General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW3233 / LALS3008 |
| Course name: | Law, History and Culture |
| Programme offered under: | LLB Programme / BA&LLB Programme |
| Semester: | First and Second |
| Designated research course: | No |
| Specialization: | Not applicable |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | Not applicable |
| Course offered to non-law students: | No |
| Credit point value: | 6 credits |
| Cap on student numbers: | 30 |
1.2 Course description
This course will enable students to research and examine the history of law and its connection with social, political and economic development of Hong Kong and China in the 19th and 20th centuries through students’ firsthand exploration of archival documents and images. Through a close reading of archival materials, students will reflect critically on their conventional basic ideas about the legal system, social customs and culture of Hong Kong and China. These ideas include, among others, ‘Imperial China lacks the rule of law’; ‘Hong Kong’s rule of law is a British colonial legacy’. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this course will explore how the notion of law functions as a site of discourse in the expression of identity, a response to geopolitics as well as the articulation of ethnic and socio-economic differences.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | John Wong (1st semester) | jdwong@hku.hk | CRT 531 | By email |
| Course convenor | Michael Ng (2nd semester) | michaeln@hku.hk | CCT 303 | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Appreciate the development of legal practices against the background of socioeconomic and cultural changes.
CLO 2 Understand the process by which notions of legality reflect self perception and others perception of Hong Kong and China at different points in time.
CLO 3 Analyze historical documents and construct arguments backed by archival evidence.
2.2 LLB Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link: https://course.law.hku.hk/llb-plo/
2.3 Programme Learning Outcomes to be achieved in this course
| PLO A | PLO B | PLO C | PLO D | PLO E | PLO F | |
| CLO 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Class Participation | N/A | 25% | 1, 2, 3 | |
| Individual presentation | 14 Apr 2023 | 10% | 1, 2, 3 | |
| Group presentation | 21 Apr 2023 | 15% | 1, 2, 3 | |
| Book review | 6 May 2023 | 20% | 1, 2, 3 | |
| Research essay | 20 May 2023 | 30% | 1, 2, 3 |
| *Feedback method (to be determined by course teacher) | |
| 1 | A general course report to be disseminated through Moodle |
| 2 | Individual feedback to be disseminated by email / through Moodle |
| 3 | Individual review meeting upon appointment |
| 4 | Group review meeting |
| 5 | In-class verbal feedback |
3.2 Assessment Detail
To be advised by course convenor(s).
3.3 Grading Criteria
Please refer to the following link: https://www.law.hku.hk/_files/law_programme_grade_descriptors.pdf
Learning Activities
4.1 Learning Activity Plan
| Lecture: | 3 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9.5 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
Remarks: the normative student study load per credit unit is 25 ± 5 hours (ie. 150 ± 30 hours for a 6-credit course), which includes all learning activities and experiences within and outside of classroom, and any assessment task and examinations and associated preparations.
4.2 Details of Learning Activities
To be advised by the convenor(s).
Learning Resources
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | Reading materials are posted on Moodle |
| Core reading list: | TBA |
| Recommended reading list: | TBA |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/