Asian Studies

Zen (禪) is a significant element in the cultural backbone of Japan. In this course, attention is focused upon the impact of Zen thought and practice on Japanese culture. The course begins with the introduction of proto-Zen from India to China, followed by the transmission and development of Zen in Japan. The aesthetic impacts of Zen practices are an important component of this course. Zen’s influence on the aesthetics of everyday objects, experience, and judgments are examined through examples in architecture, landscaping, arts, literature, spirituality, and lifestyle. From this course, students gain a basic understanding of Zen Buddhism and the impact it has had upon the everyday thought and culture of the Japanese people

This course covers sports and their impact on Chinese society with special focus on the role of sports in China's search for national identity and internationalization. It provides an in-depth understanding of Chinese society, popular culture, and politics. Students learn how the Chinese have interacted with different peoples from the rest of the world in international games such as the Olympics and the Football World Cup. The course helps examine how different peoples, nations, and governments have responded to sports, how the Chinese turned sports into vehicles for both nationalism and internationalism, how Chinese governments in different stages and periods have linked sports to their political legitimacy, and how sports serve as tools for nation building, expressions of national identity and national honor or personal freedom in China. By examining the role of sports in Chinese society, students gain valuable contextual understanding to better explain culture and politics and better understand China, its society, and its positions in the world.

This course examines the food experiences and practices and their ideological effects that shape diners and their city. It shows how in every gulp, we are allowing a bit of the external world, in the form of food, to gain access to our bodily, cultural and social existence and change us in ways we do not always know. The feelings, emotions and memory we involuntarily but actively produced are being inscribed, in return, onto the individual and collective foodscape of the city through our everyday food choices and continuous habits and practices. The course also traces the crystallization of a conscious distinction of Hong Kong food and their influences among the residents of the city and overseas. This course explores how the exercise of the right to the city follows not only our hearts’ but also our stomachs’ desire, and the food for the stomach is always and simultaneously the food for thought. 

The course examines selected topics in Chinese philosophy. The specific content of the course varies from semester to semester. Offerings with different subtitles can be taken for credit, up to a maximum of two times.

This course explores Japan’s evolving relationship with the world by examining its historical nation-building, post–World War II reconstruction, and contemporary foreign policy challenges. Through analyses of regional relations, national security issues, and Japan’s growing international role — especially in the context of China and the United States — students gain a deeper understanding of how Japan seeks to maintain autonomy and shape its place in global affairs.

This course examines representative works of Japanese cinema. It explores the wonders of cinematic form and how it can communicate fundamental aspects about Japanese culture and society as well as the human condition. The course introduces the basics of film analysis, giving students critical-thinking skills that enable them both to see how Japanese cinema engages with world cinema and to understand how Japan—especially after the post-war—becomes a hub for myriad cultural flows. Each lesson begins by referring to various academic readings and showing movie clips, if necessary, to serve as the basis for in-class discussions.

This course explores the historical development of Korean popular music and Hallyu culture, from the early formation of modern Korean popular music to the global rise of K-pop. It examines how Korean popular music, television dramas, and films have evolved in relation to social, cultural, and media changes in Korea, and how these cultural forms collectively contributed to the emergence of the Korean Wave Hallyu. Through case studies of major artists, cultural texts, and media platforms, students analyze the characteristics of K-pop as well as key Hallyu content such as K-dramas and Korean films, focusing on their production systems and global circulation.  The course provides international students with a comprehensive understanding of Korean popular culture as both a cultural expression and a global phenomenon. 

Evaluation: Attendance 20%, Assignments 15%, Midterms 30%, Final Exam 35%. 

This course introduces Hong Kong popular music and the basic operations of the music industry. It covers a wide range of practical operation of record companies, including Artist and Repertoire Management, production of music and lyrics, marketing and sales, promotion and distribution. Besides the practical and management aspects, it also covers history and issues of popular music in Hong Kong, music commentary and the board theoretical, legal and social implications of the industry.

This course covers topics including the evolution of modern China's political and economic system, the Chinese state in comparative perspective, and issues and problems of China's political and economic development. Upon successful completion of this course students should be able to explain the Chinese political system and state administration, explain the characteristics of China's socialist market economy, analyze the role of the Communist Party of China, critically assess different theoretical approaches used in current research on modern China, and develop and present individual research interests on China's political system.

This course provides an overview of the development of art in Hong Kong from the colonial days to the early 21st century, including traditional Chinese painting, calligraphy and seal carving, modern ink painting, and various art forms in western media. It examines the uniqueness of Hong Kong’s art in the context of its economic growth, cultural integration of east and west, and freedom in artistic creation, towards an evaluation of the achievements of Hong Kong’s art in the twentieth century.