UGFH1001 In Dialogue with Humanity
(Cross-institutional)

Timetable | Course Description | Enrolment Method for CUHK Students |
Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILO) | Course Syllabus |
Required Readings | Teaching and Learning Activities |
Other activities | Assessment Methods and Weighting

2019-20 Term 2 Timetable

UGFH1001C In Dialogue with Humanity (Cross-institutional)

Teaching Language: Cantonese
Course Teacher: Dr. Yu Chi Chung
Tentative Overall Class Quota: 25 (7 from HKU, HKUST and PolyU each, and the remaining 4 quota for CUHK)
Face-to-face Tutorials:
(updated on 10 Feb 2020)

2019-20 Term 1 Timetable

UGFH1001C In Dialogue with Humanity (Cross-institutional)

Teaching Language: Cantonese
Course Teacher: Dr. Yu Chi Chung
Tentative Overall Class Quota: 25 (7 from HKU, HKUST and PolyU each, and the remaining 4 quota for CUHK)
Face-to-face Tutorials:

UGFH1001E In Dialogue with Humanity (Cross-institutional)

Teaching Language: English
Course Teacher: Dr. Chiu Chu Lee
Tentative Overall Class Quota: 25 (7 from HKU, HKUST and PolyU each, and the remaining 4 quota for CUHK)
Face-to-face Tutorials:

UGFH1001P In Dialogue with Humanity (Cross-institutional)

Teaching Language: Putonghua
Course Teacher: Dr. Ho Wai Ming
Tentative Overall Class Quota: 25 (7 from HKU, HKUST and PolyU each, and the remaining 4 quota for CUHK)
Face-to-face Tutorials:

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Course Description

The course invites students to investigate the problem of "humanity"—i.e., what it means to be human—at two levels: human as an individual and human as a social being. Students will be engaged in a direct dialogue with literary writers, philosophers and social reformers who address three fundamental questions: What makes a "good" life for me? What makes a "good" society for everyone? How do I make possible such a "good" life and "good" society?

Students are expected to read, discuss, and write about a wide range of texts extracted from influential classics in the humanities East and West. They will be encouraged to discover their own answers to the three questions by considering views and arguments expressed in the texts, and by exploring how far and in what ways such views and arguments may hold true for the contemporary world. Emphasis will be placed on students’ capacity to respond critically to the selected texts in oral and written presentations, in the form of class or online discussions, short essays and term paper. Class size will be kept small to maximize discussions and to facilitate intensive guidance on academic writing.

The content of this course is identical to that of “In Dialogue with Humanity” (UGFH1000). The mode of delivery is blended. Teaching and learning activities are mainly conducted online but there are also several on-site meetings. Students taking this course come from different UGC-funded institutions.

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Enrolment Method for CUHK Students

1. Year 1 and Year 2 students can enrol UGFH1001 on CUSIS during the course selection period. The medium of instruction of each GEF class is given in the teaching timetable on the RES webpage. Students should check carefully before course enrolment.
2. Year 3 or above students can enrol UGFH1001 during the CUSIS add/drop period by submitting an application to the GEF Programme Office. Course-add applications will be successful only if there is still vacancy in the class. The course-add applications must be made on the prescribed form (add/drop form for GEF courses) and submitted to the GEF Programme, Office of University General Education in person or by email (sent from CUHK @Link accounts to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). Applications submitted after the CUSIS add/drop period will normally NOT be accepted.
3. Wait list under CUSIS: The wait list of UGFH1001 under CUSIS will NOT be kept after the course selection period. Students who were on the wait list during the course selection period must enrol again during the add/drop period.

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Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILO)

By the end of the course, students should have been able to:

• read and discuss complicated texts from the humanities
• articulate major views on good life and good society
• evaluate approaches to good life and good society from multiple perspectives
• apply views and arguments in selected texts to contemporary human conditions
• develop personal views on desirable life and ideal society

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Course Syllabus

The topics numbered (1, 2 and 3) below indicate the core contents that MUST be covered in the course. The subtopics (a, b, c, and d) under each topic should also be covered, although individual instructors may formulate them in different ways. Individual instructors may also sequence the topics/sub-topics differently.

1. Self and Human Capacity
   1. Love and the search for beauty and goodness
   2. Humaneness and moral awakening
   3. Freedom through Detachment
2. Self and Faith
   1. Emptiness and no-self
   2. Creation, separation and “passion”
   3. The right path and right responsibilities
3. Self in Social Institutions
   1. The way of sage-king and the ideal college
   2. Sovereign power of the people
   3. Self-interest for common good?
   4. Labour: becoming human again

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Required Readings

Please refer to the pdf.

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Teaching and Learning Activities

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Other activities (if applicable):

Estimated students' self-study and work hours outside the class -

1. Reading the assigned texts: 55 total hours;
2. Writing 2 short essays and 1 long essay: 20 total hours; and
3. Preparation for quizzes: 3 total hours.

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Assessment Methods and Weighting

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This course is under the Responsive University Cross Institutional General Education Course Sharing Project (Responsive 4U): The General Education Course Sharing Project connects 4 local universities to share selected General Education (GE) courses. By opening up the GE classrooms, students in the 4 partner institutions can access credit-bearing GE courses which are not available in their own university.