Chinese University of Hong Kong

This course is designed to examine human life issues through movie watching. A social work perspective and a humanistic outlook of life is adopted to view human lives at individual, family and society levels. Students are expected to develop an awareness and a sense of concern for people and the society. Movies related to social work values, such as people's capacity for change, respect for human worth and dignity, and social justice are reviewed and discussed. Social issues, such as discrimination, mental illness and issue of oppression are covered.

This course introduces economic and political anthropology, two of the major subfields of anthropology. For anthropologists, the economy is not numbers and markets, but how cultures produce, distribute, and consume goods. People in different cultures have different ways of making a living, but they are not completely different; what are the patterns and rules? Is it human nature to be selfish and always want more things? Why do some people and countries have more wealth than others? Is poverty natural and inevitable? These are not just matters of economics, but of power. This course then examines a few aspects of political economy, from consumerism and the destruction of the environment, to nationalism, protest and rebellion.