Hong Kong

This course examines international monetary relations and problems. Major areas of discussion include basic concepts and analysis of the balance of payments, the foreign exchange market, determination of spot and forward exchange rates, international capital flows, the payments adjustment mechanism, international monetary problems and arrangements, and international debt and its development. Text: Cheol Eun and Bruce Resnick, INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT. Assessment: class participation (15%), case report (15%), quiz (25%), final examination (45%).

This course in Buddhism introduces a major world religion, its cultural heritage, and how its teachings have not only influenced art and philosophy throughout history, but have also become a source of inspiration for contemporary researchers in the fields of psychotherapy, neuroscience, and education. This course systematically introduces the essence of Buddhist teachings. Special emphasis is placed on the core teachings of the Buddha, which include the Four Noble Truths, Dependent Origination, Prajna wisdom, and Bodhisattva ideal and their practical applications.

This course examines the relationships between imagery and text from late Tang to Yuan dynasty with emphasis on the rise of genre painting. Various literary traditions associated with the appreciation of Chinese paintings are central to explore the appeal of this new subject matter. The course investigates themes shared between painting and poetry of this period. Modern historians characterize the Song dynasty as a period of profound innovation in both painting and scholarship. With the influx of men of common backgrounds to positions of prestige in the bureaucracy, the Song experienced an intellectual re-evaluation of traditional culture that invigorated the pictorial arts. Genre painting, or images that celebrated the lives of commoners, flourished during this period. Previously figure painting was dominated by the portrayal of beautiful people – those who were in court. Why switch to imagery of those less attractive? The course explores possible motivations for the development of this new type of depiction. Was the acceptance of genre painting as a subject suitable for painting encouraged by the new kind of scholar-officials who claimed to be of the common people? What were Song dynasty attitudes towards the common man? What did it mean for the powerful elite to want to view images of those who were in the lower classes? The course draws upon materials in Chinese, although it is not essential that students read Chinese.

This course explores African American history and culture. Focus is on the work of individual black artists, authors, activists, musicians, and politicians. Each contribution is studied in its historical context. The course looks at a wide range of media and genres of creative expression, such as poetry, literary fiction, memoir, visual art, music, speeches, film, and historiography. As the course moves chronologically from the early days of slavery to the presidency of Barack Obama, a solid sense of African American history and how it relates to US history is provided. The focus is on the contribution of African Americans to American thought, society, and arts. This course introduces seminal achievements by African Americans, such as Frederick Douglass, Zora Neale Hurston, W.E.B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, Martin Luther King, Jr., Toni Morrison, Richard Wright, Sojourner Truth, Duke Ellington, Spike Lee, Michael Jackson, Prince, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Miles Davis, Muhammad Ali, John Coltrane, and Barack Obama.

This is an advanced course exploring the latest frontier on molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie the structure and function of the central nervous system. The course covers fundamental concepts on the molecular basis of brain functions during development and aging, and discusses how dysregulation of these processes might lead to various brain disorders. Topics include axon guidance, synaptic transmission, formation and plasticity of synapses, learning and memory, and diseases of the nervous systems such as cognitive and emotional disturbance. Latest techniques in neuroscience research, such as the use of viral-mediated expression of transgenes, optogenetics, chemogenetics, and induced pluripotent stem cells, are introduced. Lectures tutorials, presentation of research papers and research-oriented practical training are emphasized so as to expose students to different areas in molecular neuroscience through multiple learning activities.

The Greater Bay Area (GBA) has become the world's largest urban area. Consisting of Hong Kong, Macau and the nine cities of the Pearl River Delta, in less than forty years it has transformed from a rural backwater to an economic engine of sophisticated manufacturing and services. It has lifted millions of people out of poverty and provided them with new homes and communities. The GBA has also become an important node in a network of megacity regions responsible for much of the world's economic dynamism. For the most part, the GBA has evolved after its economic potential was unleashed by the opening up to Hong Kong and global trade networks. The twin forces of economic agglomeration and urbanization were the drivers of this growth, but were substantially supported by infrastructure development and policy, particularly from individual cities. Yet, it is thought that the region's further development will require a more sophisticated harnessing of agglomeration forces so that the GBA can compete with other highly developed bay areas. Improvements must also be made to deal with substantial environmental and social costs of the GBA's growth. This course is designed to familiarize students with the GBA. The region is more economically powerful, complex and interesting than all but a few of the world's countries. It is deserving of some appreciation. Moreover, Hong Kong has been crucial to the GBA's development and the prosperity of the GBA remains key to the prosperity Hong Kong. To understand why the region is so successful, interesting and important, we will analyze processes such as agglomeration, clustering, migration, urbanization and sustainable development. These processes led the GBA's development and will determine its future—in terms of continued economic development and more importantly in terms of the wellbeing of the GBA's people. We examine how the GBA can function as a cohesive region, but also how the actions of the cities and the diversity of activities within the cities add vibrancy. We also put the GBA's development in perspective, reflecting on the regional culture of the past and what other megacity regions tell us the GBA can be.

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. Text: A. Lyovin, AN INTRODUCTION TO THE LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD.