Brief Course Description
CRS501 China and Regional Studies: Politics, Policy and International Development
Over the past few decades, the world has witnessed the rise of China as a new power in the new world system. The political, social, and economic changes of China strongly and regularly influence not only the international affairs but also redefine the relationship between China and the other regional powers in East and South East Asia. Therefore, this course is designed to provide IR students with opportunities to identify and study the old and new hot spots in these regions. Students will explore how and why different regional powers respond differently to recent China’s initiatives and foreign policy shift. The fundamental question the course deals with is the redistribution of power in the new international environment and its consequences for the power relations between states in East and South East Asia.
CRS502 Managing Globalisation: China’s Responses
This course focuses on China’s role in various aspects of global governance and other critical contemporary issues, including economic governance, health leadership, political order, climate change, and technology and innovation. Other issues of focus shall include China’s economic and political activities through policies such as the Belt and Road Initiative, and the BRICS block (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). Thus, the course will offer students an opportunity to learn about and critically reflect on China’s role in various global and regional issues. Thus, the courses focus more on the global activities of China as opposed to its international relations efforts in the Asia-Pacific Region. Other courses in this programme will focus on this region in detail.
CRS503 Introduction to China-Africa Studies
This course introduces students to the state and characteristics of China-Africa relations through historical and contemporary lens. Students will first be introduced to fundamental characteristics of China and African societies in terms of population, geography, political, and governance structures as well as other internal socioeconomic issues. The rest of the course focuses on the governance, security, and political aspects of Chin-Africa relations, and the implications for the countries involved. The course will touch on the relationship between China and African countries located in all parts of the continent including (North, East, West, Central and Southern Africa) to provide students with a holistic perspective. Key policy and current debates such as the 'One Belt, One Road' initiative will also be discussed. The political implications of China's role in Africa's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic are also highlighted. The course will be delivered through interactive lectures and student-led seminars.
CRS504 Global Connections and Cultural Diversity in Africa-China Relations
Over the last two decades, Chinese presence in Africa has significantly transformed African social, cultural and political landscapes. However, knowledge about China and the Chinese across the continent remains low, and African views on China are often mired in longstanding colonial-era stereotypes. At the same time, even as African presence in China has had a notable impact on Chinese urban and media spaces, Chinese imaginations about Africa tend to erase African cultural diversity and imagine Africa as a country. This course takes the students into a critical and interdisciplinary journey to problematise these simplifications by focusing on certain key cultural aspects and global connections that inform the contemporary Afro-Chinese encounter. The course is structured around questions such as ‘race’ and racism, media representation, soft-power, postcolonialism and neo-colonialism, and migration and mobility. The issues addressed in this course are topical and foundational for the study and deeper understanding of the cultural politics of the Afro-Chinese encounter.
CRS505 International Symposium on Sino-African Studies
Lingnan University is positioning itself as a centre for research and scholarship on China-Africa Studies in Hong Kong. A part of such efforts has seen the interest of various academic and research departments and units in organising international symposiums and conferences. These events bring together internationally renowned scholars in the multidisciplinary fields of China-Africa Studies. A typical example of such events is the symposium on inequalities and well-being between China and Africa, which looked at implications of the macro engagements between the two settings for private actors.
In this intensive block course, students will be required to participate in similar events which will be organised annually. Numerous leading scholars will be invited to the symposiums. Working in groups, students will be required to pay attention and reflect on the contemporary theoretical, methodological and empirical lessons on China-Africa relations at micro and macro level engagements. They will be expected to summarise various presentations and draw connections between them based on a selected theme. The theme can be broad such as education, health, industrialisation, and political engagements. Students will be required to support their analysis with at least two peer-reviewed articles relating to their themes. An oral presentation session will provide students with the opportunity to expatiate on their thoughts and experiences.
