
to students who are interested in teaching Korean to various levels of learners. Students will learn how
to apply different teaching methods based on the four different aspects of language. The coursework
will also include practical aspects such as observing language classes, preparing lesson plans, and
conducting a lesson. At the end of this course, students will be able to recognize the key features of
second language teaching with a focus on Korean. The final goal of this course is to strengthen students’
competence in the Korean language as well as to demonstrate their pedagogical competence in Korean
language teaching. The teaching materials and the main medium of instruction will be Korean.
KORE3040. Presenting opinions in Korean (6 credits)
This course aims to improve the Korean language speaking proficiency of upper-intermediate students.
During in-class activities, students will be exposed to different topics, from more personal ones to issues
regarding the global society, and will be invited to explore these topics by learning related vocabulary
and expressions and by participating in activities such as short individual/group presentations, and
group discussions. Through the above activities, students will learn how to effectively present their own
opinions on these topics. The teaching materials and the main medium of instruction will be Korean.
This course is designed to offer students translation practice from Chinese into Korean using a variety
of texts. It provides opportunities for students to identify distinctive linguistic elements of Chinese and
Korean including vocabulary, grammar, and text structure. Students will practice resolving problems
that may arise from the difference between Chinese and Korean, and learn how to produce well-
constructed Korean texts. They will enhance their written Korean communication strategies and gain
translation skills through lectures, text analysis, translation exercises, discussions, and translation
assignments. Texts used will be in simplified Chinese characters.
KORE3119. Overseas immersion language course – Korean (6 credits)
This course provides an opportunity to study Korean and to experience linguistic and cultural immersion
in a partner institution located in Korea. The course usually takes place in the summer months (e.g.,
June, July and/or August) and the duration of the stay may vary from two weeks to one month, but must
include at least 60 hours of formal class tuition. Students typically take part in this course after the
completion of their second year of language studies at HKU. The course is designed to build on and to
reinforce the language competence acquired during the previous years of study as well as to prepare the
participants for more advanced work in the final years of the Programme.
Assessment: 100% coursework. In order to be granted credits for this course, participants have to
ensure that the course builds on their previous work done at HKU and is offered at the
same level or above the level of their last Korean language course at HKU and, after
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completing of the course, students have (1) to produce a formal statement of attendance
and certified transcript bearing mention of the final grade(s) and the level obtained from
the host institution, (2) to provide a portfolio including i. a learning journal written in
Korean of approximately 1,000 words relating to daily class activities and, ii. samples
of assessments (written assignments, tests, examinations, projects, etc.) along with
evaluation results.
This course is for advanced learners of Korean who wish to continue to develop their communication
skills by examining various topics relating to contemporary Korean society and culture. Emphasis will
be placed on the expansion of their proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The course
includes lectures on various aspects of Korean society and culture including Korean history and socio-
political issues in the 1950’s ~ 1990’s, such as industrialization, democratization and division of South
and North Koreas. Course materials will include authentic texts selected from newspapers, literature
and magazines as well as movies, radio programmes and documentary films. The teaching materials
and the main medium of instruction will be Korean.
This course aims to further develop students’ skills based on the work done in the previous semester
with KORE4001. Korean IV.1 Emphasis will be placed on the expansion of their proficiency in
listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students will give 20-minute-long presentations about various
topics on current issues in Korea to their peers and it will be followed by in a classroom discussion.
Course materials will include authentic texts selected from newspapers, literature and magazines as well
as movies, radio programmes and documentary films. The teaching materials and the main medium of
instruction will be Korean.
Prerequisite: KORE4001. Korean IV.1
KORE4003. Advanced Korean: presentation and media analysis (6 credits)
This course is designed to provide students with knowledge and insights on current social and cultural
issues in South Korea by examining social change, economic development and political progress in
media. Through in-class discussion and student research, students will be able to articulate their analysis
of current social issues in Korea through presentation. Course materials will include authentic texts
selected from prints and visual sources including newspapers, literature and magazines. The teaching
materials and the main medium of instruction are in Korean.
KORE4005. Advanced readings in Korean (6 credits)
This course will extend students’ Korean reading skills to the advanced level. Students will read and
analyze selected Korean texts, e.g. excerpts from novels, poems, and short stories, covering various
topics of Korean society. Students will also use advanced Korean to discuss the reading materials.
Emphasis will be placed on learning to read and analyze literary language and texts in Korean. The
teaching materials and the main medium of instruction will be Korean.
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List B: KOREAN STUDIES ELECTIVES
Korean Studies 1 provides students with the opportunity to explore core aspects of Korean culture from
a humanities perspective and explore the ways in which Korean culture has spread around the world
and also consolidated a Korean identity within the nation itself. Topics may vary from year to year
which cover the ‘Korean Wave’ around the world, modern Korean identity and ‘traditional values’, the
Korean popular culture industry, literary and art trends, East Asian cultural interchange, food and
national identity, etc., depending on students’ interest and the expertise of the instructor.
Prerequisite: KORE1021. Introduction to Korean Studies
Korean Studies 2 provides students with the opportunity to explore more core aspects of Korean society
from a social science perspective. Topics may vary from year to year which cover Korean government
structure, interactions with North Korea, Korean economic development, urban development and
innovation, etc., depending on students’ interest and the expertise of the instructor. Students will further
deepen their knowledge of Korean society by learning about Korean politics and economics. They will
also analyze Korean society from a sociological and anthropological angle.
KORE2026. Topics in Korean culture and society (6 credits)
This is a topical course that adopts multi-disciplinary perspectives to examine significant and complex
issues in Korea during the 20-21st centuries. Topics include symbolic sites, activities and objects with
discussion revolving around their significance and their meanings to Korea’s evolving identity,
depending on students’ interest and the expertise of the instructor. Questions about the mobilization of
tradition in contemporary Korea underpin this course.
This course introduces students to the study of North Korean society. It aims to provide students with
knowledge of how North Korea has developed over the last six decades and in doing so, equip students
with an understanding of contemporary North Korea
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KORE2032. Korean literature in translation: sentiments and human relationships in modern

Korean fiction (6 credits)
This course is a survey course on Korean literary texts from Korea with two goals. One goal is to offer
students foundational knowledge about Korean literature with a primary focus on fiction from the
twentieth century to the present. The other goal is to explore “sentiments” and “human relationships”
in important Korean short stories and novels. The readings, which represent major literary trends in
style and content for representative historical moments, are also selected for their literary merit and the
diversity of their subject matter, and they will provide a cross-section of the modern Korean literary
tradition. We will supplement our reading of literary works with theoretical texts and recent scholarship
on Korea. Key issues include the following: enlightenment, youth as sentiment, romantic love,
modernity, affect, family relationships, trauma, etc.
KORE2033. Modern and contemporary Korea: Modernity and social change (6 credits)
This course is designed to foster further knowledge about Korean society in the modern and
contemporary era for students who took KORE1021. This is a topical course that adopts a cultural
studies approach to examine significant and complex issues in Korea in the 20th and 21st century. This
course will primarily concentrate on cultural practices that brought modernity and social changes in
Korea. Students will explore various textual forms including treatise, fiction, documentary, and,
scholarly materials in the disciplines of anthropology, sociology, cultural studies, history, film studies,
women’s studies, and literary studies. This course also examines the social changes in Korea in
transitional and global contexts: in relationship with Korea’s neighboring countries in East Asia and in
relationship with the U.S.
This course investigates representation of gender, sexuality, and family in Korean society through the
examination of various literary, cinematic, historical, and theoretical texts. From an interdisciplinary
perspective, the course will question how the Korean nation-state and its socio-political changes have
impacted gender and sexuality in historical & transnational contexts. We will critically explore how
gendered images are framed by social norms but also challenges and de-stabilize those norms. Texts
include literature, ethnographies, oral histories, visual culture, and films.
KORE2035. Society and thoughts in Korea (6 credits)
This course surveys Korean thoughts from the earliest records to the modern era. We will read canonical
texts on politics, society, and culture and explore the production of these thoughts: how Korean society
adopts, transforms, and applies these thoughts in everyday life. Topics include: religious thoughts such
as Shamanism, premodern Korean Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity; Political thoughts in Chosŏn
Dynasty, neo-Confucianism on good government and the social order; early modern and modern period
thoughts on nationalism, economic thinking and practice; minjung ideology. We will also consider the
original forms of these thoughts found in India, China, Japan, and the West.
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KORE2036. Korean society before 1900 (6 credits)
This course surveys the history of the Korean civilization from the early times to 1900. Drawing on
sources from a variety of disciplines, this course provides a deeper understanding of Korean tradition
and identity in the context of East Asia. Some questions we will explore are: How is Korea as a nation
distinctive from others? Is there such a thing as Korean identity? If so, how has Korean identity been
constructed over time? How is this history reflected and/or produced in cultural production? The course
will examine the following themes from interdisciplinary perspectives: foundation myths, early Korean
kingdoms, peninsular society and maritime trades, spread of Buddhism and Confucius’s ideology, neo-
classicism, aristocratic and bureaucratic culture. Students will also learn different positions of national
history in the context of global history and early modern studies.
KORE2038. Global Korean pop culture (6 credits)
This course is a survey course on Korean popular culture during the past 20 years. It will explore both
the production side and consumption side of “soft power” as commodities, and study the
consumption/spread of Korean popular culture in Korea, Asia and the rest of the world. Our approach
will be based on humanistic studies, using cultural studies, history, literary, visual studies
methodologies. In order to achieve this, we will analyze different aspects of pop culture studies and
production and contextualize them historically. The course will consider: fundamentals of popular
culture studies, studies on globalization of “national” culture, K-pop, K-drama, musical theater, idol
phenomenon, tourism, food, film, and literature.
KORE2040. Topics in Korean visual culture and cultural studies (6 credits)
This course examines Korean visual culture in the modern and contemporary period from a cultural
studies approach. The course will also include introductory readings from cultural studies, visual
studies, media studies, and film studies to deepen the understanding of Korean visual culture. Students
will read selected materials from various interdisciplinary studies about cultural production including
paintings, films, installation arts, advertisement, art festivals, and museum and galleries, produced in
South and North Korea, and Korean diasporic sites. The course also aims to contextualize Korean visual
culture in transnational interactions.
KORE2044. The Korean War: Origins, aftermath, reconstruction, and remembrance (6

credits)
The Korean War is one of the most significant conflicts of the 20th century. It was the first conflict
where the “Cold War” turned “hot,” and the aftermath of this conflict is still felt in the present day.
Utilizing an inter-disciplinary approach, this course examines how the Korean War has had a profound
impact in shaping life not only on the peninsula but also beyond. Students will analyze the origin of the
war, its aftermath, and how it has been remembered and memorialized to the present day.
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KORE3026. Special topics in modern Korean literature (6 credits)
This content elective course offers an overview of modern Korean literature from the early 1900s to
present. In this course, students will examine Korean literature and its social, cultural and historical
background of these works. Many of famous literary works of Korea of this period have had a
significance appeal on national identity, dealing related issues on modernity, independence, resistance
against Japanese rule, and national division, rapid industrialization and authoritarianism. In class,
students will be provided the knowledge and skills to read, analyze and assess critically the forms and
themes of modern Korean literature.
KORE3032. Directed readings in Korean Studies (6 credits)
This is a Korean Studies elective course. It aims at selected students in Korean Studies who intend to
pursue an individualized reading project under the supervision of a mentor, typically (though not
necessarily) a Korean Studies Programme lecturer. The student is responsible for approaching the
lecturer in advance and obtaining consent for supervision. Students are expected to carry out
independent study on an approved subject, using texts both in Korean and English. The specific area of
study may vary from year to year depending on students’ background, interests, and the expertise of the
instructor.
Prerequisite: KORE1021. Introduction to Korean Studies and KORE3001. Korean III.1
KORE3034. Korean Studies internship (6 credits)
This Korean Studies elective course offers students an internship learning experience by allowing them
to take their classroom knowledge into the community. Students will have an opportunity for
experiential learning, earn credits towards their degree, and engage in a rich experience by working in
an organization or company that has a real impact on society. The internship experience draws on
coursework offered by the Korean Studies programme and allows students to work in Korean
companies, or in companies which have a strong connection to Korea and demonstrates the use of
Korean in the community. Internship duration must be at least three weeks full time or comprise a
minimum of 120 hours part-time. Staffing resources and operations mechanisms allowing, students will
be assessed by the organisation contact throughout the duration of the internship and will also, if
possible, receive a letter of reference from the organisation at the end of the internship. A written report
(800-1,000 words) with a description, critical assessment of and reflection on the internship experience
will be assessed by the course supervisor at HKU. Students are asked to make their own internship
arrangements with an organisation of their choice. They are asked to do this in liaison with a relevant
teacher at the Korean Studies Programme of HKU.
Prerequisite: KORE2002. Korean II.2 or KORE3001. Korean III.1 or KORE3002. Korean III.2
Assessment: 100% coursework (graded on a distinction/ pass/ fail basis)
KORE3035. Korean Studies field trip (6 credits)
In this Korean Studies elective course, students will be led by an experienced faculty member on a
supervised 2- or 3-weeks’ educational field trip to Korea. This course is offered to Korean Studies
majors between their second and third years of study. The rationale is to closely observe and study an
aspect of Korea introduced in one of the courses on Korean Studies or in a related course. The field trip
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will take place in the early summer, and students must participate in workshop-type meetings leading
up to the field trip in the second semester in Hong Kong. After returning to Hong Kong, students may
be required to attend class meetings for one week. In addition, students will be required to complete a
written report of about 3,000 words based on the experience and knowledge they have acquired during
the field trip.
KORE3042. Advanced seminar in Korean Studies (6 credits)
This course is an intensive seminar intended for Korean Studies major and minor students. The aim of
this course is to provide an opportunity for students to engage key concepts in Korean Studies within
the intimate settings of a seminar. Topics will relate to Korean history, culture, and society and will be
determined by the course instructor. This course consists of two parts. The first part includes lectures
and classroom discussions. Some lectures may be given by invited guest speakers. The second part
consists of students engaging in innovative research projects based on their learning in the first part of
the course. As part of final assessment, students will be encouraged to engage in knowledge
exchange. Students must secure written approval from the instructor of record to be enrolled in this
course.
KORE3043. Border-crossing literature from Korea and beyond (6 credits)
This course is an advanced seminar course on Korean literary texts from Korea and beyond in the 20th-
21st centuries. Border-crossing literature challenges the normative national, ethnic, and linguistic
boundaries of “Korea.” Boundaries sometimes consist of geographical demarcations, such as the
contours of the Korean Peninsula itself and the 38th Parallel line separating North and South Korea, but
they also construct the ideal figure of the “Korean people” as an ethnically/racially and linguistically
homogeneous and heteronormative group. Thinking through the idea of “border-crossing,” the course
examines a selection of literature under the theme of colonialism and imperialism, “division literature”
(bundan munhak, literature after the North/South split), Korean diasporic literature, and world (or
transnational) literature. The course will survey major literary texts by Koreans living in China, Japan,
and Americas. All readings are in English. The course will supplement literary works with theoretical
texts and recent scholarship on Korea.
LANGUAGE PROGRAMMES
ARABIC
The objective of the Arabic Minor programme is to provide students with a good command of the four
different language skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing. An Arabic minor will also allow
students to gain a deeper insight into the contemporary life and culture of the respective Arabic country.
Arabic language combines well with all major programmes offered within the Arts Faculty and it also
provides students with additional opportunities to further studies overseas.
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Minor (36 credits)
To complete a minor in Arabic, students are expected to take a total of 36 credits with the following
components:

{ARAB1001. Arabic I.1 and
ARAB1002. Arabic I.2}
or
{ARAB1101. Arabic for heritage students I.1 and
ARAB1102. Arabic for heritage students I.2}
These courses will be offered to undergraduates in Year 1 or 2.
• Core course (24 credits):

