Bachelor of Arts (BA) - The University of Hong Kong

318SOCI0009.Economic development and social change (6 credits)This course will be concerned with the dynamics and consequences of economic transformation in thedeveloping world, with a particular focus on industrialization in East Asia. We will begin with a briefsurvey of some of the general theoretical frameworks that have been used to explain development inEast Asia, as elsewhere, before moving on to examine particular societies and thematic issues in thelight of these general frameworks. The societies to which most attention will be paid will be Japan,South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. The thematic issues to be addressed willinclude the transformative significance of historical conjunctures, free markets, foreign investment,economic cultures and state policy.Assessment: 40% coursework, 60% examination.SOCI0010.Education and teaching (6 credits)Formal educational institutions in society will be examined, using the major concepts and theories ofsociology. Emphasis is placed on the relationship between education and other important socialinstitutions such as the family, the polity and the economy. The questions of equality of educationalopportunity and the potential role of education in fostering social change will also be analysed.Assessment: 40% coursework, 60% examination.SOCI0011.Gender and crime (6 credits)Women who engage in illegal activities typically acquire a 'double deviant status'; they are perceived tobe violating legal codes as well as gender proscriptions. Women offenders are not simply the shoplifteror the cocaine addict, but the 'fallen woman', the 'wicked temptress', and the 'immoral mother'. Suchviews about women offenders have been the basis for their differential treatment under the law and inpunishment systems. The purpose of this course is to critically assess these assumptions and thegendered ways of social control policies.The course is organised into three main sections. The first part of the course will examine the 'facts' onfemale offenders and theoretical explanations for female delinquency and crime. The next sectionfocuses on women as crime victims, particularly in sexual assaults and domestic violence. The lastsection of the course traces and compares the development of social control policies (as expressed in thelaw, the criminal justice system, and corrections) aimed specifically at women offenders in severalcountries.Assessment: 40% coursework, 60% examination.Pre-requisite: None, but SOCI0057 recommended.SOCI0012.Gender and society (6 credits)This course will focus on the social construction of gender and the patterns of inequality that result fromthis process. Themes to be examined are: biology and destiny; social definitions of masculinity andfemininity; sex role socialization; consequences of gender differentiation; theoretical perspectives. Inaddition, the contribution that social theory has to make to the question of the origins of sex inequalitieswill also be examined.Assessment: 50% coursework, 50% examination.