Office of the Core Curriculum

Core Curriculum

Common Core Courses

CCC8011

Critical Thinking: Analysis and Argumentation

慎思明辨：分析與論證 

Offering Unit: Department of Philosophy

The primary aim of this course is to teach first-year students the basic but crucial skills of analysing problems, evaluating inferences, and presenting arguments for or against claims or decisions. Students will acquire these skills by learning about the basic concepts and methods of critical thinking, and by working through problem solving exercises requiring them to employ these concepts and methods. Students will further develop these skills by producing extended arguments defending what they take to be the correct responses to accessible but challenging real issues and problems. The course also aspires to instill in students an open and inquiring attitude, so that students are more willing to look for reasons for and against their views, and more willing to change their views in the face of evidence. Hence, it is hoped that students will develop a habit of reasoning carefully upon completion of this course.

 

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of the course, students will be able to:

  1. Successfully employ a number of central concepts of critical thinking and argumentation;
  2. Recognize and clearly present arguments in ordinary language, and to analyze the structure of these arguments;
  3. Establish the deductive validity or invalidity of an argument, to recognize and criticize the flaws of a weak argument, and to develop objections;
  4. Evaluate the reasons for and against positions in sophisticated debates, and to construct clear and persuasive arguments that defend the student’s view about such debates;
  5. Construct arguments cogently in speech and in ordinary English, including in the form of an argumentative essay.

CCC8012

The Making of Hong Kong

構建香港 

Offering Unit: Bachelor of Social Sciences Programme

This inter-disciplinary course introduces students to essential facts and knowledge on the nature of society, politics and economy in contemporary Hong Kong. Students will be able to develop local as well as global perspectives on Hong Kong society, and will consider implications for future policy and practice from multiple perspectives.

 

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of the course, students will be able to:

  1. Describe features of Hong Kong society which make it unique.
  2. Explain essential social, political and economic issues relating to Hong Kong.
  3. Evaluate these issues from local as well as global perspectives.
  4. Develop and organize analysis, ideas and arguments in essay form.
  5. Generate new insights collaboratively and present those insights in front of peers.

CCC8013

The Process of Science

科學的過程 

Offering Unit: Division of Science

This course introduces students the process of science, quantitative reasoning, and the role that science plays in the contemporary world. It comprises weekly 1.5-hour lectures and 1.5-hour laboratories. The course is framed within the context of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a globally relevant framework that resonates with students across all disciplines. The lectures, delivered in big lecture hall, examine the nature of scientific inquiry, the core principles of quantitative reasoning, and the societal dimensions of science. The labs, conducted in small-class settings (approx. 35 students), provides students the opportunities to conduct their own independent individual research projects, where students apply quantitative techniques, and critically reflect on sustainability issues, including climate change, waste management, fast fashion, and urban pollution, and thereby connecting theoretical knowledge to tangible real world challenges.

 

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of the course, students will be able to:

  1. Discuss the foundations of knowledge and inquiry about science, and how science has influenced society.
  2. Apply critical thinking skill and quantitative reasoning across a range of scientific contexts.
  3. Demonstrate the ability to integrate and apply learning about the process of science and quantitative reasoning to new settings and complex problems.
  4. Develop personal and social responsibility, including glocal civic knowledge and engagement, and ethical reasoning foundations, to address real-world challenges.
  5. Demonstrate the motivation and ability for life-long learning about science-related issues.
     

CCC8014 

China in World History 

世界史中的中國 

Offering Unit: Department of History

This course provides students a variety of historical frameworks to analyze the development of China’s global role and relationships. The course will follow a basic chronological framework from antiquity to the present day, divided into three distinct units. In the first unit, we will study the development from the first humans to the emergence of the East Asian world order. In the second unit, we will examine the emergence of the global order from the Mongolian empire to the re-centering of the world’s economy from Asia to the Atlantic world. In the third unit, we will look at China’s changing role on the international stage in the 19th and 20th centuries. In each unit, the instruction will emphasize particular patterns of interaction between China and the other countries and peoples. Over the whole course, we will study how those patterns evolved, and the changing, different roles that China has played on the world’s stage.

 

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of the course, students will be able to:

  1. Explain the stages, levels, and patterns of China’s past interactions with other peoples;
  2. Analyze China’s past relationships with other peoples to find the causes, contexts, and changes, leading to contemporary issues;
  3. Critically evaluate both the potential and the challenges of interaction between different peoples;
  4. Synthesize a variety of sources to examine China’s past and present interactions;
  5. Write and speak persuasively, in English, about China's global relationships.

CCC8015

Generative Artificial Intelligence

生成式人工智能 

Offering Unit: Division of Artificial Intelligence

This course introduces generative artificial intelligence (AI), including fundamental concepts, basic techniques for generating text, images and audio, methods for evaluating and enhancing models, and ethical considerations. Through lectures and hands-on labs, students with no prior AI knowledge will gain practical skills in implementing, critiquing, and refining generative models.
 

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of the course, students will be able to:

  1. Define and discuss key concepts and terminology related to generative AI including latent spaces, generative adversarial networks, diffusion models, and prompting.
  2. Generate novel text, image, and audio content using sampling, fine-tuning, and prompting with neural networks. 
  3. Develop the ability to evaluate the quality of generated content, identify potential biases, and suggest basic improvements to models and data.
  4. Demonstrate the ability to apply pre-trained generative models and manipulate their parameters and inputs to meet specific project guidelines and requirements.
  5. Discuss and critically reflect on the ethical concerns, limitations, and potential misuses of generative AI including data bias, misinformation, intellectual property, and effects on creative industries.