University of Hong Kong

This course examines the history of Sino-Japanese relations from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. It studies how political, economic, and cultural relations between the two countries have evolved through multiple stages of conflict and cooperation. It covers the following themes: economic development and modernization in East Asia; colonialism and imperialism; Japanese and Chinese nationalism; cross-cultural fertilizations within the Sinosphere; and the relation between war, memory, and national identity.

This course examines some of the most influential conceptualizations of happiness in the Western tradition. We will consider, in detail, the work of Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics), J.S.Mill (Utlitarianism) and Freud (Civilisation and Its Discontents). This focus will allow us to explore a range of ideas about the nature of happiness and the possibility (or impossibility) of our achieving it. Particular emphasis will be placed on the ongoing influence of these conflicting ideas in our contemporary world.

This course examines the importance of GIS to building smart cities and the ways in which the technology can be integrated with other ICT in order to support different aspects in urban development. It covers an introduction to smart city and its components; geospatial open data and common spatial data infrastructure; enabling technologies for smart city; delivering smart cities through a geospatial strategy; GIS basics; working with ArcGIS online; using web GIS and geospatial cloud in smart city applications delivery; using 3D GIS in smart city planning and development; using mobile GIS in smart city data collection and public engagement; handling real-time geospatial data for smart city parameters monitoring; applying spatial analytics to solve spatial problems and predictive analysis in smart city planning.

This course examines the role of translation in social media communication. It contemplates how wide-ranging multilingual digital contents are circulated on social media via translation, how genres, user experiences, visual styles, business models and technologies harnessed by digital enterprises and platforms are impacting on legacy media and traditional means of mediated communication, and where the diverse user-generated content continue to innovate and transform social media communication.

This intensive course is intended for foreign learners who have no prior knowledge of Cantonese. The course introduces students to present-day Cantonese, with an emphasis on learning correct pronunciation throughthe Jyutpingphonetic romanization transcriptionsystem and basic structure. It aims to develop fundamental oral communication skills through a variety of situational conversationsin a highly interactive classroom. Assessment: self introduction, group presentation, midterm written test, final written test, class participation and exercises, two reading recordings.

This course examines the evolving physical, cultural and political landscape of China. Emphasis is placed on (a) the natural environment and physical setting for development; (b) historical contexts and evolution of the landscape; (c) the political system and post-1949 development; and (d) the growth and spatial distribution of the Chinese population.