University of Hong Kong

Many students in the Faculty of Arts tend to think of “science” and “technology” as irrelevant to them. Typical reactions range from “I am not a science major,” “science is boring,” or “it's too technical.” However, science and technology actually interact with the contemporary history and society of China in significant ways. For example, how many of you are using Lenovo laptop computers? Do you know the history behind Lenovo, IBM, and the entrepreneurial initiative of the Chinese Academy of Sciences since the 1980s? When you go grocery-shopping at a local supermarket, do you actively accept or reject genetically modified foods? How do new health and reproductive technologies (vaccines, new drugs, contraceptives) transform the healthcare system in China, for better or worse? These are some of the questions explored in the course. This course will introduce students to the multiple ways in which science, technology, and society mutually shape one another in modern and contemporary China. Instead of giving a celebratory history of science and China (i.e. China is so great now because of science), the course will take a balanced approach to discuss the beneficial as well as destructive powers of science. The key is to develop the ability to critically understand the good and bad aspects of science and technology. Instead of asking “why do I need to understand science?” as some of you might ask, I want students to consider “how could we understand contemporary China without science?” This course offers a general foundation for China studies majors, minors, and students in other faculties who are interested in thinking the intersection between science, technology, and society in contemporary China.

The economics of uncertainty and information has permeated virtually every field in economics. This course develops the basic tools that are used in the study of behavior under uncertainty, and introduces some standard models of imperfect and asymmetric information. The first part of the course studies the expected utility theorem and the concepts of risk aversion and stochastic dominance, and the value of information. The second part applies these tools to analyze moral hazard, signaling, adverse selection, and mechanism design problems. Fluency in elementary optimization techniques and probability modeling is important for doing well in this course. Students should be prepared to work extensively with models. This course may be regarded as an advanced undergraduate course in microeconomic theory. Students must have completed the intermediate level Microeconomic Theory course as a prerequisite.

This course examines the role of translation in Hong Kong's public administration procedures and business activities and how it is used for local and international communication. Students practice translating papers related to negotiation, administration and the law arising from such contexts, and explore suitable translation techniques in the process. Assessment: 100% coursework.

This course is for foreign students as the second semester of a beginning Chinese course. It covers four main areas: speaking, listening, reading, and writing which require pinyin-word processing and actual writing and reading of simplified Chinese characters. A greater emphasis is placed on oral drills and listening comprehension. Students are exposed to 800 frequently used Chinese characters, which are used to form expressions related to various aspects of life in China. Upon the completion of the course, students should be able to write approximately 500 Chinese characters and an essay of 200 characters. Students are also exposed to various aspects of Chinese culture and history in learning the origins of Chinese characters and idioms.

This course consists of a critical examination of various recent topics in metaphilosophy - that is, the philosophy of philosophy. Focus is on the nature of philosophical knowledge, and the possible methods for acquiring it. The course begins by looking at theories of a priori knowledge, from modern philosophy to early analytic to contemporary. Then, we examine more recent debates surrounding the use of intuition in philosophical theorizing, as well as discussions of the methods of conceptual analysis, reflective equilibrium, and thought experimentation. Finally, we look at the rise of a recent methodological movement known as ‘experimental philosophy', and examine several critical responses to it.

This course examines Buddhist discourses on the nature and operation of the mind. The course studies basic Buddhist principles and diverse practices of mental cultivation based on ancient Buddhist texts and manuals that present unique perspectives on individual, family, and society at large and world. The main topics covered include psychology of dhamma and the theory of “dependent co-arising”, relation between mind and body, sensory perception and obsession, intentional actions and human well being, positive thinking and self-initiative, controlling emotions and mindfulness practice, selfless being and awakened mind.

This course introduces the major themes of contemporary evolutionary biology, including the history of evolutionary biology, evolutionary processes, adaptation, speciation, and evolution as an explanatory framework at all levels of biological organization. The course emphasizes the interplay between theory and empirical tests of hypotheses, thus examining the process of science. Course topics include: introduction to evolutionary biology; the tree of life; patterns of evolution; biogeography; evolution of biodiversity; mechanisms of evolution (natural selection, mutation, genetic drift); phenotypic evolution; social interactions in evolution (sex, kinship, co-evolution); species and speciation; evolution of genes and genomes; evolutionary development; and macroevolution.

This course provides an comprehensive introduction on the European Union. The course begins with its historical predecessors and progresses to its current iteration in the 21st century. Topics covered include: EU's political structure; EU's legal framework, EU's process of enlargement; relationship between Great Britain and Germany; Eurocrisis. The course aims to provide an understanding of what the EU is, how it works, its strengths and weakness, and how it may involve. It will also focus on contemporary events such the migrant crisis, and Brexit. Assessment: Coursework, essay, final exam.