Hong Kong

This course examines various environmental challenges in contemporary societies from a sociological perspective. Recognizing that environmental problems are often intricately connected with the conditions of societies that they are situated in, it explores the processes underlying social and environmental changes as well as the consequences that those processes may entail at national, regional, and global levels. Substantive topics to be covered include limits of growth and development, sustainable production and consumption, climate change and global governance, and environmental movement.

This course examines the principles and techniques related to the formation, dispersion and control of various air pollutants formed from anthropogenic pollution sources. Topics include: micrometeorology; air dispersion; combustion fundamentals; pollutant formation mechanism and control technologies; abatement of volatile organic compounds using incineration techniques; particulate and aerosol abatement technology; particle technology, log-normal distribution; settling chamber; cyclone; electrostatic precipitator; and bag filter. 

This course examines fundamental concepts in probability and mathematical statistics, including probabilistic modelling, limiting results, estimation and hypothesis testing. Topics include random variables and vectors, distribution and quantile functions, covariance and correlation matri-ces, strong law of large numbers, central limit theorem, estimators and their (asymptotic) properties, parametric estimators (maximum likelihood, method of moments), (asymptotic) conĄdence intervals (mean and variance of a normal, difference of means of two normals, ratio of means of two normals), hypothesis tests (theory, power function, p-value, asymptotic tests, likelihood ratio tests). 

This is a historical and critical survey of modern Chinese fiction from 1917 to 1949, with emphasis on the forms of novella and short story. 

This course examines philosophical issues concerning knowledge and the mind. These include metaphysical questions about what minds are, such as whether the mind is something non-physical, and questions about what knowledge is and how (and whether) we can obtain it. We will also cover questions about the existence of god, the possibility of free will, and personal identity.

The analysis of variability is mainly concerned with locating the sources of the variability. Many statistical techniques investigate these sources through the use of linear models. This course presents the theory and practice of these models. Topics include: simple linear regression: least squares method, analysis of variance, coefficient of determination, hypothesis tests and confidence intervals for regression parameters, prediction; multiple linear regression: least squares method, analysis of variance, coefficient of determination, reduced versus full models, hypothesis tests and confidence intervals for regression parameters, prediction, polynomial regression; one-way classification models: one-way ANOVA, analysis of treatment effects, contrasts; two-way classification models: interactions, two-way ANOVA for balanced data structures, analysis of treatment effects, contrasts, randomized complete block design; universal approach to linear modeling: dummy variables, multiple linear regression representation of one-way and two-way (unbalanced) models, ANCOVA models, concomitant variables; regression diagnostics: leverage, residual plot, normal probability plot, outlier, studentized residual, influential observation, Cook's distance, multicollinearity, model transformation. 

This course examines American hemispheric history, society, and culture across North and South America. The course will introduce significant social and cultural developments in selected countries of the Americas. Topics will include indigenous - colonial relations; slavery and its legacies; the impact of modernity on society and culture; the struggle for civil rights in 20th and 21st centuries; wars and empire; immigration, forced migration and its impact on politics; globalization and neoliberal economics; and the rise of populist nationalism in the 21st century. 

Did you know that you will benefit in the economy if you know a great deal about the challenges of cultivating pinot noir? You will benefit even more from understanding why this matters. Sociology is, as Pierre Bourdieu once said, a “martial art” that gives you the tools to fight for yourself in an unequal capitalist world. We will also talk about markets and how they shape people like you. Do they shape the way you think and act? Is it possible or perhaps even likely that you would have a different self if you participated in a different market? What are alternative markets like? Can we learn from them? In what ways is our capitalist market culture changing? Will the future workplace be a neoliberal nightmare in which you’re an independent contractor directed and controlled by algorithms, or will we instead see a post-work world in which the boring stuff is automated and we can focus on creative and social activities that enrich our private and communal lives? These and other questions will be addressed in this math-free course on the complex interactions between cultural and economic forces that shape our worlds. 

This course examines classical Chinese literary tradition in translation by focusing on genres including fiction, poetry, essays, and biographies in relation to three major themes and traditions: 1) the fantastic, the immortal, and the ghostly; 2) the moral, the loyal, and the outlaws; and 3) the romantic, the scholar, and the beauty. Through these themes and traditions, we analyze key issues regarding the formation of literary canon in China and how Han Chinese literati define the relationship between the Han and the non-Han, male and female, lawful subjects and outlaws in the process of literary canonization.