{ARAB2001. Arabic II.1 and
ARAB2002. Arabic II.2}
or
{ARAB2101. Arabic for heritage students II.1 and
ARAB2102. Arabic for heritage students II.2}
and
{ARAB3001. Arabic III.1 and
ARAB3002. Arabic III.2}
These courses will be offered to undergraduates in Year 2, 3 and 4.
Core Courses
ARAB1001. Arabic I.1 (6 credits)
This course is intended for students with little or no previous knowledge of Arabic. Participants will
acquire basic skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing Arabic. Different in-class activities will
be conducted in order to facilitate interaction among participants. Special attention will be given to
pronunciation and building a base of core vocabulary. This course is a pre-requisite for students wishing
to pursue a minor in Arabic.
Prerequisite: Nil
ARAB1002. Arabic I.2 (6 credits)
This course is a continuation of ARAB1001. Arabic I.1. Vocabulary and grammar will be presented in
context covering a variety of situations. The emphasis will continue to be on the spoken language, as
well as on providing a solid foundation in written Arabic. Different in-class activities are arranged
throughout the semester to optimise opportunities for interactive practice. This course is a pre-requisite
for students wishing to pursue a minor in Arabic.
Prerequisite: ARAB1001. Arabic I.1
ARAB1101. Arabic for heritage students I.1 (6 credits)
This course is designed for heritage students who are familiar with Arabic reading and writing system
when they grow up, but they cannot speak or understand the language to develop proficiency in Modern
Standard Arabic. The course is focused on the productive skills (speaking and writing), while
simultaneously exposing students to grammar and vocabulary. While developing their reading, writing,
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listening and speaking skills, students will also be learning about Arab history, society, and culture.
Classroom activities will be conducted in order to facilitate interaction among participants. This course
is a pre-requisite for heritage students wishing to pursue a minor in Arabic.
* Students enroll to this course should have basic knowledge of reading and writing Arabic.
Prerequisite: Nil
ARAB1102. Arabic for heritage students I.2 (6 credits)
This course is a continuation of ARAB1101. Arabic for heritage students I.1. The course is designed
to enable learners to apply the language within a range of everyday situations using the four skills:
listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students will learn to express themselves at a basic level of
communicative interaction with emphasis on the spoken language, as well as on providing a solid
foundation in written Arabic. Students will continue learning new topics of Arab culture. Different in-
class activities are arranged throughout the semester to optimise opportunities for interactive practice.
This course is a pre-requisite for students wishing to pursue a minor in Arabic.
Prerequisite: ARAB1101. Arabic for heritage students I.1
ARAB2001. Arabic II.1 (6 credits)
This course further develops students’ overall Arabic language ability established in Arabic I. 2. On
completion of the course, students will have mastered basic grammar and the vocabulary needed to
write short essays. Students will also be able to carry out conversations in Arabic to deal with a variety
of everyday situation at a higher level than Arabic I.2. Different in-class activities are arranged
throughout the semester to optimise opportunities for interactive practice.
Prerequisite: ARAB1002. Arabic I.2 or ARAB1102. Arabic for heritage students I.2
ARAB2002. Arabic II.2 (6 credits)
This course builds on Arabic II. 1 and further develops students’ overall Arabic language skills through
further syntax acquisition: reading and text analysis, listening comprehension, composition, translation,
oral expression and communicative skills. A wide variety of teaching techniques is used. Different in-
class activities are arranged throughout the semester to optimise opportunities for interactive practice.
Prerequisite: ARAB2001. Arabic II.1 or ARAB2101. Arabic for heritage students II.1
ARAB2101. Arabic for heritage students II.1 (6 credits)
This course further develops students’ overall Arabic language ability established in Arabic for
heritage students I. 2. The main emphasis is on mastering the basic structures of Modern Standard
Arabic as a means of communication, with equal emphasis on reading, writing, speaking and listening.
Oral competence is developed through extensive use of different resources as well as in group
conversation classes. Different in-class activities are arranged throughout the semester to optimise
opportunities for interactive practice.
Prerequisite: ARAB1102. Arabic for heritage students I.2
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ARAB2102. Arabic for heritage students II.2 (6 credits)
This course builds on Arabic for heritage students II.1 and further develops students’ overall Arabic
language skills through further syntax acquisition. Students will be able to converse with more
confidence, give presentations and engage actively in discussions about various topics they have
covered. They will be able to read and write longer texts and understand the main ideas of complex
texts. The course includes an increased exposure to Arabic grammar and vocabulary, while further
developing the skills of comprehension in listening and reading, and the skills of expression in speaking
and writing. Different in-class activities are arranged throughout the semester to optimise opportunities
for interactive practice.
Prerequisite: ARAB2101. Arabic for heritage students II.1
ARAB3001. Arabic III.1 (6 credits)
This course is a continuation of ARAB2002. Arabic II.2. It continues to build on the first- and second-
year’s work. The intention is to lead students towards an in-depth understanding of the Arabic language
through the study of various materials provided in class. A wide variety of teaching techniques is used.
Different in-class activities are arranged throughout the semester to optimise opportunities for
interactive practice.
Prerequisite: ARAB2002. Arabic II.2 or ARAB2102. Arabic for heritage students II.2
ARAB3002. Arabic III.2 (6 credits)
This course is a continuation of ARAB3001. Arabic III.1. It offers a balanced range of language skills
and further explores the various linguistic aspects of the language. Different in-class activities will be
arranged to optimise opportunities for interactive practice.
Prerequisite: ARAB3001. Arabic III.1
Elective Courses
Students are encouraged to take the following elective courses during their studies of the language.
ARAB1021. Introduction to Arabic culture (6 credits)
This course is designed to introduce students to the diverse backgrounds across the vast and immensely
rich panorama of the Arab World. It will give students a better understanding of the Arab World and
the Arabic-speaking countries by introducing them to major current events and developments in these
countries from the diversified political and social to cultural aspects. Topics include a historical
overview of the Arab people, Arab World contemporary life, family and social life, Arabic customs and
traditions, and multicultural aspects of Arabic society. Besides, topics ranging from visual arts, music,
to cinema, cultural tourism, food, fashion, and education will also be covered.
Prerequisite: Nil
Medium of instruction: English
No previous knowledge of Arabic is required.
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ARAB1024. Introduction to Ancient Egyptian Language (Hieroglyphs) (6 credits)
This course offers an introduction to Egyptian hieroglyphs, the language of the Ancient Egyptians.
Hieroglyphs is the name of one of the writing scripts of the Ancient Egyptian language. Looking to the
Ancient Egyptian monuments, temples, tombs, and statues, you will see these beautiful pictorial
writings, participants of this course will have the chance to decode these writings and understand the
stories behind them.
The Ancient Egyptian language is grouped into six major chronological divisions: Archaic Egyptian,
Old Egyptian, Middle Egyptian, Late Egyptian, Demotic, and Coptic. This course will focus on Middle
Egyptian which remained in use from 2000 BCE through to the Roman Period. The course provides
training in the fundamentals of Middle Egyptian Grammar, common monumental inscriptions and
simple texts. The archaeological, historical, religious, and cultural contexts of the inscriptions will be
discussed as one part of the frame for understanding the ancient texts.
Prerequisite: Nil
ARAB2022. Internship for students of Arabic (6 credits)
knowledge into the community. Students will have an opportunity for experimental learning, earn
credits and engage in a rich experience while working in an organization that demonstrates a real impact
on society. The internship experience draws on the Arabic Programme coursework to encourage
students to apply their classroom knowledge to work in organizations that demonstrate the use of Arabic
in the community. Internships may be conducted at any point between the summer before a student
enters Year 2 and the second semester of Year 4. The duration of the internship will depend on the
arrangement made between the student and the organization but should involve approx. 120 contact
hours of committed service for the host organization. Internships can be conducted during the semester
or at full-time equivalent during the lecture-free period. Staffing resources and operations mechanisms
allowing, students will be assessed by the organization contact throughout the duration of the internship
and will also, if possible, receive a letter of reference from the organization at the end of the internship.
A written report (800-1000 words in Arabic or English) with a description, critical assessment of and
reflection on the internship experience will be assessed by the course coordinator at HKU. Students are
asked to make their own internship arrangements with an organization of their choice in liaison with
the course coordinator at the Arabic Programme of HKU.
Assessment: 100% coursework (graded on pass/fail basis)
ARAB2023. Field trip to an Arab country (6 credits)

In this course, an experienced faculty member will lead students on a supervised educational field trip
to an Arab country. The rationale is to closely observe and study an aspect of The Arab World
introduced in the courses on the Arabic programme or in a related course. Leading up to the field trip,
students must participate in the intensive preparation that will take place in Hong Kong. After their
return, students will be required to complete a written report of about 5,000 words (in English) based
on the experience and knowledge they have acquired during the field trip.
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ARAB2025. Ancient Egypt (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the glorious civilization of ancient Egypt. From royal pyramids, and
great kings, to huge temples, mysterious gods and foreign invasions, students will experience the world
of ancient Egypt, its highs and lows, rise and fall.
This course will address questions such as who were the ancient Egyptians and why did they create
such monumental buildings and such magnificent works of art? The culture, history, art, architecture
and religion of ancient Egypt has long captured the imagination of people across the world. This course
will allow students to delve into the world of ancient Egypt, explore the beliefs of ancient Egyptians,
and learn more about this great civilization across 3,000 years of history.
Non-permissible combination: ARAB1023
Prerequisite: Nil
ARAB2027. Ancient Near East history and culture (6 credits)
This course is designed to introduce students to the Ancient Near East, known as the cradle of
civilization. It will give students a better understanding of the place where the first writing system was
produced, where the first centralized governments were created, and where law codes and empires have
started. The Ancient Near East refers to early civilizations in a region roughly corresponding to the
modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq and Syria), Anatolia (modern Turkey), the Levant
(modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan), as well as Persia (modern Iran), and Ancient
Egypt. This course offers an introduction to the history and cultures of the major civilizations of the
ancient world from c. 3300-300 B.C., focusing on Egypt and Mesopotamia. Topics include a historical
overview of the Ancient Near East, rise and fall of its empires, gods and myths, and the first languages
spoken in these regions. Besides, topics ranging from art, architecture, and literature will also be
covered.
Non-permissible combination: ARAB1022
Prerequisite: Nil
ARAB3021. Media Arabic (6 credits)
This course enhances students' capabilities in vocabulary, structure, and the use of the Arabic used in
the written and spoken news. It also helps improve reading, listening, and presentation skills at the
intermediate level.
Prerequisite: ARAB3001. Arabic III.1
ARAB3119. Overseas immersion language course - Arabic (6 credits)
This course provides an opportunity to study Arabic and to experience linguistic and cultural immersion
in a partner institution located in an Arabic-speaking country. The course usually takes place during the
summer months (e.g., June, July and/or August) (courses may also be offered in the winter break) and
the duration of the stay may vary from two weeks to one month, but must include at least 60 hours of
formal class tuition. Students typically take part in this course after the completion of their second year
of language studies at HKU. The course is designed to build on and to reinforce the language
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competence acquired during the previous years of study as well as to prepare the participants for more
advanced work in the final years of the Programme.
Prerequisite: ARAB2002. Arabic II.2
same level or above the level of their last Arabic language course at HKU and, after
the host institution; (2) to provide a portfolio including i. a learning journal written in
Arabic of approximately 1,000 words relating to daily class activities and, ii. samples
of assessments (written assignments, tests, examinations, projects etc.) along with
evaluation results.
Non-ARAB elective courses:
Please note that the following course(s) may have prerequisite(s). Students should also confirm the
availability of the following with the respective unit(s).

FRENCH
The objective of the French programme is to bring participants to a high level of proficiency in the
language and to acquire a sound knowledge of French society and culture as well as of the French-
speaking world. The French programme is offered both as a major and a minor.
In order to declare a major in French, applicants must initially complete two introductory core language
courses, i.e., FREN1001 and FREN1002 (12 credits in all). Students intending to major in French
should achieve at least grade C in FREN1002.
In their second, third, and fourth years of study, students pursuing a major in French must take a total
of 54 credits of French courses which should be distributed as follows:
- 24 credits from courses at Level 2XXX (except FREN2221 and FREN2222), of which 12 credits
must be from the core language courses, i.e., FREN2001 and FREN2002;
- 30 credits from courses at Level 3XXX, of which 12 credits must be from the core language courses,
i.e., FREN3001 and FREN3002, and 6 credits from FREN3030, a ‘capstone’ course designed to
allow the application of disciplinary knowledge and principles learned in the first, second and third
years.
Finally, students will be strongly encouraged to participate in a 3 to 4-week linguistic stay in France or
in a French-speaking country during the summer or winter either between their second and third year
or third and fourth year of studies.
Major (72 credits)
To complete a major in French, students are expected to take a total of 72 credits with the following
components:

FREN1001. French I.1
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• One 6-credit Arts Faculty introductory course to be taken from any Arts programmes

FREN2001. French II.1
FREN3001. French III.1
• French elective courses (24 credits):

At least four 6-credit courses from the list below.

FREN3030. Guided writing in French (capstone experience)
This course will be offered to undergraduates in Year 4.
Minor (36 credits)
To complete a minor in French, students are expected to take a total of 36 credits with the following
components:


Core Courses
This course is intended for complete beginners in French and does not require any previous knowledge
of the language. The course offers a broad introduction to the French language and culture of
contemporary France. While participants will learn how to express themselves in French and understand
the fundamentals of the language, they will also gain a deeper appreciation of the French society, its
cultural heritage and its way of life. Separate practice groups to consolidate the work done in lectures
will also be arranged separately on a regular basis.
Prerequisite: Nil
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This course is a continuation of French I.1 and continues to build on the previous work. Participants
will consolidate and develop their knowledge in the four areas of competence (listening, speaking,
reading, and writing), with a particular emphasis on communication skills in contextual situations. In
this process, participants will also get progressively acquainted with French and Francophone societies
and cultures. As in French I.1, separate practice groups will be arranged to complement the lectures.
Prerequisite: FREN1001. French I.1
This course continues to build on work done in the First Year. The intention is to develop students’
understanding and use of French in the areas of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Class lectures
are based on interactive methods and approaches whereby participants are encouraged to be creative,
problem-solving users of the language at intermediate level. Literary and non-literary French texts
selected from various sources will be used, with the aim of stimulating critical reading and discussion.
Class activities will also be supported by audio-visual and web-based materials which will help students
to familiarize themselves further with the actual usage of the language. Conversation groups will be
arranged separately to practice spoken French
Prerequisite: FREN1002. French I.2
This course is a continuation of FREN2001. French II.1. The intention is to develop students’
understanding and use of French in the areas of speaking and listening, reading and writing. Class
lectures are based on interactive methods and approaches whereby participants are encouraged to be
creative, problem-solving users of the language at intermediate level. Literary and non-literary French
texts selected from various sources will be used, with the aim of stimulating critical reading and
discussion. Class activities will also be supported by audio-visual and web-based materials which will
help students to familiarize themselves further with the actual usage of the language. Conversation
groups will be arranged separately to practice spoken French.
Prerequisite: FREN2001. French II.1
In this course students continue to build upon work done in the First and Second Year. The intention
is to further expand students’ proficiency in French. Class lectures will make use of interactive
approaches so as to elicit creativity, problem-solving skills, and encourage the participants to become
independent users of the language. Various literary and non-literary texts from France and other
French-speaking countries will be used, with the aim of stimulating critical reading and discussion.
Learning activities will also be supported by audio-visual and web-based materials which will help
students to better understand French and francophone socio-cultural environments. Discussion groups
will be arranged separately to foster oral expression and debating skills.
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This course is a continuation of French III.1. The intention is to further expand students’ proficiency
in French. Class lectures will make use of interactive approaches so as to elicit creativity, problem-
solving skills, and to encourage participants to become independent users of the language. Various
literary and non-literary texts from France and other French-speaking countries will be used, with the
aim of stimulating critical reading and discussion. Learning activities will also be supported by audio-
visual and web-based materials which will help students to better understand French and francophone
socio-cultural environments. Discussion groups will be arranged separately to foster oral expression
and debating skills.
Prerequisite: FREN3001. French III.1
FREN3030. Guided writing in French (capstone experience) (6 credits)
In this course, participants will receive tuition and guidance to complete a 3500-4000 words piece of
writing in French based on a topic of their choice related to France and/or the French speaking world.
Discussions with tutors will focus on developing students’ organization skills, and ability to use
discourse markers and text grammar to present their composition in a sequenced and coherent way.
Elective Courses
FREN2027. French culture and society (6 credits)
This course is designed to review key aspects of France’s society and culture as well as to offer a concise
introduction to the main stages of the country’s historical and territorial development. Topics will
include institutions and society (government, education, politics, economy, labour, media, etc.) and
essential cultural features (festivals, customs, traditions, etiquette, colloquialisms, way of life, leisure,
etc.). Major events that have contributed to the shaping of the country will also be presented and their
significance discussed. The role and place of the regions within this historical process will be examined,
so as to understand the correlation of distinct regional characteristics with related historical
developments. The teaching material and resources used for this course will be in French, and the main
medium of instruction will be French.
Co-requisite: FREN2001. French II.1 or FREN2002. French II.2
FREN2041. Cultural icons in France (6 credits)
This course is intended for students in French with an intermediate level of proficiency in the language.
It is designed to enhance core competencies and skills in spoken and written French while exploring
society and culture. Through analyses, readings, discussions and lectures, participants will reflect
critically on a range of cultural icons that play an essential role in shaping today’s French collective
identity. People, artefacts, signs, objects, rituals and events belonging to the high and popular culture
and shared by French people will be studied. While the interrelations between those symbolic figures
will emerge, the concept of “cultural grammar” will be introduced, enabling students to develop a more
holistic understanding of French culture and acquire new tools to reflect on their own culture. All the
materials used in this course will be in French.
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Co-requisite: FREN2001. French II.1 or FREN2002. French II.2

