English Studies is the scholarly investigation of the English language and its many uses in social and historical contexts. It prominently includes the study of literature(s) written in English, as well as creative writing. Both the language and the literatures are studied from multiple perspectives, linguistic ones and literary ones, and also including critical and cultural theory. Our English Studies programme has a strong cross-cultural orientation, recognizing English as a language of global communication and world literature, a language which people make their own, creatively and habitually, all over the world. It offers students both a solid foundation and a wide range of choices in various concentrations. Introductory courses emphasize the practice of critical reading, analysis and writing, as well as the development of historical and theoretical knowledge. Advanced courses focus on English language and literature as representations of culture and society in diverse historical contexts, on the production of meaning in different discursive contexts, genres and media, and on the place of English in relation to histories of colonization and globalization with special reference to Hong Kong and the region. A range of capstone courses, including research seminars, internships and senior colloquia, offer students opportunities to integrate and deploy their learning in the major while considering their options upon graduation.
The courses of the English Studies programme incorporate a variety of teaching and learning methods, including formal lectures, seminars, small group tutorials, workshops, and online learning. They are mostly assessed by coursework, including oral presentations, in-class tests and quizzes, essays and research projects and portfolios. They are designed to provide students with skills of accurate and historically sensitive analysis, critical reading and thinking, and clear and coherent argument in both writing and speaking.
Students are encouraged to discuss their study plans and course selections with the UG Coordinator, their Academic Advisers, or any teachers in the English Studies programme.
On successful completion of the major or minor in English Studies, students should be able to:
Below is a summary of the full syllabuses. For the full syllabuses with course descriptions, please click here.
*New courses added to the relevant course list shall also be counted towards the major/minor for students admitted in the earlier cohort(s).
Students intending to declare a major or minor in English Studies in the second year must pass at least one introductory ENGL course from List A “Historical and Theoretical Foundations” (6 credits) in the first year.
Admission to all introductory courses is on the basis of academic record including a minimum Level 5 in English Language in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) examination, or an equivalent score in another recognized English proficiency test.
To complete the requirements of the major, students must take:
1. 30 credits of introductory courses (including the first-year prerequisite), normally taken in the first two years of study, which consist of:
2. 48 credits of advanced courses, which must include a capstone course to be taken preferably in the final year.
To complete the requirements of the minor, students must take:
1. 18 credits of introductory courses, which consist of:
2. 18 credits of advanced courses.
List A: Historical and Theoretical Foundations
The courses in this list will introduce students to the history and organization of diverse areas of literary and linguistic scholarship. Students will acquire a general overview of selected areas and issues, including major theoretical distinctions or classifications and their historical development over time.
COURSE CODE | PROGRAMME | |
---|---|---|
ENGL1011 | An introduction to the study of meaning (6 credits) | |
ENGL1013 | Exploring the modern: Reading early 20th century British writing (6 credits) | |
ENGL1015 | Introduction to English linguistics (6 credits) | |
ENGL1016 | Introduction to life writing (6 credits) | |
ENGL1017 | Introduction to sociolinguistics (6 credits) | |
ENGL1018 | Language and gender (6 credits) | |
ENGL1020 | Nineteenth-century literature and culture (6 credits) | |
ENGL1022 | Poetry past and present (6 credits) | |
ENGL1023 | Experimental prose (6 credits) | |
ENGL1024 | Topics in world literature (6 credits) | |
ENGL1025 | Understanding narratives (6 credits) | |
ENGL1037 | Persuasion (6 credits) | |
ENGL1044 | Introduction to literary theory (6 credits) | |
ENGL1045 | “Community” in Sociolinguistics (6 credits) | |
ENGL1051 | English sounds (6 credits) | |
LCOM1001 | Introduction to language and communication (6 credits) | |
LCOM1002 | Language, communication, society, field (6 credits) | |
LCOM1003 | Theorizing communication (6 credits) | |
LCOM1004 | Introduction to pragmatics (6 credits) | |
List B: Critical Reading, Analysis and Writing
The courses in this list will introduce students to the practice and methods of critical reading, analysis and writing, focusing on different areas of literary and linguistic study. Students will acquire a basic grasp of analytical distinctions and terminology, and learn to ask questions and construct critical arguments.
