This course explores the history, culture, and identities of Hong Kong from the port’s pre-colonial settings in the early nineteenth century to its post-colonial contexts. Its goals are to help students develop the language and tools to understand the metamorphoses of this most unusual metropolis as well as to further their skills in historical analysis. This course encourages students to critically consider Hong Kong’s multifaceted identities as well as to take into account the local, national, and transnational (not to mention international) contexts of its extraordinary transformations.
Course Structure
This course will be conducted in person.
Students are expected to have reviewed and reflected on the assigned materials prior to each week’s session. Readings will include both primary and secondary sources.
The weekly session will comprise a lecture and a tutorial: we will review the key themes of the week, and we will discuss the assigned materials, both as a class and in break-out groups.
Learning Objectives
By the end of the term, students should be able to:
- offer historically-informed analyses on the changes, continuities, and challenges Hong Kong society has encountered since the mid-nineteenth century;
- work with confidence with a range of primary historical sources;
- elevate their abilities to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of historical claims;
- articulate how the transformations of Hong Kong should/could be understood in world-historical contexts.
Assessment of Learning
For more details on the individual components, see the Assessment section.
| Quizzes | 10% |
| Discussion Posts | 15% |
| Attendance/Participation | 10% |
| Newspaper Column | 20% |
| Midterm Checkup | 5% |
| Book Review | 20% |
| Final Project | 20% |
| Virtual Exhibition (optional) | 40% |
Important Dates
| Jan. 6 | First session |
| Jan. 17 | Last date to withdraw without the “W” standing |
| Feb. 17 | No class (Family Day) |
| Feb. 21 | Draft of newspaper column due |
| Feb. 24–28 | Midterm checkup |
| Mar. 7 | Newspaper column due / Last date to withdraw |
| Apr. 4 | Book review due |
| Apr. 7 | Last session |
| Apr. 21 | Final project/Virtual exhibition due |
Learning Materials
- Carroll, John M. A Concise History of Hong Kong. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007.
- Other required readings are available online or through Canvas.
Office Hours/Learning Lounge
No doubt you will have questions. Feel free to contact the instructor (preferred to be addressed as Mr. Shin, Dr. Shin, or Prof. Shin) through email or via Canvas. The usual response time is within 24 hours (except for weekends and holidays). Please use your UBC email address if possible.
Office hours are by appointment (sign-ups; be sure to check the time zone). The default mode is by Zoom (link), but students who would like to meet in my office are welcome to send a request through email. Students are strongly encouraged to check in with me, particularly early on during the term, to make sure all is on track.
A Learning Lounge has also been set up under Discussions in Canvas for students to post—and answer each other’s—questions. The instructor will “drop in” at least once a week to see if there are outstanding questions. Respectful netiquette is expected and appreciated.
Acknowledgment
UBC’s Point Grey Campus is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) people. The land it is situated on has always been a place of learning for the Musqueam people, who for millennia have passed on their culture, history, and traditions from one generation to the next on this site.