rer re hi site: MGTO 221
DIVISION OF SOCIAL SCIENCE
SOSC 10011 01 Special Topics [3-W:3]
Focuses on a coherent collection of topics selected from social science. May be repeated for credit, if the topics studied are different.
SOSC 11 2 Introduction to Economics [3-0-0:3]
Provides an overview of both macroeconomics and microeconomics. A number of applications will be presented to demonstrate how tools of economics can be used for making private decisions and evaluating government policy. Exclusions: ECON 11 0, ECON 11 1, ECON 11 2, ECON 191
SOSC 115 The Chinese Economy [3-W:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 100X] Focuses on three broad issues: What are the distinctive features of the Chinese economy? How does the economic system work? How have China's external economic relations evolved?
SOSC 122 Cultural Geography [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 100D] Introduces and uses the major organising concepts of human geography to look at human geographic behaviour in terms of our culture and the spatial organisation of the earth's surface.
SOSC 123 Economic Geography [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 100E] Provides an introductory overview of modern economic geography. It will deal with problems and debates concerning economic location and behaviour in geographical space.
SOSC 136 Gender and Culture [3-0-0:3]
Examination of the cultural construction of gender; political-economy and gender equal- ity; case study on the changing status of women in China.
SOSC 150 Introduction t o Social Science [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 1051 Two parts: a review on the aims, fields andmethods of the social science6: and a more detailed examination of culture. socialisation and social institutions.
SOSC 151 Introduction to Politics [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 1071 Reviews basic concepts and approaches, focusing on four major areas: the nature of politics, contending approaches in political science, political theory, and political behaviour and institutions.
SOSC 152 Comparative Politics [3-1-0:3]
[Pervious Course Code: SOSC 1081 Compares the political systems of industrialised, socialist and developing countries. Key issues include ideology, political culture, political leadership, political institutions, political processes and policy making.
SOSC 153 International Relations [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 100U] Examines (1) relations among nation-states and between nation-states and international organisations, (2) major issues in international relations, such as human rights, post-cold war national security issues and international economics.
SOSC 154 Democracy, Liberty, and Justice [3-0-0:3]
Discusses the philosophical foundations of democratic government, alternative concep- tions of individual liberty and theories of distributive justice.
SOSC 155 The Government and Politics of Hong Kong [3-1-0:3]
Analysis of various political institutions in Hong Kong: the Governor, Executive Council, Legislative Council, municipal councils, district boards, pressure groups, political parties and civil service.
SOSC 156 Politics, Law and Society r3-0-0:31
Deals with the ways in which social groups and law influence politics; provides
a
detailedexamination of the American exam~le of a law-based liberal democratic societv. but with reference to other systems, such as those of Britain and China.
SOSC 157 International Environmental Politics [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 100V] Inquiry into the political, economic, and scientific forces that shape international environmental problems and their solution; focus on a number of specific issues, including deforestation, climate change and the waste trade.
SOSC 158 Political Development [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC2531 Concerned with the political, economic and social factors that cause less developed countries to accelerate or impede their pace of development. Focuses on the developing world; using empirical cases to bear upon principal theories of development.
SOSC 159 International Law [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 3501 The system of law governing relations between countries and the rights of individuals. Includes the law of human rights, diplomacy, the environment, sea, air and space, and war and peace.
SOSC 170 Intr61duction to Sociology [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 100F] Provides extensive and critical understanding of societies. Several important fields in sociology will be selected and discussed along with problems often found in our society.
SOSC 172 Hong Kong Society [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 100N] Sociologically informed understanding of Hong Kong society. Topics include: inequality, politics, religion, gender, the family and popular culture.
Lrndernraduate Course DescriDtions Under~raduate Course Describtions
SOSC 173 Social Interaction [3-0-0.3]
Introduction to social psychological perspectives in sociology; topics such as obedience, deviance, friendship, gender relations and culture.
SOSC 174 Society and Health [3-0-0:3]
Examines sociological theories applied to health and sickness. Topics include: social and demographic factors of health and illness, career paths to seek help; cultural and belief systems; the distribution of stress and differential coping styles; and organisational characteristics of health delivery systems.
SOSC 175 States and Societies in East Asia [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 1002] Provides an overview of the historical past, the processes of socioeconomic development, and political change and democratisation in East Asian societies.
SOSC 190 Cultural Psychology [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC low] Relationship between culture and self: cultural influences on human development, role of education and the family, cultural identity and moral values, intercultural relations.
SOSC 191 Gender, Culture, and Society [3-M):3]
Social psychological perspectives on gender identity, roles, and relations; the cultural construction of gender.
SOSC 21 1 International Economic Relations [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 11
11
Systematic analysis of the theory of trade and financial relationships between nations, and major related policy issues. Exclusion:ECON 335 Prerequisite: one of ECON 110, ECON 11 1, ECON 11 2, ECON 191, and SOSC 112
SOSC 212 World Economic Development [ M 3 ]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 100G] Overview of the evolution of development thinking and alternative strategies for development particular attention to international aspects of development. Exclusion: ECON 343 Prerequisite: one of ECON 1 10, ECON 1 1 1, ECON 11 2, ECON 191, and SOSC 11 2
SOSC 222 The Human Geography of Pacific Asia [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC ?%OR] Looks at the changes in the national-formations of East and Southeast Asia with the aim of enhancing understanding of the evolution of Pacific Asia regional economy.
SOSC 223 The Geography of Japan [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 100B] Explores the creation of contemporary Japanese cultural geography from the perspective of diiusion and adaptation of new concepts and technologies.
SOSC 224 Nine Nations of North America [3-(M:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 100C] Explores the 'real' functioning geography of a North America split into nine nations, each with its own distinctive economy, culture and political interest.
