GESC 2290 Follow the Footprints: Explore Different Poles
2011-12, 1st Term
Shaw College, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Lecturer: Dr. Rebecca Lee Lok Sze (polemuseum@biznetvigator.com)
Contact person: Miss Moon Chow (moonchow@cuhk.edu.hk / 26961554)
Venue Lady Shaw Bldg C2
Time: Friday 2:30-5:30p.m.
1. Course Description
This course explores both the geographical and cultural aspects of extreme environments
across the world including the coldest extremes like the Arctic and Antarctica, the hottest
extreme like Taklamakan Desert, the highest extreme like Mount Everest, and the lowest
extreme like Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon. Students will learn about the scientific
expeditions of these regions and also their cultural heritages. This is an exciting journey
to appreciate how people, environment, culture and arts are tightly integrated from these
disparate places in the world.
2. Expected Learning Goals
Learning Goals:
1. This course introduces students to the cultural and geographical aspects of extreme
environments across the world and how scientists prepare themselves both mentally
and physically to research these environments.
2. This course furnishes students with a broad intellectual perspective for dealing with
the unfamiliar
3. This course serves as a platform where students can extend their curiosity, read
widely beyond their chosen discipline”.
3. Expected Learning Outcomes
Learning Outcomes:
Matching of learning goals:
Upon completion of this course, students are Each learning outcome matches
expected to:
with the following learning goals:
Learning Outcome 1
1. The diverse geographical and
scientific aspects of extreme
environments in the world.
Learning Outcome 2
2. The cultural differences of people
living in these extreme environments.
Learning Outcome 3
3. To appreciate the importance of
preserving the environment and
natural resources
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4. Course schedule
Week
Date
1
2
3
*4
5
Sep 9
(Fri)
Sep 16
(Fri)
Sep 23
(Fri)
Sep 30
(Fri)
2:30pm
–
6:30pm
Oct 7
(Fri)
Topic
藝海投緣
Introduction
Contents
When Arts Meets Exploration.
千里之行
Start of the Journey
How does our local tourism look like in cultural, artistic and
historical perspectives
環宇傲遊
Broaden our Horizon
How to make the best use of time and money to explore the
world?
香港文化古蹟
Field trip I +
Presentation
A visit to the Hong Kong Island. Understand the charms in local
tourism including the architecture, cultural style and different
races.
南極夢幻
We Are One: the
Antarctica and China
How the pollution in china affects the Antarctica? What can
individuals do to sav the world?
6
Oct 14
(Fri)
追踪南極
Unmask the
Antarctica:
How people from different fields (e.g., art, literature, music,
computer, management) contribute to the scientific expedition in
south pole?
7
Oct 21
(Fri)
茫茫北極路
From the Antarctica
to the Arctic
How can you stop at the Antarctica when you can explore the
Arctic?
8
Oct 28
(Fri)
How did Chinese scientists start exploring the Arctic? How
important are the researches?
9
Nov
4(Fri)
10
Nov 18
(Fri)
*11
Nov 19
(Sat)
2:30pm
–
6:30pm
Nov 25
(Fri)
北冰洋細語
Chinese Researchers
in the Arctic
珠峰密語
Top of the World:
the Mount Everest
沙漠行舟
From the top to the
Bottom: the
Taklimakan Desert
大霧山自然教育徑
Field trip II +
Presentation
首越大峽谷
4000 km long march:
the Yarlung Zangbo
Grand Canyon
心中香格里拉
Shangri-la in heart
+Final Presentation
How can walk through the canyon? How do scientists hold on
despite the severance and the hardship?
12
13
Dec 2
(Fri)
How can we reach the top of the world? How does the pollution
on the earth affect the Mount Everest?.
How does water travel from the Mount Everest to the. Taklimakan
Desert?
A visit to “The Top of Hong Kong”: Tai Mo Shan. Experience
Hong Kong in a different view.
How can we make a different? How can we fight for our own
Shangri-la?