FREN2221. A profile of contemporary France (6 credits)
This course is intended to investigate current issues and debates taking place in France today, and to
examine the way these issues are presented in the French and international media. The notions of
French cultural identity and national citizenship will be looked at, as well as France’s relations with its
European neighbors and with the rest of the world. To provide essential references in support of the
discussions, the course will bring in background information on various aspects of France; its national
iconography, its government and its political, social, demographic environment. At the same time, the
course will relate these facts to significant moments of the country’s recent history, such as the post-
war period of recovery, the decolonization process, the construction of the Francophone community,
the European Union project, students’ and workers’ upheavals and the current debates related to
immigration and integration.
Prerequisite: Nil
This course cannot be counted towards the requirements for the fulfillment of the Major/Minor in French.
FREN2222. Wine culture in France (6 credits)
This course is an introduction to the cultural dimensions of French wine from both an academic and a
practical perspective. Wine is a topic closely intertwined with many aspects of the French culture.
Through a multi-disciplinary approach, the course will explore its connections with French history,
geography, society, language, literature, art and business. A general introduction to wine appreciation
will also be offered. The course does not require previous knowledge of French, but there may be
instances where the documentation and terminology are presented in the original language.
Prerequisite: Nil
This course cannot be counted towards the requirements for the fulfillment of the Major/Minor in French.
FREN3021. Francophone literatures and identities (6 credits)
This course offers a broad introduction to leading authors from the French-speaking world outside
France, with a special emphasis on Quebec, the Caribbean, the Maghreb, West Africa, and Vietnam.
The discussions will be based on a selection of works involving the issues of race and minorities,
identity and nationality, colonization and self-determination, native land and exile, as well as
multilingualism and universality, modernity and tradition. In investigating the way these various
themes appear in Francophone literary texts and essays, students shall aim to gain a better understanding
of how the use of the French language as a medium of expression may facilitate creativity and reception
or, on the contrary, distort or hinder cultural distinctiveness. The medium of discussion will be French,
and the supporting material will be in French.
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FREN3022. French and Francophone cinema (6 credits)
This course offers an introduction to French and Francophone cinema through a range of topics, such
as its historical, cultural, economic development, popular genres, and major trends. These aspects will
be discussed in relation with important issues in France and the Francophone world such as the question
of identity, cultural policy and globalization. We shall also review the position of French speaking
cinema and its standing in today's broader international context. In addition, the course will undertake
an exploration of various cultural aspects and their representations in films. The medium of instruction
and majority of the material used will be in French.
FREN3023. Media watch: Tracking French news (6 credits)
This course focuses on the media industry in France and the management of information in relation to
news and current affairs on the national scene. There will be a detailed scrutiny of the French press in
its various forms: newspapers, periodicals, radio, TV, and Internet. Students shall compare and contrast
how the different media process information and target their audience according to political, social or
gender affiliation, commercial interest, and intended readership. By doing so, they will also be keeping
abreast with the country’s current affairs. The medium of instruction and all the materials used will be
in French.
FREN3024. Modern French literature (6 credits)
This course offers a broad survey of French authors and literary movements from the 19th century to
the present day. Emphasis will be placed on the literary ideas and styles that emerged during this period.
The discussions will also cover the most important moments in French recent history as imagined and
rendered by writers. In addition, through the close reading of selected passages of major works, the
participants will be introduced to methods of textual analysis and critical appraisal of literary texts in
various genres (novel and prose, poetry and drama). The medium of discussion will be French, and the
supporting material (excerpts, press articles, films, iconography and notes) will be in French or, where
appropriate, provided in translation.
FREN3026. Conveying otherness: French imaginings of Asia (6 credits)
This course discusses the way French travelers, writers, and artists from the Renaissance to the 20th
century have represented in their works countries such as India, China, Vietnam, and Japan —
commonly regrouped under the Euro-centered term of “Extreme-Orient.” Students shall investigate a
selection of key novels, narratives, essays, travel logs, memoirs, journalistic reports, films, as well as
works of art that depict discoveries, encounters, and experiences with the view of identifying underlying
trends and recurrent themes. While the question of the construction of the Far East as Other and its
subsequent orientalization by Western visitors will come into play in our readings, the extent to which
these various accounts have inspired and influenced the aesthetics and the literary production in France
will also be examined. The medium of discussion will be French, as well as all the material under
investigation.
Prerequisites: FREN2002. French II.2.
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FREN3034. Internship for students of French (6 credits)
This FREN3034 course “Internship for Students of French” offers students an internship learning
experience by allowing them to take their classroom knowledge into the community. Students will have
an opportunity for experiential learning, earn credits towards their degree, and engage in a rich
experience while working in an organisation that demonstrates a real impact on society. The internship
experience draws on the French Programme coursework to encourage students to apply their classroom
knowledge to work in organisations that demonstrate the use of French in the community. Internships
may be conducted at any point between the summer before a student enters Year 3 and the second
semester of Year 4.
The duration of the internship will depend on the arrangement made between the student and the
organisation, but should involve approx. 120 contact hours of committed service for the host
organisation. Internships can be conducted during the semester (e.g. 8 hours/ week) or at full-time
equivalent during the lecture-free period. Students should spend at least 15 working days with the
organisation.
Staffing resources and operations mechanisms allowing, students will be assessed by the organisation
contact throughout the duration of the internship and will also, if possible, receive a letter of reference
from the organisation at the end of the internship. A written report (800-1,000 words) with a description,
critical assessment of and reflection on the internship experience, will be assessed by the course
supervisor at HKU.
Students are asked to make their own internship arrangements with an organisation of their choice. They
are asked to do this in liaison with a relevant teacher at the French Programme of HKU.
Prerequisite: FREN2002. French II.2 or FREN3001. French III.1 or FREN3002. French III.2 or
equivalent.
FREN3035. Painters and writers in modern France (6 credits)
French writers have always exhibited a passionate interest in fine arts while cultivating rich intellectual
exchanges and friendship with artists. The convergence of artistic creativity and intellectual vibrancy
produced some of the most influential aesthetic theories, and renowned paintings and novels. This
course explores a selection of works by prominent painters through the eyes of French writers who
admired them. Why did they develop a fascination for these artists? What did they write about them
and their artworks? How did artists influence their literature? The investigation of the interplay between
art and literature will enable students to deepen their understanding of French cultural history and
aesthetics while equipping them with the French language skills pertaining to these fields. All the
materials used in this course will be in French.
FREN3036. Portraits of the French language (6 credits)
With more than 200 million speakers across five continents, French is one of the most influential world
languages. Marked by a long and rich history, the French language is also an essential element of
national and cultural identity. Yet, far from being homogeneous, it shows great historical, regional and
cultural variations, and is constantly evolving.
Taking a multidisciplinary approach to explore the French language, this course will review important
moments in its development and investigate some of its variants across different communities and
regions. The course will then examine the role of the French language as a tool to exert power and
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influence in France and abroad as well as its significance in the construction of national and cultural
identities.
Additionally, participants will use selected French texts to discuss related topics such as the current
issues and debates surrounding the French language, the proximity and interconnections with other
languages, and the major institutions in charge of its regulation and promotion. The medium of
discussion will be French, as well as all the material under investigation.
FREN3037. France and the World (6 credits)
The notions of grandeur and rayonnement –greatness and influence overseas– have long been central
to France’s self-image and have shaped the way France exerts its influence in the world.
This course discusses how France positions itself on the global scene from the traditional exercise of
economic and military power to the use of more subtle tools of soft power, such as cultural diplomacy,
scientific cooperation, higher education, humanitarian actions, tourism, etc.
Using a selection of texts and topics, this course will also examine the historical roots of the French
ideas of grandeur and rayonnement, how France’s effort to exert influence is perceived and debated at
home and abroad, as well as the issues and challenges to maintain France’s image and standing on the
international stage. Participants will be encouraged to draw examples from the local context to discuss
the material under investigation. The medium of instruction and the majority of the material used will
be in French.
FREN3119. Overseas immersion language course – French (6 credits)
This course provides an opportunity to study French and to experience linguistic and cultural immersion in
a partner institution located in a French-speaking country. The course usually takes place in the summer
months (e.g., June, July and/or August) (courses may also be offered in the winter break) and the duration
of the stay may vary from two weeks to one month, but must include at least 60 hours of formal class tuition.
Students typically take part in this course after the completion of their second year of language studies at
HKU. The course is designed to build on and to reinforce the language competence acquired during the
previous years of study as well as to prepare the participants for more advanced work in the final years of
the Programme.
Assessment: 100% coursework. In order to be granted credits for this course, participants have to ensure
that the course builds on their previous work done at HKU and is offered at the A2 level
or above of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL) and,
after completing of the course, students have (1) to produce a formal statement of
attendance and certified transcript bearing mention of the final grade(s) obtained from the
host institution, as well as the level attained according to the Common European
Framework of Reference for Languages; (2) to provide a portfolio including i. a learning
journal written in French of approximately 1,000 words relating to daily class activities
and, ii. samples of assessments (written assignments, tests, examinations, projects etc.)
along with evaluation results.
GERMAN
The B.A. Major in German provides students with a comprehensive knowledge of both spoken and
written German. Students will be introduced to a wide range of aspects of contemporary German
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society and culture through the study of numerous multimedia materials and documents in the target
language that will be included in the advanced courses in area studies, translation, linguistics and
literature. The German programme offers a major and a minor.
Students majoring in German are encouraged to attend a 4-week intensive summer language course
(GRMN3119. Overseas immersion language course – German) at a university in a German-speaking
country during the semester break after their 2nd year. Successful completion of such a course at the
appropriate level will count as 6 credits towards their major requirements. Longer stays of one to two
semesters are also encouraged and can be arranged through the German Programme.
In order to major in German, students must initially complete two introductory courses, i.e.,
GRMN1001 (6 credits) and GRMN1002 (6 credits). In their second, third and fourth years of study,
they must take a total of at least 54 credits of courses of which up to 6 credits may be from a list of
approved non-GRMN courses. These courses are normally distributed as follows:
- 24 credits from courses at level 2XXX, of which 12 credits must be from the core language courses
GRMN2001 and GRMN2002.
- 30 credits from courses at level 3XXX or 4XXX, of which 12 credits must be from the core language
courses GRMN3001 (6 credits) and GRMN3002 (6 credits) and 6 credits from GRMN3022,
GRMN4001 or GRMN4006 capstone courses designed to allow the application of disciplinary
knowledge and principles acquired in the first, second and third years.
The BA in German combines well with all other majors in the Faculty of Arts, in particular with courses
and Programmes in linguistics, literature, translation and area studies such as European Studies.
Students from other faculties such as Business and Economics, Education, Engineering, Science, Social
Sciences, etc. might find the Programme useful to widen their international outlook and intercultural
communication skills and to enhance their chances for postgraduate studies at an international level.
Major (72 credits)
To complete a major in German, students are expected to take a total of 72 credits with the following
components:

GRMN1001. German I.1
• Any 6-credit Arts Faculty introductory course to be taken from outside the major in
German

GRMN2001. German II.1
GRMN3001. German III.1
These courses will be offered to undergraduates in Year 2, 3and 4.
• Elective courses (24 credits):

At least four 6-credit elective courses from the list below
These courses will be offered to undergraduates in Year 2, 3and 4. Up to 6 credits may be from
a list of approved non-GRMN courses. Students are advised to check with the offering
departments about prerequisites and the availability of these courses.
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• Capstone experience courses (6 credits):

One of the following capstone courses:
GRMN3022. German project (capstone experience); or
GRMN4001. German IV (capstone experience); or
GRMN4006. Introduction to teaching German as a foreign language (capstone experience)
These courses will normally be offered to undergraduates in Year 4.
Minor (36 credits)
To complete a minor in German, students are expected to take a total of 36 credits with the following
components:


Core Courses
This course does not require any previous knowledge of German. Students will acquire basic linguistic,
cultural, and communicative competencies (oral, aural, and verbal) in German. In addition to regular
language classes, students will further enhance their language skills in small tutorial groups.
Prerequisite: Nil
This course is a continuation of German I.1 that expands on previously acquired linguistic, cultural
and communicative competencies in German with a balanced emphasis on speaking, listening, reading,
and writing. In addition to regular language classes, students will further enhance their language skills
in small tutorial groups.
Prerequisite: GRMN1001. German I.1 or comparable level acquired elsewhere.
This course is a continuation of GRMN1002. German I.2. It deepens verbal communicative skills,
such as textual analysis, listening comprehension, composition, and translation through the use of
diverse pedagogical approaches. In addition to regular language classes, students will further enhance
their language skills in small tutorial groups.
Prerequisite: GRMN1002. German I.2 or comparable level acquired elsewhere.
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This course is a continuation of GRMN2001. German II.1. It continues to deepen verbal

communicative skills, such as textual analysis, listening comprehension, composition, and translation
using diverse pedagogical approaches. In addition to regular language classes, students will further
enhance their language skills in small tutorial groups. Students are strongly encouraged to attend an
intensive summer immersion course at a university in a German-speaking country upon completion of
this course.
Prerequisite: GRMN2001. German II.1 or comparable level acquired elsewhere.
This course is a continuation of GRMN2002. German II.2. It provides students with practice of
linguistic and cultural competencies at an advanced level. Furthermore, students will gain insights into
patterns, structures, and terminology in fields, such as literature, business, and journalism. In addition
to regular language classes, students will further enhance their language skills in small tutorial groups.
This course is a continuation of GRMN3001. German III.1. It provides students with continued
practice of linguistic and cultural competencies at an advanced level. Furthermore, students will expand
their understanding and deepen their practice of previously learned structures and patterns in various
contexts. In addition to regular language classes, students will further enhance their language skills in
small tutorial groups.
Prerequisite: GRMN3001. German III.1 or comparable level acquired elsewhere.
GRMN3022. German project (capstone experience) (6 credits)
In this course, students will explore an approved topic in German with guidance from a German
Programme teacher. To complete the course, students will submit a 4,000-word essay in German and
present their findings to peers and teaching staff.
Prerequisite: GRMN3001. German III.1
Co-requisite: GRMN3002. German III.2 or comparable level acquired elsewhere.
Assessment: Coursework assessment shall count 100% of the grade awarded for German project
GRMN4001. German IV (capstone experience) (6 credits)
This advanced language course focuses on enhancing reading, writing, and speaking skills in German
at the B2 level as established by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
(CEFR). It is a culmination of skills and knowledge which students acquired during their previous
studies in German (Years 1-3). These advanced language skills will enable students to continue their
studies in a German-speaking environment.
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GRMN4006. Introduction to teaching German as a foreign language (capstone experience) (6

credits)
This course is specially designed for students of the German Programme looking to enrich their skill
base in learning German and to acquire core knowledge for teaching German as a foreign language.
The course combines theoretical principles and practical training, allowing the integration and
application of disciplinary knowledge acquired in students' early years of study. The course also creates
a cross-institutional collaboration with external organisations and integrates different perspectives to
foster best synergies. It provides students with a learning platform and valuable experience in teaching
a foreign language. Students will have the opportunity to participate in a supervised observation and
engage in teaching firsthand.
Elective Courses
GRMN2021. Chinese-German translation (6 credits)
This course is an introduction to translating texts from German to Chinese and from Chinese to German
using a variety of texts written in different styles. It will provide students with intermediate level
translation skills, a further understanding of German grammar and additional information on
contemporary German topics. Special attention will be given to the particular problems or common
errors arising from differences in grammar and other influences from the students’ mother tongue.
Students will practise additional structures and texts gradually. This is a practical rather than a
theoretical course for translation. Students will be expected to do practical work in class as well as at
home.
Prerequisite: GRMN1002. German I.2
GRMN2023. Media and society (6 credits)
This course provides students with insights into German society through its portrayal in various forms
of media. Students will analyze major issues in German society over the past 60 years, such as the
American influence on German society, the changing role of women, or the impact of immigrants on
German society, by studying authentic German materials, such as advertisements, TV commercials,
newspaper articles, songs, and films. A special focus will be on the role of language in media.
Co-requisite: GRMN2001. German II.1 or comparable level acquired elsewhere.
GRMN2024. Producing German texts (6 credits)
In this course, students will practice the skills necessary to produce different types of text in German,
such as letters, essays (descriptive/argumentative), or short stories. With a strong focus on practical
work, students will submit weekly or biweekly compositions of 150-300 words.
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Co-requisite: GRMN2001. German II.1 or GRMN2002. German II.2 or comparable level

acquired elsewhere.
GRMN2027. Understanding Germany and her German-speaking neighbours (6 credits)
This course is designed to aid students in better understanding Germany and her German-speaking
neighbours by providing them with an introduction to topics that relate to major current events and
developments in these countries from the diversified political and social to cultural aspects. Topics
include Germany’s political system, contemporary life in unified Germany, family and social life,
German customs and traditions, and multicultural aspects of German society. Students will work
individually, in pairs, and in groups. They will present the result of their work to their fellow students
for peer review. This involves project work and class work. They will use new media to allow practice
and improvement of multiple literacies. During the course, students will be required to complete an in-
class test, submit a research paper and conduct a presentation on a topic of their choice. This course will
also give an overview of other German speaking countries. Classes will be conducted in German and
English. Guest lecturers will be invited to give talks on selected topics. Students will have the
opportunity to discuss and raise in-depth questions during the talks.
Prerequisite: GRMN2001. German II.1
Co-requisite: GRMN2002. German II.2 or comparable level acquired elsewhere.
GRMN2028. German conversation & vocabulary (6 credits)
This course enables students to improve their pronunciation and intonation skills. Based on the
knowledge and skills acquired during their previous German studies, students will learn new linguistic
features as well as reinforce and strengthen existing ones. This course provides students with further
opportunities to improve their reception and production of German sounds and enhance their linguistic
proficiencies.
GRMN3023. English-German translation (6 credits)
In this course, students practice translating from English to German using a variety of texts written in
different genres. These texts on contemporary life in German-speaking countries and Hong Kong cover
topics like culture, politics, and social life. The insights students gain from reading these texts will
enable them to draw inter-cultural comparisons between German-speaking cultures and their own.
Students will share their work with their peers to encourage in-class discussion and peer review.
GRMN3027. German for business (6 credits)
This course is designed to prepare students for working in a German-speaking company, institution, or
environment. It focuses on the practical parts of working in a professional context of a German business.
Students will enhance their understanding of cultural differences and hone their oral, aural, textual, and
communicative competencies to successfully apply for a job/internship and to handle daily activities in
a German-speaking company. Topics include business etiquettes & social skills training, analyses of
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company profiles, and business relations between Germany and Hong Kong. Students will also design
a personal portfolio which will include a selection of their business writing. Visits to German, Austrian
or Swiss companies and institutions may be organized based on availability. During reading week,
students may gain insights into the day-to-day workings of a company. Occasional guest speakers
provide students with a deeper understanding of different aspects in the German speaking business
world. Classes will be conducted in German.
GRMN3028. Kino! Studies in German cinema (6 credits)
This course provides students with an overview of German cinema from the first major German
expressionist film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in 1922 to the present within a cultural and social
framework. Students will gain insights into major shifts in life and culture in Germany. Classes will be
conducted in German.
GRMN3029. History of the German language and German linguistics (6 credits)
This course is designed to provide students with an overview of the major fields of history of the
German language and German linguistics as they apply to Standard German. It will introduce students
to the broad outlines of the historical development of the German language from the earliest times until
the modern period. It will look at some of the key sound changes and at the grammatical developments
which give the modern language its distinctive features. There will also be discussions on regional
variation within the German-speaking world. The linguistic aspect of this course will cover the
traditional branches of linguistic theory: phonology, the study of the sounds and sound systems;
morphology, the study of word structure, and syntax, the study of sentence structure.
GRMN3031. Internship for students of German (6 credits)
This course is designed to provide students with an opportunity for experiential learning, while working
in a German business/organization. Integrating their previously acquired academic knowledge with
practical workplace experience at the host company, enables them to work in Austrian, German, Swiss
companies, or businesses with strong ties to German-speaking countries. Students may intern at any
point between Years 3 and 4, either fulltime during the lecture-free period or part-time during the
semester (minimum of 120 hours). Preparatory activities and assessments include composing a CV and
a cover letter in German, a written report, and a presentation at the end of the internship. Students are
asked to make their own internship arrangements with an organization of their choice in liaison with
the course/internship coordinator. Students must submit an English description of their proposed
internship with an acceptance letter from the host company, for consideration to the Course Coordinator.
Prerequisite: GRMN2002. German II.2 or GRMN3001. German III.1 or GRMN3002. German
III.2
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GRMN3032. From Goethe to Grönemeyer – Reading German texts (6 credits)
Students will enhance their language skills and extend their knowledge of German-speaking countries
through analyses and discussions of various German literary genres, such as poems, plays, short stories,
fairy tales, and song lyrics. All teaching materials and the medium of instruction will be in German.
GRMN3033. Gender equality in German-speaking countries and the European Union (6

credits)
Gender equality has been a core value in most of the developed countries worldwide. In the European
Union, equality between men and women is considered a fundamental right. This course offers an
overview of the situation in gender equality in German-speaking countries and in major countries of the
European Union, in historical and cross-cultural perspectives. The first part of the course includes an
introduction of key developments and impacts of gender equality. In the second part of the course
students will consider the current gender situation and issues in contemporary society. Throughout the
course, students are encouraged to compare gender challenges between German-speaking countries and
their own.
GRMN3119. Overseas immersion language course – German (6 credits)
This course provides an opportunity to study German and to experience linguistic and cultural immersion
in a partner institution located in a German-speaking country. The course usually takes place in the summer
months (e.g., June, July and/or August) (courses may also be offered in the winter break) and the duration
of the stay may vary from two weeks to one month but must include at least 60 hours of formal class tuition.
Students typically take part in this course after completing their second year of language studies at HKU.
The course is designed to build on and to reinforce the language competence acquired during the previous
years of study as well as to prepare the participants for more advanced work in the final years of the
Programme.
that the course builds on their previous academic work completed at HKU and is offered
at the A2 level or above of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
(CEFRL) Additionally, after completion of the course, students have (1) to produce a
formal statement of attendance and certified transcript bearing mention of the final grade(s)
obtained from the host institution, as well as the level attained according to the Common
European Framework of Reference for Languages; (2) to provide a portfolio including (i).
a learning journal written in German approximately 1,000 words relating to daily class
activities and, (ii). samples of assessment (written assignments, tests, examinations,
projects etc.) along with evaluation results.
GRMN4003. Deutsch aktuell – current issues, films and music in German (6 credits)
In this course, students will use the language skills acquired during their previous language studies to
hold in-class discussions and submit assessments using an advanced level of German. The focus of this
course is on current affairs in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, including politics, lifestyle, music,
and film. Students will also compare how media in countries other than Austria, Germany, and
Switzerland, present the countries in focus. The medium of instruction and most materials is German.
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GRMN4004. Intercultural communication German-Chinese (6 credits)
To communicate and work within diverse cultural environments and to operate successfully in today’s
increasingly globalized diverse world, students not only need the required language skills, but they also
need to be culturally sensitive and competent. This course will provide students with knowledge, social
skills and relevant attitudes to improve communication with individuals from other cultures. It will help
students to develop intercultural awareness and competence for communicating with speakers from
German-speaking countries.
GRMN4005. Advanced Chinese-German translation (6 credits)
In this course, students will translate texts with complex structures between German and Chinese using
a variety of texts written in different styles at a more advanced and detailed level. Students will gain
advanced level translation skills and a further understanding of German grammar and syntax. The
course will invite students to explore linguistics within the interactional, communicative contexts of the
texts. Students will practise additional structures and texts gradually and learn about the stylistic
differences between various types, such as newspaper articles, literary texts, and business
correspondence.
Approved non-GRMN elective courses:
Please note that these courses may have prerequisites. Students should also confirm the availability of
these courses with the respective units.

