Hong Kong and Human Rights in Asia

Undergraduate / Graduate

The dynamic city of Hong Kong-a multicultural, special economic zone and a contested democracy with a vibrant popular press and a long history of support for regional grassroots politics-provides the setting for three weeks of investigation of human rights locally and across Asia. Students will become familiar with the human rights challenges facing Hong Kong and the region today. Topics as diverse as labor rights, gender and sexuality, democracy, access to health care and education, and freedom of expression will command our attention. We will also explore the relationship between art, exhibition practices, the media, and human rights. The University of Chicago's new Hong Kong campus will serve as our home base, but much of our time will be spent undertaking short field excursions to speak with human rights actors, journalists, curators, and artists in Hong Kong along with a tentative short trip to southern China. As the capstone of this intensive course, students will create digital, multimedia documentary projects to showcase their engagement with a particular regional or local human rights problem. These projects may combine interviews, photographs and videos, and the production of an original text or artwork.