Bachelor of Arts in Chinese and History

Bachelor of Arts in Chinese and History
Founded in 2014 with a view to establishing excellent tertiary education, world-class research and an international reputation in Hong Kong, the Department of Chinese and History offers the major in Chinese and History with two streams – a) Chinese & b) History and Cultural Heritage. It aims to equip students with advanced and professional knowledge and a wide range of analytical and writing skills.

The Chinese Stream strives to provide students with a solid and comprehensive training in Chinese language, Chinese literature, history and philosophy. The knowledge is both ancient and modern, and can be widely used in daily life. The training equips students with both in-depth knowledge and research skills for further academic work as well as for career development in the education, public affairs, administration, literature studies, media, editing and creative industries involving the use of Chinese. The Chinese Stream consists of four specialized areas of study, which are (1) Chinese language and literature, (2) Classical and modern Chinese literature, (3) Chinese classics and philosophy, and (4) Language use and writing.

History and Cultural Heritage Stream equips the students with comprehensive and in-depth knowledge of history, particularly Chinese history knowledge.  It also aims to provide the students with the necessary training as cultural professionals with historical background. History seeks to provide the student knowledge on past events, memories, collections, and interpretations of the past. It also trains the students to examine the cause-and-effect relationships in human affairs and addresses the complexity of the past in shaping contemporary society. Although Chinese history is the primary focus of the stream, it also offers the students courses related to world history and public history to acquire historical knowledge to understand other nations’ different histories and cultures.
History as a discipline is in their very process to synthesize other fields of social sciences, including anthropology, sociology, and economics, not to mention cultural history, to which Cultural Heritage belongs. Without a relatively systematic knowledge of History, it is difficult for a student to master the knowledge of Cultural Heritage well. On the other hand, locating Cultural Heritage within and with History, Cultural Heritage can provide a cultural perspective for students of History in return.  This stream is designed based on these two inseparable and interactive parts of “History” and “Cultural Heritage”.

History and Cultural Heritage Stream provides the professional training necessary to nurture high caliber history-related professionals with cultural perspective and cultural professionals with historical knowledge. It meets the growing workforce needs resulting from the rapidly expanding capacity in history-related industries including education, libraries, publishing, mass-media, etc., and culture-and-heritage-related industries, including cultural tourism, museum management, exhibition industries, commercial galleries and archives, community heritage programs, entertainment and arts-related professions, cultural and creative industries, in the Greater Bay Area, particularly Hong Kong. It educates students to become historical and cultural professionals who are culturally literate and competent in managing and marketing culture and heritage, with extensive knowledge of Chinese history and Chinese cultural heritage, including knowledge of Hong Kong’s history and cultural heritage. It also educates the students to understand Hong Kong’s unique position in integrating the East and West cultures. For this goal, this stream also strives to educate the students to become cultural professionals with highly proficient English-language ability to promote one’s culture and heritage and understand and respect the historical and cultural differences of other nations. Last but not least, History and Cultural Heritage Stream promotes professionalism in History and Culture and Heritage in support of maintaining Hong Kong’s leading role in culture- and heritage-related professions and provides expert advice on the promotion of culture and the protection and preservation of heritage in the context of Hong Kong both as part of China and as an international city.
Students who choose to major in Chinese and History will enjoy the significant advantages of integrating the two streams and our interdisciplinary emphasis, and may go on to pursue a wide range of careers after graduation.