European Studies SMLC HKU School of Modern Languages and Cultures HKU
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japan studies
- BA Course

Interdisciplinary Elective Course
JAPN2059
Family and social institutions in Japan and Greater China
6 credits
 
The course starts with an examination of traditional Chinese families and introduces the basic concepts of “qi” (breath), “xing” (form), and “fang/jia-zu” which are fundamental to an understanding of Chinese family life and kinship. The course critically reviews current understandings of the traditional Japanese family before moving onto an analysis of the social institution of marriage and the social expectations it engenders in Chinese and Japanese societies. The final part of the course focuses on how traditional Chinese and Japanese family systems impact on non-kinship organizations, the running of family firms, and post-war nation-building in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China and Japan. It also examines how the traditional family system orders the concepts of “public” and “private” in contemporary Chinese and Japanese society.
 
Assessment: 100% coursework
(Not on offer in 2019/2020)


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