Humanities

Founded in 1990, the Humanities Programme at HKBU is unique, being the first undergraduate programme in Hong Kong dedicated to providing a broad liberal arts education. Apart from training students to think critically, write logically and speak confidently, the Humanities Programme also nurtures students' ability to solve problems, to sympathize with humanity and to appreciate life, qualities which are indeed essential for a successful career as well as a full meaningful life. 
Considering the Hong Kong contexts in the 21st century, the Humanities Programme consists of three distinct characteristics:

• Interdisciplinarity. All the Humanities core courses draw on diverse disciplines. These include art criticism, language, literature, history, cultural studies, philosophy, and media studies.
• Bilingual Teaching and Learning. Students will read, write and speak in Chinese as well as English, developing their skills in both languages. By doing so, students will be able to respond to Hong Kong's specific linguistic environment, as well as engaging in more global context.
• Cross-culturalism. Our courses examine issues of cultures, values, diversity, difference and cosmopolitanism.

• GDAR 1026 Food, Culture and Society

• GDAR 1027 Gender and Culture

• GDAR 1035 Love and Culture

• GDAR/GDVC 1905 Multiculturalism and society

• HUMN 1005 The Study of Culture

• HUMN 1006 Introduction to the Humanities

• HUMN 2006 Human Self-discovery

• HUMN 2007 Chinese and Western Modes of Thought

• HUMN 2015 Writing Seminar: Workshop in Creative Writing

• HUMN 2016 Performing as Human Experience

• HUMN 2017 A Lifelong Romance with Films

• HUMN 2025 Gender: Theory and Culture

• HUMN 2026 Globalization and Culture

• HUMN 2027 Introduction to the Art of Theatre

• HUMN 2035Introduction to Western Classical Culture

• HUMN 2036 Media and Communication: Issues, Concepts and Theories

• HUMN 2045 The Art of Speech: Appreciation and Practice

• HUMN 2047 City, Space and Creativity

• HUMN 3005 Artistic Creativity and Aesthetics Awareness

• HUMN 3006 Great Works in the Humanities

• HUMN 3007 Language and the Humanities

• HUMN 3015 The Making of the Contemporary World

• HUMN 3016 Professional Writing Practicum: Essentials of the Craft Writing

• HUMN 3025 Chinese Song Lyric Writing

• HUMN 3026 Creative Industries: Theories and Practices

• HUMN 3027 Death and Culture

• HUMN 3035 Devil and Culture

• HUMN 3036 Human Beings and Their Imaginary Monsters

• HUMN 3037 New Media Cultures

• HUMN 3045 Popular Music Studies

• HUMN 3046 Science Fiction, Film and Culture

• HUMN 3047 The Present State of the Arts

• HUMN 3055 Popular Media and Public Culture in Hong Kong

• HUMN 3056 Hong Kong Films and Society

• HUMN 3057 Politics of the Ordinary

• HUMN 3065 Research Methods in the Humanities

• HUMN 3066 Critical Theories I: From Marx to Adorno

• HUMN 3075 East Asia Media Cultures in the Global Age

• HUMN 3076 Digital Humanities

• HUMN 4005 Asia Discourses

• HUMN 4006 Humanism and the Individual

• HUMN 4007 Body Cultures

• HUMN 4015 Histories and Narratives

• HUMN 4016 Major Thinkers in Humanities

• HUMN 4017 Media Representations of Ethnicity

• HUMN 4025 Cultural Studies

• HUMN 4026 The Art of Creating Stories: Writing and Appreciation

• HUMN 4027 The Double Face of Creativity: Fact and Fiction

• HUMN 4035 Special Topics in Theory and Culture

• HUMN 4036 Special Topics in Media and Cultural Studies

• HUMN 4037 Special Topics in Arts and Creativity

• HUMN 4047 Critical Theories II: From Marcuse to Post-Marxism

• HUMN 4898 / 4899 Honours Project

• HUMN 7010 Advanced Humanities Seminar

Chinese language is a requirement for admission, since our programmes are bilingual in aims, objectives, programme learning outcomes, and delivery.  If you have Chinese proficiency, you will enjoy the programme and its special intellectual training that opens you up to both local arts and culture as well as an emphasis on international outlook.  But you do not have it, or have a lower level of proficiency, you are still welcome to apply to us. 

For qualified international students, a special tailor-made arrangement will be considered to admit them, using one of the following two options, subject to mutual agreement:

a. Use Directed Independent Study to replace the core courses approved for Chinese language of instruction;

b. Use comparable courses in subject matter from HMW’s elective courses, or courses drawn from other Departments (e.g. English, Translation, Religion and Philosophy, etc., subject to agreement from those Departments), to replace the core courses approved for Chinese language of instruction.

Every year, students of the Humanities Programme are awarded with prestigious scholarships provided by the University and other organizations. These include the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Scholarship, HSBC Overseas Scholarship, Li Po Chun Charitable Trust Fund Scholarships, and Providence Foundation Combined Scholarships and Bursaries, to name a few.
 

Overseas Exchange Programme / Summer Study Tour

The Humanities Programme provides students with opportunities to study abroad in order to expand their educational and cultural horizons. Previously, our annual Summer Study Tour visited Tsinghua University, Xi’an University and Germany. 
Every year, many students spend one semester or a year in mainland or overseas universities, and they invariably come back with unforgettable experiences as well as a newly-gained sense of confidence. They may go to a wide variety of different places for exchange, such as Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Australia, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Norway, Estonia, Finland, Denmark, France, Sweden and the USA.