Page 104 - SYU Prospectus

Shue Yan University Prospectus 2018-19

ENG 509 Environment, Ecology and Ecocriticism
1 Term; 3 Credits
This course brings together seminal writings on the central issues in ecology as a scien-
tific discourse and environmental ethics, and how they comprise a base for the general
direction and methodology of ecocriticism. Students are expected to have a grasp of
geological problems ranging from ozone depletion, deforestation, climate change, water
pollution to global crises, animal extinction, environmental pragmatism, etc. Ecology as a
science is emphasized so as to arm students with a solid foundation of facts, before they
move on to topics such as environmentalism, deep ecology, life-ethics, ecofeminism, and the
rapidly emerging field of literary ecology. Texts on cultural geography, social and cultural
theories on environment, ecological philosophy, mythology and political ecology will be used,
and students are encouraged to choose matching literary works (novels, poetry and short
stories) as well as cultural texts (films, TV and animation) for illustration. The course, being
necessarily interdisciplinary in nature, again serves as an important testing ground for the
philosophy of our MA programme as a whole. One of the objectives of this course is for
students to develop new directions of awareness particularly in relation to the module of
“environment and technology” in liberal studies. The ultimate aim is for students, after taking
this course, to be able to guide the younger generation to better shape the relationship
between humans and nature into the future.

ENG 510 Literature and Visual Culture
1 Term; 3 Credits
Literature has had an ambivalent relationship to the visual arts. This course explores
how the verbal arts and the visual arts inform one another and challenge the reading/viewing
experience. Students are introduced to some key theoretical debates about visual culture and
literary writing, and have the opportunity to engage a diverse range of texts drawn from many
genres (poetry, fiction, essays, painting, photography, comic books, and to a lesser extent,
film). Topics covered include ekphrasis, textual illustration, the case of poet-painters, what has
been termed “word painting” and the cinematic adaptation of literary texts. Special emphasis is
placed on the resurgent and fluid genre of comic books (or graphic novels), texts traditionally
regarded as juvenile or lowbrow. Students are thus encouraged to reflect on the ways such
texts go beyond youthful subcultures and handle topical matters such as personal develop-
ment, ethnic identity, social power, or trauma.

ENG 511 Language, Culture and Society
1 Term; 3 Credits
This course presents and elucidates the interconnectedness between language, culture
and society. It is the aim of the course to direct student to an in-depth and critical discussion
on the major issues related to language, culture and society. Issues like culture and language
development, culture, language and verbal art, language and social relations, language and
cultural identity, language, culture and thought, language variation as well as language

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