EUST2022. European transitions – Germany and Central Europe after the Second World War (6
credits)
EUST3015 The Holocaust and its legacies (6 credits)
GREEK
(Note: The Greek programme is temporarily suspended in 2023-24. For further enquiries, please
contact the School Office of Modern Languages and Cultures.)
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The minor in Greek aims to give students a good command of Greek in the four skill areas of speaking,
listening, reading and writing, as well as to provide them with an in-depth understanding of
contemporary societies and cultures in Greece and Cyprus.
Minor (36 credits)
To complete a minor in Greek, students are expected to take a total of 36 credits with the following
components:

These courses will be offered to undergraduate in Year 1 or 2.

These courses will be offered to undergraduate in Year 2, 3 and 4.
Core Courses
In this course students will acquire basic linguistic and communicative skills in speaking, listening,
reading, and writing in Greek. Beginning with the Greek alphabet and grammar, the lessons will
provide students with the ability to handle basic communication in a Greek-speaking
environment. Through the study of this language at a basic level, students will also gain an insight into
some aspects of Greek and Cypriot culture.
Prerequisite: Nil
Building on Greek I.1, students will continue to expand their knowledge of Greek grammar and
vocabulary. Through readings focusing on the cultural and linguistic heritage of the Greek-speaking
world, students will continue to develop some insight into aspects of Greek and Cypriot culture.
Prerequisite: GREK1001. Greek I.1
Greek II.1 is a continuation of Greek I.1 and Greek I.2. The intention is to build further on the junior
level work and widen the scope of exposure to more complex aspects of the Greek language. The course
offers a balanced range of the various language skills through further syntax acquisition: reading and
text analysis, listening comprehension, composition, translation, oral expression, and communicative
skill. The teaching will diversify through the use of more elaborate material and a variety of teaching
techniques including work with video and Internet. Participants are expected to consolidate their
understanding of the Greek language and to further develop their production and reception skills. Small
tutorial groups will be arranged throughout the semester to ensure maximum opportunities for
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interactive practice. Through continuing to study this language, students will gain further insight into
aspects of Greek and Cypriot culture.
Prerequisite: GREK2001. Greek II.1
Greek II.2 is a continuation of Greek II.1. Students will begin the semester by briefly reviewing
material from the previous semester, and will then build upon skills learned in semester 1, while adding
new vocabulary and grammar fundamental to basic communication and writing skills and
techniques. Speaking, listening and writing skills will be emphasized, and readings will be assigned as
well. Small tutorial groups are arranged throughout the semester to ensure maximum opportunities for
interactive practice. Students will continue to gain an insight into aspects of Greek and Cypriot
culture. All students continuing their studies in the third year are strongly encouraged to attend a
summer intensive immersion course in a Greek-speaking country.
This course enables students to build on the two previous years’ work to reach a more advanced
level. The intention is to lead participants towards a fairly comprehensive understanding of the Greek
language through the study of a variety of documents (written, audio, and video). The course
emphasizes the use of correct spoken and written Greek at an advanced level with the aim of further
stimulating reading abilities. Through readings focusing on the cultural and linguistic heritage of the
Greek-speaking world, students will have an opportunity to develop their mastery of grammar,
vocabulary, and the Greek language more generally. Students will also be introduced to “culture-
specific” components of the Greek language and, through the study of the language, will continue to
gain an insight into aspects of Greek and Cypriot culture.
Greek III.2 is a continuation of Greek III.1. The emphasis of the second part of this third-year course
is on the use of correct spoken and written Greek on an advanced level. As in Greek III.1, in Greek
III.2 students will expand and develop their abilities to use Greek grammar and vocabulary, as well as
will broaden their knowledge of the Greek language further. Students will continue to concentrate on
speaking and writing Greek. Students will also be introduced to “culture-specific” components of the
Greek language and, through the study of the language, will continue to gain an insight into aspects of
Greek and Cypriot culture.
Prerequisite: GREK3001. Greek III.1
Elective Course
Students are encouraged to take the following elective course during their studies of the language.
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GREK1021. Introduction to Greek culture and society (6 credits)
This course provides an orientation for students of diverse backgrounds across the vast and immensely
rich panorama of Greek and Hellenic/Hellenistic cultures. Beginning with art and religion, the course
will then move onto literature: e.g., Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, as well as archaic poetry and Athenian
tragedy and comedy, among the others. (Topics, within this genre, will vary annually). The course
combines detailed literary and artistic appreciation with an understanding of the cultural contexts in
which Greek and Hellenic/Hellenistic art and literature flourished from ancient times to the
present. Topics will include aspects such as: myth and religion, heroic values, the archaic world, the
artistic and intellectual life of classical Athens and other Greek-speaking areas, the theatre, education,
the transformations of Greek culture under Rome, the Hellenic/Hellenistic World, present-day Greece
and Cyprus, and the Greek-speaking Diaspora in the world.
Prerequisite: Nil
Medium of instruction: English. Knowledge of Greek is not necessary.
ITALIAN
The Italian programme provides students with the opportunity to acquire a high level of proficiency in
the Italian language as well as comprehensive knowledge of Italian culture. The Italian programme is
offered both as a major and a minor.
In order to declare a major in Italian, applicants must initially complete two introductory core language
courses, i.e. ITAL1001 and ITAL1002 (12 credits in all).
In their second, third, and fourth years of study, students pursuing a major in Italian must take a total of
54 credits of courses which should normally be distributed as follows:
i.e. ITAL2001 and ITAL2002, and up to 6 credits may be selected from a list of non-ITAL
courses;
i.e. ITAL3001 and ITAL3002, plus 6 credits from ITAL3020, a ‘capstone’ course designed to
allow the application of disciplinary knowledge and principles learned in the first, second and third
years.
Finally, students will be strongly encouraged to participate in a 3 to 4-week linguistic stay in Italy during
the summer or winter either between their second and third year or third and fourth year of studies.
Major (72 credits)
To complete a major in Italian, students are expected to take a total of 72 credits with the following
components:

ITAL1001. Italian I.1
• One 6-credit Arts Faculty introductory course to be taken from any Arts programmes
except Italian
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ITAL2001. Italian II.1
ITAL3001. Italian III.1
• Elective courses (24 credits):

At least four 6-credit courses from the list below
These courses will be offered to undergraduates in Year 2, 3 and 4. Up to 6 credits may be
selected from a list of approved non-ITAL courses. Students are advised to check with the
offering departments about prerequisites and the availability of these courses.

ITAL3020. Italian workshop (capstone experience)
This course will be offered to undergraduates in Year 3 and 4.
Minor (36 credits)

These courses will be offered to undergraduates in Year 1 or 2

Students with prior knowledge of Italian are required to take an interview/test with the Programme
Director. If course exemption will be granted, they are required to take an elective course in Italian
instead in place of the exempted course.
Core Courses
This course is for complete beginners in Italian and does not require any previous knowledge of the
language. Students will acquire basic linguistic and communicative skills in the four areas of
competence (listening, speaking, reading and writing). The course will also give students an insight to
Italian culture and society.
Prerequisite: Nil
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This course is a continuation of ITAL1001. Participants will consolidate their knowledge of the Italian
language in the four areas of competence (listening, speaking, reading and writing). The course will
also offer insights into the Italian culture and society.
Prerequisite: ITAL1001. Italian I.1
This course is a continuation of ITAL1002. Italian I.2 and continues to develop students’ skills in
speaking, listening, reading and writing Italian. It introduces new syntactic and morphological
structures and provides students with opportunities to practice those learnt previously in a variety of
contexts. The course also examines aspects of Italian society and culture. Audio visual materials are
used throughout the course.
This course is a continuation of ITAL2001. Italian II.1 and further develops students’ skills in speaking,
listening, reading and writing Italian to an intermediate level of proficiency. It introduces more complex
syntactic and morphological structures and provides students with opportunities to practice those learnt
previously in a variety of contexts. The course also examines aspects of Italian society and culture.
Audio visual materials are used throughout the course.
Prerequisite: ITAL2001. Italian II.1
This course is a continuation of Italian II.2. It further explores the different linguistic aspects of the
language and continues to develop students’ skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing Italian to
an advanced level of proficiency. It introduces new syntactic and morphological structures and provides
students with opportunities to practice those learnt previously in a variety of contexts. The course also
examines aspects of Italian society and culture, including the North/South divide, organized crime and
the media. Audio visual materials are used throughout the course.
This course is a continuation of ITAL3001. Italian III.1. It further explores the different linguistic
aspects of the language and continues to develop students’ skills in speaking, listening, reading and
writing Italian to an advanced level of proficiency. It introduces new syntactic and morphological
structures and provides students with opportunities to practice those learnt previously in a variety of
contexts. The course also examines aspects of Italian society and culture, including the North/South
divide, organized crime and the media. Audio visual materials are used throughout the course.
Prerequisite: ITAL3001. Italian III.1
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ITAL3020. Italian workshop (capstone experience) (6 credits)
This course is designed as a capstone course offering students the opportunity to reflect and integrate
upon what they have learnt during the Italian major, both in terms of language skills and cultural
knowledge. Students will be required to complete a portfolio of activities such as reading Italian
newspapers and report news, interviewing Italian people, and other activities matching their interests.
They will have to present their portfolio at the end of the semester. The details of the activities chosen
shall be reviewed and approved by the teacher at the beginning of the course. Students are expected to
regularly meet tutors to review the progress of their portfolio.
Prerequisite: ITAL3002. Italian III.2; or
Co-requisite: ITAL3002. Italian III.2
Elective Courses
ITAL2021. Italian reading course (6 credits)
This course is designed to expand students’ knowledge of the Italian language through the analysis of
authentic texts related to different aspects of Italian culture. The texts studied include literary excerpts,
newspaper and magazine articles, and song lyrics. Every week, students are asked to analyze specific
texts prior to each lesson for further discussion in class. The main medium of instruction is Italian.
ITAL2023. Italian lifestyle and culture (6 credits)
This course provides a literary, social, and historical outline of Italian civilization and contemporary
culture, with a particular emphasis on youth culture. Topics covered range from the visual arts, music,
customs and traditions in different regions and cities, to cinema, cultural tourism, food, fashion, and
education. The course examines what it means to be “Italian” in the world today and encourages
students to reflect on the elements that contribute to the construction of a national identity. The course
is taught in English.
Prerequisite: Nil
ITAL2024. Italian cinema (6 credits)
This course will look at some of the most representative movements of the Italian cinema, from its
origin to the present day. The heyday of Italian cinema was the so-called Neo-Realism of the 1940s and
1950s. Rossellini’s Rome Open City and De Sica’s Shoeshine or The Bicycle Thief were internationally
regarded as the prototypes of a new genre of cinema. Since then, Italian cinema has regularly won
international awards. The course will acquaint students both with the great masterpieces of Italian
cinema as well as with the work of famous contemporary Italian filmmakers, including Gabriele
Salvatore, Giuseppe Tornatore, Nanni Moretti, etc. Students will be introduced to films that touch on
some of the key issues in modern Italian society. The course is taught in English.
Prerequisite: Nil
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From the Venice Republic to the fall of the Chinese Empire, Italy and China established numerous
cultural relations and exchanges through merchants, traveling monks, envoys and diplomats. The stories
of the first travelers have exerted strong appeal for the Orient, which inspired many Italian scholars and
artists through the centuries.
In the last two centuries the institution of political and economic relations between Italy and China have
enabled to greatly improve the understanding of Chinese society and culture. Nevertheless, in books,
films and commercials China is still often depicted by means of gross stereotypes, some of which have
been handed down from the literary tradition.
Students will be introduced to the representations of Chinese society and culture in Italy since Marco
Polo’s “Il Milione” book, through various sources including literature, opera plays and - more recently
- film and television. The course will also present direct source materials and accounts. The course is
taught in English.
Prerequisite: Nil
ITAL2026. A comparative overview of the Romance languages (6 credits)
This course will provide students with an overview of the historical development of the Italian and other
Romance languages deriving from Latin. We will discuss some of the major transformations between
Latin and Romance languages. Using the methodology of comparative linguistics, we will present both
similarities and differences among Romance languages including Italian, French, Spanish and
Portuguese. The course will focus on the semantic, phonetic and syntactic aspects. This course is taught
in English.
Prerequisite: ITAL1002. Italian I.2 or FREN1002. French I.2 or PORT1002. Portuguese I.2 or
SPAN1002. Spanish I.2
ITAL2027. Italian grammar (6 credits)
This course will reinforce students’ knowledge of the Italian grammar aspects previously studied,
including word formation, lexicon, word order, etc. Students will be encouraged to reflect on and
analyze the form and meaning of important grammatical structures, in order to increase their proficiency
in the Italian language.
ITAL3010. Field trip to Italy (6 credits)
This field trip course supplements the Programme’s home–campus based curriculum by enhancing
students’ experiential knowledge of the culture and society of Italy. Locations to be visited during the
one-week trip to Italy in summer may vary depending on the years when the course is offered. Students
will be engaged in cultural activities, including visiting historical sites, museums and other points of
interests and will be hearing on-site lectures. After their return, students will be required to complete a
written report based on their experience and knowledge they have acquired during the field trip.
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ITAL3021. Contemporary Italian literature (6 credits)
This course introduces students to some of the most prominent Italian writers of the 20th century and
their literary masterpieces. These include Primo Levi, Alberto Moravia, Cesare Pavese, Italo Calvino
and Pier Paolo Pasolini. The works of contemporary writers, such as Antonio Tabucchi, Susanna
Tamaro, and Andrea Camilleri are considered. The selection of texts will also serve as a basis for
discussion of various aspects of Italian culture and society. Students are required to read excerpts from
these texts in their original language.
ITAL3023. Internship for students of Italian (6 credits)
towards their degree, and engage in a rich experience while working in an organisation that demonstrates a
real impact on society. The internship experience draws on the Italian Programme coursework to encourage
students to apply their classroom knowledge to work in organisations that demonstrate the use of Italian in
the community. Internships may be conducted at any point between the summer before a student enters Year
3 and the second semester of Year 4. The duration of the internship will depend on the arrangement made
between the student and the organisation, but should involve approx. 120 contact hours of committed service
for the host organisation. Internships can be conducted during the semester (e.g. 8 hours/ week) or at full-
time equivalent during the lecture-free period. Students should spend at least 15 working days with the
organisation. Staffing resources and operations mechanisms allowing, students will be assessed by the
organisation contact throughout the duration of the internship and will also, if possible, receive a letter of
reference from the organisation at the end of the internship. A written report (800-1,000 words) with a
description, critical assessment of and reflection on the internship experience, will be assessed by the course
supervisor at HKU. Students are asked to make their own internship arrangements with an organisation of
their choice. They are asked to do this in liaison with a relevant teacher at the Italian Programme of HKU.
Prerequisite: ITAL2002. Italian II.2 or ITAL3002. Italian III.2
ITAL3024. Italian in the business context (6 credits)
This course is intended for students who want to develop their language and cultural skills for their
future career at an Italian speaking company or institution. A variety of topics and situations will be
studied such as job applications, interviews, business correspondence, transactions and contracts,
marketing strategies, business trips, etc. Guest speakers from Italian-speaking institutions and
companies located in Hong Kong are occasionally invited to the classes.
ITAL3119. Overseas immersion language course – Italian (6 credits)
This course provides an opportunity to study Italian and to experience linguistic and cultural immersion in
a partner institution located in a [Italian-speaking] country. The course usually takes place during the
summer months (e.g., June, July and/or August) (courses may also be offered in the winter break) and the
duration of the stay may vary from two weeks to one month, but must include at least 60 hours of formal
class tuition. Students typically take part in this course after the completion of their second year of language
studies at HKU. The course is designed to build on and to reinforce the language competence acquired
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during the previous years of study as well as to prepare the participants for more advanced work in the final
years of the Programme.
ensure that the course builds on their previous work done at HKU and is offered at the A2
level or above of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL)
and, after completing of the course, students have (1) to produce a formal statement of
journal written in Italian of approximately 1,000 words relating to daily class activities
and, ii. samples of assessments (written assignments, tests, examinations, projects etc.)
along with evaluation results.
Approved non-ITAL elective courses:
Please note that these courses may have prerequisites. Students should also confirm the availability of
these courses with the respective units.