COURSE CODE | PROGRAMME | |
---|---|---|
ENGL1014 | Imaginary geographies: The art of writing place (6 credits) | |
ENGL1026 | Adaptation: From text to screen (6 credits) | |
ENGL1027 | Analyzing discourse (6 credits) | |
ENGL1028 | Awakenings: Exploring women’s writing (6 credits) | |
ENGL1030 | Dramatic changes: Versions of Renaissance literature (6 credits) | |
ENGL1031 | English grammar(s) (6 credits) | |
ENGL1032 | Late Victorian Texts and Contexts (6 credits) | |
ENGL1033 | Intercultural communication (6 credits) | |
ENGL1034 | Language and prejudice (6 credits) | |
ENGL1035 | Language crimes (6 credits) | |
ENGL1036 | Meaning and metaphor (6 credits) | |
ENGL1038 | Practice of criticism (6 credits) | |
ENGL1039 | Realism and representation (6 credits) | |
ENGL1040 | Rewriting and writing back (6 credits) | |
ENGL1041 | Modernity and literary modernism (6 credits) | |
ENGL1042 | World Englishes (6 credits) | |
ENGL1043 | An introduction to 20th-century English poetry (6 credits) | |
ENGL1047 | The English lexicon (6 credits) | |
ENGL1048 | Crime stories (6 credits) | |
ENGL1049 | Early English sonnets (6 credits) | |
ENGL1050 | An introduction to qualitative research methods in sociolinguistics (6 credits) | |
ENGL1052 | Introduction to theatre studies (6 credits) | |
ENGL1053 | Eighteenth century drama: The rise of celebrity culture (6 credits) | |
ENGL1054 | Writing disaster: Literature, trauma, memory (6 credits) | |
In order to enroll in any advanced course in English Studies, students must normally have completed 18 credits of introductory courses, with at least 6 credits from both List A and List B.
COURSE CODE | PROGRAMME | |
---|---|---|
ENGL2002 | Language in society (6 credits) | |
ENGL2004 | English syntax (6 credits) | |
ENGL2007 | Literary linguistics (6 credits) | |
ENGL2010 | English novel (6 credits) | |
ENGL2012 | Contemporary literary theory (6 credits) | |
ENGL2030 | New Englishes (6 credits) | |
ENGL2035 | Reading poetry (6 credits) | |
ENGL2039 | Gender, sexuality and discourse (6 credits) | |
ENGL2045 | Travel writing (6 credits) | |
ENGL2047 | English discourse structures and strategies (6 credits) | |
ENGL2048 | Language and jargon (6 credits) | |
ENGL2050 | English corpus linguistics (6 credits) | |
ENGL2055 | American Gothic: Haunted homes (6 credits) | |
ENGL2057 | Text and image (6 credits) | |
ENGL2074 | Postcolonial readings (6 credits) | |
ENGL2075 | The idea of China (6 credits) | |
ENGL2076 | Romanticism (6 credits) | |
ENGL2078 | The novel today (6 credits) | |
ENGL2079 | Shakespeare (6 credits) | |
ENGL2080 | Women, feminism and writing (6 credits) | |
ENGL2085 | Creative writing (6 credits) | |
ENGL2089 | Making Americans: Literature as ritual and renewal (6 credits) | |
ENGL2097 | Imagining Hong Kong (6 credits) | |
ENGL2103 | Language and digital media (6 credits) | |
ENGL2104 | Language in the USA (6 credits) | |
ENGL2112 | An introduction to the history of English (6 credits) | |
ENGL2115 | Theories of language acquisition (6 credits) | |
ENGL2117 | English phonology and morphology (6 credits) | |
ENGL2118 | Law and literature (6 credits) | |
ENGL2119 | English in Hong Kong: Making it your own (6 credits) | |
ENGL2120 | Science fiction (6 credits) | |
ENGL2122 | Global Victorians (6 credits) | |
ENGL2123 | Language and identity in Hong Kong (6 credits) | |
ENGL2125 | English construction grammar (6 credits) | |
ENGL2126 | Law, meaning, and interpretation (6 credits) | |
