UGFH1000Y Course outline

UGFH1000Y In Dialogue with Humanity

Lecturer:
Dr. LO Chun Yeung Edwin 盧駿揚 HYS 8/F

Course Homepage: https://blackboard.cuhk.edu.hk/ (CU eLearn system)

Two Blackboard’s, one for the class (Y) and the other for tutorial group (YT01, YT02 etc).
*****Check Blackboard and e-mail frequently for updates*****

Course Discord: Please access it through Blackboard.

Common Lecture:
UGFH1000Y Fri 1:30PM - 2:15PM Esther Lee Bldg LT3

Tutorial Session:
Attend the one that you have registered.
Group Time Place
UGFH1000YT01 Mon 2:30 PM - 4:15 PM Yasumoto Int'l Acad Park 507 (YIA507)

UGFH1000YT02 Mon 4:30 PM - 6:15 PM Yasumoto Int'l Acad Park 507 (YIA507)

UGFH1000YT03 Tue 10:30 AM - 12:15 PM Wong Foo Yuan Bldg 106 (FYB106)

UGFH1000YT04 Tue 2:30 PM - 4:15 PM Yasumoto Int'l Acad Park 511 (YIA511)

UGFH1000YT05 Wed 10:30 AM - 12:15 PM Yasumoto Int'l Acad Park 501 (YIA501)

UGFH1000YT06 Web 1:30 PM - 3:15 PM Yasumoto Int'l Acad Park 507 (YIA507)

Consultation: If you would like to have a private consultation session with me (about the course or any other
personal issues), feel free to ask me!

Course Description:
The course invites you to investigate the problem of ‘humanity’ — what it means to be human — as individuals
and as social beings. 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?
You are expected to read, discuss and write about a wide range of texts extracted from influential classics in the
humanities East and West. You will be encouraged to discover your 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.
You will meet for one lecture and two tutorial sessions every week. Emphasis will be placed on your capacity to
respond critically to the selected texts in oral and written presentations, in the form of class discussions, short write-
ups and term papers. The class size will be kept small (limited to 25 students) to maximize the benefits of discussions
and to facilitate intensive guidance on academic writing.

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 UGFH1000Y Course outline

Textbook: In Dialogue with Humanity (與人文對話), 5th ed., is available at the campus bookstore as the semester
begins. Please bring textbook to tutorial each week.

Course Content and Core Readings:

The course is composed of 3 parts, each of which consists of several themes. Students have to read the core readings
related to the issue before attending the discussion session.

Part I
Core Theme Text
欲愛與美善 Symposium / Plato From Plato, Symposium and The Death of Socrates,

translated and copyright by Tom Griffith 1997.

Published by Wordsworth Editions Limited 1997.

安身與死亡 Odyssey / Homer From Homer, Odyssey, translated by Stanley

Lombardo 2000. Published byHackett Publishing

Company.

仁禮與自由 《論語》 節錄自錢穆，《論語新解》(2000)，財團法人素

書樓文教基金會。

Part II
善惡與聖愛 《聖經》 舊約：節錄自《思高聖經》。

新約：節錄自《新漢語譯本》。

苦難與無常 《心經》&〈般若之心〉/ 一行禪師 節錄自一行禪師，《與生命相約》(2002)，明

潔、明堯譯，橡樹林文化出版。

Part III
Core Theme Text
自由與公意 The Social Contract / Jean Jacques Rousseau From Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Basic Political

Writings 2nd edition, translated and edited by Donald

A. Cress, published by Hackett Publishing Company.

資本與勞動 Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of From Karl Marx, “Wages of Labour”, “Estranged

1844 / Karl Marx Labour”, translated by Rodney Livingstone and

Gregor Benton in Early Writings (1995), published by

Penguin Books in association with New Left Review.

語言與社會 Mind, Language and Society / John Searle From John Searle, Mind, Language and Society (,

published by Basic Books

Finale. – 自我 Self
Core Theme Text

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 UGFH1000Y Course outline
自由與選擇 The Grand Inquisitor / Fyodor Dostoevsky From Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

(1912), translated by Constance Garnett.

