Courses

This course looks at various themes, problems, and issues in Hong Kong’s history since the 1800s. Rather than focusing on historical events, we will look at the ways in which certain themes have been studied. Thus we will be less concerned with dates and facts than with analysis and interpretation. Topics include: general approaches to Hong Kong history, the Opium War and the British occupation of Hong Kong, colonial education, regulation of prostitution and the mui tsai system, colonial medicine, colonialism and nationalism, WWII and the Japanese occupation, industrialization and economic development, history and identity, legacies and artifices of colonial rule, and history and memory. The goals of the course are to introduce students to the ways in which scholars have approached Hong Kong history, assess how theories based on other historical experiences can be used to understand Hong Kong history, and help students learn to argue effectively in written and oral presentations.