University of Hong Kong

The Cold War is never dead. It’s not even the Cold War, to paraphrase Faulkner. We are told that we are about to enter Cold War 2.0, or that we might already be living in it. We are often confronted in the media with Cold War parallels: the language of liberty, rivalry and other Cold War neologisms are everywhere on the rise. Not least, Cold War historians themselves are among the most vocal in reminding the public of the contemporary relevance of their expertise. On the face of it, this makes the historical category of analysis we call “the Cold War” a rather flexible one. What is being analogized here? Why can we not see the present day as something new under the sun, and therefore call it something new? And ultimately, what politics is this historical thinking answering to? And of course, the very fact of that plasticity calls into question not just the current usage of the historical term in its second reincarnation, but in its first incarnation as well. What, ultimately, was the Cold War? Can it be both the old traditional era, as well as the new one at the same time? Should it demarcate the whole of the history of the second half of the 20th century? Or should it be used as a rather more discreet term delimited to the bilateral relationship between two nations, as the term was initially used?

This course will concern itself mostly with those analytical questions. In other words, rather than reviewing a history of crises and high political stakes we unquestioningly term the Cold War, the course, while delivering the bare bones of this history, will concern itself with the analytical category itself. Historians are a fractious bunch, but historians of the Cold War have been especially quarrelsome. What were their arguments with one another about? Can we read history politically? How about culturally? Does using the “Cold War” as the encompassing historical category it has become illuminate more than it obscures? And what ultimately was the Cold War?

This course examines the evolving cultural dimensions of the digital domain. It examines moral issues, including privacy, surveillance, and hacking, as well as the political implications of our online lives. It also examines the aesthetic potential of the digital and investigates key concepts such as “virtuality,” “interactivity,” “hypertexts,” “simulation,” “cyborgs,” and “cyber-subcultures.” Media synergy and depictions of cyberculture in the cinema, literature, and other art forms will also be considered. 

This course examines behavioral economics, which incorporates insights from psychology and neuroscience into economic analysis. It covers decision-making under uncertainty, decision-making over time, social preferences, and non-standard beliefs. It will relate theories to empirical evidence and applications, including procrastination, labor supply, finance, and policymaking. 

This course examines sensation and perception, with an emphasis on the psychology of seeing. Specific topics include the following: examination of the functional properties of sensory systems (e.g., auditory system, color vision, vestibular system, touch and kinaesthesia); phenomenology of sensation and perception; psychophysical limits of perceptual systems; goals of sensory coding; structure and evolution of sensory systems; theories of perception. 

This course examines fundamental concepts, theories, and methodologies of sociology. It covers specific aspects of social life, such as families, gender, religion, deviance, and social stratification, and demonstrate how sociological ideas and tools can be applied to better understand our social lives and the social problems we face.

This course examines the history of the British Empire from the late eighteenth century to the end of the twentieth century. Topics include: the cultural and material foundations and the economic, political, and social consequences of empire; the relationship between metropole and periphery; collaboration and resistance; the dynamics of race, gender, and class; the relationship between empire and art; new national and local identities; decolonization, and independence; and the legacies of empire. 

This course examines brand management and looks at the following questions: Why are some brands more preferred by the customers? Do brands make organizations more competitive, gaining higher market share? Are favorable brands more profitable and sustainable than their counterparts? What are the meanings of brand to organizations and customers? How to develop and manage brands that benefit organizations while creating value for customers? What makes a brand successful and last longer? Why so many brands fail, even when they have managed to draw attentions in the market? What makes a good branding strategy?
 

This course examines the history of the Indian subcontinent from the 18th century to the present day. It begins by examining the twilight of the Mughal empire on the one hand, and the gradual expansion of European power across the region on the other. After looking at the ways in which the Portuguese and the Dutch established themselves around the Indian Ocean littoral at a time when territorial control was firmly in the hands of local rulers, it then examines how large parts of this region were incorporated into the British Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the process it examines the pivotal political, economic and social transformations witnessed under colonial rule and examine its legacies. Using a focus on South Asia to probe and better comprehend the development and dissolution of colonialism, it will simultaneously probe forms of colonial control to identify the forces that have most profoundly shaped the region today.

This course examines the prominent sources of labor precarity and how workers – across different institutional settings – respond to these threats. The course covers phenomena such as workplace technological change/automation, international trade, green transition, as well as their consequences, including growing inequality, the revival of the radical right, protectionism, and demand for redistributive policies.

This course introduces a holistic approach to an exploration of normal patterns of development from infancy to old age. Social and familial conditions affecting growth at different stages in the life-cycle will be studied, together with related problems of adaptation and adjustment.