Expected Learning Outcomes:

After taking the course, you should be able to:
• Recognize major ideas that shape contemporary views of good life and good society
• Read and discuss primary texts of the humanities with confidence
• Evaluate the validity of different approaches to good life and good society from multiple perspectives
• Relate arguments and views expressed in the selected texts to contemporary human conditions
• Appreciate diverse values and make informed personal judgment on good life and good society

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 UGFH1000Y Course outline
Assessment Scheme:
Quiz 15%
 5 short quizzes that are conducted during tutorial session
 8 MC questions (it may include 1 short answer question)
Reflective Journals (RJ) 30%
 2 Reflective Journals (15% each)
 The journals should be written in Chinese
 Word Limit: Within 900 words
 Submit the journal to Veriguide and OneDrive folder before the tutorial class
Term Paper 30%
 The term paper should be written in Chinese
 Word Limit: 1900-2900 words
 Submit the paper to Veriguide and OneDrive folder
Participation in discussion 25%
 willing to speak, initiate a discussion, interact with your fellow group mates, be punctual,
don’t leave early, be familiar with the readings, respond to questions, be attentive
 Online discussion

*****Attendance to tutorial is compulsory***** – Be careful not to fail the course due to attendance issue
Non-excused absences:
1st time: pardoned (BUT your participation score will be affected), 2 nd time: receive warning, 3rd time: fail the course.
If there are too many absences (excused or not), you may probably fail the course.

Submission of Assignments:
Reflective journal and Term Paper should be 1) submitted to Veriguide, 2) uploaded to OneDrive folder (each
student would have a shared folder with me) before tutorial class. The Veriguide submission is considered as
official. Late submission will result in mark penalty. Marked assignment (with my comments) will be given back to
you within 4 weeks.

Academic Honesty and Plagiarism

Attention is drawn to University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work, and to the disciplinary
guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and regulations. Details can be found here:
http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/

The Use of AI
According to the general principle adopted by the University, students are prohibited from using any AI tools to
complete their assignments, assessments and any other works that count towards their final grade of the course or
attainment of the desired learning outcomes, unless explicitly permitted. In completing assignments such as reflective
essays and term papers, the use of generative AI tools such as Chat-GPT is prohibited.

Online learning tools:

1. Reading Companion Online
When doing the weekly reading, you may check your understanding of the assigned text section to section by
attempting the interactive multiple-choice questions here:
http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/oge/gef/studyqs/humanity/interactive/

2. ‘DAIMON’ App

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 UGFH1000Y Course outline
An e-Learning mobile app DAIMON has been launched. The app serves as a reading companion
for students to enhance their comprehension of the texts and self-evaluate their understanding. The
latest version includes: Questions with pop-up answers and explanations, Quizzes and Mini-
dictionary with audio pronunciations for four of the more difficult texts (Symposium, Zhuangzi,
Qur'an, and Social Contract); You can download the app by clicking on the ITSC link
https://campusapps.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/store/ or by the CUHK Mobile App Store (via Google Search).
3. Independent Learning Centre 自學中心 (ILC)
https://www.ilc.cuhk.edu.hk/

Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS)

PASS is a one-hour, non-compulsory reading workshop which is held every week after lecture. The session is led by
our former UGFH students. They will guide you to get an overview of the whole text, as well as read and understand
the first part of the text.
Time Venue
Every Fri 2:30-3:15 pm (After lecture) TBC

Reflective Journal and Term Paper Writing Workshops

Registration: https://webapp.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/ras/restricted/eventlist?id=14

Registration
Content Format Scope Language Date Time Venue
starts at

English Sep 19 (Tue) HYS_G05

Putonghua 2023/09/05 Sep 21 (Thu) 16:30 – 18:15 HYS_G05

Live Workshop /
Cantonese 00:00:00 Sep 22 (Fri) ELB_LT2
Reflective
Cantonese Sep 25 (Mon) 10:30 – 12:15 ELB_207
Journal
Online micro- Putonghua Oct 19 (Thu) FYB_405
Writing UGFH
modules AND Cantonese 2023/10/05 Oct 20 (Fri) ARC_G02
16:30 – 18:15
complementary Putonghua 00:00:00 Oct 26 (Thu) HYS_G04
UGFN
workshop* Cantonese Oct 27 (Fri) ELB_405

English Nov 21 (Tue) HYS_G05

Term Paper
Putonghua 2023/11/07 Nov 23 (Thu) 16:30 – 18:15 HYS_G05
Writing Live Workshop /
Cantonese 00:00:00 Nov 24 (Fri) CKB_LT3

Cantonese Nov 27 (Mon) 10:30 – 12:15 ELB_207

Registration is required for attending the workshops, and registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Please register online at least two days in advance. You
will be asked to show your CU Link card for admission. If you show up without your CU Link card, or without prior registration, you will be required to wait
outside and may not be able to get a seat and a copy of the handouts. Successful applicants will receive confirmation days before the workshop.