ARTH2086. European art of the eighteenth century (6 credits)
HIST2013. Twentieth-century Europe, Part I: The European Civil War, 1914-1945 (6 credits)
LING2009. Languages of the world (6 credits)
LING2013. Language typology: The study of linguistic diversity (6 credits)
MUSI3037. Opera (capstone experience) (6 credits)
PORTUGUESE
The objective of the Portuguese programme is to raise participants’ proficiency in Portuguese language
to a high level while acquiring a solid grounding of knowledge of the Lusophone world. The Portuguese
programme is offered as a minor. To complete a minor in Portuguese students are required to take a
total of 36 credits with the following components:
Minor (36 credits):

PORT1001. Portuguese I.1
PORT1002. Portuguese I.2

PORT2001. Portuguese II.1
PORT2002. Portuguese II.2
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PORT3001. Portuguese III.1

PORT3002. Portuguese III.2
Core Courses
This course is intended for students with little or no previous knowledge of Portuguese. Participants
will acquire basic skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing Portuguese. Classes will be
conducted in small groups in order to facilitate interaction among participants. Special attention will be
given to pronunciation and building a base of core vocabulary. This course is a pre-requisite for students
wishing to pursue a minor in Portuguese.
This course is a continuation of PORT1001. Portuguese I.1. It aims at extend the written and oral skills
acquired by students in their first semester of studies. Students develop the ability to express ideas and
opinions in Portuguese and learn about life in Lusophone countries through the analysis of selected
written and oral texts.
This course is a pre-requisite for students wishing to pursue a minor in Portuguese.
Prerequisite: PORT1001. Portuguese I.1
This course is a continuation of PORT1002. Portuguese I.2. The intention is to build further on the
junior level work and widen the scope of exposure to more complex aspects of the language. The
teaching will diversify through the use of more elaborate material and a variety of teaching techniques
including work with video. Participants are expected to develop further their production and reception
skills.
This course is a continuation of PORT2001. Portuguese II.1. The intention is to build further on the
junior level work and widen the scope of exposure to more complex aspects of the language. The
teaching will diversify through the use of more elaborate material and a variety of teaching techniques
including work with video. Participants are expected to consolidate their understanding of Portuguese
language. All students continuing their studies in the third year are strongly encouraged to attend a
summer intensive immersion course in a Portuguese-speaking country.
Prerequisite: PORT2001. Portuguese II.1
This course is a continuation of PORT2002. Portuguese II.2. Participants develop their ability to deal
with non-routine information using lexical inference and compensating strategies such as restructuring,
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circumlocution and substitution in order to successfully accomplish communicative tasks. A variety of

written, audio and video materials will serve as a basis for study and discussion on issues pertinent to
life in Portugal and in other Lusophone areas.
This course is a continuation of PORT3001. Portuguese III.1. Participants are expected to further
develop their ability to deal with non-routine information as well as their awareness of language
registers and social conventions. The intention is to lead participants towards an advanced
understanding of the Portuguese language. Learning activities include the study of articles and reports
about contemporary issues expressing a particular viewpoint and production of a variety of text types,
including small research projects and short essays.
Prerequisite: PORT3001. Portuguese III.1
Elective Courses
PORT2221. Portuguese reading course (6 credits)
This course will introduce students to the cultures of Brazil, Angola and Portugal through reading,
analysis and discussion of a selection of texts from twentieth-century and contemporary authors. The
course will be conducted in Portuguese and it is recommended for students with basic knowledge of the
language who wish to improve their ability to read, speak and write. Passages from novels and plays,
short stories, poems and song lyrics will enable the students to perceive the writer’s skills and aims,
while practicing a wide range of language tasks.
PORT2223. Internship in Portuguese (6 credits)
This course provides students with opportunities to apply their knowledge of Portuguese to real-life
situations while working in organisations based in Hong Kong with links to Lusophone countries or the
local Lusophone community. The internship is offered on a full-time basis in the summer or a part-time
during the semester, in the second, third and fourth years of undergraduate studies. It has a minimum
duration of 120 hours and is jointly supervised by the host organisation and the academic coordinator.
The assessment is based on feedback from the internship supervisor at the organisation, and a written
report in Portuguese with an extension of 800 to 1000 words to be submitted to the academic coordinator.
Assessment: 100% coursework (graded on a Pass/Fail basis)
PORT3119. Overseas immersion language course – Portuguese (6 credits)
This course provides an opportunity to study Portuguese and to experience linguistic and cultural
immersion in a partner institution located in a Portuguese-speaking country. The course usually takes
place in the summer months (e.g., June, July and/or August) (courses may also be offered in the winter
break) and the duration of the stay may vary from two weeks to one month, but must include at least 60
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hours of formal class tuition. Students typically take part in this course after the completion of their
second year of language studies at HKU. The course is designed to build on and to reinforce the
language competence acquired during the preliminary years of study as well as to prepare the
participants for more advanced work in the final years of the Programme.
journal written in Portuguese of approximately 1,000 words relating to daily class
activities and, ii. samples of assessments (written assignments, tests, examinations,
SPANISH
The objective of the Spanish programme is to bring participants to a high level of proficiency in the
language as well as to provide them with a sound knowledge of the society and culture of Spanish-
speaking countries. The Spanish programme is offered both as a major and a minor.
In order to declare a major in Spanish, applicants must initially complete two introductory courses i.e.
SPAN1001. Spanish I.1 and SPAN1002. Spanish I.2 (12 credits in all) and achieve at least a grade C
in SPAN1002. In their second, third and fourth years of study, students pursuing a major in Spanish
must take a total of 54 credits of Spanish courses which should normally be distributed as follows:
- 18-24 credits from courses at level 2XXX, of which 12 credits must be from the core language
courses, i.e. SPAN2001. Spanish II.1 and SPAN2002. Spanish II.2
- 30-36 credits from courses at level 3XXX or 4XXX, of which 12 credits must be from the core
language courses, i.e. SPAN3001. Spanish III.1 and SPAN3002. Spanish III.2 and 6 credits from
SPAN4003, SPAN4004 or SPAN4005, three ‘capstone’ courses designed to allow students to
advance their analytical thinking by permitting the application of disciplinary knowledge and
principles learned in the first, second and third years.
Finally, students will be strongly encouraged to participate in a 3 to 4 weeks’ linguistic stay in Spain or
a Spanish-speaking country during the summer or winter either between their second and third year or
their third and fourth year of study. Upon their return to HKU they can apply for SPAN3119. Overseas
immersion language course - Spanish.
Major (72 credits)
To complete a major in Spanish, students are expected to take a total of 72 credits with the following
components:

• Other Arts Faculty introductory courses to be taken from any Arts programmes (6 credits)
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SPAN2001. Spanish II.1
SPAN3001. Spanish III.1
• Spanish elective courses (24 credits):

At least four 6-credit elective courses from the list below.

SPAN4003. Developing autonomy in Spanish language learning (capstone experience); or
SPAN4004. Hispanic research project (capstone experience); or
SPAN4005. Internship for students of Spanish (capstone experience)
These courses will be offered to undergraduates in Year 4.
Minor (36 credits)
To complete a minor in Spanish, students are expected to take a total of 36 credits with the following
components:


Core Courses
This course is intended for students who have no previous knowledge of Spanish. The main objective
of the course is to provide students with a firm foundation in the four language skills (reading, writing,
listening and speaking) as well as to offer insights into Spanish-speaking cultures. Through an action-
based approach, this course will enable participants to engage in simple conversations and interactive
situations. By the end of the course, students should be able to use the Spanish language at an A1.1
level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL) where they can
understand and use familiar everyday expressions and basic phrases. More specifically, they should be
able to introduce themselves and others, ask and answer questions about personal details and interact in
a simple way. Classes will be conducted in small groups in order to ensure a high degree of interaction
between students and teachers.
Prerequisite: Nil
Assessment: 100% coursework. Coursework includes: i) progress tests, ii) other assignments and iii)
participation in class.
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The aim of this course is to develop students’ language proficiency at a higher level by building on the
skills acquired in SPAN1001. The objectives are to consolidate the knowledge acquired in the first
semester and to broaden participants’ foundation in Spanish in the four language skills (reading, writing,
listening and speaking) through an action-based approach. The course also aims at expanding students’
knowledge of Spanish-speaking cultures. Based on the guidelines set out by the Common European
Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL), this course should lead students towards a more
independent and autonomous use of the language, equivalent to an A1.2+/A2.1 level. Students will be
able to understand specific information in written and oral texts as well as exchange personal
information about family, education and work. Classes will be conducted in small groups in order to
ensure a high degree of interaction between students and teachers.
Prerequisite: SPAN1001. Spanish I.1
Assessment: 100% coursework. Coursework includes: i) progress tests, ii) other assignments and
iii) participation in class
The aim of this course is to develop the students’ communicative competence in all skills (reading,
writing, speaking, and listening) towards an A2.2 level of the Common European Framework of
Reference for Languages (CEFRL). The course design integrates general competences (sociocultural
knowledge, intercultural competence) as well as communicative abilities, including linguistic (grammar,
lexical) and sociolinguistic (forms of address, register, etc.) competences.
Prerequisite: SPAN1002. Spanish I.2
Assessment: 100% coursework. Coursework includes: i) progress tests, ii) other assignments, and
iii) participation in class.
The aim of this course is to develop the students’ communicative competence in all skills (reading,
writing, speaking, and listening) towards a B1.1 level of the Common European Framework of
Reference for Languages (CEFRL). The course design integrates general competences (sociocultural
knowledge, intercultural competence) as well as communicative abilities, including linguistic (grammar,
lexical) and sociolinguistic (forms of address, register, etc.) competences.
Prerequisite: SPAN2001. Spanish II.1
This course continues to build on the two previous years’ work at a more advanced level. The intention
is to lead participants towards a more independent use of the Spanish language. Students will be exposed
to a variety of texts from different media (written, audio and video) from the Spanish-speaking world.
This course aims to develop students’ language proficiency through a more in-depth study of important
grammatical topics as well as to increase their vocabulary acquisition. The overall aim of the course is
to bring the students to a stage consistent with the level B1.2 as defined and established by the Common
European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL). By the end of this course students should
be able to understand the main ideas of relatively complex standard texts. They should also be able to
interact with native speakers with a certain degree of fluency, produce clear, detailed texts on familiar
topics, and give reasons and explanations for their own opinions and plans.
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Assessment: 100% coursework. Coursework includes: i) progress tests, ii) other assignments and
The aim of this course is to build on the work done in the previous semester with SPAN3001.
SPAN3002 will lead participants towards a more independent use of the Spanish language, bringing
students to a stage consistent with the level B2.1 as defined and established by the Common European
Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL). Students will be exposed to a variety of texts from
different media (written, audio and video) from the Spanish-speaking world. The selection of
documents will also serve as a basis for discussion on social issues related to contemporary Spain and
Spanish-speaking countries. The course aims at further developing students’ language proficiency
through a more in-depth study of important grammatical topics. It also aims to increase students’
vocabulary acquisition so as to facilitate oral and written expression and comprehension of the Spanish
language. By the end of this course students should have reached a stage where they are able to use the
language independently and understand the main ideas of complex texts dealing with concrete and
abstract topics. They should also be able to interact with native speakers with a certain degree of fluency
and spontaneity. In addition to that, students should be able to produce clear, detailed texts on a wide
range of subjects and present different viewpoints.
Prerequisite: SPAN3001. Spanish III.1
SPAN4003. Developing autonomy in Spanish language learning (capstone experience) (6

credits)
The objective of this course is to enable students to develop autonomous and lifelong habits in Spanish
language learning, at the same time as they get exposed to authentic samples of linguistic and cultural
production. Students will demonstrate mastery of the skills they have developed and the knowledge
they have gained during their degree, as well as reflect on their academic, personal, social and linguistic
development.
The course takes the form of a portfolio of autonomous learning activities to be completed throughout
the semester. Students will be required to complete a portfolio consisting of a series of activities of their
choice within a given repertoire (e.g. watching a film in Spanish, analysing a historical documentary,
summarising and critically assessing the contents of weekly news bulletins, etc.) with the aim of putting
into practice all the language skills and cultural knowledge they have developed during their university
studies. The course teachers will organize a series of workshops aimed at preparing students for such
tasks and will also provide students with worksheets to facilitate and monitor their work. Students will
have to attend supervision meetings to review the progress of their portfolio. By the end of the semester
students should have compiled a portfolio of activities as required and should have demonstrated that
they can self-manage their language learning.
Prerequisite: SPAN3002. Spanish III.2; OR
Co-requisite: SPAN3002. Spanish III.2
This course is open to students who are in year 4 and have successfully completed or are currently
enrolled in SPAN3002. Spanish III.2. Priority will be given to Major students.
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SPAN4004. Hispanic research project (capstone experience) (6 credits)
This Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) project allows students to pursue independent
research under the supervision of the course instructors within the disciplines of cultural and film studies,
literature, applied linguistics, language acquisition, language and society, and Spanish as a Foreign
Language. The course offers a series of seminars imparted in Spanish and designed to provide students
with guidance and support in the process of applying the knowledge and skills acquired in their studies
to the completion of a research project. Students will develop their research and writing skills and
conduct discussion sessions related to their projects. The research proposals must be submitted to the
instructors for approval during the first month of the course, and the final projects by the end of the
course. These individually supervised projects must be written in Spanish and the maximum extension
will be 3,500 words (excluding graphics, captions and bibliographies).
This course is open to students who are in year 4 and have successfully completed or
are currently enrolled in SPAN3002. Spanish III.2. Priority will be given to Major
students.
SPAN4005. Internship for students of Spanish (capstone experience) (6 credits)
The internship aims at providing selected senior students with an opportunity to work in environments
where they will be able to apply their disciplinary knowledge and skills, and acquire work experience
through on-the-job training. Internship positions are arranged by students, under the guidance of the
course coordinator, in host organisations which provide relevant experiences, such as in government
offices, educational institutions, private companies engaged in trade or legal relations between Spanish-
language and Asian partners, PR and media relations, event organisation, research and database creation.
The student learning activities include preparation, on-site internship work under the guidance and
supervision of an internship supervisor, meetings with the academic coordinator/ supervisor, and all
associated reading and assessment-related work, which must be completed in Spanish. Assessment
(pass/fail) is based on written reports of no more than 3,500 words and feedback from the internship
supervisor.
Internships should be conducted at any point during the year before the end of the second semester of
year 4 but the registration is offered at the beginning of the first and second semesters only. Students
selecting this course as a capstone experience can only register in year 4.
This course is open to students who are in year 4 and have successfully completed or
are currently enrolled in SPAN3002. Spanish III.2. Priority will be given to Major
students.
Assessment: 100% coursework (graded on a Pass/Fail basis)
Elective Courses
SPAN2021. The sounds of Spanish: An introduction to Spanish phonetics and pronunciation

