Introduction of Concentrations

This concentration equips students with knowledge and technical know-how on the interplay of entrepreneurial activities and community/social well-being. It will also focus on how to conceive and develop a new economic life that balances market forces and social protection. Upon completion of this concentration, students should be able to analyze the relationships between entrepreneurship and community development, and to explain the social and community links of consumption in a new wave of consumer awareness. Students will also be able to evaluate the impact of social and business enterprises with respect to social responsibility and contributions to community. Students are required to take one compulsory course “Entrepreneurship and Society” and four of the seven elective courses in the concentration (e.g., “Poverty, Social Policy and Social Innovation” and “Community Economy”).

Courses for Culture, Heritage and Innovation concentration

This concentration utilizes sociological and anthropological knowledge to identify and analyse how innovative cultural work is disseminated in contemporary society, with a focus on the contexts of Hong Kong and other Chinese societies. It also explains how culture and heritage have been recycled or reinvented as hybrid practices for the appropriation or consumption of individuals, markets, and states. The Concentration will also offer an understanding of how media and cities construct social life, as these serve as dynamic conduits through which culture and heritage evolve in innovative ways. Students are required to take one compulsory course “Culture, Heritage and Society” and four of the eight elective courses in the concentration (e.g., “Sustainable and Innovative Cities in the 21st Century” and “Tourism and Culture”).

Courses for Culture, Heritage and Innovation concentration

The Digital Sociology concentration equips students with an understanding of how digital technologies reshape individuals, relationships, institutions, communities, economies and public governance. It examines digital platforms, online communities, emerging technologies and the evolving relationship between self and society in a digitally transformed world. The concentration also develops practical skills in digital social research, including online surveys, big-data analysis, data mining, social-media sentiment analysis and digital ethnography. Students learn to undertake research throughout the full process, from data collection and analysis to the effective communication of findings. They are required to complete one compulsory course, i.e. Introduction to Digital Sociology, and four of the eight concentration electives (e.g. Digital Divide and Social Inequality and Digital Governance and Smart Cities). Overall, this concentration strengthens students’ critical digital literacy, methodological competence and employability for research-oriented careers and workplaces which are increasingly shaped by digital environments.

Courses for Digital Sociology concentration