CRS506 China-Africa Relations: Past and Present
The recent rise of China in economic and technical terms has positioned the country as a major global player in international development. Accordingly, debates in the media and scholarly landscape have centred on the relations between China and especially countries in the development south such as those in Africa. In this course, students will be introduced to the development trajectories of China and selected African countries from theoretical and empirical perspectives. The lectures will centre around debates on China’s multi-sectoral role in development of Africa in areas such as infrastructure development, education development and exchanges, trade and economic health service delivery, natural resource extraction, development aid, technology and knowledge transfer as well as the contribution of African nations and nationalities to China’s development. The course will be delivered by a combination of interactive lectures and seminars
CRS507 China’s Regional Development: Comparative Perspectives
This course aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of China’s regional development from a comparative perspective. It will provide students with a set of commonly used concepts in understanding regional development in China and teach students basic analytical skills with examples and data. The course focus on not only the system of cities but also vast rural areas in China. The topics include social inclusion, migration, economic development, urbanization, globalization, education, governance, and financialization. Lecture materials are based on not only different metropolises in China, e.g. Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, etc. ranging from emerging to highly developed international metropolises but also rural areas. Based on explicit development models in these topical areas, the course will examine the various forces and factors that influence regional development and explores interdisciplinary approaches and tools for interventions in response to critical pressures and challenges.
CRS508 Social Development and Policy Change in Asia
This course introduces students to recent social changes with particular attention given to compare and contrast social, economic, demographic changes taking place in Asia. More specifically, this course examines critically major social policy challenges confronting rapid social and political economy changes in Greater China region and East and Southeast Asia. Particular attention will be given to examining how governments, markets and civil societies in the region respond to such challenges in adopting social policy policies appropriate for managing rapid changes. Students will be engaged in case analysis, critically reflecting upon how social and political economy changes in selected Asian societies would have affected policy changes. Adopting a comparative approach in analysing policy formation and implementation, together with the collaborative learning activities, this course will enable students to understand the most recent developments related to poverty alleviation, education, health, social security, and housing policies, as well as urban and cultural changes in Asia.
CRS509 China and Regional Studies Project
This course has two parts. The first part will comprise of an intensive comparative methodological lesson on researching China’s various regional relations. Students will be taken through different methodologies and analytical techniques.
In the second part, students will be expected to work individually or in groups to carry out short empirical research based on primary or secondary data. The paper can also be in the form of a critical comparative literature review of China-Africa relations or China and East Asia relations depending on a student’s concentration from theoretical, historical and political perspectives. Students not specialising in any of the concentration can research on any topic relating to China and regional studies. In all cases, the essays or research must be at least 4500 words for individual projects and 7000 for group projects (comprising not more than three students). Each student (or a group) shall work with an assigned advisor.
CRS510 Global Finance and East Asia
Money and finance matter. Global finance and money and the rising East Asia matter much more these days. Furthermore, they are essentially political. They are so domestically as well as internationally. The consequences of financial globalization are widespread and deep. Social and political repercussions are tense and conflictual. The goals of this course are to help students understand the causes, processes, and consequences of financial globalization especially with a focus on its relationship with East Asia, including China. Through introducing the relevant theories and concepts in the first half of the course and through analysis of the real-world phenomena in the second half, the students can know more about the historical development of global fiancé, touch on Global and East Asian financial crises, and deal with a few topics related with Korean development and Sino-Korean relations.
CRS511 The Dragon and the Elephant: Comparative Perspectives on China and India
The regions today called China and India were noted for their prowess and prosperity in the remote past, but due to a number of factors including colonialism they went into a precipitous decline, becoming marginal to the international world order. However, early in the 21st century, China and India are nation-states that are once again being seen as two emerging powers of the global economy. The rise of India and China has fundamentally altered the modern world, whether that be politically, economically, culturally, or sociologically. Both nations, with their gigantic populations and extensive resources, now command yet again a level of worldwide influence not seen since the mid-18th century. Although they share many similarities, there are also many differences in these two Asian countries’ development paths. This course aims to compare and contrast the two nations along six different axes. Each is discussed from both Chinese and Indian perspectives to deepen students’ understanding of various issues in the two societies. By comparing the similarities and the differences in the transformations of China and India, students will be able to not only better understand these two emerging superpowers and their transformations, but also their roles in the regional and global arena in future.
CRS512 Evolution of Early Childhood Education in China and the World
Early childhood education (ECE) is one of the inductors in the education domain to reflect urbanization. This course is designed to introduce and review the development of ECE in regions including Mainland China and the Western world. Over the past few decades, following the policy of marketizing and privatizing non-compulsory preschool education and the announcement of the “Outline of China’s National Plan for Medium and Long-term Education Reform and Development (2010-2020)” (State Council of China, 2010), a dramatic change has been seen in ECE in Mainland China. Students will be able to learn more about the development of China and the world from the perspective of education and how the influences of social, political and economic development drive mainland China’s ECE evolution: the early development of ECE before the 1950s; the one-child policy of the 1980s; the decline of public kindergartens in the 1990s; and post-2010 developments. And by comparing studies from Mainland China and the Western world, the course will also discuss the quality standards, assurance policy development, kindergarten participation and disparities in the quality of provision so as to let students have a more comprehensive understanding towards the ECE ecosystem establishment and related discussions. Current trends and challenges will also be explored.