(6 credits)
The main objective of this course is to help students improve their oral skills by reflecting on the
phonetic and phonological particularities of Spanish while practicing the language in context. The
practice of pronunciation will be carried out through a variety of contextualized activities that will
stimulate perceptive, productive and interactive skills. Such activities will be divided into two
categories: individual work and in-class interaction. The individual work focuses on perception (from
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distinguishing phonological pairs to identifying intonation patterns in real pieces of speech) and
individual production (in the form of podcasts) to help each student identify his/her personal difficulties
dealing with the pronunciation of Spanish. In-class activities focus on group readings, role plays and
oral communication in relation to the course content.
The course will offer an insight into the linguistic variations of colloquial speech and dialectology.
Besides the linguistic and theoretical nature of the discipline, The Sounds of Spanish is structured
around lexical, grammatical and cultural themes adequate to the student’s level of Spanish as to
contextualize the practice of pronunciation.
This is mainly a practical course and no previous knowledge of Linguistics is required. Teaching
materials and medium of instruction will be Spanish.
Prerequisite: SPAN1002. Spanish I.2; OR
Co-requisite: SPAN2001. Spanish II.1
*Students may not enroll in SPAN2021 if they have already completed SPAN2002.
Assessment: 100% coursework. Coursework includes the following: progress tests (written and oral)
and assignments such as internet-based tasks and blogs (podcasts) as well as class
participation
SPAN2025. Spanish-writing workshop I (6 credits)
The aim of the course is to familiarize students with different writing genres to lead them to an
understanding of how different purposes are commonly expressed. Another objective is to provide
students with adequate strategies for reading and writing in Spanish. This course’s approach is very
practical, and students are expected to work in class as well as at home. Based on the guidelines set out
by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL), this course should lead
students towards a more proficient use of written Spanish, equivalent to an A2.2 level. Teaching
materials are in Spanish and medium of instruction will be mainly Spanish.
Prerequisite: SPAN1002. Spanish I.2; OR
Assessment: 100% coursework. Coursework includes: i) progress test, ii) other assignments and iii)
participation in class
SPAN2027. Cultural icons from the Hispanic world (6 credits)
This course explores a variety of cultural icons related to the Spanish speaking world from the fields of
art, music, architecture, history, cinema and other cultural manifestations. It will introduce students to
the origin, meaning and values related to some of the most common icons of the Hispanic world from
a local and global perspective. It will also look at country specific cultural referents and their role in the
formation of identity and language. In addition to that, the course will explore the roles played by media,
advertising and internet in the creation of a cultural icon in today’s world. Students will be encouraged
to reflect on their own culture, establish comparisons and identify and critically assess their own
preconceived ideas. Reading and oral practice will be an essential part of the course. Overall, the
course’s main objective will be to reinforce and expand students’ general knowledge of Hispanic
cultures and to improve their linguistic skills.
Assessment: 100% coursework. Coursework includes: i) progress test, ii) other assignments and iii)
participation in class
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SPAN2028. Spanish for professional purposes (6 credits)
SPAN2028 is a Spanish for Specific Purposes course which aims at preparing students to effectively
interact with Spanish-speaking commercial or governmental institutions. It is aimed at developing
students’ communicative competence in all four skills (oral, listening, writing, reading), their grammar
knowledge and the necessary intercultural competence that will allow them to successfully interact in
common situations encountered during the development of administrative and business activities in
Spanish-speaking professional environments. The course covers topics such as business vocabulary, job
applications, structure and organization of companies, graph commentaries, company design, product
description and elementary business correspondence. There will also be a focus on intercultural
communication with the Spanish-speaking world in relation to business matters. Students will be
exposed to articles on Economy and Business at an elementary level, and will write simple texts to
conduct business transactions or apply for a job. Face-to-face negotiations will also be conducted at a
level suitable for this course. The level of this course is B1.1 according to CEFRL (European
Framework of Reference for Languages).
Prerequisite: SPAN2001. Spanish II.1; OR
SPAN2029. Introduction to the cultures and history of Latin America (6 credits)
This course offers an interdisciplinary introduction to representative cultural practices and key historical
processes of Latin America through a selection of source materials such as films, paintings, historical
accounts, religious texts, and music. Discussions in lectures will emphasize aspects of Latin American
culture and history that prompt reflections on ethnic diversity, colonialism, political evolution, gender
equality, and the role of the arts in understanding all these issues. Guest speakers will be invited to give
talks on selected topics. English is the medium of instruction.
Prerequisite: Nil
Medium of Instruction: English
SPAN2030. Key topics in Spanish grammar: From theory to practice (6 credits)
This course will help students strengthen and further develop the grammar skills acquired during their
previous studies of Spanish. The main aim of the course is to provide students with the necessary tools
to better understand the Spanish language structure. Students will be introduced to linguistic concepts
to analyze, reflect on, and understand Spanish grammar. Students will then build on these insights in
order to complete tasks designed to reinforce the usage of the target structures. Upon completion of this
course, students will be able to identify core grammatical features, and to use appropriate terminology
to describe them. They will also be able to apply grammatical insights to evaluate and to demonstrate
appropriate usage of the grammar topics reviewed. This course assumes no prior knowledge of linguistic
terminology or analysis. Topics covered include word formation, sentence structure, grammatical issues,
and Spanish varieties.
Spanish III.2
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SPAN2031. Field trip to a Spanish-speaking country (6 credits)
This field-trip will be held in a Spanish-speaking country to learn about its history and culture. Students
will have the opportunity to locate historical sites, learn about major cultural referents and socio-
historical processes, and develop their capacity to describe their learning experiences in a report. It will
start with a teaching and learning component in preparation for the field trip, with lectures and seminars
where interactive discussions and independent study are important. In the second part, students will
spend two weeks in the host country, visiting sites, presenting their studies at relevant sites, and
attending seminars at a cultural or educational institution. Back in Hong Kong, in the third part, students
will organize, edit, and critically evaluate their data, which they will use to produce a mixed-media
report combining graphic, audiovisual and written texts. Students will apply their study of architecture,
art, political and educational institutions to it. Site visits to museums and sites will enable a close
attention to art with the aim of facilitating students' critical understanding of the host country’s past and
present. Furthermore, collaboration with academic departments specializing in China-Latin American
interconnections will permit students to gain an understanding of current interests in China in the host
Spanish-speaking country.
Pre-requisite: Nil
SPAN2032. Art in the Hispanic World: An Introduction (6 credits)
Focusing mainly on painting, sculpture and architecture, this course aims at providing an overview of
the history of art in Spanish-speaking countries, and in the cultures that preceded them and influenced
them most deeply (such as Phoenicia, Ancient Rome, Al-Andalus, Mexica, Maya, Inca...). Throughout
the course, special attention will be paid to the combination of historical circumstances, values, cultural
movements, and individuals that produced these works of art, as well as to how these pieces affected
and transformed society. This course is taught in Spanish and it is aimed primarily at students who have
successfully completed SPAN2001 or have achieved an A2 level according to CEFR (Common
European Framework of Reference for Languages). SPAN2032 will allow them to further improve and
strengthen their linguistic skills towards a B1.1 level at an intermediate level (CEFR B1.1). The course
will also help them develop their ability to understand, explain, and express views on topics related to
art, culture and history in Spanish.
SPAN3021. The art of translation: From Spanish to English (6 credits)
This course is an introduction to the translation of texts from Spanish to English and to a lesser extent
from English to Spanish. Special attention will be paid to the particular problems created by differences
in grammar and other common errors such as “false friends” and influences from the mother tongue.
The aim of this course is to provide students with basic translation skills and to develop their
understanding of Spanish grammar and syntax. Students will also learn about the stylistic differences
of various genres (newspaper articles, novels, etc.) and how to translate these different types of texts.
Course materials will be selected according to the topics covered in the core course (Spanish III.2) in
order to further consolidate the students’ knowledge of Spanish grammar and sentence structure. The
course focuses mainly on acquiring practical translation skills rather than the theoretical background
and students will be expected to do extensive practical work in class as well as at home.
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SPAN3023. Hispanic visual and literary cultures (6 credits)
This course explores the combined study of manifestations of visual culture such as television series
and films, and texts such as short stories and poems with a view towards understanding contemporary
Latin American and Spanish societies and improving students’ level of Spanish. Texts are
contextualized within their socio-historical milieux and topics are selected with a view towards gender
and ethnic balance. Classes are organized thematically to allow for the combined study and comparison
of texts created in different media. The course follows a CLIL (Content and Language Integrated
Learning) approach and Spanish is the medium of instruction.
SPAN3026. Spanish in the World: varieties, histories and cultures (6 credits)
The main objective of the course is to offer an introduction to Spanish Dialectology as well as to develop
students’ communicative competence in a horizontal way, that is, by linking theory and practice. The
course intends to make students familiar with the main dialect areas of the Spanish-speaking world,
their history and coexistence with other languages of the world. The course will present basic concepts
related to the fields of Linguistics and Dialectology, and will also raise awareness of the current
widespread extension of the Spanish language and its prospects. There will be a special emphasis on
the characteristics of each geodialect at the levels of phonology, lexis and grammar, as well as on the
Spanish spoken in other areas such as Philippines, Türkiye, Equatorial Guinea or the U.S., and on the
different phenomena related tothem.
The methodology of this course is a blendedlearning one based on flipped-classroom work and weekly
assessments aimed to consolidate knowledge. Students will need to access Moodle on a weekly basis,
read the corresponding theory document and do a quiz in preparation for the lecture. In class students
will have the opportunity to discuss the contents of the lesson, previously prepared at home, and will
be exposed to language excerpts taken from real printed and audiovisual materials which will help to
illustrate the contents previously examined at home and further discussed in class. Different language
activities will be conducted in class for students to put into practice what they have learned and to
promote “learning by doing”, in some cases with the help of native speakers who will be attending the
lectures in order to provide students with real language exposure. After class, students will also have to
do the language practice exercises about the language variety that was presented in order to consolidate
their knowledge.
SPAN3028. Spanish for business and intercultural communication (COIL) (6 credits)
This is a Spanish for Specific Purposes course which aims at preparing students to effectively interact
with Spanish-speaking companies and institutions. It is a CLIL course which combines the learning of
specific linguistic skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) at a B1 level with the study of cultural
and socio-economic aspects that are relevant for the development of commercial and intercultural
relations between Spanish-speaking and East-Asian countries. Topics discussed in this course include
trade negotiations, etiquette, banking transactions, product promotion and publicity, commercial fairs,
the current state of relations between Spanish-speaking and East-Asian governments and organizations,
and opportunities for the promotion of business partnerships between companies in East Asia and the
Spanish-speaking world. Guest speakers from Spanish-speaking institutions and companies located in
Hong Kong are regularly invited to the classes.
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SPAN3031. Contemporary Spain: cultural and societal changes (6 credits)
The aim of this course is to offer a glimpse of the cultural and societal changes in contemporary Spain.
Students will learn about Spain in the 20th and 21st centuries, the changes undergone through the
political transition from a dictatorship to a democracy and the current challenges. The course will cover
topics such as history, politics, economy, society, traditions and customs among others. Students will
be exposed to a variety of texts from different media (written, audio and video) from the Hispanic world.
The selection of documents will also serve as a basis for discussion on social issues related to
contemporary Spain and Spanish-speaking countries. Students will be encouraged to critically analyse
and compare Spanish culture and society with their own culture.
SPAN3119. Overseas immersion language course - Spanish (6 credits)
This course provides an opportunity to study Spanish and to experience linguistic and cultural
immersion in a partner institution located in a Spanish-speaking country. The linguistic and cultural
immersion usually takes place during the summer months (e.g., June, July and/or August) (courses may
also be offered in the winter break) and the duration of the stay may vary from two weeks to one month,
but must include at least 60 hours of formal class tuition. Students typically take part in this linguistic
and cultural immersion experience after the completion of their second year of language studies at HKU.
This experience is carried out by means of an intensive course designed to build on and to reinforce the
language competence acquired during the previous years of study as well as to prepare the participants
for more advanced work in the final years of the Programme. Upon completion of the intensive course,
students can enrol in SPAN3119 at HKU the following academic year
The aims and objectives of this course are as follows: i. to expand the participants’ proficiency in all
aspects of the language; ii. to offer a first-hand cultural and linguistic experience of the environment
where the language is spoken; iii. to better prepare the participants for more advanced work upon their
return.
that the course builds on their previous work done at HKU and is offered at the A2 level
or above of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL) and,
after completing of the course, students have (1) to produce a formal statement of
journal written in Spanish of approximately 1,000 words relating to daily class
SPAN4001. Spanish IV.1 (6 credits)
The aim of this course is to build on the work done in the previous semester with SPAN3002. The
intention is to continue leading participants towards a more independent use of the Spanish language in
order for them to complete the B2 level of the CEFRL. Students will be exposed to a variety of texts
from different media (written, audio and video) from the Hispanic world. The selection of documents
will also serve as a basis for discussion on social issues related to contemporary Spain and Spanish-
speaking countries. This course aims at further developing students’ language proficiency through a
more in-depth study of important grammatical topics. It also aims to increase students’ vocabulary
acquisition so as to facilitate oral and written expression and comprehension of the Spanish language.
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By the end of this course students should have reached a stage where they are able to use the language
independently and understand the main ideas of complex texts dealing with concrete and abstract topics.
They should also be able to interact with native speakers with a degree of fluency and spontaneity,
produce clear, detailed texts on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint in detail giving the
advantages and disadvantages of various options.
Assessment: 100% coursework. Coursework includes: i) progress tests, ii) other assignments, iii)
participation in class and iv) an oral test.
Approved non-SPAN elective courses:

SWEDISH
The objective of the Swedish programme is to bring students to a proficient level in the language and
gain a good command of the four language skills; speaking, listening, reading and writing and to acquire
a sound knowledge of Swedish culture and society as well. The Swedish programme is offered as a
minor.
In order to declare a minor in Swedish, students must complete two introductory courses, SWED1001
and SWED1002 (12 credits in all) in year 1 or 2, followed by four advanced courses in year 2, 3 or 4,
i.e. SWED2001, SWED2002, SWED3001 and SWED3002.
Finally, students are encouraged to participate in a 3 to 4 weeks’ linguistic stay in Sweden during the
summer or winter either between their second and third year or third and fourth year of study.
Minor (36 credits):
To complete a Minor in Swedish, students are expected to take the following courses:
SWED1001. Swedish I.1
SWED1002. Swedish I.2

SWED2001. Swedish II.1
SWED2002. Swedish II.2
SWED3001. Swedish III.1
SWED3002. Swedish III.2
Core Courses
SWED1001. Swedish I.1 (6 credits)
This course is for beginners of Swedish and will introduce the students to the essentials of the Swedish
language. The course will cover speaking, listening, reading and writing with a special emphasis on
speaking. Students will learn how to interact in everyday situations and describe their personal
circumstances, such as family, profession and hobbies. Apart from using textbooks, additional
classroom materials, such as videos and other audio-visuals will be used. The course will also give
students an insight to Swedish culture and society. Since Sweden, Norway, and Denmark are closely
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related in culture and language, the course will also enable students to develop an understanding of
Scandinavia.
SWED1002. Swedish I.2 (6 credits)
This course is a continuation of SWED1001. Swedish I.1 and will further introduce the students to the
essentials of the Swedish language. Students will be able to engage in short conversations about
everyday situations such as shopping, means of transport, asking for directions, making a phone call,
etc. Apart from using textbooks, additional classroom materials, such as videos and other audio-visuals
will be used.
Prerequisite: SWED1001. Swedish I.1
SWED2001. Swedish II.1 (6 credits)
This course is a continuation of SWED1002. Swedish I.2. The intention is to build further on the junior
level work and widen the scope of exposure to more complex aspects of the language. The teaching
will diversify through the use of more elaborate material and a variety of teaching techniques.
Participants are expected to consolidate their understanding of Swedish language and develop further
their production and reception skills.
Prerequisite: SWED1002. Swedish I.2
Assessment: 100 % coursework
SWED2002. Swedish II.2 (6 credits)
This course is a continuation of SWED2001. Swedish II.1. The intention is to build further on the
previous level work and widen the scope of exposure to more complex aspects of the language. The
modes of teaching adopted will diversify, and more elaborate material will be used. Participants are
expected to consolidate their understanding of Swedish language and develop further their production
and reception skills.
Prerequisite: SWED2001. Swedish II.1
This course continues to build on the two previous years’ work on a more advanced level. The intention
is to allow students to develop a fairly comprehensive understanding of the Swedish language through
the study of a variety of documents (written, audio and video). The selection of documents will also
serve as a basis for discussion on some social issues regarding contemporary Sweden, as well as its
history and cultural background.
This course is a continuation of SWED3001. Swedish III.1 and the students are expected to be able to
use the spoken and written language on an increasingly advanced level. The students will continue to
develop their language skills and simultaneously actively apply their acquired knowledge within
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different contexts of the course. The selection of documents will serve as a basis for discussions
pertaining Swedish society as well as the students’ own experiences of Hong Kong society.
Prerequisite: SWED3001. Swedish III.1
Elective Courses
SWED2003. Nordic lights: Introduction to cultures and societies in Scandinavia (6 credits)
This course will introduce the region of Scandinavia, which includes Sweden, Denmark, Norway,
Finland, and Iceland, through the main themes of its history and culture. It will explore features
common to Scandinavia as a whole as well as aspects unique to each country. It will also take a look
at Sino-Scandinavian relations and draw comparisons between the contrasting lifestyles of
Scandinavians and Hong Kongers. Students can expect to gain an understanding of a region famous
for balancing the demands of an advanced and highly competitive economy with one of the world’s
most comprehensive social welfare systems.
Prerequisite: Nil
SWED3003. Swedish reading course (6 credits)
This course will introduce students to the literature of Sweden through reading, analysis and discussion
of a selection of texts, covering a range from late 19th century to contemporary authors. The texts will
enhance the students understanding of historical developments and contemporary trends in Swedish
society as well as different literary genres in Sweden. Texts from other Scandinavian countries will also
be introduced. The course will be conducted in Swedish and students are required to have a good
knowledge of the language. Students will enhance their language and communication skills.
Prerequisite: SWED3001. Swedish III.1
SWED3005. Internship for students of Swedish (6 credits)
and engage in a rich experience while working in an organization that demonstrates a real impact on
society. The internship experience draws on the Swedish Programme's coursework to encourage
students to apply their classroom knowledge to work in organizations that demonstrate the use of
Swedish in the community. Internships may be conducted at any point between the summer before a
student enters Year 3 and the second semester of Year 4. The duration of the internship will depend on
the arrangement made between the student and the organization but should involve approx. 120 contact
hours of committed service for the host organization. Internships can be conducted during the semester
or at full-time equivalent during the lecture-free period. Staffing resources and operations mechanisms
allowing, students will be assessed by the organization contact throughout the duration of the internship
and will also, if possible, receive a letter of reference from the organization at the end of the internship.
A written report (800-1000 words) with a description, critical assessment of and reflection on the
internship experience will be assessed by the course coordinator at HKU. Students are asked to make
their own internship arrangements with an organization of their choice in liaison with the course
coordinator at the Swedish Programme of HKU.
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Prerequisite: SWED2002. Swedish II.2 or SWED3001. Swedish III.1 or SWED3002. Swedish

III.2
SWED3119. Overseas immersion language course - Swedish (6 credits)
This course provides an opportunity to study Swedish and to experience linguistic and cultural
immersion in a partner institution located in a Swedish-speaking country. The course usually takes place
during the summer months (e.g., June, July and/or August) (courses may also be offered in the winter
break) and the duration of the stay may vary from two weeks to one month, but must include at least 60
hours of formal class tuition. Students typically take part in this course after the completion of their
second year of language studies at HKU. The course is designed to build on and to reinforce the
language competence acquired during the previous years of study as well as to prepare the participants
for more advanced work in the final years of the Programme.
journal written in Swedish of approximately 1,000 words relating to daily class
THAI
The objective of the Thai programme is to bring participants to a high level of proficiency in the
language and to acquire a sound knowledge of Thai society and culture as well as of the Thai-speaking
part of the world.
The Thai programme will also offer a minor in Thai which will provide students with a good command
of the four different language skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. A language minor will
also allow students to gain a deeper insight into the contemporary life and culture of the respective
country. Languages combine well with all major programmes offered within the Arts Faculty and they
also provide students with additional opportunities to pursue further studies overseas.
In order to qualify for a minor in Thai, students must complete a total of 24 credits in their second (12
credits) and third (12 credits) years of studies in one of the languages listed below. In addition, students
will be strongly encouraged to participate in a 3 to 4-week linguistic stay in Thailand during the summer
or winter between their second and third year.
Minor (36 credits)
To complete a minor in Thai, students are expected to take a total of 36 credits with following
components:

THAI1001. Thai I.1
THAI1002. Thai I.2
These courses will be offered to undergraduates in year 1 or 2.
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THAI2001. Thai II.1
THAI2002. Thai II.2
THAI3001. Thai III.1
THAI3002. Thai III.2
These courses will be offered to undergraduates in Year 2, 3 and 4
Core Courses
THAI1001. Thai I.1 (6 credits)
This course aims to teach complete beginners the basics of Thai with respect to the four linguistic skills
of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students will also be introduced to Thai culture and society.
Vocabulary and grammar will be presented in a communicative way for a variety of situations, e.g.
making introductions, leave-taking, giving directions, shopping, making telephone calls and so on. The
emphasis will be on spoken Thai.
Prerequisite: Nil
THAI1002. Thai I.2 (6 credits)
This course is a continuation of Thai I.1. It combines linguistic and communicative skills in Thai with
a balanced emphasis on speaking, listening, reading and writing. Small classes will provide the students
with an environment highly conducive to practicing their language skills. The course will also
encourage students to exploit resources available on the Internet and in the SMLC’s self-practice
facilities (the Language Resources Centre and Practice Lab) which provide a wide range of materials
for language practice such as audio and video discs.
Prerequisite: THAI1001. Thai I.1
THAI2001. Thai II.1 (6 credits)
This course continues to build on the First Year’s work. The intention is to develop students’ proficiency
in the areas of speaking and listening, reading and writing. Class lectures are based on communicative
methods.
Prerequisite: THAI1002. Thai I.2
THAI2002. Thai II.2 (6 credits)
This course is a continuation of Thai II.1. The intention is to build further on the previous work and
widen the scope of exposure to more complex aspects of the language. More elaborate material will be
used. Students are expected to consolidate their understanding of Thai and further develop their
production and reception skills.
Prerequisite: THAI2001. Thai II.1
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THAI3001. Thai III.1 (6 credits)
This course continues to build on the first and second years’ work. The intention is to lead students
towards an in-depth understanding of Thai through the study of various materials provided in class.
THAI3002. Thai III.2 (6 credits)
The course is designed for students who have completed Thai III.1. Students are expected to be able
to use the spoken and written language at an advanced level.
Prerequisite: THAI3001. Thai III.1
Elective Courses
THAI1021. Introduction to Thai culture and society (6 credits)
This course provides students with a broad-based description of Thai culture and society. It will include
a brief historical overview of the country to examine various socio-cultural issues in traditional and
modern Thai, and compare them to those of the Southeast Asian countries.
Prerequisite: Nil
THAI3003. Thailand today (6 credits)
This course will look at representations of various aspects of contemporary Thai society in the media
in current time. Topics will include: Society and cultures in advertisements and films, fashion and music,
Western and other Asian influences on youth culture and everyday life, Students will study each topic
from materials in Thai such as TV commercials, newspaper texts, Thai songs, film clips and movies.
Co-requisite: THAI3001. Thai III.1 or THAI3002. Thai III.2
THAI3004. Thai/English Translation: Practical skills (6 credits)
The objective of this course is to reinforce students’ language skills in Thai. Students will practice
written translations from Thai to English and from English to Thai conversely using a variety of texts
from literature, Thai newspapers, magazines, posters, signs posts, brochures, and leaflets.
Co-requisite: THAI3001. Thai III.1 or THAI3002. Thai III.2
THAI3119. Overseas immersion language course - Thai (6 credits)
This course provides an opportunity to study Thai and to experience linguistic and cultural immersion
in a partner institution located in Thailand. The course usually takes place in the summer months (e.g.,
June, July and/or August) (courses may also be offered in the winter) and the duration of the stay may
vary from two weeks to one month, but must include at least 60 hours of formal class tuition. Students
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typically take part in this course after the completion of their second year of language studies at HKU.
The course is designed to build on and to reinforce the language competence acquired during the
previous years of study as well as to prepare the participants for more advanced work in the final years
of the Programme.
same level or above the level of their last Thai language course at HKU and, after
the host institution; (2) to provide a portfolio including i. a learning journal written in
Thai of approximately 1,000 words relating to daily class activities and, ii. samples of
assessments (written assignments, tests, examinations, projects etc.) along with
evaluation results.
THAI4001. Thai IV.1 (6 credits)
This course is designed to further develop students’ fluency in written and spoken Thai. They will be
able to achieve the goal of communicative competence in Thai beyond predictable everyday use. The
selection of material used in class will also serve as a basis for discussion on social issues, current
situation in Thailand and historic and cultural background.
Prerequisite: THAI3002. Thai III.2
THAI4002. Thai IV.2 (6 credits)
This course is intended to be a final stage for the Advanced Thai. It is aimed to deepen and strengthen
the four skills of listening, writing, reading and speaking in advanced contexts. The course will make
ample use of television footages, excerpts of radio programmes, and articles from newspapers. There
will also be opportunities to experience real-life situations, such as job interviews.
Prerequisite: THAI4001. Thai IV.1
Assessments: 100% coursework
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CENTRE OF BUDDHIST STUDIES
Buddhism has played an important role in the history and culture of Asia and is still a dominant religion
in many Asian countries. The Minor in Buddhist Studies aims to give students a broad-based education
that is both coherent and flexible and address the relation of Buddhism to culture, society, language, art,
film and psychology. It provides a study pathway on the fundamental doctrines, institutions, and
representations of Buddhism through historical, philosophical, artistic, psychological and sociological
approaches. Students will have opportunities to gain a greater appreciation of commonly shared
elements in Asian cultures (Indian, Chinese, Tibetan, and Japanese) and examine Buddhist practices in
traditional and contemporary contexts.
To obtain a minor in Buddhist Studies, students are required to take a total of 36 credits. They are
expected to take two introductory core courses (BSTC1003 and BSTC1004) and four advanced courses.
The courses that can be selected to meet the requirements of the minor are listed below:
Core courses (12 credits):

