6 credits| Dr. Ian FONG
If contemporary cities are becoming more ‘invisible’, it is because the effects they have upon us are indirect and displaced. Our experience of cities becomes more problematic as cities themselves become more complex. This course explores the changing spaces of cities mainly through major works of fiction and of cinema, though it will include other forms like painting and architecture as well as theoretical texts. Topics for discussion include: How is urban experience transformed by colonialism/imperialism, technology, information? What are the different ways of reading the city? Is Hong Kong a ‘Chinese city,’ and what is a Chinese city to begin with? How can the city be read as a cultural text?
Assessment: 100% coursework.