HKU Moodle

This course aims to explore how China is represented in dominant global media discourses. By comparing these representations with China's state propagandistic model, the course examines the news frames commonly used by international media to construct the China narrative. It delves into the various forces and factors that influence media narratives on China, particularly the impact that political, ideological and cultural disparities between the West and China have on these narratives.

Through five main thematic lenses – politics, economy, diplomacy, security and defence, and society and culture – the course utilises recent journalistic materials to illustrate how the China story is framed and presented to international audiences. It analyses possible explanations for the differences and similarities in how China is portrayed in mainstream international media spheres.

Adopting a social/cultural constructivist approach, the course views news as a frame shaped by internal and external forces. The features of the news frame both produce and constrain meaning. The course highlights the significant role of news media in setting political agendas for news consumers. Weekly discussions focus on topics that receive extensive coverage in international news media about China, as these are the issues deemed most pressing by audiences and policymakers. The course underscores how journalistic professionalism and editorial decisions are influenced by institutional needs, emphasising that news production is a collaborative process.

Drawing on insights from Media Studies, Cultural Studies, Critical Theory, Political Science and International Relations, this interdisciplinary course benefits from the instructor's experience as a professional journalist, diplomat, researcher and analyst.

This course will have an interdisciplinary focus: we will discuss key themes in Chinese political thinking, drawing on philosophy, history, law, and contemporary politics. We will take great thinkers from the past and put them in dialogue with each other and use their ideas to think about contemporary social and political challenges. The purpose of the course is to make students aware of the diverse and fascinating debates in political theory in Chinese history, to compare them with debates elsewhere, and to think about to what extent they still matter today.

We will discuss the following themes and thinkers: (1) The Morality of Warfare (Mencius and Shang Yang); (2) Freedom and Harmony (Confucius and Zhuangzi); (3) Ritual Propriety and Law (Xunzi and Han Feizi); (4) Musical Arts and Social Welfare (Yueji and Mozi).

Arts Science and Artifacts in Chinese Cultural Heritage