BSTC1003. Introduction to religious studies (6 credits)
BSTC1004. Introduction to Buddhism (6 credits)
Advanced/cross-listed courses (24 credits):

BSTC2002. Life and Buddhism (6 credits)
BSTC2004. Chinese Buddhism and ritual (6 credits)
BSTC2005. Buddhism in today’s world (6 credits)
BSTC2006. Buddhist psychology and mental cultivation (6 credits)
BSTC2009. Japanese culture and thought: the Buddhist impact (6 credits)
BSTC2010. Buddhist art of Asia (6 credits)
BSTC2013. Buddhism through film (6 credits)
BSTC2014. Chinese Buddhist art (6 credits)
BSTC2017. Buddhism and economics (6 credits)
BSTC2021. Buddhist ethics (6 credits)
BSTC2022. The evolution of Buddhist meditation (6 credits)
BSTC2023. History of Buddhism in India (6 credits)
BSTC2025. Early Buddhist philosophy (6 credits)
BSTC2026. Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophy (6 credits)
BSTC2027. Tibetan Buddhism (6 credits)
BSTC2028. Making sense of Chan Buddhism (6 credits)
BSTC2048. Buddhism and Science: View and Meditation in the Light of Physics and
Neuroscience (6 credits)
BSTC2049. Buddhism and Gender (6 credits)
ARTH2047. Arts of India (6 credits)
ARTH2087. Buddhist art of East Asia (6 credits)
PHIL2800. Buddhist philosophy (6 credits)
BSTC2008. Sanskrit language I (6 credits)

BSTC2020. Sanskrit language II (6 credits)
BSTC3040. Sanskrit language III (6 credits)
BSTC3041. Sanskrit language IV (6 credits)
BSTC2015. Tibetan language I (6 credits)
BSTC2018. Tibetan language II (6 credits)
BSTC3042. Tibetan language III (6 credits)
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BSTC3043. Tibetan language IV (6 credits)

