HKU Moodle

How the production, circulation and consumption of the entertainment content have been changed in the digital economy will be examined in this course and it highlights the changing role of audiences in the entertainment industries. The course will start with some of the core concepts and critical perspectives needed to understand the entertainment market in digital economy. By critically analyzing various case studies of the entertainment industries in Asia, it will then explore how digital technology have transformed but also established the entertainment markets. In the last part of the course, it will identify the various representations of digital audiences in the entertainment industries and investigate how the role of digital audiences has changed from the passive actors to the active participants involved in the digital entertainment industries. The assessment task enables students to develop a broad grasp of the general contextual circumstances of digital economy within which entertainment industries and markets organize and operate, and so is relevant to the role of digital audiences.

This course investigates the gender issues in the Creative and Cultural industries (CCI). The creative and cultural industries cover the business-related industries such as films, TV, video and music industries, but also cover the cultural sectors such as museums, galleries and libraries. However, given that a large number of female workers and activists are working in the creative industries, the problem of unequal opportunities for men and women still exists. Women are still often perceived to be less creative than men. The unequal and unnoticed life of the women are often obscured by the high-profiled and highly-paid male workers who would normally assume the leadership roles in the creative industries. Further, the gender-related barriers that exist in other industry sectors are also prevalent within the creative and cultural sectors. The key issues in the creative industries are exemplified by the opportunity gap, wage gap and perception gap. By analysing the development of selected sectors of the creative industries, this course would explore the discriminatory issues relating to gender and the ways and means to narrow the inequality between men and women.

Digitalization has become a central part of consumer life and the business world. Our economy, society and culture are being significantly shaped by the development of digitalization and the Internet. Nowadays, new media and social media have become two very important pillars of marketing and management practices for both consumer and business, from hiring to reputation management to customer service. Different forms of new media, including QR codes, Facebook page, Google+, Pinterest and Amazon, etc. are dramatically changing creative processes, technological development, value chains, buying behavior and customer service in our society. The course aims to provide students with an insight into how new media and social media affect the cultural production, the mode of social interaction, the pattern of consumption, the organization of business and the form of political engagement especially within the East Asian context.

With more than 200 million speakers across five continents, French is one of the most influential world languages. Marked by a long and rich history, the French language is also an essential element of national and cultural identity. Yet, far from being homogeneous, it shows great historical, regional and cultural variations, and is constantly evolving.

Taking a multidisciplinary approach to exploring the French language, this course will review important moments in its development and investigate some of its variants across different communities and regions. The course will also examine the role of the French language as a tool to exert power and influence in France and abroad and its significance in constructing national and cultural identities.

Additionally, participants will use selected French texts to discuss topics such as the current issues and debates surrounding the French language, the proximity and interconnections with other languages, and the major institutions in charge of its regulation and promotion. The medium of discussion will be French and all the material under investigation.

This course constitutes the capstone course of the major in French and is required for graduation. In this course, participants will receive tuition and guidance to complete a 3500-4000 word piece of writing in French based on their experience and reflection about France and/or the French language and culture. Discussions with tutors will focus on developing students’ organisation skills, and ability to use discourse markers and text grammar to present their composition in a sequenced and coherent way.

This course constitutes the capstone course of the major in French and is required for graduation. In this course, participants will receive tuition and guidance to complete a 3500-4000 word piece of writing in French based on their experience and reflection about France and/or the French language and culture. Discussions with tutors will focus on developing students’ organisation skills, and ability to use discourse markers and text grammar to present their composition in a sequenced and coherent way.

This course discusses the way French travelers, writers, and artists from the Renaissance to the 20th century have represented in their works countries such as India, China, Vietnam and Japan — commonly regrouped under the Euro-centered term of “Extreme-Orient.”  Students shall investigate a selection of key novels, narratives, essays, travel logs, memoirs, journalistic reports, films, as well as works of art that depict discoveries, encounters, and experiences with the view of identifying underlying trends and recurrent themes.  While the question of the construction of the Far East as Other and its subsequent orientalization by Western visitors will come into play in our readings, the extent to which these various accounts have inspired and influenced the aesthetics and literary production in France will also be examined.  The medium of discussion will be French, as well as all the material under investigation.