ENGL2127 | Language and the law (6 credits) | |
ENGL2128 | Modernism (6 credits) | |
ENGL2129 | English as a language of science (6 credits) | |
ENGL2130 | Signs, language and meaning: Integrational reflections (6 credits) | |
ENGL2131 | The critic as artist (6 credits) | |
ENGL2134 | World literature (6 credits) | |
ENGL2135 | The cosmopolitan imagination (6 credits) | |
ENGL2136 | Cross-cultural discourses (6 credits) | |
ENGL2137 | The profession of playwright in early modern England (6 credits) | |
ENGL2138 | Language and globalization (6 credits) | |
ENGL2139 | American modern (6 credits) | |
ENGL2140 | Ideologies of language in early modernity (6 credits) | |
ENGL2141 | Doing discourse analysis (6 credits) | |
ENGL2142 | Milton (6 credits) | |
ENGL2143 | Religion and the flourishing of English (6 credits) | |
ENGL2144 | Forms of contemporary literature (6 credits) | |
ENGL2145 | Post-1945 English drama (6 credits) | |
ENGL2146 | Cognitive semantics (6 credits) | |
ENGL2147 | Joyce’s voices (6 credits) | |
ENGL2149 | American dreaming (6 credits) | |
ENGL2150 | The city and modernity (6 credits) | |
ENGL2152 | Theory of the novel (6 credits) | |
ENGL2153 | Literary London (6 credits) | |
ENGL2156 | Eighteenth-century British literature (6 credits) | |
ENGL2157 | Representations of justice in law and literature (6 credits) | |
ENGL2158 | Language processing and learning (6 credits) | |
ENGL2159 | Twenty-first century English poetry (6 credits) | |
ENGL2160 | Sovereignty in law, theory and culture (6 credits) | |
ENGL2161 | Language rights and linguistic justice (6 credits) | |
ENGL2162 | Where the wild things are: Children's literature and the law (6 credits) | |
ENGL2163 | Comics, graphic novel and theory (6 credits) | |
ENGL2164 | The beginnings of English law and literature (6 credits) | |
ENGL2165 | Legal fictions: United States citizenship and the right to write in America (6 credits) | |
ENGL2166 | English phonetics (6 credits) | |
ENGL2167 | Theatre and the world (6 credits) | |
ENGL2168 | The law of signs: Interpretative controversies in legal semiotics (6 credits) | |
ENGL2169 | Writing and violence (6 credits) | |
ENGL2170 | Cringy: The aesthetics of discomfort (6 credits) | |
ENGL2171 | The right to the city: Cultural politics in Hong Kong and London (6 credits) | |
ENGL2172 | The police in literature and culture (6 credits) | |
ENGL2173 | Magic, Monsters and Maidens Fair: Medieval English Literature (6 credits) | |
LCOM2001 | Theories of language and communication (6 credits) | |
LCOM2002 | Language in the workplace (6 credits) | |
LCOM2003 | Language and politeness (6 credits) | |
LCOM2004 | Language, communication and the media (6 credits) | |
LCOM2005 | Language, communication and globalization (6 credits) | |
LCOM2007 | Visual communication (6 credits) | |
LCOM2008 | Health communication, ‘healthy’ communication (6 credits) | |
LCOM2009 | Language and religion (6 credits) | |
LCOM2011 | The language of news media (6 credits) | |
Capstone Courses
COURSE CODE | PROGRAMME | |
---|---|---|
ENGL3040 | Internship in English studies (capstone experience) (6 credits) | |
ENGL3041 | Senior colloquium in English studies (capstone experience) (6 credits) | |
ENGL3042 | Extended essay in English studies (capstone experience) (6 credits) | |
Please check here for course offerings and time-table of 2020-21.
Dr Elizabeth Ho
School of English
The University of Hong Kong
Tel.: (852) 3917 2766
Fax: (852) 2559 7139
E-mail: lizho@hku.hk