Page 196 - HKSYU Prospectus 2018-19

Shue Yan University Prospectus 2018-19

major themes. Meanwhile, students will learn how to evaluate culture in its own terms and free
themselves from bias and prejudice rooted in longstanding ethnocentrism.

SOC 106 The Art of Reasoning
1 Term; 3 Credits

This course introduces students to fundamental principles of reasoning. It cultivates
students’ intellectual ability to develop and evaluate arguments in ordinary language. To
achieve this goal, this course includes a basic understanding of the skills of linguistic analysis,
the nature and techniques of reasoning, as well as the essential methods in scientific and
ethical reasoning. Attention is also drawn to the core part of elementary symbolic logic. Upon
completing this course, students will strengthen their skills of critical thinking which is
necessary to excel in various academic fields and career paths.

SOC 108 Introduction to Statistics
1 Term; 3 Credits

This course provides sociology students with training in the principles and application of
statistics to the social sciences. Topics covered include: basic concepts of statistics; the
measures of central tendency and dispersion; probability and sampling theories; bivariate
measures of association and hypothesis testing. The meanings of statistics and statistical
conclusions are stressed.

SOC 160 Food and Society
1 Term; 3 Credits

This course aims to explore food issues and foodways in various societies from the
perspectives of sociology and anthropology. The course will empower students to conceive of
food as social and cultural construction and to explain food-related issues with reference to
on-going social relations. Also, this course will showcase how to apply various theoretical and
conceptual approaches, such as cultural interpretations, symbolism, identity, gender analysis,
social exchange, religious taboo and ritual, and globalization, to the analysis of food and
eating.

SOC 204 Cultures in the Contemporary World
1 Term; 3 Credits

This course investigates social life from a comparative perspective, enabling students to
gain an understanding of the world around them. It illustrates cultural variations within Hong
Kong, within Asia, and around the world in the context of rapid globalization. The course
covers a variety of topics, such as ways of living, forms of exchange, social inequalities, social
construction of gender, politics of gender, and globalization of culture. How did the process of
globalization begin? Is cultural variation about to be annihilated in the face of cultural
homogenization and “McDonaldization”? Or can we expect the contrary that local cultural
differences will intensify?

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