Faculty of Social Sciences

Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in History (3-year)

The curriculum, which is made up of four major components, namely Sino/Asian-Western relations, Chinese history, Western history and Asian/Hong Kong history, endeavors to give students great exposure to interactions between different cultural systems and traditions. Sino/Asian-Western relations stand out as particularly important in this context, owing to the growing weight of Asia in the economic, cultural and political balance of the world. Special attention is also paid to historical theories, methods and philosophies, all of which are important conceptual foundations of historical research.

It is hoped that our students, after completing this programme successfully, will be able:

1.	To investigate the development of human society from a historical perspective;
2.	To demonstrate power of critical thinking and analytical ability in understanding historical events;
3.	To show in-depth knowledge of the heritage of China and other great civilizations;
4.	To pursue graduate studies in history or a related discipline; and
5.	To enter various fields outside history, such as the civil service, business, publishing, and teaching.

The structure of the curriculum is as follows:

	Major Courses	60 units
	Complementary Studies Courses	36 units
		──────
		96 units

1. Major Courses (60 units)
The programme of BA (Hons) in History provides a curriculum of 60 units progressing from introductory to advanced courses over a three-year period. The curriculum culminates in the Honours Project which will enable the student to complete a significant, independent work.

2. Complementary Studies Courses (36 units)
Complementary Studies courses enable students to acquire an understanding of a lively feeling for values, so that they are better able to cope with the challenges of the complex socio-economic, cultural, religious and political aspects of life in the modern world.

Requirements

Major Required Courses				36 units
a)	Introduction (9 units)
	HIST	1150	The Historical Tradition of the West	3 units
	HIST	2120	Historical Theory & Practice	3 units
	HIST	2170	Introduction to Chinese Historiography	3 units
b)	Sino/Asian-Western Relations (6 units)
	HIST	2110	China & the West since 1500	3 units
	HIST	3110	Western Diplomacy in Modern Asia	3 units
c)	Chinese History (6 units)
	HIST	1121-2	History of Chinese Culture & Society	6 units
d)	Western History (6 units)
	HIST	1131-2	History of Western Civilization	6 units
e)	Local and Asian History (6 units)
	HIST	2150	Modern Asia (1800-1945)	3 units
	HIST	2160	Twentieth Century Hong Kong History	3 units
f)	Honours Project (3 units):
	HIST	3590	Honours Project	3 units

Major Elective Courses				24 units

These comprise a constrained choice of courses, based on the above structure. The electives which are available are set out below, grouped according to the relevant general topic heading.

The normal distribution of Major Electives units which is expected of students is as follows:

The student will choose 12 to 15 units in one group. He or she must then select at least 6 units from one secondary area. Then the remaining 3 to 6 units may be selected from the secondary group or from the remaining two groups.

In exceptional cases, a student may apply to the Head of the Department of History for permission to choose 18 units from one group in order to provide more specialist strength in a single area. The criteria for such an exception normally would relate to a student's future career plans or further study. The remaining 6 units may then be in a second area or split between two areas.

The normal expected distribution of Major Electives is designed to provide a balanced programme of studies in Sino/Asian-Western relations. The exceptional distribution recognizes that graduate study or future career plans may indicate a need for slightly more specialization, while at the same time maintaining an East-West perspective.

a)	Sino/Asian-Western Relations
	HIST	2220	Foreign Relations of Modern China	3 units
	HIST	2680	History of the Catholic Church in China	3 units
	HIST	3620	Missionaries in Modern China	3 units
	HIST	3720	Topic Studies in Sino/Asian- Western Relations	3 units
	HIST	3760	International Relations to 1945	3 units
	HIST	3770	International Relations after 1945	3 units
	HIST	3780	Sino-Russian Relations	3 units
	HIST	3790	Sino-American Relations	3 units
	HIST	3840	Modern Japan & the West	3 units
b)	Chinese History:
	HIST	1220	The Socialist & Communist Traditions	3 units
	HIST	1620	Perspectives on Chinese History	3 units
	HIST	2210	Introduction to Modern Chinese History	3 units
	HIST	2660	History of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)	3 units
	HIST	2670	History of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1840)	3 units
	HIST	3210	Contemporary Chinese Political Thought	3 units
	HIST	3220	History of Taiwan	3 units
	HIST	3610	History of Chinese Women to 1911	3 units
	HIST	3630	Chinese Women & Politics in Twentieth Century China	3 units
	HIST	3640	Social & Economic Development of Modern China	3 units
	HIST	3650	Intellectual Trends in Modern China	3 units
	HIST	3660	Revolution & Nationalism in Republican China (1912-1949)	3 units
	HIST	3730	Topic Studies in Chinese History	3 units
	HIST	3810	History of Modern China	3 units
	HIST	3820	Contemporary China	3 units
	HIST	3910	Topic Studies in Social History	3 units
c)	Western History:
	HIST	2650	Great Trends in Modern European History	3 units
	HIST	2740	History of the United States to 1877	3 units
	HIST	2750	History of the United States since 1877	3 units
	HIST	3670	Western Intellectual Thought	3 units
	HIST	3690	Twentieth Century United States Diplomacy	3 units
	HIST	3710	Topic Studies in Western History	3 units
	HIST	3860	Origins of Western Imperialism	3 units
	HIST	3890	Nineteenth Century European History	3 units
	HIST	3900	Twentieth Century European History	3 units
d)	Local and Asian History:
	HIST	2690	History of Hong Kong to 1900	3 units
	HIST	2710	History of Southeast Asia	3 units
	HIST	2760	Topic Studies in Cultural History	3 units
	HIST	3680	China & Asia in the Twentieth Century	3 units
	HIST	3740	Topic Studies in Asian History	3 units
	HIST	3750	Current Issues in Hong Kong & China	3 units
	HIST	3830	Oral History & Its Local Applications	3 units
	HIST	3870	Overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia	3 units
	HIST	3880	Japan in the Twentieth Century	3 units

Complementary Studies Courses				36 units
	Core Requirements
	I.T.	1180	Information Management Technology	3 units
	LANG	1480	University Chinese	3 units
	LANG	1491-2	English I & II	6 units
	U.L.	1121-2	University Life	0 unit
	Physical Education Courses			0 unit
	Values and the Meaning of Life Course			3 units
	Distribution Requirements
	Any two courses outside Social Sciences, of which one must be Science course			6 units
	Any two non-major/option courses			6 units
	Free elective courses			9 units
				──────
				96 units