Hong Kong Shue Yan University
Department of English Language & Literature
Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies
Course Title
: Contemporary Critical Thought
Course Code
: ENG 501
Number of Credits
:3
Duration in Weeks
: 14
Contact Hours Per Week
: Lecture (2 Hours)
: Tutorial (1 Hour)
Pre-requisite(s)
: NIL
Prepared by
: Prof. WONG Kin Yuen
Course Introduction
Theoretical and interdisciplinary in focus, this course brings together important thoughts by
distinguished scholars and philosophers, which centre on contemporary issues concerning the
interpretation and analysis of culture within and beyond the purview of English studies. The
course responds to a situation in which the humanities are re-evaluated continuously together
with perplexing new issues in human sciences, arts, social science and technoscience. In the
intellectual ferment over the recent decades, new inquiries have been reconfigured pointing to an
intercultural and multiperspectival approach to relations such as Literature and science, bioethics
and gender, modernism and postmodernism, humanism and posthumanism. The general
direction of the course is for students to be exposed to significant critical concepts and how they
undermine the self-certainty of the time-honoured categories and assumptions within humanistic
inquiries such as the integral self, representational theories of language, the nurture/nature
distinction. Students are to learn to challenge these established presuppositions as opened up
by the chosen readings in the course. The ultimate aim of the course is for students to engage
self-critically with contemporary issues, such as identity/subjectivity, socio-cultural values,
gender politics, ecoethics, cyberculture, etc, and it is expected that such an engagement will be of
help to them both in writing a dissertation as a substantial project of research or in the context of
the graduation seminar completed in lieu of a dissertation. These issues are to be found in areas
of concentration including literary texts and textuality, semiotics, gender and body, the psyche
and consciousness, science as discourse and socio-political-cultural theories.
Course Outcomes, Teaching Activities and Assessment
Course Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
1
Upon completion of this course students should be able to:
Describe the ways contemporary critical thinking contributes to research in
ILO1
interdisciplinary cultural studies
Articulate the conditions leading to integration among different schools of
ILO2
thought; how these schools of thought subscribe to the premises of
interdisciplinarity, and how humanities subjects are reconfigured to
embrace social and natural sciences.
Synthesize the multi-perspectives approach of contemporary thought with
ILO3
other courses in the programme, all of which are informed by the premises
of interdisciplinarity itself.
Formulate strategies to address the pragmatic aspects of interdisciplinarity,
ILO4
which can be considered the theoretical ground for the non-streaming
approach developed in liberal studies for secondary schools in Hong Kong
Evaluate the given and fixed presuppositions one finds in established
ILO5
categories, and engage self-critically with important issues of identity,
values and world-views within the context of interdisciplinary cultural
studies.
Teaching and Learning Activities (TLAs)
TLA1
Close reading of articles
TLA2
Critical discussion of concepts
TLA3
In-class discussion
TLA4
Oral presentations by students
TLA5
Students’ response and discussion of the presentations
TLA6
Written project
Assessment Tasks (ATs)
AT1
AT2
AT3
AT4
In-class discussion
Students are to respond actively to specific questions made by the
lecturer as well as participate in class discussion in either in lecture
or tutorial.
Oral presentation
In a group of 3-4, students are to deliver an oral presentation on a
specific topic which can demonstrate their understanding of the
issue(s) and concepts(s) discussed in this course. Also, at the end of
the presentation there will be time for class discussion.
Responses to presentations
In a group of 3-4, students are to respond to an oral presentation.
They are to comment on the presentation and raise questions which
demonstrate their understanding of the topic.
Final written project
Students are to write a research paper which can demonstrate a
solid grasp of issue(s) and concept(s) taught in the course. Students
15%
30%
20%
40%
2
have to formulate a specific question and adopt a problem-solving
approach which can demonstrate their ability of critical thinking
and analysis.
TOTAL 100%
Alignment of Course Intended Learning Outcomes, Teaching and Learning Activities
and Assessment Tasks
Course Intended Learning
Outcomes
Teaching and Learning
Activities
Assessment Tasks
ILO1
TLA1,2,3
AT1,2,3,4
ILO2
TLA6,7
AT1,2,3,4
ILO3
TLA3,4,5,6
AT1,2,3,4
ILO4
TLA2,3,4,5,6
AT1,2,3,4
ILO5
TLA4,6
AT2,4
Course Outline
Week 1 Introduction: Between Literary Theories and Socio-Cultural Theories
Julia Kristeva, “Revolution in Poetic Language,” Literary Theory: An Anthology,
pp.451-463.
Zižek, Slavoj “The Sublime Object of Ideology” Literary Theory: An Anthology,
pp.312-325
Week 2 Aesthetics and Hermeneutics (1)
Hans-Georg Gadamer, “Aesthetics and Hermeneutics,” The Continental Aesthetics Reader,
pp.181-186.
Week 3
Aesthetics and Hermeneutics (2)
Martin Heidegger, “The Origin of the Work of Art,” The Continental Aesthetics Reader.
Pp.80-101.
Week 4 Post-colonialism and Post-modernism (1)
Edward Said, Orientalism, Literary Theory: An Anthology, pp.873-886.
Homi Bhabha, The Location of Culture, Literary Theory: An Anthology, pp.936-944.
Jean-Francois Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition, Literary Theory: An Anthology,
pp.509-513.
Week 5 Post-colonialism and Post-modernism (2)
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Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus, Literary Theory: An Anthology,
pp.514-523.
Week 6 Gender Studies (1)
Fredric Jameson, “Postmodernism, or the cultural Logic of Late Capitalism,”
Postmodernism: A Reader, pp.62-92.
Nancy Fraser and Linda Nicholson, “Social Criticism Without Philosophy: An Encounter
Between Feminism and Postmodernism,” Postmodernism: A Reader, pp.415-432.
Week 7 Gender Studies (2)
Alice Jardine, “The Demise of Experience: Fiction as Stranger Than Truth?”
Postmodernism: A Reader, pp.433-442.
Donna Haraway, “The Biopolitics of Postmodern Bodies,” The New Social Theory Reader,
pp.276-283.
Natasha Walter, “What is the New Feminism?”; “The New Feminism Embraces Power,”
The New Feminism, pp.1-9; pp.167-197; pp.258-259; pp.268-270.
Week 8 Gender Studies (3)
Clair Colebrook, “Introduction,” Deleuze and Feminist Theory, pp.1-17.
Verena Andermatt Conley, “Becoming-Woman Now,” Deleuze and Feminist Theory,
pp.18-37.
Week 9 Cultural Theory and Popular Culture
Raymond Williams, “The Analysis of Culture,” Cultural Theory and Popular Culture,
pp.32-40.
Roland Barthes, “Myth Today,” Cultural Theory and Popular Culture, pp.261-269.
Jean Baudrillard, “The Precession of Simulacra, Cultural Theory and Popular Culture,
pp.409-415.
Lawrence Grossberg, “Cultural Studies Vs. Political Economy: Is Anybody Else Bored
With this Debate?” Cultural Theory and Popular Culture, pp.630-640.
Week 10
Glocalization
Pieterse, Jan Nederveen. (2009) “Globalization and Culture: Three Paradigms.”
Globalization and Culture: Global Mélange. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield. pp. 43-64.
Robertson, Roland. (2010) “Glocalization: Time-Space and Homogeneity-Heterogeneity.”
Readings in Globalization: Key Concepts and Major Debates. West Sussex: Blackwell. pp.
334-343.
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Thornton, William H. (2000) “Mapping the ‘Glocal’ Village: The Political Limits of
‘Glocalization’.” Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies. Vol 14 Issue 1, pp.
79-89.
Week 11 Technoscience Culture (1)
Sandra Harding and Robert Figueroa, “Introduction,” Science and Other Cultures: Issues in
Philosophies of Science and Technology, pp.1-11.
Andrew Feenberg, “Technology in a Global World,” Science and Other Cultures,
pp.237-251.
Val Dusek, Philosophy of Technology: An Introduction, pp.6-37, 70-83; 136-155.
Larry A. Hickman, “Art, Technoscience, and Social Action,” Philosophical Tools for
Technological Culture, pp.83-99; pp.193-194.
Week 12
Technoscience Culture (2)
James H. Moor and Terrell W. Bynum, “Introduction,” Cyberphilosophy, pp.1-7.
Anthony F. Beavers, “Phenomenology and Artificial Intelligence,” Cyberphilosophy,
pp.66-77.
Week 13
Bio-ecological Culture and Ecocriticism
Donna J. Haraway, When Species Meet, pp.3-42.
Lee M. Silver, “Not Quite Human, but Not Quite Not,” Challenging Nature, pp.83-97;
pp.370-372.
Week 14 Recapitulation
Academic Honesty
You are expected to do your own work. Dishonesty in fulfilling any assignment undermines
the learning process and the integrity of your college degree. Engaging in dishonest or
unethical behavior is forbidden and will result in disciplinary action, specifically a failing grade
on the assignment with no opportunity for resubmission. A second infraction will result in an F
for the course and a report to College officials. Examples of prohibited behavior are:

Cheating – an act of deception by which a student misleadingly demonstrates that s/he has
mastered information on an academic exercise. Examples include:


Copying or allowing another to copy a test, quiz, paper, or project
Submitting a paper or major portions of a paper that has been previously submitted for
another class without permission of the current instructor


Turning in written assignments that are not your own work (including homework)
Plagiarism – the act of representing the work of another as one’s own without giving credit.

Failing to give credit for ideas and material taken from others
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

Representing another’s artistic or scholarly work as one’s own
Fabrication – the intentional use of invented information or the falsification of research or
other findings with the intent to deceive
To comply with the University’s policy, all written assignments have to be submitted to
VeriGuide.
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Resources
Primary Texts
Buchman, Ian and Colebrook, Claire Ed (2000)
Edinburgh University Press.
Deleuze and Feminist Theory. Edinburgh:
Cazeaux, Clive, Ed. (2000) The Continental Aesthetics Reader. London & New York:
Routledge.
Dines, Gail & Humez, Jean M. Ed. (1995)
Docherty, Thomas Ed. (1993)
Press.
Gender, Race and Class in Media. London: Sage
Postmodernism: A Reader. New York: Columbia University
Dusek, Val (2006) Philosophy of Technology: An Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell.
Figueroa, Robert and Harding, Sandra Ed. (2003) Science and Other Cultures: Issues in
Philosophies of Science and Technology. New York & London: Routledge.
Haraway, Donna J. (2008)
Minnesota Press
When Species Meet. Minneapolis & London: University of
Hickman, Larry a. (2001) Philosophical Tools for Technological Culture: Putting Pragmatism
to Work. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.
Martin, J.R. and Veel, Robert Ed. (1998) Reading Science: Critical and Functional
Perspectives on Discourses of Science. London & New York: Routledge.
Moor, James H. and Bynum, Terrell Ward Ed. (2002)
Computing and Philosophy. Oxford: Blackwell.
Rivkin, Julie & Ryan, Michael Ed. (1998)
Literary Theory: An Anthology. Oxford: Blackwell.
Seidman, Steren and Alexander, Jeffrey C. Ed. (2001)
& New York: Routledge
Storey, John Ed. (2009)
Longman.
Cyberphilosophy: the Intersection of
The New Social Theory Reader. London
Cultural Theory and Popular Culture. 4th Ed. London: Pearson &
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