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function of first importance which the University should fulfil. This purpose can be realised only if there are active postgraduate courses where students can be encouraged to discuss and study problems which require for their elucidation a considerable background of knowledge.
Department of English (Language and Literature):
The task of the Department of English must necessarily be twofold. Special emphasis will obviously be needed on the training of students in a knowledge of the language by methods developed in Modern Language Departments in Universities in this country. An effective mastery of spoken and written English should clearly be one of the characteristics of students who have taken a University Course at Hong Kong. The use of the latest techniques will be needed for this purpose, and special attention will be necessary to phonetics. Close co-operation with the post-graduate Department of Education would be a natural development in this connection. The second fundamental object is the introduction of students to a critical appreciation of western civilization and its variants, especially the British, through the study of English Literature. It is only upon the basis of a thorough training in both language and literature that students could be prepared in advanced work. One of the main lines of post-graduate work might appropriately be the comparative study of English and Chinese literary forms. We would suggest that one at least of the lecturers in the Department should be a Chinese well-grounded in his own and in English literature.
Department of Chinese (Language and Literature):
This Department would give Chinese from overseas and some non-Chinese students, an elementary training in the Chinese language, and an introduction to its literature, but its main work would be among Chinese students already well-grounded in this subject. It might also become a research centre for British sinologues, like the Ecole Francaise de l'Extreme Orient, at Hanoi. Useful work might be done on the Chinese dialects and in literary and historical research. It would certainly be surprising if this Department became a greater centre of Chinese studies than those in China itself, but in any case its staff would be essential for the purpose of comparative studies undertaken in conjunction with the Departments of English Language and Literature, of Social Sciences and of Philosophy.
Department of Social Sciences:
In this Department, as in the Department of English, we would emphasize that a thorough grounding of students at the undergraduate stage is essential before the special work which we hope for can be fully developed. We conceive of this special work as the comparative study of the social philosophies and the social institutions of the Far East and the Atlantic areas, especially in their economic and political aspects. For this work studies in Mathematics, Languages, History, Philosophy and Geography are of great importance. Economics in all its aspects is fundamental. Particular attention could appropriately be given to the philosophies and institutions of China, Britain and the British Commonwealth. China has a long history in which such matters are very adequately recorded, and has made her own contribution, especially in social ethics. It is reasonable to assume that comparative studies coull very fruitfully be pursued. Very close contact would be necessary with the Departments of English, History and Philosophy wherein the staff at the beginning will have a majority of British members, and with the Department of Chinese which will be staffed exclusively by Chinese. The Department of Social Science might aim at an early distribution of posts equally between Chinese and Eritish holders. This should not be too difficult of attainment because this is a field in which Chinese have long been interested, and in which many have had Western training.
Department of History.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.