History Department - University of Hong Kong

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Why Study With Us?

The Department of History at HKU is the best place in Asia to engage in Asia-West historical studies. A commitment to excellence scholarship research-led teaching, and community engagement define our department. Representing nine different countries, our fourteen staff members bring a wealth of diversity and experience to the study of Asian, Asia-West, and international history. As the only Department of History in Hong Kong to score a perfect research score in the UGC's last Research Assessment Exercise (2006), we have built on our strengths and continued to develop into a world-class research and teaching hub for our community and the Asia-Pacific region at large.

Our academics are world-renowned scholars who have published widely in top academic journals and with prestigious university presses and commercial publishers including Harvard U. Press, Stanford U. Press, Cambridge U. Press, and Columbia U. Press. Most of our staff members have received generous research grants from important governmental and non-governmental funding bodies including the HKRGC, the Australian Research Council, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Fulbright Program. Many serve on editorial boards of premier journals and assessment committees of grant-giving agencies. Moreover, many of our staff members have been invited to write OpEd pieces in leading international newspapers including the New York Times, Washington Post , Wall Street Journal , Financial Times , South China Morning Post , Yomiuri , and the Australian . Our academics have also been asked to share their expert knowledge in the production of world-class documentaries on NHK in Japan and China Central TV. Finally, we have been active in sharing our expertise with the community via popular media. Our staff members have been interviewed numerous times on radio and television for the BBC, CBC, CNN, NPR, Radio Australian, the ABC in Australia, and SBS.

Our dedicated team of internationally acclaimed scholars believes in the intrinsic value of creating knowledge of the past through research and the importance of disseminating this knowledge through publications, teaching, and engagement with our community. The symbiotic relationship between research and teaching influences our approach to teaching with most of the undergraduate courses offered by staff being directly related to our research. Teaching courses related to our research interests allows us to share our research expertise, methodological approaches, and passions with students and make them feel part of a much larger, cutting edge research project. This provides invaluable experience and demonstrates how rewarding research and the process of academic discovery can be.

Not surprisingly given this research-focused approach to teaching, our academics have been recognized as some of the top teachers at HKU. Our 2009-2010 Student Evaluation of Teaching and Learning (SETL) scores for course effectiveness were the highest in the Faculty of Arts. Over the past five years, we have built up an innovative and flexible curriculum that focuses not only on “national histories” or histories of key events, but also introduces students to many key thematic approaches to history. These include religious, environmental, urban, economic, gender, imperial, and international history, as well as the history of technology, medicine, material culture, sports, warfare, and famine, disease, and natural disasters.

Along with historical knowledge and awareness, our curriculum focuses on the acquisition and development of skills that will facilitate life-long learning. Our small group teaching encourages students to develop skills of critical and creative thinking, and the persuasive articulation of thoughts and ideas. Our curriculum and emphasis on skills and knowledge provides exemplary training for our graduates to excel in Hong Kong's civil service and the professions of teaching, law, journalism, business and industry, and marketing.

Finally, the Department of History has demonstrated that we do more than just work in our community, but rather for our community beyond the walls of academia. Our newly established public history series, “History in the Making,” enables member of the community to engage with prominent international historians whose work has direct relevancy to the Hong Kong public. Through our research, teaching, and public engagement, we believe our endeavors will influence the way students and a large cross section of the community interprets the past, comprehends the present, and as global citizens even shapes the future.

Dr. Charles Schencking
Department Chairperson