Description
Cross-Cultural Studies in English (CSIE) is a specialised programme
in the School of English. It is designed to provide opportunities
for students to study cross-cultural examples in literary and
cultural history. Topics pursued include the relationship between
culture and politics; the study of literature and culture beyond
national, regional, and disciplinary boundaries; the politics
of knowledge production, circulation, and institutionalization.
CSIE equips students with new ways of thinking about literature
and culture and encourages them to engage with the challenges
created by the emergence and proliferation of new literatures
and literary subjects. The programme allows students to investigate
traditional modes of literary studies as a discipline organized
by and around concepts of the "nation" or the "national."
It encourages them to critically reflect upon the relation between
literature and such issues as colonization, decolonization,
and globalization, and invites them to analyse the literary
products and cultural politics that arise from these issues.
It offers students opportunities to explore literature and culture
not only in terms of the effects of globality but also in terms
of their potential for innovation, both within the national
and as part of the global. Students will acquire the theoretical
and historical knowledge and the analytical skills necessary
to undertake critical and culturally sensitive readings and
construct clear and coherent argument in both writing and speaking.
One
particular strand within the CSIE programme is the China-West
axis, which aims to provide students with an understanding of
specifically, but not exclusively, Hong Kong's cross-cultural
history and its literary products. CSIE is thus unique in giving
students a critical awareness of how to approach and navigate
today's multicultural world.
Programme
Outcomes
Students
who declare a major or minor in Cross-Cultural Studies
in English will:
Demonstrate an understanding of the culture and
literature in English as a site of encounters, fusions,
conflicts, and transformations between people and
ideas of different cultures;
Respond critically, theoretically, and intellectually
to cross-cultural literary manifestations;
Develop
a cultural awareness and sensitivity that bring
about an informed and intelligent understanding
of today's globalised world;
Demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of
the implications of the interconnectedness between
different cultures and eras;
Understand Hong Kong as an important site of cross-cultural
contacts.
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Admission
to the first year is on the basis of academic record including
at least a minimum C grade in the Use of English AS-level exam
or its equivalent.
Important notice: Non-JUPAS students intending to enroll in any of the first-year courses offered by the School of English (ENGL1009, ENGL1010 or LCOM1001) are required to submit a copy of their past examination results (such as AS-level, IELTS, TOEFL, GCSE, IB Diploma, National Higher Education Entrance Examination, etc.) to the School Office (Room 114, Main Building or fax to 2559 7139) as soon as possible (after the course selection was made online) but in any event not later than Friday, August 19, 2011 for the Head's consideration.
Students
intending to major or minor in Cross-Cultural Studies in English
must pass the first-year prerequisite course ENGL1009 with a
satisfactory result of at least a C grade.
Syllabus
for students admitted in 2011-12
Students
intending to major or minor in Cross-Cultural Studies in English
must pass the first-year prerequisite course ENGL1009 Introduction to English Studies (6 credits) with a
satisfactory result of at least a C grade.
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Second
and Third Year Courses
The
major and minor in CSIE introduce students to relevant issues
and methodologies, which are then built upon in in-depth discussions
of specific cross-cultural examples. An optional capstone experience for
advanced students is provided by elective final-year research,
lecture and seminar courses.
The
major in Cross-Cultural Studies in English consists of 54 credits
taken in the second and third years of the programme. This comprises
at least 18 credits of core courses (of which CSIE2001 is compulsory);
and up to 36 credits of electives in the manner specified below.
The
minor in Cross-Cultural Studies in English consists of 30 credits
taken in the second and third years of the programme. This comprises
at least 12 credits of core courses (of which CSIE2001 is compulsory);
and up to 18 credits of electives in the manner specified below.
Core Courses
Students majoring in Cross-Cultural Studies in English must
complete at least 18 credits of core courses from the list below
(of which CSIE2001 is compulsory):
CSIE2001. Cross-cultural issues and theories (compulsory)
CSIE2002. Topics in cross-cultural studies: Disciplinarity, methodology, and politics (6 credits)
CSIE2003. World literature (6 credits)
CSIE2004. The cosmopolitan imagination(6 credits)
CSIE2005. Cross-cultural discourses (6 credits)
CSIE3001. Cross-cultural issues and theories II(6 credits)
The
remaining credits (up to 36) are to be taken in electives from
the following list:
CSIE3002. Research seminar in cross-cultural studies in English (6 credits)
ENGL2022. Women, feminism and writing I (6 credits)
ENGL2045. Travel writing (6 credits)
ENGL2074. Postcolonial readings (6 credits)
ENGL2075 The idea of China (6 credits)
ENGL2093. Literary islands: English poetry and prose from the South Pacific and the Caribbean (6 credits)
ENGL2095. The East: Asia in English writing (6 credits)
ENGL2097. Imagining Hong Kong (6 credits)
ENGL2109. Writing diaspora (6 credits)
ENGL2110. Writing back (6 credits)
ENGL2113. Conrad and others (6 credits)
ENGL2121. Comedy, renewal, and cross-cultural drama (6 credits)
ENGL2122. Victorians at home and abroad (6 credits)
ENGL2128. Modernism (6 credits)
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Special Honours Programme
Students who have achieved outstanding academic performance in the first-year course with tutors' recommendation will be invited to become Special Honours candidates, for which they will be given priority for admission to senior CSIE and ENGL courses as listed in the curriculum. Special Honours students majoring in Cross-Cultural Studies in English must complete an additional 12 credits in the second and third years beyond the normal requirement, which may include a research focused course, and achieve an average B+ or above in the courses that make up the 66-credit load. Upon completing their programme and meeting the Special Honours requirements, these students will be given special recognition by the School.
Dr.
Julia Kuehn
School of English
The University of Hong Kong
Pokfulam Road
Hong Kong
Tel.: (852) 2859 1921
Fax: (852) 2559 7139
E-mail: jkuehn@hku.hk