BSTC2016. Pāli language I (6 credits)
BSTC2019. Pāli language II (6 credits)
BSTC3044. Pāli language III (6 credits)
BSTC3045. Pāli language IV (6 credits)
Note: Please refer to the course description of non-BSTC courses from the relevant Programme’s
syllabuses. They may have prerequisite(s).
Core Courses
BSTC1003. Introduction to religious studies (6 credits)
In this course, students survey the academic study of religion through learning its subject matter, history,
and interpretive frames to understand different ways people have thought, felt, and acted as religious
devotees over the course of long histories of their religions and how scholars have enhanced our
knowledge of religion and individual religious traditions through multiple methodological approaches.
Students learn the subject matter by examining key beliefs, practices, and historical developments of
selected world religions such as Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Taoism, and Shinto, and learn
the history and interpretive frameworks of studying religion by surveying the antecedents of the
religious studies discipline and critically accessing its theological, sociological, psychological, and
phenomenological interpretive frames.
BSTC1004. Introduction to Buddhism (6 credits)
As one of the major world religions, Buddhism originated in India but became an important cultural
heritage common to most, if not all, Asian societies. Its influence can be discerned in most Asian
societies and increasingly also in the West where elements of Buddhism have become popular in the
public sphere as well as in professional sectors, such as psychotherapy, neuroscience and education.
This introductory course provides an overview of Buddhist intellectual and social history of over 2500
years, covering aspects of the Buddhist religion including historical traditions, scriptures, fundamental
doctrines, basic ethical ideas, practices and customs. The course ends with a brief account of Buddhism
in the West.
Advanced Courses
BSTC2002. Life and Buddhism (6 credits)
This course guides students to explore the thought, values and practices of Buddhism through a detailed
analysis and examination of its fundamentals of philosophical theories and principles. Buddhist
teachings entirely focus on the analysis of human life and offer a unique way to solve life’s problems
and achieve happiness. Just as the Buddha said, he taught one thing: suffering and its cessation. In this
course, the basic Buddhist teachings of dependent arising, the relationship of mind and body, human
behaviours and their consequences, the human condition and its causes, the concept of happiness, etc.
will be investigated on the basis of the earliest Buddhist literatures namely the Pali Nikayas and Chinese
Agamas.
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Zen (禪) is a significant element in the cultural backbone of Japan. In this course, attention will be
focused upon the impact of Zen thought and practice on Japanese culture. The course will begin with
the introduction of proto-Zen from India to China, followed by the transmission and development of
Zen in Japan. The aesthetic impacts of Zen practices are an important component of this course. Zen’s
influence on the aesthetics of everyday objects, experience, and judgments will be examined through
examples in architecture, landscaping, arts, literature, spirituality, and lifestyle. From this course,
students will gain a basic understanding of Zen Buddhism and the impact it has had upon the everyday
thought and culture of the Japanese people.
BSTC2004. Chinese Buddhism and Ritual (6 credits)
From the very early period and throughout the entire history of its transmission, Buddhism has adopted
indigenous rituals and practices, and devised a great variety of its own rituals. This course provides an
introduction to Buddhist ritual practice in Chinese Buddhism from the perspectives of their
psychological, religious and spiritual significance. It begins by exploring several theories and research
methods of ritual adopted in anthropology and religious studies and proceeds to studies of the doctrinal,
mythic and other dimensions of Buddhist practice, examining the structural patterns of various rituals,
surveying the different categories of ceremonies, and analysing the most important types of rituals,
including the recitation of sutras (scriptures) and mantras, funeral ritual, ritual of liberation of living
animals, and the ritual of saving all sentient beings from water and land (shuilu fahui) are examined in
some detail. The focus of concerns will be the effort of ritual experiences on individual enlightenment,
effect of ritual, and the expression of participants’ understanding of Buddhist teaching. As a
comparative approach to Buddhist rituals, the course will use related myths, texts, and video recordings
of rituals. Fieldwork studies may also be conducted. Students therefore can personally witness how
Hong Kong Buddhists perform some of these rituals.
BSTC2005. Buddhism in today’s world (6 credits)
Buddhism was founded by Buddha Sakyamuni more than 2500 years ago. Since then, it has spread to
various places, and has become one of the major religions in the contemporary world. Buddhism has
undergone a long historical development and its practices have experienced magnificent changes. This
course is designed to explore, from various perspectives, the development of Buddhism in the
contemporary period. It will first give an overview of the major Buddhist doctrines, and then review its
history in a concise manner. Then it will look into a number of aspects of Buddhism, including
institutional developments, lay Buddhism, ritual practices, and social relationships in various areas of
today’s world. Recent developments of Chinese Buddhism, which is closely concerned with human life
in this world, as well as how Buddhism has transformed itself to suit the needs of the modern world,
will also be explored.
BSTC2006. Buddhist psychology and mental cultivation (6 credits)
In this course, we will examine Buddhist discourses on the nature and operation of the mind. We will
study basic Buddhist principles and diverse practices of mental cultivation based on ancient Buddhist
texts and manuals that present unique perspectives on individual, family, and society at large and world.
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The main topics covered in this course include psychology of dhamma and the theory of “dependent
co-arising”, relation between mind and body, sensory perception and obsession, intentional actions and
human wellbeing, positive thinking and self-initiative, controlling emotions and mindfulness practice,
selfless being and awakened mind.
BSTC2009. Japanese culture and thought: the Buddhist impact (6 credits)
Buddhism was perhaps the first instance of cultural globalization particularly in Asia beginning from
the 3rd century B.C.E. Through missionary zeal it spread far and wide beyond the shores of the Indian
subcontinent touching and influencing the lives of many Asian peoples. Since its introduction from
Korea to Japan in the 6th century C.E., Buddhism played a pivotal role in moulding the ways of thinking
of the Japanese people. This course introduces Japanese culture from Buddhist perspectives especially
in light of Buddhist global developments by making constant references to both shared and distinct
features in the ways of thinking between Chinese and Japanese peoples, and examining how Japanese
Buddhism and culture including Zen, the tea ceremony, and Japanese cuisine became a global
phenomenon after the 19th century. The aim is to critically appraise this cultural diversity based on
Buddhism and heighten awareness of other cultures through the understanding of Japanese culture and
thought.
BSTC2010. Buddhist art of Asia (6 credits)
Visual art has always played a key role in delivering the message of the Buddha throughout the long
history of Buddhism. During the process of its dissemination, various forms of visual art were created
with symbolic meanings to facilitate and enhance the practice of Buddhist ritual and meditation.
Therefore, when Buddhism was transmitted to China from the Eastern Han dynasty onwards, not only
did it influence the religious belief of Chinese people, it also had great impact on the development of
Chinese art, culture and science. This course will study and examine Chinese Buddhist art from
historical and cultural perspectives to explore its origin, evolution and influence. The transmission of
Buddhism as well as its transformations will also be studied through the investigation of the various art
treasures found along the Silk Road. A study of these archaeological artefacts, religious monuments,
and art and sculpture from the area would reveal to us the fascinating story of the development of
Buddhism from India to Central Asia, China, South and Southeast Asia, and eventually to Korea and
Japan.
BSTC2013. Buddhism through film (6 credits)
Film is an important medium for reflecting and constructing not only contemporary cultural values, but
also religious sentiments and stereotypes. In this course we will explore: a) how Buddhist doctrines,
rituals, practitioners, and institutions are portrayed through films and documentaries produced in Asia
and the West; and b) how Buddhist films may be used as forms of religious expression, practice and
mission. During the course, students will acquire critical perspectives towards films and documentaries
as multi-layered texts that use sound, visual narratives, and symbolic referents to portray religious
subject-matters.
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BSTC2014. Chinese Buddhist art (6 credits)
The course introduces students to the rich world of Chinese Buddhist art from historical and thematic
perspectives, through an examination of important Buddhist caves, paintings, sculptures, calligraphy,
architecture, and renowned world cultural heritage sites in China. Starting with an introduction on
Indian Buddhist art, this course comprises a series of thematically designed topics and issues from
different historical periods and regions of China. In this course, students will be exposed to the ways
Buddhism influenced Chinese art and come to appreciate how some distinct movements of Chinese
Buddhist art, such as Pure Land, Lotus Sutra, Maitreya, Bodhisattva path, Chan, and Huayan, influenced
East Asian art in general. This course will enable students to achieve visual literacy and gain a historical
understanding of the origins and evolution of Chinese Buddhist art and iconography as a result of social,
political and philosophical changes. Furthermore, they will learn to critically analyze how Buddhist art
conveys the Buddhist teachings and serves as an instrument of propagation for Buddhism at large.
BSTC2017. Buddhism and economics (6 credits)
Living in a market economy where short-term profit and economic growth appear to be the ultimate
goal, can the Buddhist teachings bridge the divide between our spiritual and material needs and
reconcile the tension between doing good and doing well? In this course we will introduce some core
Buddhist teachings and explore ways of achieving sustainability in individuals, society and the
environment through the cultivation of morality and well-being. The efficacy of Buddhist perspectives
on decision-making and their practical implications to our daily life will be discussed. Prior knowledge
of Buddhism and Economics may be useful but it is not required for this course.
BSTC2021. Buddhist ethics (6 credits)
Regarded as the most ethical world religion, Buddhism assigns morality a crucial place in the daily life
of its practitioners and in their pursuit of the final spiritual goal. This course introduces the students to
essential Buddhist moral teachings and practices and their meaning and significance for contemporary
living. It begins with a brief sketch of the Buddhist doctrines which can be easily identified as ethical
teachings, and continues with the application of such teachings in some social and ethical issues such
as war and terrorism, abortion, suicide, etc.
BSTC2022. The evolution of Buddhist meditation (6 credits)
During the past decades, mindfulness practice, a form of Buddhist meditation, has not only become
popular among mainstream culture embraced by some of the world’s biggest corporates, including
Google, Facebook, P&G, etc. but also become the building blocks of several important stress reduction
psychosocial interventions such as Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness
Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). In this course, students will have a chance to study the evolution of
Buddhist meditation: from its origination to its latest manifestation as psychosocial interventions
spanning more than 2000 years. Through the study of Buddhist meditation texts and experiential
learning, the theories and practices of several important Buddhist meditation methods will be introduced,
such as mindful-breathing, compassionate meditation, samadhi and vipassana. Students will be
expected to allocate time to practice at home what they have experientially learned in class. In order for
students to gain both a theoretical and practical understanding about the different types of meditation,
this class will include weekly lectures and meditation workshops.
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BSTC2023. History of Buddhism in India (6 credits)
This course aims to provide a comprehensive introduction to the history, doctrines and philosophy of
Indian Buddhism. The main themes of the course include: the cultural background out of which
Buddhism arose; the life of the historical founder and his teachings; the compilation of the Buddhist
canon; the classification and development of the Buddha’s teachings; interpretations and debates during
the Buddhist Councils; the emergence and development of the major Buddhist sects; King Aśoka and
his contribution to the propagation of Buddhism; the rise of Mahāyāna and Tantric Buddhism; the
spread of Buddhism outside India; and the decline of Buddhism in India.
Buddhism was introduced to China from India over 2,000 years ago and has been successfully
integrated into Chinese culture and society, contributing to the development of Chinese civilization. In
this course, we will examine how this foreign religion’s conquest of China played out from a historical
perspective and how it became part of Chinese society, culture, and other religions. The aim of this
course is to examine the trials and tribulations which Buddhism went through while establishing itself
in China and how it became an integral part of the Chinese culture.
BSTC2025. Early Buddhist philosophy (6 credits)
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of Buddhist philosophy as preserved in the Chinese
Āgamas and Pāli Nikāyas which are considered among the earliest Buddhist literature. We will offer a
description of the religious and philosophical milieu in which Buddhism arose in order to show how
the polarization of intellectual thought into spiritualist and materialist ideologies gave rise to Buddhism.
The following central topics will be discussed critically and analysed for presenting the epistemological,
metaphysical and ethical foundation of Buddhist philosophy — dependent arising, an analysis of mind,
moral theory and practice, the doctrine of non-self, and the conceptualization of nibbāna.
BSTC2026. Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophy (6 credits)
The aim of this course is to provide a foundational knowledge of Mahāyāna Buddhism for students with
no or little background in Buddhist Studies. At the end of the course, students will acquire fundamental
knowledge of the Mahāyāna tradition. In keeping with this aim, this course will include: a survey of
contemporary theories on the origins of Mahāyana; an examination of the conception and formulation
of the Bodhisattva ideal in the earliest extant Mahāyāna texts, such as the Aṣṭa-sāhasrikā
Prajñāpāramitā, Ugra-paripṛcchā, and so forth; discussions surrounding the question of primitive
Prajñāpāramitā, the emptiness doctrine (śūnyatā) expounded by Nāgārjuna, the doctrines of the early
Yogācāra and tathāgatagarbha. Other fundamental Mahāyāna doctrines examined include the trikāya,
the six pāramitā, and the ten-stage progression (daśabhūmi). Some important scriptures are also
selected for discussion, including the Diamond-cutter sutra, the Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa, and the
Saddharmapuṇḍarīka.
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BSTC2027. Tibetan Buddhism (6 credits)
Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed in Tibet, Mongolia, parts of Russia,
and the Himalayas over the course of more than one thousand years. In this course we will examine the
history, institutions, teachings, and ritual practices of Tibetan Buddhism. We will do so by following
two parallel tracks, one historical and the other thematic, providing on the one hand a sense of the
origins and development of Tibetan Buddhism, and on the other a general overview of some central
topics such as Tibetan Buddhist art; meditation practices on the Buddhist path of liberation, pilgrimage,
death and dying; and more. Although foundational knowledge of Buddhism will be provided in the
opening weeks, some prior basic knowledge of Buddhism would be helpful for students wishing to take
this course.
BSTC2028. Making sense of Chan Buddhism (6 credits)
Chan Buddhism is the most important and influential Buddhist school in China. It is characterized by
its enigmatic stories and dialogues about religious epiphany, known as gong’an. This course introduces
the origin, development, basic doctrines, and cultural influence of Chan Buddhism and some eminent
Chan masters such as Bodhidharma, Huineng, and Mazu Daoyi. Students will be guided to appreciate
and decipher a number of well-known gong’an stories.
This course focuses on an in-depth reading of selected texts from major genres in the Chinese Buddhist
Canon translated at different historical periods including histories, biographies, and doctrinal treaties.
Through a combination of selected readings, the students will not only learn about a range of Buddhist
doctrines, religious practices, ethical values, cosmologies, myths, and the lives of individual monks in
Indian Buddhist society, but also about how Indian Buddhism was received by the Chinese as reflected
in the translation of Indian texts and Chinese commentaries.
Prerequisite: “BSTC1004. Introduction to Buddhism”
Note: Chinese is an integral part of this course and course materials will be in Chinese or, where
appropriate, in English translation. Students are expected to have an understanding of basic
classical Chinese. Those with no prior knowledge of Chinese characters should seek advice from
the teacher prior to enrolling in this course.
Since the introduction of Buddhism to China, Buddhist sacred writing culture enriched and enchanced
the development of Chinese calligraphy. This course includes lectures and experiential workshops
which provides an introduction of Buddhist writing culture from the perspectives of religious art and
history of Chinese calligraphy. It will guide students to explore the theories, research methods and
practice of Buddhist calligraphy through examining the calligraphy of Dunhuang manuscripts, Buddhist
stone sutras, stone stele inscriptions from various ancient archaeological sites. The master calligraphers
and Buddhist scribes will be examined. In addition to workshop demonstrations by the teacher, students
will acquire the basic techniques, methods and practice of writing with brush. It will enable students
learning how to write calligraphy mindfully with tranquility as the quintessence of Buddhist mental
cultivation and modalities of writing cultures. They will also appreciate the essence of Buddhist texts,
such as the Heart-sūtra and Diamond-sūtra
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BSTC2048. Buddhism and Science: View and Meditation in the Light of Physics and
Neuroscience (6 credits)
Buddhism has been repeatedly highlighted as being a “science of mind” rather than a religion. Puzzled
by surprising research results (such as the superposition of quantum states or entanglement), physicists
with philosophical questions have turned to Buddhism in search of new models of reality finding
striking parallels between a “quantum interconnectedness” and Nāgārjuna’s dependent arising and
emptiness. Common ground was also discovered through the constant corrective of repeatable
experiments (physics) and first person experience of standardized meditation techniques (Buddhism).
Physical and Buddhist models of reality thus share the principle of being valid only until refuted through
valid cognition.
Neuroscientists also struggle with the problem of correlating the “third-person” data of an experiment
to the respective “first-person” experiences, and have also taken an interest in Buddhism. A significant
result of the dialogue between Buddhists and neuroscientists are popular applications such as “Healthy
Minds,” which largely make use of experiments conducted on meditation practitioners in laboratories.
What has eventually been labelled “the Mindful Revolution,” brings meditation beyond traditional
Buddhist contexts to benefit people from all walks of life.
BSTC2049. Buddhism and Gender (6 credits)
Gender dynamics shape religious worlds in diverse and complex ways. This holds true in Buddhism as
it does in other religious traditions. In this course we will take an interdisciplinary approach to critically
examine the relationship between Buddhism and gender in a broad variety of historical and Buddhist
thematic contexts. To accomplish this, we will immerse ourselves in Buddhist texts and teachings,
analyse material and visual culture, and delve into the lived experiences of Buddhist practitioners
spanning from Early Buddhism to the present day, across a range of Buddhist traditions, cultures, and
geographical settings. In so doing, we will explore topics including the role and status of women, the
construction of Buddhist masculinities and femininities, the gendering of religious roles, institutions
and practices, and activism towards gender equality in Buddhist communities. No background
knowledge of Buddhism is required for this course and all students are welcome.
BSTC2008. Sanskrit language I (6 credits)
Sanskrit, being one of the most ancient languages known to humankind, is considered by some to be a
key to understanding human civilization, in particular, the rich cultural, philosophical and religious
heritage of India whose influence on our world continues to be felt. Students of history, history of
science, comparative literature, general and historical linguistics, philosophy and religions will discover
that a basic knowledge of the language greatly enriches their studies. For students who intend to
specialize in different aspects of Indian Buddhism, a reading knowledge of Sanskrit is essential. This
course will give a comprehensive overview of the history, structure, and grammar of the language,
covering topics such as scripts, phonetics, declensions, conjugations, and meters. Students are expected
to be able to read and comprehend simple Sanskrit passages by the end of the course.
Assessment: 50% coursework and 50% examination.
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BSTC2020. Sanskrit Language II (6 credits)
Sanskrit is one of the most ancient languages known to humankind. It is a key to understanding the rich
cultural, philosophical and religious heritage of India whose influence on our world continues to be felt.
Students of history, history of science, comparative literature, general and historical linguistics,
philosophy and religions will discover that a basic knowledge of the language greatly enriches their
studies. It is one of the four languages in which many Buddhist teachings are preserved. Indian Buddhist
schools such as Sarvāstivāda, Yogācāra, Mādhyamikā composed most of their texts in Sanskrit. Many
Mahāyāna texts such as the Prajñāpāramitā literature, Saddharmapuṇḍarikā-sūtra and many more
treatises were composed in Sanskrit. Therefore, for students who intend to specialize in different aspects
of Indian Buddhism, a reading knowledge of Sanskrit is essential. This course will cover the structure
and grammar of the language, including topics such as, possessive nouns, numerals, relatives, future
passive participle, present participle, passive voice, imperative and optative mood, different forms of
the past tense, declensions, and conjugations.
Prerequisite: “BSTC2008. Sanskrit Language I” or possess equivalent knowledge
BSTC3040. Sanskrit Language III (6 credits)
Sanskrit is one of the most ancient languages in the world and is studied by scholars of language and
literature, religion, history and anthropology and by anyone who is interested in India's Buddhist
cultural heritage. Sanskrit is the language not just of the religious literature of Hinduism and Buddhism,
but extends to the fields of philosophy, science, art, music, mathematics, architecture, history, covering
over three thousand years of development. Knowledge of Sanskrit grants access to an enormous body
of Indian and Buddhist literature. The main focus of this course is grammar of the language, covering
parts of speech, nouns of different gender and their declensions, verbs and their conjugations, participles
and their functions, syntax and reading and translation of selected Sanskrit passages from the
Jātakamāla and the Mahāvastu. Students will be able to read and comprehend simple Sanskrit passages
by the end of the course.
Prerequisite: “BSTC2020. Sanskrit Language II” or possess equivalent knowledge
Non-permissible combination: BSTC2040
BSTC3041. Sanskrit Language IV (6 credits)
Sanskrit, being one of the most ancient languages, is studied by scholars of language, religion, literature,
history and anthropology and anyone who is interested in Indian and Buddhist cultural heritage. It is
one of the three languages in which Buddhist teachings are preserved. Indian Buddhist schools such as
Sarvāstivāda, Yogācāra, Mādhyamikā and Indian Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna composed their texts in
Sanskrit. Therefore, for students who intend to specialize in different aspects of Buddhism, a reading
knowledge of Sanskrit is essential. Students of Buddhist philosophy and history will discover that
knowledge of the Sanskrit language greatly enrich their studies. This course is designed for students
who wish to read and comprehend Buddhist Sanskrit texts and employ Sanskrit Buddhist resources for
their future research.
Prerequisite: “BSTC3040. Sanskrit Language III” or possess equivalent knowledge
395
BSTC2015. Tibetan language I (6 credits)
Tibetan is the language of Tibetan Buddhist canon comprising for the most part translations of Sanskrit
texts of Indian Buddhism and indigenous compositions of Tibet. The purpose of this course is to provide
a working knowledge of classical Tibetan and a comprehensive overview of the history, structure, and
grammar of the language, covering topics such as scripts, syntax, phonetics, and transliteration. The
students will also learn to read and write basic Tibetan, while acquiring a practical understanding of
grammar and the ability to translate sentences and short Buddhist passages mainly from Tibetan to
English, but also from English to Tibetan. As an introductory course, the students are not expected to
have any prior knowledge of the Tibetan language.
BSTC2018. Tibetan language II (6 credits)
This course is designed for students with basic knowledge of literary Tibetan and grammar. It will cover
advanced features of Tibetan grammar, syntax and complex sentences. Students will be introduced to
reading and translating selected passages from different genres of Tibetan literature. Tibetan I or an
equivalent qualification is required for enrolling in this course. At the end of the course, the students
are expected to acquire a standard to write basic Tibetan, and the ability to translate selected passages
from different genres of Tibetan literature.
Prerequisite: “BSTC2015. Tibetan language I” or possess equivalent knowledge
BSTC3042. Tibetan language III (6 credits)
The purpose of this course is to provide comprehensive knowledge of classical Tibetan Buddhist texts
translated from Sanskrit. These include both canonical and later commentarial texts written by Indian
scholars. In this course students will be guided in reading, comprehension and translation of classical
Tibetan texts from different genres. At the same time idiomatic and typical expressions and
terminologies will be explained. This course will not deal with topics such as basic grammar, phonetics
and transliteration.
Prerequisite: “BSTC2018. Tibetan language II” or possess equivalent knowledge
BSTC3043. Tibetan language IV (6 credits)
The purpose of this course is to provide comprehensive knowledge of classical Tibetan Buddhist texts
composed for the most part by native Tibetan Buddhist scholars. Some translations made from Sanskrit
into Tibetan may also be included for the purpose of comparison with native Tibetan writings. This
course will focus on understanding the structure and syntax of classical texts of different genres.
Idiomatic and typical expressions and terminologies will be explained to aid students in their translation.
Prerequisite: “BSTC3042. Tibetan language III” or possess equivalent knowledge
BSTC2016. Pāli language I (6 credits)
Pāli is the language of Theravāda Buddhist canon used by the Theravada Buddhist tradition commonly
practiced in South and Southeast Asia. This canon is the only complete Buddhist canon dating back to
396
the 3rd century B.C. This course is meant for those students who have no prior knowledge of Pāli and
who wish to become familiar with Pāli expressions and idioms so as to understand simple passages of
Pāli Buddhist texts. The main focus of the course is to introduce the basics of the Pāli language including
its grammar phonetics, parts of speech, nouns of different genders and their declensions, verbs and their
conjugations, participles and their functions, syntax and classification of sentences. By the end of the
course the students are expected to be able to read simple Pāli sentences and understand their religious
and philosophical significance.
BSTC2019. Pāli language II (6 credits)
The main focus of the course is to introduce more practical knowledge of Pāli that enables students to
read easy Pāli passages, both prose and verse, extracted directly from the Pāli texts. It also introduces
remaining grammatical components not included in ‘Pāli Language I’ such as basic grammar together
with exercises, including phonetics, parts of speech, nouns of different gender and their declensions,
verbs and their conjugations, participles and their functions, syntax and classification of sentences. By
the end of the course the students are expected to be able to read the Pāli discourses and produce
philosophical presentations on Buddhist concepts. Prerequisite: “BSTC2016. Pāli language I” or
possess equivalent knowledge
BSTC3044. Pāli language III (6 credits)
Pāli is the language of a large body of Theravāda canonical and non-canonical Buddhist literature. Here
we find a rich variety of texts that contain valuable information on the religious, social, political, literary
and linguistic history of South Asia. Important contributions are made in Pāli to philosophy and
psychology through the analysis of the nature of dhammas, the classification of various kinds of mind
and mental states, phenomenal processes and their causal relations. All of these topics can be understood
through a careful study of Pāli literature. The course is devoted to the understating and translating of
selected Pāli passages, as well as explaining the content of the Pāli canon and its commentaries and
gradually building sufficient vocabularies for the purpose of reading the Pāli texts independently.
Prerequisite: “BSTC2019. Pāli language II” or possess equivalent knowledge
BSTC3045. Pāli language IV (6 credits)
This course enables students to independently read Pali texts with the help of dictionaries. Every
assigned reading will be self-contained in its relation to Buddhist teachings and their significance. The
main focus of this course is to make grammatical explanations as clear as possible, while also gaining
access to Pāli original sources for textual studies research using the Pāli dictionary and vocabulary.
Each lesson includes a set of readings with an accompanying glossary and grammatical notes covering
different nouns and their declensions, verbs and their conjugations, compounds, primary and secondary
derivates, syntax, clause and numerals.
Prerequisite: “BSTC3044. Pāli language III” or possess equivalent knowledge
397
This course aims to guide students to systematically acquire the ability to read Chinese Buddhist
canonical texts that are translated from Indic languages through a guided reading ofthe Diamond Sutra,
and other texts. The textual sources used in the course mainly consist of the Buddhist texts in Chinese
translated by Xuanzang and Kumarajiva. Grammatical guide to reading Buddhist Chinese language will
be introduced in combination with reading the Diamond Sutra. This course will build a foundation for
further studying Indian and Chinese Buddhist doctrines.
Prerequisite: Course instructor’s approval for students whose first language is not Chinese or Japanese
Note: This course is designed for students who know at least 500 Chinese characters. Students whose
first language is not Chinese or Japanese should check with the course instructor as to their
suitability for the course before enrolling. Students may need to take a qualification test.
This course is designed for those who wish to read the Buddhist texts composed in Classical Chinese.
The text sources used in this course are those which had significant impact on the development of
Chinese Buddhism. Students will learn the fundamental grammar of the language and Buddhist
vocabulary by reading selections of Buddhist texts. The course contents cover a wide range of Chinese
Buddhist texts dating from the first century CE to the end of medieval China including the colloquial
Chan Buddhist writings and rhetorical biographies of eminent monks. This course will build a
foundation for further studying Chinese Buddhist history and doctrines.
Prerequisite: “BSTC2046. Buddhist Chinese language: Indian Buddhist Texts” or course instructor’s
approval for students whose first language is not Chinese or Japanese.
Note: This course is designed for students who know at least 700 Chinese characters. Students whose
first language is not Chinese or Japanese should check with the course instructor as to their
suitability for the course before enrolling. Student may need to take a qualification test.
398
UNIVERSITY MUSEUM AND GALLERY
Free electives
Courses listed below may not be offered every year.
MUSE2001. Introduction to the Conservation of Art and Historic Artifacts (6 credits)
This course offers an introduction to the foundational aspects of conservation and the preservation of
material culture. The history and development of the field of conservation in relation to museums and
galleries would be presented, beginning with issues related to preventive conservation and general
collections care. Subsequent lectures will focus on individual specialisms, including book and paper;
stone, metal and ceramic objects; and paintings. Students benefit equally from theoretical material and
practical information provided by established curatorial and conservation professionals. As an integral
part of the course, students would visit conservation laboratories, museums and gallery spaces at HKU
and across Hong Kong.
Prerequisite: At least one 1000-level Fine Arts or Global Creative Industries course.
MUSE2002. Art meets Science: Materials and Techniques found in the Making of Historic and
Contemporary Artefacts (6 credits)
This course teaches an introduction to organic and inorganic materials used in art making. Students will
learn to combine scientific and humanist approaches to studying artefacts and artmaking processes.
Individual lectures will focus on the material composition of works of art, including Chinese ink
paintings on paper; metal, ceramic and glass objects; furniture; and lacquer. Students will learn about
the history of artworks with an object-based and material-focused methodology. As an integral part of
the course, students will handle and analyse objects closely and gain behind-the-scenes access to the
conservation laboratory and museum at HKU.
Prerequisite: At least one 1000-level Fine Arts or Global Creative Industries course.

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SYLLABUSES FOR THE DEGREE OF

CHINESE LANGUAGE ENHANCEMENT

CART9001. Practical Chinese for Arts Students (6 credits)

CUND9002. Practical Chinese and Hong Kong society (6 credits)

CUND9003. Cantonese for non-Cantonese speaking students (6 credits)

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ENHANCEMENT

CAES1000. Core University English (6 credits)

English-in-the-Discipline (ED) Courses

CAES9201. Academic English: Countries and Cultures (6 credits)

CAES9202. Academic English: Literary Studies (6 credits)

CAES9203. Academic English: Philosophy and the History of Ideas (6 credits)

CAES9204. Academic English: History (6 credits)

CAES9205. Academic English: Language Studies (6 credits)

CAES9206. Academic English: Creative and Visual Arts (6 credits)

MAJORS AND MINORS OFFERED BY THE FACULTY OF ARTS

School/Centre Major Minor

* The Programme is temporarily suspended in 2023-24.

CHINESE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

Major (72 credits)

Minor (36 credits)

(A) Prerequisite courses

Chinese Language Prerequisites

CHIN1116. General introduction to modern Chinese language (6 credits)

CHIN1117. General Introduction to classical Chinese language (6 credits)

CHIN1123. The story of Mandarin (6 credits)

CHIN1127. Introduction to Chinese linguistics (6 credits)

Chinese Literature Prerequisites

CHIN1103. Introduction to standard works in modern Chinese literature (6 credits)

The historical development of modern and contemporary Chinese literature is comprehensively

CHIN1118. Introduction to classical Chinese literature (6 credits)

CHIN1119. Introduction to literary studies (6 credits)

CHIN1121. Introduction to contemporary Chinese literature (6 credits)

CHIN1126. Introduction to classical Chinese popular literature (6 credits)

(B) Introductory courses

CHIN1103. Introduction to standard works in modern Chinese literature (6 credits)

The historical development of modern and contemporary Chinese literature is comprehensively

CHIN1107. Creative writing (6 credits)

CHIN1109. Introduction to Chinese women’s literature (6 credits)

CHIN1115. Study of the Confucian canons and modern society (6 credits)

CHIN1116. General introduction to modern Chinese language (6 credits)

CHIN1117. General introduction to classical Chinese language (6 credits)

CHIN1118. Introduction to classical Chinese literature (6 credits)

CHIN1119. Introduction to literary studies (6 credits)

CHIN1120. Global approaches to Chinese literature (6 credits)

CHIN1121. Introduction to contemporary Chinese literature (6 credits)

CHIN1122. Chinese literature in the twentieth century (6 credits)

CHIN1123. The story of Mandarin (6 credits)

CHIN1124. Chinese dialects and sociolinguistics (6 credits)

CHIN1125. Trends of modern Chinese literary thoughts (6 credits)

CHIN1126. Introduction to classical Chinese popular literature (6 credits)

CHIN1127. Introduction to Chinese linguistics (6 credits)

CHIN2121. Prose up to the nineteenth century (6 credits)

CHIN2123. Shi poetry up to the nineteenth century (6 credits)

CHIN2125. Ci poetry up to the nineteenth century (6 credits)

CHIN2127. Classical Chinese fiction (6 credits)

(C) Advanced courses

CHIN2122. Prose: selected writers (6 credits)

CHIN2124. Shi poetry: selected writers (6 credits)

CHIN2126. Ci poetry: selected writers (6 credits)

CHIN2130. Modern Chinese literature (1917-1949): fiction (6 credits)

CHIN2132. Contemporary Chinese literature (since 1949): fiction (6 credits)

CHIN2136. Classical Chinese literary criticism (6 credits)