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4. Learning Activities
Time
per week
Interactive Lecture
Site Visit + Presentation
3 hour in class
Fri:
2:30 pm – 5:15 pm
4 hour site visit
Fri:
2:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Lady Shaw Bldg C2
Hong Kong Island
&
Tai mo shan
11 lectures
2 field trips + 1 presentation
Venue
No. of sessions
in total
Matching with
learning goals
(LG)
√
LG 1
√
LG 2
√
√
LG 2
LG 3
√
LG 3
Matching with
learning
outcomes (LO)
√
√
√
LO 1
LO 2
LO 3
I.
√ LO 3
Interactive Lectures
present an overview on both geographical and cultural aspects of extreme
environments across the world
 discuss the importance of preserving the environment and natural resources
 explore the relationship between career plan and one’s own interest

II. Site visits
 visit characteristic sites in Hong Kong to understand the interplay among
historical, cultural, political and natural elements
 engage students to actively explore these sites through preparing touring scripts
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5. Assessment Scheme
Assessment
Scheme
Cultural
tourism
presentation
World
expedition
feature
presentation
Individual
reflection
piece
Description
Weight
Students in groups of two to three are responsible to
prepare background information on the historical,
cultural, political highlights of one selected
checkpoints of cultural tourism spots. Each
presentation should be about 2-3 minutes that educate
lay-people on the important features of these sites.
Groups of six to nine students will produce a feature of
a selected world expedition that can either be a print
production as in a newspaper or magazine, a
short-video clip, a multi-media presentation or any
other formats.
Based on the materials and learning experience
throughout the course, each student is expected to
report their personal reflection on the linkage among
arts, culture, humanities, science and environment.
The piece can be written in either Chinese (800 words)
or English (600 words). We look for integration and
insights that bridge multiple perspectives together.
20%
50%
30%
6. Learning resources
1. Blackmore, Charles: Conquering the desert of death : across the Taklamakan. London:
Tauris Parke Paperbacks, 2008.*
2. S. Brooke Milne: “Colonization, Structured Landscapes and Seasonal Mobility: An
Examination of Early Paleo-Eskimo Land-Use Patterns in the Eastern Canadian Arctic” in
the archaeology of mobility: old world and new world nomadism. Los Angeles: Cotsen
Institute of Archaeology, University Of California, c2008.*
3. Casper, Julie Kerr: Global warming cycles: ice ages and glacial retreat. New York: Facts
on File, c2010.*
4. Houghton, John: Global warming: the complete briefing (4th ed.).Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2009.*
5. Knowles R. Kerry, Martin Riddle. (Editors): Health of Antarctic Wildlife: A Challenge
for Science and Policy. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2009.*
6. McRae, Michael J.: The Siege of Shangri-La: the quest for Tibet's sacred hidden paradise.
New York: Broadway Books, 2002.*
7. Norton, David W. (editor): Fifty more years below zero: tributes and meditations for the
Naval Arctic Research Laboratory's first half century at Barrow, Alaska. Calgary, Alta.:
Arctic Institute of North America; Fairbanks: Distributed by the University of Alaska
Press, c2001.*
8. Riffenburgh, Beau (Editor): Encyclopedia of the Antarctic. New York: Routledge, 2007.*
9. 李樂詩，寰宇探索︰極地驚情。香港︰聚賢館文化有限公司。
10. 李樂詩，寰宇探索︰茫茫北極路。香港︰聚賢館文化有限公司。
11. 李樂詩，寰宇探索︰珠峰密語。香港︰聚賢館文化有限公司，1996。
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12.
