Hong Kong

This course examines the development of modern physical optics, with particular attention to the physical properties and applications of light in the advanced undergraduate level. It covers wave theory of electromagnetic radiations and light; geometric optics; the propagation and superposition of light waves; interference, diffraction and coherence of light; fourier optics; and some topics of modern optics.

This course examines the methods used in assessing the toxicity of food contaminants, and to develop their confidence in the handling and interpretation of toxicological data. It covers the basic concepts behind toxicological evaluation, and the criteria for setting guidance values for dietary and nondietary exposure to chemicals, as well as the role of biochemical, metabolic and toxicokinetic studies in toxicological evaluation. Topics include a discussion on exposure and entry routes, fates of toxic substances in the body (toxicokinetics), concepts in experimental toxicology, the dose response relationship, actions of toxic substances, target organ effects, the actions and types of carcinogens. A survey of the health effects of common classes of toxic substances is also presented.

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. 

The notion of ‘elite’ entails hierarchy, and may be perceived on related, interacting and conflicting levels: not only familial, gender, social and political, but moral and intellectual. To what extent does ‘elite’ connote power or wisdom, exploitation or benevolence, privilege or responsibility, and in what blend of relative proportions? Clues to such questions depend on variants of time, space, culture and context. Using key texts in English translation, this course examines various senses of and perspectives on the elites in classical Chinese literature.

Liberalism aspires to the greatest possible freedom constrained only by a system of mutually compatible individual rights and the intrinsic value of individuals. Thus its core value is freedom, and its outlook individualist. Recently, liberalism has been challenged by a left-leaning “identity politics” that gives precedence to groups (especially understood in terms of race, religion, and sex/“gender”) over individuals; to “safe spaces” and the protection against alleged “psychological harms” and “offense” over freedom of speech; and to equality of outcome over equality of opportunity. The latter point is due to the fact that “identity politics” can only conceive of significant statistical group differences in terms of achievements in certain fields as the result of one group ”discriminating” against the other instead of as the natural effect of culturally (let alone biologically) mediated differences in average preferences and abilities playing themselves out in a free society. This course will critically evaluate the relative philosophical, moral, and political merits of liberalism as compared to “identity politics.”

This course examines the graphic novel (book-length comics) as a relatively "new" genre of contemporary literature. It covers the “form” of the graphic novel and how it creates arguments about gender, class, sexuality and race. 

This course examines the practical applications of immunology and microbiology in biological research, clinical analysis and disease diagnosis. It covers application of antigen-antibody interaction in advanced research such as chromation; immunoprecipation assay, co-immunoprecipitation and dual immunofluorescence analysis; principles of flow cytometry and its application; tumor immunology and immunotherapy such as FDA-approved checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy; microbial pathogens and associated diseases, host immune response, antimicrobial agents and multidrug resistance, epidemiology and prevention of microbial infections; and clinical laboratory analysis in haematology, chemical pathology, and clinical microbiology.

This course examines how to better understand data, present clear evidence of the findings to the intended audience, and tell engaging data stories that clearly depict the points made though data graphics. 

This course examines tourism as a lens to explore key issues of globalization and economic development and to demonstrate how tourism, a global phenomenon, influences local people’s lives. Course objectives are to 1) introduce key concepts relevant to tourism and globalization; 2) apply theoretical frameworks to the analysis of contemporary issues of the globalization of tourism, and the complex  relationships that link local, regional, national and international processes and patterns of tourism development; 3) explore the relationships between the forces of globalization, multinational tourism corporations, and the state and civil society; and 4) interrogate the economic, political and social ramifications of the systemic sources of power and inequality which are reflected in and sustained by international tourism. Finally, this course will also consider the future of tourism with regard to new sectors and trends such as ecotourism, adventure tourism, and the effects of social media and the Internet, along with what travel will look like in a post-COVID-19 world both in and beyond Hong Kong.