Course Schedule
Tutorial Tutorial Tutorial Lecture After Lecture
Wk Date (M-F) Remarks Assessment
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Friday readings

1 4/9-8/9 Introduction Introduction Introduction Plato & Symposium Symposium

2 11/9-15/9 Symposium Symposium Symposium Homer & Odyssey Odyssey

3 18/9-22/9 Odyssey Odyssey Odyssey 孔子與《論語》 《莊子》 Quiz 1

4 25/9-29/9 《論語》 《論語》 《論語》 《論語》與《莊子》 《論語》與《莊子》

5 2/10-6/10 M: Mid Public Holiday 《論語》/ 《論語》/ 《聖經》 《聖經》 Quiz 2

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 UGFH1000Y Course outline
Autumn (*需要補堂*) 《莊子》 《莊子》 RJ: End of part 1

《心經》; 《心經》;
6 9/10-13/10 《聖經》 《聖經》 《聖經》
〈般若之心〉 〈般若之心〉

《心經》; 《心經》; 《心經》; Rousseau & Quiz 3

7 16/10-20/10 The Social Contract
〈般若之心〉 〈般若之心〉 〈般若之心〉 The Social Contract RJ: End of part 2

M: Chung
8 23/10-27/10 Public Holiday The Social Contract The Social Contract RJ/TP workshop Tale a break~
Yeung

Marx & 1844 1844 Manuscripts:

Individual Term Individual Term
9 30/10-3/11 The Social Contract Manuscripts & “Wages of Labour” &
Paper Consultation Paper Consultation
Adam Smith Wealth of Nation

1844 Manuscripts: 1844 Manuscripts: 1844 Manuscripts: 1844 Manuscripts:

10 6/11-10/11 1844 Manuscripts Quiz 4
“Wages of Labour” “Wages of Labour” “Wages of Labour” “Estranged Labour”

1844 Manuscripts: 1844 Manuscripts: 1844 Manuscripts: Searle & Mind, Mind, Language and
11 13/11-17/11
“Estranged Labour” “Estranged Labour” “Estranged Labour” Language and Society Society

Mind, Language and Mind, Language and Mind, Language and Quiz 5
12 20/11-24/11 The Grand Inquisitor The Grand Inquisitor
Society Society Society RJ: End of part 3

13 27/11-1/12 Concluding Tutorial Concluding Tutorial Concluding Tutorial **No lesson**

14 4/12-8/12

Term paper

15 11/12-15/12 deadline

(16/12/2023)

UGFH1000 In Dialogue with Humanity Grade Descriptors

A / A- Introspective performance: Outstanding performance on all (or almost all) learning
outcomes. Students demonstrate:
- thorough understanding and critical interpretation and application of the course material;
- substantial evaluation of ideas or theories of good life and good society from multiple
perspectives with the support of relevant information;
- well-informed judgment/personal views
- perceptive reflections on issues concerned and active engagement with differences
B+ / B / B- General performance: Substantial performance on some learning outcomes which
compensates for less satisfactory performance on others. Students demonstrate:
- adequate understanding and appropriate interpretation and application of the course
material;
- good evaluation of ideas or theories from multiple perspectives with the support of
relevant information;

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 UGFH1000Y Course outline
- informed judgment/personal views
- unbiased reflections on issues concerned and evident attempts to appreciate differences
C+ / C / C- Inconsistent performance: Satisfactory performance on some learning outcomes with a
few weaknesses. Students demonstrate:
- basic understanding of the course material;
- attempts to evaluate ideas and theories but with omissions of some crucial perspectives
and information;
- inadequately supported judgment/personal views on most occasions, and
- tendentious reflections on issues concerned and some attempts to appreciate differences
D+ / D Incompetent performance: Barely satisfactory performance on a number of learning
outcomes. Students demonstrate:
- limited evidence of comprehending the course material;
- major difficulties in evaluating ideas and theories from appropriate perspectives and
identifying appropriate information;
- mostly unfounded judgment/personal views;
- superficial reflections on issues concerned; and
- minimal attempts to appreciate difference
F Failed performance: Unsatisfactory performance on the majority of learning outcomes,
OR failure to meet specified assessment requirement. Students demonstrate:
- confusion over or fundamental misrepresentation of the course material;
- very little or no intention to evaluate different ideas or theories;
- very little or no attempt to formulate personal views; and
- very little or no attempt to reflect on issues concerned; and
- very little or no attempt to appreciate differences.

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