Communication

This course provides an overview of ethnography of communication, a theoretical and methodological approach to analyzing and understanding a wide range of communicative patterns and language uses as they occur within social and cultural contexts. Students also apply ethnographic insights and methodologies to fieldwork activities and projects in the local community, investigating the range of practices that constitute ethnographic research, aiming for an integrative and holistic understanding through discussion of class members' fieldwork activities.

This course examines the role of the media in shaping the global and local societies, as well as the ways in which growing access to information fosters knowledge sharing and citizen participation in public affairs and creates social problems such as privacy infringement, misinformation, and polarization. It explores if the global media really changes the power structure of information flow, production, and dissemination or actually reinforces the imbalance. It questions whether media technologies amount to an individual’s emancipation or serve as another form of exploitation. It explores the role of the media in Hong Kong, China, and the rest of the world and how in a multipolar cultural world, how citizens contribute to the conversation on local and global issues. The course reflects on critical social values such as the freedom of expression, information, privacy, transparency, and investigate the impact of the social media, artificial intelligence and blockchain technology.

Working with the local community, this course builds on the communication and leadership skills necessary to lead action for social change. This practical work is facilitated by the charity Citizens UK, who match students with local campaigns or voluntary organizations. Exploring issues that impact various communities, students find links between their discipline and ways in which ‘community work’ can be undertaken. In workshops, students  engage critically with current debates about social justice, analyze historical and contemporary campaigns, and build practical skills (storytelling, negotiation, and delivering leadership speeches) to make positive social change.

Through exploring different areas within the Chinese language and cultural domain, including Chinese media, content creation, book publishing, and Chinese teaching, the course familiarizes students with today's volatile society and market, equipping them with the necessary skills to comprehend the dynamics of these industries within current political, social, cultural and linguistic contexts. Students gain a deeper understanding of the professional landscape and learn to combine their knowledge of Chinese language and culture with design thinking approaches for addressing opportunities and challenges they encounter in their future career. The course requires students to take prerequisites.

This course develops professional English writing skills for careers in public relations, marketing, and communications. It focuses on crafting clear, persuasive messages for diverse audiences and media platforms. Major categories of public relations writing are covered, including press kits, in-house publications, annual reports, press releases, and feature articles for media placement. Emphasis is placed on multimedia communication strategies and writing for print, broadcast, video, and digital formats. Through interactive exercises, written assignments, and presentations, participants refine their writing style, develop critical communication skills, and apply systematic professional approaches to effective public messaging.

This course explores global issues through the use of Extended Reality (XR) and Metaverse technologies (VRChat). By utilizing XR technology and 3D content, the class visually presents the background, impact, and proposed solutions to social issues within the Metaverse environment. 

This course is designed to develop professional English skills for students in economics, management, and information systems. It focuses on the language and communication strategies required in international business environments, with an emphasis on practical application in economic analysis, project management, and IT-related contexts.

The media plays an extremely influential role in the public’s conceptions of crime and order. This course is designed to look at the different ways in which the media shapes our ideas and responses to crime. The course is divided into two main sections. The first half of the course examines representations of crime in different media forms and theoretical explanations for why crime is portrayed in particular ways. The second half of the course focuses on the representation of crime in popular culture, particularly in films and novels.

Health communication is becoming increasingly important in a world faced with new health challenges from obesity to Ebola, anxiety to diabetes. This course considers the role of language in our experience of and beliefs about health and illness. Students learn how health communication differs among various communities, both monolingual and multilingual, from the grassroots level, such as in families, to broader groups, for example, between health professionals and patients. It also considers the effects of social diversity, such as the age, gender, and ethnicity of patients and healthcare professionals. Students become proficient in analyzing a range of relevant uses of language, including narratives about health and illness, the representation of health and illness in the media, computer-mediated communication about illness, and public health information, persuasion and campaigns.

This course provides students with the knowledge and professional development for the 21st century organization. Students learn contemporary organizational communication theories and concepts, the dynamism of working in teams and diversity, as well as leadership communication skills essential in today’s technology-driven and digitally connected global workplace. Students apply case studies to solve the problems and challenges faced by the contemporary globally connected workplaces, learn how to manage intercultural sensitivities and interactions, and demonstrate effective decision-making and conflict-management processes in the workplace through a strong understanding of organizational communicative processes and relationships.