Courses offered in Liberal and Cultural Studies
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LCST 2005
Introduction to World Civilization
This course aims to introduce the different approaches in understanding different civilizations, their encounter, interaction and conflicts. It will first introduce the different theories of understanding world civilizations, e.g. their characteristics, strength and weakness, and their grandeur and decline. It will also discuss, with illustration of literary work and films examples, interaction and conflict between civilizations, e.g. China and the West, Christian and Muslim, the “discovery” of America, etc. It will serve as an introductory course for cultural studies by providing basic knowledge and methods in the study of culture and civilization.
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LCST 2015
Introduction to Cultural Studies
This course provides a fundamental understanding of Cultural Studies for further advanced learning. A general introduction will be given to clarify basic historical developments of abundant theories and approaches in this field. A wide range of interesting materials in the past, as well as nowadays, will be applied to explain some important disciplinary boundaries. Controversial social phenomena related to our daily life will be chosen for discussion, to reveal the intellectual values of Cultural Studies.
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LCST 2105
Introduction to Cultual and Creative Industries
This course aims to introduce students to cultural and creative industries in general and their development in Hong Kong in particular. It explores popular cultures and their possible relationship with the development of creative industries from a cross-cultural and inter-disciplinary perspective.
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LCST 2115
Introduction to Gender and Sexuality
This course aims to provide students with a foundational understanding of gender and sexuality from an inter-disciplinary perspective. It equips students with a basic understanding of concepts, theories of gender and sexuality, and debates of related issues in the contemporary world. Upon completion of the course, students are expected to have a general and critical understanding of the political, cultural and social aspects of gender and sexuality and can participate in specialized discussions of related topics.
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LCST 2125
Understanding Everyday Life: A Critical Introduction
The course is divided into three parts. The first part focuses on some of the key theoretical perspectives on everyday life. This constitutes a theoretical toolkit tailor made for a critical evaluation of the topic areas presented in the second and third parts. In the second part, a progression of individual practices and familiar routines will be examined, from the most private to the social. Part three spotlights the roles individuals play in re-creating society through acts of defiance, social movements as well as daily interactions.
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LCST 3005
Artistic Creativity and Art Appreciation
This course aims to promote understanding of artistic creativity as one of the best inventions of the human mind. Students will learn to understand human artistic inventions contextually by integrating disparate theories and interpretations of art. It will equip students with knowledge of Chinese and Western art theories, the history of artistic expressions and the social application of art, through which students will be prepared to appreciate and review masterpieces of art critically in an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural manner.
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LCST 3015
Interdisciplinary Humanities Research: Theories and Methods
This course will prepare students for the two-year study of the liberal and cultural studies. It will introduce the approaches and methods distinctive of interdisciplinary humanities thought, and it will compare these methods with those employed in other branches of learning, e.g. social and natural sciences. Significant texts concerning the approach, content areas, and ideas of the course in Chinese and English will be introduced. Students will learn to integrate different points of view through cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural readings. The course will also introduce the relationship between the Humanities and the university as an institution and an idea.
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LCST 3025
This course approaches one of the most difficult questions of the human condition, “What is love?”, from philosophical, historical, and anthropological perspectives. Students will acquire an understanding of Western and cross-cultural theories of love. They will apply this understanding to contemporary cultural and social phenomena and critically respond to them. The course also creates and strengthens students’ interest in life histories with diverse cultural backgrounds as references for personal growth.
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LCST 3035
This course aims to introduce the foundations of Western culture, i.e. the ancient Greek and Roman culture. It helps students comprehend and appreciate the various aspects of classical culture, i.e. from art, literature, history and politics, and their significance for the modern Western world. It serves not only as a perfect introduction to the foundation of Western civilization, but also provides a sound basis for the development of the student’s cultural literacy and sensibility. In addition, the course will also discuss classical Chinese heritage of the similar period, i.e. the pre-Qin culture so that the students may gain a comparative perspective. It will serve as an introductory course for cultural studies by providing basic knowledge and methods in the study of culture and civilization.
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LCST 3045
This course aims to introduce students to different aspects of Hong Kong studies with a multi-disciplinary approach. Through the exploration of recent studies on Hong Kong in the fields of culture, society, history and politics, it also tries to address issues related to ethics/values and promote understanding of Hong Kong as a cosmopolitan city.
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LCST 3055
This course aims to introduce the idea of modernity in the Western world, its genesis, development and its spread to the world. It will discuss the challenge of modernity and China’s response, thus achieving and understanding of how Chinese modernity came into shape. It discusses the historical, cultural, literary and artistic trends in China from the end of the 19th century to the 1980s as an expression of Chinese modernity.
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LCST 3105
A History of Personal Writings
This course introduces a variety of personal writings to students. Starting with the form, content and structure, the course will go on to give a historical overview of major pieces of personal narratives of different types, and examine the significant role played by memory in the construction of personal narratives. The course will also discuss the interesting mixture of fact and fiction in any personal writing, as well as the intriguing relationship between the subject and object of the narrative. In the course of the semester, students will also have a chance to create their own personal narratives and be guided to recognize the power of this writing in relation to their personal growth.