CRS513 Private Enterprises in the Greater Bay Area
With the fast development of the Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA), the business context in this area has been undergoing great changes. As an important pillar of the economy, the private enterprises make substantial contributions to the society and economy. In the new era, they are confronted with both opportunities and challenges.
This course will first make an introduction to the development of the GBA and the change of the business environment for the private enterprises. Then it will focus on the business context, organizational culture, HRM strategies, Financing strategies, R&D strategies and globalization strategies of the private enterprises. The instructional modes include lecture, and tutorials (case study, discussion, group presentation and field trip).
The students will gain an overview of the GBA, some fundamental management knowledge, and the management strategies of private enterprises in the Greater Bay Area. They are also expected to analyze real management problems with what they learn from this course.
CRS514 Understanding the Greater Bay Area in South China: Historical, Cultural, Policy and System Perspectives
As a top-down regionalized concept, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA, for short), initiated by the China State Council in 2015, has quickly moved from theoretical assumptions to the stage of planning and implementation. The course aims to deepen students' overall understanding and critical reflection of the GBA in the context of its history, culture, policy and system. The historical reflection traces the conceptual development of the GBA back from the Spring and Autumn Period through to the late 2000s to 2010s. The cultural discussion starts from the basic concepts and theoretical framework for regional culture study to the examination of cultural elements featuring the GBA as an integral region, such as Lingnan (岭南) culture, Guangfu (广府) culture, typical customs and cultural brands, importing culture, revolutionary culture, then to the analysis of regional cultural communication and innovation, based on which the issues of cultural identity and agency are discussed. The policy and system exploration covers the critical comparison of the GBA with other world's leading bay areas, the coordination and cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, and the benefits of "One Country, Two System"(一国两制) state framework to the GBA development, and the basic principles of "Outline Development Plan for Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area" (粤港澳大湾区发展规划纲要) (which was released by the State Council in 2019 to guide the GBA's development ahead to the year 2035).
CRS515 Regional Policy Studies and Visit in the Greater Bay Area
In collaboration with major higher education institutions in the Greater Bay Area, special lectures and class discussions, professional visits, and cultural tours will be organised for students. In selected cities of the Greater Bay Area, students will be engaged in field observations and field visits to develop a more critical understanding of urban development issues through their active participation and personal experience and critical reflection. More specifically, this course is an intensive and experiential unit which provides a platform for students to study the social, cultural and economic issues of the Greater Bay Area beyond the classroom. Through critical examination of the practice of different organizations and individuals (such as The Secretary Office of Canton Fair, Cantonese Opera Art Museum, The Management Committee of Foshan National Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone, manufacturing enterprises, governmental departments, new media practitioners, urban dwellers, migrant workers), the student learning experience will be enhanced through theory-field experience integration and reflection.
CRS516 Theories and Approaches of International Relations: From Global to China
The course introduces students to the core issues and major historical developments in the advanced study of international relations, including the key theoretical and methodological approaches to understanding global politics, and particularly their applications in China. Through an understanding of different and competing analytical and normative frameworks, including realist, liberal, Marxist, and constructivist perspectives, the student will learn about how the various actors, forces and ideas have influenced, shaped and transformed past and contemporary international relations and global events. The course will also examine some of the more significant features of the international system – such as how change occurs, the relations between politics and economics, and the interconnections between individuals and governments. Scholarly writings and illustrations from case studies and issues are designed to assist the student to better appreciate the dynamic relations between conceptual debates and policy-making in the international arena.
CRS517 Theories and Approaches of Comparative Politics: From Global to China
This course attempts a general survey in the field of comparative politics. Some important concepts and methods of the discipline are introduced. Specific topics include methods and approaches of comparative politics; government, regime and state; unitary, federal and confederal systems; typologies of state-society relations, specifically on bureaucratic-authoritarianism, totalitarianism, corporatism, civil society and populism; political culture and nationalism; interest group and political party; election and political participation; parliamentary, presidential and semi-presidential systems; comparative democracies between majoritarian and consociational model; and lastly on the topic of democratization and regime change. Apart from the general concepts and methods, the theoretical and empirical applications and challenges particularly relevant to studying China will be studied in the course.