Bulletin No. 2, 2016

12 Chinese University Bulletin No. 2, 2016 Ancient Wisdom Goes Mobile To broaden students’ intellectual horizons and foster their critical thinking in a world that evolves at the speed of fibre-optics, the role of classics—from The Analects to On Liberty —has never been more important. But comprehending classic texts requires patience in close reading, a rewarding experience contradictory to the culture of instant gratification nowadays. Dr. Kevin Ip , lecturer in the University General Education Foundation course ‘In Dialogue with Humanity’, which aims at fostering students’ self-understanding and visions of good life and good society through intellectual encounters with significant works of literature, religion, moral philosophy and political philosophy, is aware that students tend to interpret the texts based on their life experience, without carefully examining the logical coherence and historical background of the texts themselves. ‘The new generation is used to browsing for solutions online, but they may not have the prudence in evaluating the credibility of the source. To assist students to understand the sociocultural contexts of the classic texts, we have lined up CUHK scholars to conduct mini- lectures hosted on the KEEP edX platform,’ said Dr. Ip. The modules mainly serve the purpose of clarif ying core concepts before in- depth discussion in weekly tutorials.