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LCST 3115
This course provides both the theoretical knowledge and the opportunity for practical experience to students who are interested in discovering their creativity and exercising it in writing. An introduction to the creative process and the basic approaches to creativity are given at the beginning of the course, before students are taken through selected types of creative work. The course focuses equally on careful guidance in students’ appreciation of creative works, as well as in their own creative practice.
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LCST 3125
Detective Fiction and the Modern World
This course aims to study the social, cultural and historical reasons for the appearance of the fiction of detection, and to provide an overview of its development from the mid-19th century to the present. Examples of detective fiction which mark important points in its historical development will be studied to understand how this genre changes according to changing social, cultural and historical environment in our world.
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LCST 3135
This course aims to enhance students’ understanding of the city. While cities are diverse and exciting, they also pose challenging problems. Through the examination of classic and contemporary texts on the city, students will acquire an in-depth understanding of key developments in the study of the city. Case studies will also be used to develop the analytical techniques of the students.
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LCST 3145
This course aims to guide students towards a study of the fairy tales including the basic narrative structure, major components, main themes and features, and some of the cultural and historical transformations in recent centuries. Special attention would be given to the various possible interpretations of fairy tales in our society regarding the domains of gender, race, class, culture and other factors of identity formation.
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LCST 3155
Great Thinkers on Meanings of Life
This course aims to promote students’ reflection on existential questions about life and its values by introducing them to philosophical thoughts of classical and modern thinkers of both the Chinese and the Western cultures. The focus will be on the meaning of human life. It will provide students with inspiring intellectual discourses of the selected thinkers and their self exploration and speculation process. The course will analyze philosophical texts written by these thinkers and the answers they offer on the issue of the meaning of life. Finally, it will encourage students to examine their own value systems and living attitudes to life, and to relate them to the human conditions discussed by the thinkers.
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LCST 3165
This course aims to enhance students’ understanding of how Hong Kong cinema has been shaping and shaped by the local society and the global context of film-making. To the end, students will also learn a wide range of general approaches to film studies and approaches to study different periods of Hong Kong film development will be fully examined.
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LCST 3175
This course aims to introduce students to a comprehensive overview of the traditions of horror tales and cinematic genre of horror. Always berated and frequently overlooked in academic study, horror serves a significant social function to signal the indescribable anxiety of the society. Horror inherently deals with some forbidden topics or disturbing course matters, thus it might be the most socially revealing genre. We do not only look into the history of horror but also examine the definition of horror. The course investigates the cultural function, representation of horror and what pleasure we derive from it.
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LCST 3185
Manga and Anime: Japanese Popular Culture in Hong Kong
This course aims to introduce students to the popularity of Japanese animation (anime) and comics (manga) in Hong Kong by considering anime and manga as medium, art, culture, and industry. It examines the reasons why these forms of popular culture from Japan can appeal to Hong Kong youths and investigates their historical developments in the city. This course is relevant to all realms of academic inquiry, and should attract students who share interests in media studies, in communications, in industrial structures, in art and visual form, in gender treatment, and in Japanese fan culture, and cross-cultural studies.
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LCST 3195
This course aims to enhance students’ knowledge of popular music and its relation to society at large. It will also develop students’ critical understanding of the academic study of popular music. Students will have to examine popular music studies and apply them to analyze popular music in the special context of Hong Kong society.
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LCST 3205
The Critical and Creative Spirit: The Case of Historical Fiction
This course aims to demonstrate the interrelationship between creativity and the critical spirit through the examination and discussion of the historical fiction. While it is generally believed that creativity and the critical spirit are two separate and sometimes even opposite approaches and qualities, this course hopes to show that they are two sides of the same coin. Through a study of the historical fiction, students will see the creative aspects of a critical research, and how being critical is an important step towards creativity.
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LCST 3215
This course aims to introduce the major forms in theatre from the West to the East. It discusses the relation between different theatre aesthetics and forms, and its relation to reality, and the historical and social background. It helps students to analyse and appreciate different styles and genres of theatre, their aesthetic principle, and their relation with their time and culture. It will also show examples of theatre forms with the help of original texts, and videos or live performances. Students will have the opportunity to see live theatre performances and have discussion with theatre artists.
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LCST 3225
Theme Park and Other Themed Spaces
This course aims to introduce students to the social functions and ideological meanings of leisure institutions, from museums, fairs, gardens to amusement parks, movie theaters, world expo and other themed spaces. We focus on the notion of leisure and play, and investigate the wide world of themed entertainment. While looking at particular case studies and particular leisure spaces, ranging from Disneyland to ethnic villages and Imax theaters, we look into the connection between play and modern life, the utopian elements of leisure spaces, the impacts of the increasingly global and lucrative contemporary tourist industry on the production of historical knowledge and the invention of traditions, and other issues related to cultural politics and management.
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LCST 3235
This course aims to enhance students’ understanding of globalization and its impact on society, economics and culture. Through the examination of different theories and issues related to globalization, it also aims to foster students’ critical evaluation of and reflection on globalization studies from different perspectives.
