University of Hong Kong

The development of creative industries requires a business-friendly environment plus a legal environment which respect the rule of law. This course explores the changing interface between the creative industries and law. By presenting the fundamental legal principles behind the economic development of the creative industries such as contracts, the company, competition and intellectual property, the course teaches how the changes in laws may facilitate or hamper the business environment for creative industries, or whether these laws may stimulate more creativity in the work place or hinder the creativity by putting more legal restrictions. Apart from Hong Kong materials, discussion may also be extended to some jurisdictions such as Greater China region and Asia Pacific countries.

This course is for complete beginners in Italian and does not require any previous knowledge of the language. Students acquire basic linguistic and communicative skills in the four areas of competence (listening, speaking, reading and writing). The course also gives insight to Italian culture and society.

This course focuses on the basic principles of classical (Mendelian) genetics. Topics covered include probability in Mendelian inheritance and pedigree analysis, extensions to Mendelian analysis, genetic interaction, sex-linkage and the chromosome theory of inheritance, linkage, crossing-over, and genetic mapping, and molecular genetics.

This course explores the social nature of language learning by focusing on the central role of teacher language and classroom interaction in managing and supporting children's language learning. Topics: various functions of teacher talk and the role of teacher language not only in managing students' learning but also as the main source of language input in the English language classroom; the need for teachers to monitor, modify and support their language to meet the needs of their learners and to create space for learning through interaction; and the analysis of samples of classroom discourse, focusing on teacher and student language and interactions and their impact on student learning.

This course offers an introduction to Spanish dialectology and develops communicative competence in a horizontal way, that is, by linking theory and practice. The course covers the main dialect areas of the Spanish-speaking world, their evolution, and the influence of other languages (mainly indigenous languages, creoles, Portuguese and English) on the Spanish spoken in certain areas of the world. It presents basic concepts related to the fields of sociolinguistics and dialectology, and raises awareness of the current widespread extension of the Spanish language and its future prospects. There is special emphasis on the characteristics of each particular dialect area at the levels of phonology, lexis and grammar, as well as on the Spanish spoken in the U.S. and the different phenomena related to bilingual speech / bilingual language acquisition. The methodology of this course is a blended-learning one.

This course discusses various political and security issues in the Korean Peninsula. The course begins with the ongoing Korean denuclearization negotiations involving the two Koreas, the United States and China. The course then traces the origins of the Korean conflict back to the Korean liberation from Japanese colonial rule, the 1950-53 Korean War, and the emergence of the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It also examines how the two countries diverged politically, economically and culturally for the past several decades. Then it comes back to current issues: nuclear proliferation in the Korean Peninsula, prospects for Korean unification, and Korea's relations with its neighbors, namely China and Japan. Towards the end of the class, students conduct a policy exercise simulating the denuclearization negotiations, which helps them develop policymaking skills. Students are required to keep abreast of current events in the Korean Peninsula. We discuss major Korea events in class.

This course specializes in the study of one of the most intriguing sets of bilateral relations in East Asia: Sino-Japanese relations. The overall theoretical approach of the course is interdisciplinary in nature and draws heavily from the disciplines of history and international relations. The course examines contemporary Sino Japanese relations broadly conceived; introduces topics by means of broad survey lectures, and various controversial topics within this set of bilateral relations; and examines the following themes from the perspective of Sino Japanese relations: legacy of history (e.g., textbook writing, disposal of chemical weapons, wartime apologies), nationalism and identity, the Pinnacles (Senkaku/Diaoyu) Islands dispute, the Taiwan issue, the Korean Peninsula crisis and the competition for energy sources between China and Japan.

This course studies basic issues concerning the nature, justification, limits, and problems of democracy. Topics include the meaning of democracy; democracy, political equality, and majority rule; justification of political equality and the challenge of elitism or guardianship; judicial review as it protects or undermines democracy; classic Athenian democracy; modern representative democracy; participatory democracy and its critique of liberal democracy; the effectiveness of participatory democracy, rational choice perspective, and facts about political participation; responses to the problems of participatory democracy; and the Marxist critique of capitalist democracy.

This course explores and evaluates early Chinese philosophers' answers to questions of morals, ethics, philosophy, and psychology as presented in selected early Chinese philosophical texts related to people's nature, motivation, moral cultivation, moral reasoning, and action. Topics discussed include: people's typical moral dispositions; morally relevant features of people's nature (xing); the role of the heart (xin) in guiding action; the role of desire, emotion, and normative judgment in motivation and action; methods of moral education and training; the nature and function of virtue; and the structure of action. The course focuses on four major texts—Mozi, Mengzi, Xunzi, and Zhuangzi —and devotes much attention to how these texts criticize and respond to each other's views. Comparisons and contrasts with major Western thinkers such as Aristotle, Hume, and Kant are drawn.

Financial crises are common and occur quite frequently in market economies. What is a financial crisis and what are its possible causes? Can it be anticipated and hence prevented? What government policies can be implemented to alleviate its impact? This course explores financial crises to understand the conceptual underpinnings of the issues that lie at the heart of it. The course focuses on how the financial crisis in 2008 began, how it developed, how the different countries dealt with it with their own politico-economic means and measures, what are the effects on people, and what is its implication for the global economy, and its broader ramifications for our society.