Page 198 - HKSYU Prospectus 2023-24

Shue Yan University Prospectus 2023-24

selected topics involved in the study of social life and society with a specific theme indicated
by course title listed in the course schedule for that semester. The course draws upon the rich
and diverse intellectual traditions that constitute the Department of Sociology, which includes
sociology, anthropology, philosophy and liberal studies. The specific content of the course will
vary from year to year, depending on the instructor’s area of expertise and theoretical interests.
In most cases the course will relate to the instructor’s research interests. The overall aim of this
course is to encourage students to critically analyse major issues currently debated in the study
of social life and society.

SOC 409 Collective Memory and Social Change
1 Term; 3 Credits
This course explains collective memory not as a static entity, but rather as an ongoing
process of forgetting, remembering, encoding and reworking of the past. It examines how the
past is recalled and understood via the categories and schemata of our own cultures. It also
investigates how collective memories are conceptualized through a variety of means. Oral
histories, narratives, public rituals, heritage, monuments, public space, and capitalism will be
analysed to understand their role in shaping, reshaping, and maintaining memories within a
community. Students are encouraged to critically examine how Hong Kong people remember
their collective past and how this collective memory has changed over time, and to understand
the dynamics of the heritage scene in Hong Kong.

SOC 410 Sociology of Organizations
1 Term; 3 Credits
This course aims to provide students with a deeper understanding of the nature of
complex organizations in a modernized, industrialized and urbanized setting. In this context,
organizations are viewed as structural entities as well as dynamic processes that exert
immense influences on individuals, groups, institutions and societies in the areas of economic,
political, social and even cultural development.

SOC 411 Impact of Social and Enterprise Innovation
1 Term; 3 Credits
This course aims to examine the idea and practice of social impact assessment (SIA), i.e.
an analysis of the impact of social and enterprise innovation on the socio-cultural aspects of
the human environment. These impacts include the specific changes in attitudes, behaviour,
knowledge, and skills of stakeholders that result from social and enterprise activities. This
course starts by introducing the idea of social impact assessment in the context of policy
innovation and enterprise initiation. The socio-cultural and economic conditions of the society
will also be explored. The central part of the course lies in identifying the social impacts of
social and enterprise innovation on various aspects of life, as well as exploring the various tools
of programme evaluation to measure the social outputs of these innovations. This course
demonstrates the rationale and process through which evidence-based practice can be used
in social and enterprise innovation, which eventually ensures that the needs of different

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