Political Science

This course explores contemporary challenges in international relations such as polarization in contemporary democracies, peace and security, human rights, and geopolitical competition. It examines the impacts of these issues in various regions of the world. The exact topics and regions of focus vary by year depending on current events. This course is divided into four units and each unit is led by a different lecturer.

This course examines how advancement in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can lead to social and political change, particularly in developing nations. It will compare and contrast how ICT expansion affects different types of political regimes.

This course explores how the conceptualization of migration is related to ideas about citizenship and belonging, and to the racialization of those positioned as foreign. It draws together theorizations, historical background, and concrete examples of contemporary politics to discuss what migration is and who is considered a migrant. It considers the political effects of conceptualizing migration, such that although each state sets immigration rules, the making of migrants is at the same time impacted by how global politics is regulated and imagined, including international norms on refugees or states’ self-perception as open to the world. This interactive course includes group work and lecture-style elements, interacts with a variety of texts, and provides opportunities to reflect on and learn about writing.

In this interdisciplinary seminar students conduct research in small groups and prepare reports from a comparative perspective, especially a comparative analysis of Chinese and Western views. Research topics include current affairs; political, economic, societal, moral, technological, and art issues; university, Hong Kong, and global issues; and developments and discoveries in various fields. The course objectives are to conduct collaborative research, develop an interdisciplinary and comparative perspective, and achieve cross-cultural team building skills. Students prepare written reports, make an oral class presentation, and participate in discussion of the presentations. Assessment: oral presentation (20%), a 6,000- to 10,000-page written report (50%), and participation in class discussion (30%).