Foundation Courses

GE1301 Psychology and Personal Growths

This Course is designed to provide students with general knowledge of psychology such as theories of personalities and in depth knowledge of personal growth and adjustment. Topics of personal growth include personal identity, gender roles, interpersonal attraction and love, human sexuality and stress, Through studying problems and challenges in different periods of life, as well as learning the influence of society and family on individual, it is hoped that students will have a better self-understanding. Among different stages of life, adolescence and adulthood will be the main focus of discussion in class.

GE1302 Media, Culture and Society#

This Course is designed to foster students' awareness of how the media work, how they are changing and how they affect our daily ivies. It will be organised around a series of case studies that focus on different media forms, including books, magazines, newspapers, motion pictures, radio, television, recorded music and advertising. Examples will be drawn from both western as well as Hong Kong contexts and students will learn to identify how influential the media are in shaping of our culture and our lives. The topics of media ethics and freedom of press will also be discussed.

GET401 Art of Thinking

This Course is designed to give students a fundamental training in thinking so that they can accustom themselves to rational discourse. The elementary ideas, principles and methods of reasoning will be introduced through critical examinations of common fallacies. Emphasis is placed upon practical application of theories, and students will be guided to criticise authentic texts and perform group discussion. The Course enables students to develop the skill of logico-linguistic analysis. It is expected that students will be able to apply theories to real life situation.

GE1402 Knowledge, Methodology and Logic

Human beings have different types of knowledge. Do we understand the way in which knowledge is established? How can knowledge be possible? On what method do we base when we acquire knowledge? Before we try to understand the different levels of problems faced by human beings, we should first have a good grasp of the scope of our knowledge, and recognise the criteria for judging knowledge and truth. With reference to the nature of knowledge, different levels of methodology, and logical reasoning, this Course aims to help students develop independent and critical thinking in order to understand our life.

GE1501 Values and Life

The objectives of this Course are to initiate students' contemplation on value issues of life from different aspects and to encourage their reflection on them. Besides lecturing on the value theories, the instructor may, according to his/her own wish, add a film show or a group discussion into the teaching of each topic, The film show aims at supplementing the abstract theories with a substantial story for students' understanding, while in the group discussion section, students are given the opportunity to express their own ideas and share with each other. It is hoped that through this Course, students can establish their own viewpoints on values and life, develop and consolidate their self-image, and get ready to face the problems of life with a positive attitude.

GET502 Applied Ethics

This Course examines a range of moral issues in today's society, such as euthanasia, abortion, death penalty, cloning, animal rights/ environmental ethics and sexual morality. Through discussing the major arguments, engaging in debates of each issue and studying particular cases (include sources from newspaper, magazine and films etc), students will learn to reflect on the issues at a deeper level, to evaluate different views critically and to be able to construct their own response to these moral problems. Through such survey, students will also study several major ethical theories, namely, egoism, relativism and consequentialism, as well as certain major ethical concepts. Examples will be drawn from both Chinese and Western contexts.

GE1601 Popular Culture and Modern Society#

This Course introduces basic ideas in cultural studies and popular culture. Popular culture is so wide-spread that its power in affecting peoples is very strong. Studying popular culture is to study human being and modern society, and understanding popular culture is to understand human being. This Course will introduce students with elementary theories to appreciate popular culture and equip them with necessary tools for thinking with popular culture critically. Throughout the Course, different aspects of popular culture will be investigated and visual culture (e.g. film culture) will be a main focus as it is the most influential medium in the modern world.

GET602 Traditional Culture and Modern China

This Course, with an emphasis on modern interpretation, introduces to students the deep structure of traditional Chinese culture. It aims at reflecting the values of Hong Kong Chinese. With an interdisciplinary approach, the Course demonstrates the characteristics of traditional Chinese culture with reference to such aspects as spirit of culture, cosmology, political system, social and economic structures, philosophy and history. It is hoped that students will learn to understand the difficulties of modernization, and the way-out of Chinese culture in the post-modern context.

GE1603 Religion and Modern Society

This Course covers an introduction to the phenomenon of religion in the rapidly changing modern society, including its significant developments in the historical, cultural, ethical and social arena. Furthermore, this course will examine particularly the relations between religion and society, their effects on each other, and their mutual adjustments as well as response.

Specialisation Courses

Generic Courses

# Elective Course