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LCST 3245
This course aims to introduce the complex issues, theories, and methods involved in understanding contemporary mediascape. Through reading classic and contemporary texts on the media, students will learn various theories of the media, the issues raised by these theories, the strengths and weaknesses of these theories, and the diverse methods of studying the media.
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LCST 4005
This course aims to introduce excellent works of literary and other art forms in English and Chinese of both traditional and contemporary domains. The course will demonstrate the excellence of human creativity in these works and attempt to understand their cultural and historical backgrounds, as well as the nature and development of the related media. The course will also encourage students to confront the contemporary controversy surrounding these canonical works, and exercise independently their critical, analytical, and creative judgments in assessing the value of such canonical works in the contemporary world.
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LCST 4008 / LCST 4009
This course aims to engage students in an independent research and the production of an extensive research or creative effort throughout an academic year.
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LCST 4015
This course aims to introduce the modern Western thought from Enlightenment to the 20th century. It aims at introducing the major trends in modern Western thought as a major driving force of political, social and artistic developments shaping the modern Western world. It helps students to understand how thinkers in the world respond to the challenge of modernity, and thus understand the Western world as we know it today.
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LCST 4105
This course aims to introduce students to a comprehensive overview of theories of digital media in contemporary culture. Based on a historical understanding of digital media developments, the course explores the role of new media in a globally networked world. It also examines the social, political and economic influences of new digital technologies on culture, industry, creativity and community from a cross-disciplinary perspective.
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LCST 4115
Rethinking Cultures: East and West
This course aims to help students comprehend major theories of culture of the 20th century from an interdisciplinary perspective. Students will familiarize themselves with seminal debates and how they are or are not relevant to contemporary Hong Kong society. They will also acquire a global and critical sensibility with respect to culture as manifested in both material and symbolic realms. Students will engage with issues and acquire knowledge and skills in identifying, profiling and discussing them. In brief, the course will act as a capstone of the programme where the culmination of inter-disciplinary knowledge can be actualized.
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LCST 4125
This course aims to introduce students to the representations of gender and sexuality in mass media. Students will be introduced to media representations of gender and sexuality in a variety of media texts including films, TV dramas, music videos, advertisements, comics and those in the cyberspace, and the embedded ideologies and cultural meanings. The course will offer critical perspectives to discuss topics such as pornography, queer representations, notions of gender and sexuality in new media and the intersection of gender, race, class and sexuality. Upon completion, students are expected to develop a critical understanding of gender and sexuality in media and be able to analyze media texts from a cross-disciplinary perspective.
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LCST3255
Changing Youth, Changing Times: Concepts, Concerns and Debates
This course aims, first, to provide an overview and a critical examination of key themes, concepts, theories and issues in youth studies. Central issues such as inequality, underachievement, crime and deviant behaviours, political and civic (dis)engagements will be examined and they are discussed under the weekly thematic focus of class, race/ethnicity, gender & sexuality, governmentality, political and civic (dis)engagements, values and beliefs, and (sub)cultures and lifestyles. Existing theories and literature about youth transitions and youth cultures tend to take the “Western” experiences that are based on the global North for granted. Living in an ever-more interconnected age, it is not only encouraged but also urgent to think and engage with cross-national and comparative youth research. The second aim of this course is to inspire students to think beyond traditional national boundaries and to understand youth studies from different geo-political localities and cross-cultural comparative perspectives. The course seeks to diversify and broaden our understanding of youth issues by bringing in empirical examples from a wide array of countries of different socio-, cultural and political settings, ranging from countries in Europe to Africa, and from Asia to Australia.
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LCST4135
Contemporary Chinese Cultural Philosophy
The overall goal of this course is to enhance students’ understanding of traditional and contemporary Chinese Culture. The course also aims to open a window into Chinese cultural philosophy and to enlighten students about the profound historical backgrounds, problems and development of Chinese culture since the last century. As Chinese cultural philosophy has its traditional roots and has been developed across the Chinese-speaking world, including Hong Kong, it is meaningful to explore how this field gives a different perspective from the Western tradition in understanding culture and philosophy. Some important schools of contemporary cultural philosophy will be introduced to deepen students’ theoretical understanding of Chinese cultural transformation up until the present-day.
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LCST4145
Mobility and Migration in Contemporary Society
This course provides a broad understanding of human mobility, culture and patterns of migration in our contemporary social world. The movement of people, culture, capital, commodities, information and ideas has become a central theme in contemporary life. The course invites students to understand human mobility in a global context from different disciplinary perspectives and diverse theoretical backgrounds. It introduces to students different forms of contemporary human mobility and a wide range of topics and issues that are related to human mobility in contemporary world. They range from issues and debates surrounding contemporary migration, migrant cultures and communities, tourism in a globalized world, how human mobility is patterned by education, job opportunities and intimate relationship to how mobile technologies inspire new forms of mobile life or relationship. Upon completion, students will be able to possess the essential theoretical and empirical knowledge to understand how human mobility works to organize our social world and private life, and how our mobility or immobility is defined and confined by numerous private and public factors.
