Hong Kong

In an age where cross cultural interactions and global traffics are frequent, Hong Kong cinema cannot be regarded merely as local cinema. It is an interesting site where complex global processes can be traced. Flows of capital, film personnel, technologies, ideas and creativity are vibrantly circulating inside and outside the cultural industry of film making, resulting in phenomena such as transnational co-productions and cross-cultural co-operations. These dynamic processes are inflected in characterization, plot development and space time configurations on Hong Kong screens. This course explores the local-global interactions from a variety of approaches. With a selection of Hong Kong films, the course provides understanding of the two way relationship between the local, popular entertainment and global film scene by investigating the major questions regarding globalizations. Film critics, scholars and filmmakers conduct workshops and give guest lectures. Assessment: video test, group presentation with report, participation.

This course examines the principles and current practices of management. The course focuses upon the interaction between individuals (managers) and the organization. The course explores what managers do through discussion of the four fundamental functions of managers, namely planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Topics include: evolution of management theories, environmental influences on management, organizational culture, strategic management, organizational design, change management, organizational control and human resources management. Text: Jones, G. R., and George, J. M., ESSENTIALS OF CONTEMPORARY MANAGEMENT. Assessment: exams, class participation, group paper, group presentation.

This course aims to cultivate students’ systematic and critical thinking about science, technology, innovation, and society, especially in light of the transition from traditional China to contemporary China. Differing from the usual courses focusing on this subject, this course will take a social and  critical approach, enabling students to understand and analyze the social, political, and cultural preconditions and impacts of scientific and technological development.

This course is designed for non-Chinese language background students who have learned Chinese for up to 150 tuition hours. It prepares students for an intermediate-level understanding of spoken Chinese and equip them with a strong communicative competence in using Chinese in social and professional situations. 

This course examines topics on kinematic analysis of mechanisms (position, velocity, and acceleration analysis of solid bodies and mechanisms) and design/synthesis of mechanisms (how to determine the geometry of a mechanism to achieve kinematic
goals). 

This course examines the history of Western art music, from the medieval era to the present day, with an emphasis on the period between Late Middle Ages (14th century) and Romanticism (19th century). It examines the foundations of music cognition and acoustics by looking at works in their historical and political context while inspecting the relationship of music to other art forms.

This course examines the practical aspects of macroeconomics that are essential in understanding the functioning of global economies, with a specific focus on issues related to the monetary systems around the world and the relevance of the interest rate in the flow of funds around the world.

This course examines stochastic processes. It will cover the basic concepts of the theory of stochastic processes and explore different types of stochastic processes including Markov chains, Poisson processes and Brownian motions.

This course examines the “Rise of China” by both theoretically and practically examining the increasingly important role of China in the international system. It covers the main features of Chinese foreign policy and reviews various factors that drive China’s foreign policy behavior, including its national and international priorities, foreign policy-making process, national security, and strategic culture. The course then looks at China’s relations with other major actors in the world including both developed and developing states. It also studies China’s “maritime” rise by analyzing its expanding maritime ambitions and capabilities as well as its role in global and regional governance. The course concludes by looking at the future prospects for Chinese foreign policy.