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14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
李樂詩，寰宇探索︰沙漠行舟。香港︰聚賢館文化有限公司，1998。
李樂詩，寰宇探索︰雪域紅塵。香港︰聚賢館文化有限公司，1998。
李樂詩，寰宇探索︰北冰洋細語。香港︰聚賢館文化有限公司，2002。
李樂詩，寰宇探索︰南極長夜。香港︰聚賢館文化有限公司，2002。
李文祺（編）︰南極掠影。上海︰上海科技教育出版社，1991。
李樂詩（攝影）、劉小漢（撰文），白色力量︰南北極的回響。香港︰香港中國旅遊
出版社，1999。
李樂詩，三極宣言。香港︰向日葵工作室。
李樂詩（攝影）、野外動向（編輯），極地搜影。香港︰香港專業及資深行政人員協
會，2010。武衡、錢志宏（編）︰當代中國的南極考察事業。北京︰當代中國出版
社，2009。*
胡文康︰走進塔克拉瑪干。新疆︰新疆人民出版社，2000。*
陳根增︰夢中的香格里拉—陳根增攝影作品集。河南︰河南美術出版社，2007。*
楊逸疇、李明森︰天河地峽親歷記︰ 雅魯藏布江科學探險。成都市︰四川敎育出版
社，2002。*
陸詠鴻︰珠穆朗瑪︰再訪珠峰。福州市︰海風出版社，2006。*
魯永明︰魅力尼汝︰來自香港里拉藏族生態文化村的報導。中國︰民族出版社，
2005。*
張江華、揣振宇、陳景源︰雅魯藏布江大峽谷生態環境與民族文化考察記。北京︰
中國藏學出版社，2007。*
極地博物館基金，極地教育系列︰與愛斯基摩人同行。香港︰極地博物館基金，
2003。*
植村直己（日本）︰奔向北極。湖北︰湖北科學技術出版社，1987。*
Roberts, David: Points unknown: a century of great exploration. New York: Norton,
2000.*
Shigeta, Yasuhiro:International judicial control of environmental protection: standard
setting, compliance control and the development of international environmental law by
the international judiciary. Kluwer Law International, 2010*
7. Course Updates
Moodle (http://moodle.cuhk.edu.hk/) will be adopted in this course for posting course notes,
announcements, online Q&A, submitting on-line assignments, etc.
For students who are not familiar with the platform of Moodle, you are recommended to read
the instructions and guidelines of how to use Moodle on
http://moodle.tokem.fi/mod/book/view.php?id=17149
8. Feedback for evaluation
Students are welcome to give comments and feedback at any time during the class. Stop by
to talk to the lecturer or contact person. You can also send us emails or post your comments
on Moodle.
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Academic honesty and plagiarism
Information regarding the academic honesty and plagiarism policy in the University is located at
http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/ . Some further advice is given below.
Follow the Footprints: Explore Different Poles
2011-2012 Term 1
Guideline about plagiarism
Any assignment (i.e., project, essay, or paper) that shows evidence of plagiarism will be marked down
severely. In simple terms, plagiarism is copying passages and/or ideas from other sources without
referencing those sources. Moreover, when you report someone else’s ideas/findings you must put it
in your own words and not merely copy full sentences or parts of sentences from the source article. It
is your responsibility as a scholar-in-training to cite the ideas and work of others correctly. Please visit
the following websites for discussions of how to recognize and avoid plagiarism.
http://ec.hku.hk/plagiarism/introduction.htm
http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml
http://www.hamilton.edu/writing/style/plagiarism/plagiarism.html
If you commit plagiarism in an assignment, and it is your first offence in the course, the penalty will
range from a minimum of a single letter grade reduction in score on the assignment to a maximum of
failure on the assignment. A second offence within the same course will result in a minimum penalty
of a single letter grade reduction in the course grade to a maximum penalty of course failure. The
specific penalty applied is up to the discretion of the professor. In all cases of plagiarism, the student's
name will be recorded in a central database maintained by the general office. If a student is referred
for plagiarism in more than one course, or more than one instance in the same course, the student's
case will be forwarded to the university administration for follow-up action.
Detecting plagiarism
The Senate Committee on Teaching and Learning requires that all student assignments in
undergraduate programmes should be submitted via VeriGuide. This policy will only apply to
assignments in the form of a computer-generated document that is principally text-based (i.e.,
excluding calculations in science, brief laboratory reports, drawings in fine arts and architecture, etc.).
 Each student must upload a soft copy of the completed assignment to the plagiarism detection
engine VeriGuide, at https://veriguide1.cse.cuhk.edu.hk/cuhk/
 The system will issue a receipt which also contains a declaration of honesty, which is the same
as that in http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/p09.htm
 The declaration should be signed, and the receipt stapled to a hard copy of the assignment upon
submission.
 Assignments without the receipt will not be graded by teachers.
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