SOSC 236 Gifts, Money and Power: Theories of Exchange [3-0-0:3]
Explores various forms of wealth and systems of exchange found beyond commodity based economies. Also looks at the relation between wealth and power and the impact of money on alternative systems of exchange.
SOSC 250 Political Economy of China [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 100W] Explores the evolution'of China's state-socialist system from 1949 to the present and provides an analytical basis for the understanding of the on-going economic and social changes in China.
SOSC 251 Politics and Government of South Korea [3-0-0:3]
Aims at an understanding of an evolutionary process of democratic transition, strategies and outcomes of state-led economic modernisation, and foreign policy responses to the external environment in South Korea.
SOSC 254 Chinese Revolution: Historical and Theoretic Perspectives [3-0-0:3]
Describes and analyses how the political actors in China perceived the revolutionary situations, and what programmes, strategies and tactics they adpoted to pursue their goals; appraises the conceptual frameworks and theories of revolution.
SOSC 255 Chinese Foreign Policy [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 1 OOK] Covers several core dimensions of China's foreign policy behaviour. Utilises both chronological and thematic approaches, in addition to discussions on China's bilateral relations with several key countries.
SOSC 256 US Foreign Policy: Past and Present [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 10181 Review of US foreign policy from colonization to the present, with emphasis on US-Asia relations. The conflicting dynamics of isolation and expansion, as well as the institutional, economic and political sources of American policies abroad.
SOSC 270 Social Inequality and Social Mobility [3-0-0:3]
Examines the basic concepts and theories sociologists use to describe and explain social inequality and the process of status mobility.
SOSC 271 The Social Context of Science, Technology and [3-0-0:3]
Business Enterprise
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 100 I] The relationship between science, technology, business and society. Topics include: technology in different cultures, scientific revolu- tions and the cultural dimensions of international business.
SOSC 272 Population and Society [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 10OA] Introduces the main concepts in the field of population studies, contemporary issues concerning the interrelationships between population and social and economic development, and examples of applications of a knowledge of population to wider social concerns.
SOSC 273 The Rise of East Asian Industrial Civilisation [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 1 OOM] Designed to help students understand the principal social, cultural, and political factors that contributed to the rise of industrial East Asia.
SOSC 274 Education, Social Mobility and Inequality [3-0-0:3]
Focuses on (1) processes of educational and status attainment, and (2) forms of socioeconomic inequality.
SOSC 275 Family Systems in Transition in China and Hong Kong [3-0-0:3]
Origin and trends of world nuclearisation of the family; cultural and symbolic as well as economic impact on kin-relatives; transformation of dyadic relations within the nuclear unit. Major studies with a focus on Chinese family systems will be reviewed.
Underpraduate Course DescriDtions Undergraduate Course Descriptions
SOSC 290 Political Psychology [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 100LI Psychological perspectives on political behaviour:
leadership, political participation, political socialisation, and political conflictlchange.
SOSC 291 The Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations [3-0-0:3]
Social psychological theories of intergroup relations, conflict resolution, and their applica- tion to real-world social conflict.
SOSC 31 1 Markets and States [3-0-0:3]
Interaction between economics and politics in the formulation and implementation of national economic policies. Attempts to integrate, rather than separate, the concerns of economics and politcal science.
SOSC 322 Pan-Pacific Symbiosis [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 100SI Explores the 150 years of the Japanese-American relationship considering coercion, conflict and coop2ration; competitive advantage;
mutual development; culture and politics.
SOSC 336 Power, Politics and Culture [3-0431
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 10001 Examination of the social and cultural constitution of power
-
looks at ideologies, politcal and the overtly political forms of power and control in diverse socio-cultures.SOSC 351 Rational Choice: Thew and Application in Social Science [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 100Yj' Introduces the basic concepts and tools of rational choice theory that apply to collective action, social choice and game theory.
SOSC 352 Public Administration and Policy Analysis [3-1-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 101AI An introduction to the principles of public administration. Topics include concepts of bureaucracy, bureaucraticculture, administra- tive accountability and policy-making paradigms.
SOSC 353 Central-Local Government Relations in Contempwary China [3-M):3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC2521 Offers a territorial perspective on Chinese politics by iocusing upon the dynamics of central-provincial interaction. From the perspectives of both ~ o n g Kong and(;uangdong, territorial politics constitutes an indispensable approach to comprehending contemporary Chinese politics and post-Mao reforms.
SOSC 370 Sociological Theory [3-0-0:3]
[Previous course code: SOSC 100HI Discussion of how sociological theory can help an understand of social life in new and challenging ways, looks at fpw influential theoretical perspectives: utilitarianism, functionalism, Marxism and symbolic interactionism.
SOSC 371 Organisational Behaviour [3-0-0:3]
[Previous course code: SOSC 100QI Provides an overview of major economic, political, psychological and sociological perspectives on organisational behaviour, and examines linkages between theory and real l i e organisational issues. Exclusion: MGTO 221
SOSC 373 The Rise and Fall of Communism: A Comparative Study [3-0-0:3]
Communism from three perspectives: a philosophical doctrine, a political movement, and a social system. Major phases in the evolution of Communist systems. Theories on Communism, and their validity will be examined in the light of changes in the former Communist world.
SOSC 374 Social Change and Development [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Codes: SOSC 100P, SOSC 1711 Discussion of the origins, processes, and consequences of social and political development in the modern world.
SOSC 372 Demographic Analysis [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: SOSC 100T] Introduction to formal analysis of population structure, population dynamics, applied to such issues as marketing site selection in the private sector and planning and management problems in the public sector.
Post~raduate Course Descriptions
Course descriptions are arranged in alphabetical order based on course codes.
Explanations of prerequisites, exclusions and background can be found on page 35.
References are provided to give students an indication of the level of the course.
They are not to be taken as course textbooks.