Newsletter No. 356

No. 356, 19.4.2010 下回〈十方吐露〉將訪問中大校友評議會主席劉世鏞先生 Mr. Lau Sai-yung, chairman of CUHK Convocation, will be featured in the next instalment of ‘TEN QUESTIONS FOR’. 預告 Coming Paul S.N. Lee 李少南 1 為何在中大唸本科時選擇政治行政? Why did you choose to study government and political administration as an undergraduate at CUHK? 七十年代初政治氣氛很壓抑,貧富懸殊嚴重。我和其他年輕人一 樣,對社會有很多不滿,覺得應當改變,而知道要改變社會,雖然 政治手段未必是最好,但最快最有效。所以報讀政治行政。 In the early 1970s, the political atmosphere was very depressing and the gap between the rich and poor was staggeringly wide. Like many young people, I was discontented with society. I thought that although politics might not be the best way to change society, it was the fastest and the most effective. That’s why I majored in political studies. 2 學士畢業後,為何轉而唸新聞與傳播? Why did you switch to communication for your postgraduate studies? 唸完政治之後,發現理論政治和現實政治有一段很大的距離,很 多理論很理想化,無法應用到現實。那時候認為,如果要影響社 會,雖然政治是最快,但更長遠更有效的,可能是傳播和新聞。 剛巧中大請了傳播大師Wilbur Schramm來開辦傳播學碩士課 程,我就馬上報讀。 After doing political studies, I found that there was a disparity between political theories and realpolitik . Many theories proved too ideal for application. At that time I thought that although politics might be the fastest way to change society, communication might be more effective in the long run. When I learned that CUHK invited communication master Wilbur Schramm to teach its new master in communication programme, I immediately applied. 3 你的專長是跨國和跨文化傳播,在這方面,你在美國的經驗 可有令你感到困惑或有所啟發? Your specialty is international/intercultural communication and you spent time in the US. Can you share with us an incident while you were there that was baffling and/or revealing to you? 有一個例子給我的印象很深刻。在七十年代,香港經濟剛起飛, 汽車開始多起來。每遇撞車,不管誰對誰錯,雙方一下車就互相 用髒話大罵。但在美國情況完全不同,撞到別人的會道歉,並願 意賠償,是不用爭辯的。美國社會有一種羞愧意識,但當時香港 人的心態基本上認為錯的一定是別人。這是很大的文化差異。 One experience impressed me very much. During the economic takeoff in the 1970s, we were starting to have many cars on the roads in Hong Kong. When there was a collision, those involved would get off their cars and shout at each other. In the US, the situation was totally different. The one at fault would apologize and agree to make compensation. Arguing was unnecessary. There is a sense of shame in American society. But Hong Kong people at that time tended to think that it was always somebody else’s fault. It was a big cultural difference. 4 今天社會科學學生和以前可有甚麼不同? How do you assess the capabilities and/or competitiveness of social science graduates nowadays? 大學是社會的縮影,如果要比較,其實是在比較社會的改變。當年 那麼多學生運動,是因為社會有很多不安情緒。其後有一段時間, 社會沒有甚麼議題,學運也沉寂下來。我覺得這不是壞事。 九七後社會議題多起來,近年學生對社會的批判聲音也增加。最 近反高鐵事件站出來那群大學生,尤其是幾個發言人,思維很周 密。他們的抗爭方式也比以前更多樣化,叫「快樂抗爭」,像開嘉 年華會般,創意真了不起。現在的學生比我們以前更優秀。 Universities are societies in miniature. If you want to compare students in the past and present, you’re comparing society in the past and present. The student movement was prevalent when I was young because people were discontented with society. In the ensuing years when social issues lost their perceived importance, the student movement faded out. I don’t think it’s a bad thing. After 1997, social issues became more acute, so students are more vocal and critical. The university students who took part in the recent anti-express rail protests, especially the spokespersons, acted with clear and logical thinking. The protests they staged were more colourful than ours. They called it ‘happy confrontation’, something like a carnival. They’re really creative. Students nowadays are more brilliant than we were. 5 你是社會科學院首任全職院長,首要工作有哪些? What is your priority as the first appointed dean of the Faculty of Social Science? 有幾方面:研究與教學是所有大學的使命,研究就是要增加新知 識,教學是為了承傳知識與文化;另外還有第三方面,就是知識的 散播,即所謂社會服務。利用你的知識去幫助和改善社會。 There are several dimensions to our work. Research and teaching are the missions of all universities. We strive to generate new knowledge through research. By teaching, we pass on knowledge and culture to the new generations. The third dimension is community service. We use our knowledge to serve and improve society. 6 社會科學和其他學科有何不同? What is the difference between social science and other disciplines? 顧名思義,社會科學和社會息息相關。社會科學,尤其是社會學, 很強調批判性,即是要知其然,並知其所以然,對業已形成的制 度和組織,不斷追問─為何會這樣?為何一定是這樣?從而令這 個發展變得更好。 Social science, as its name suggests, is closely related to society. Social science, especially sociology, emphasizes critical thinking. That means you have to know how and why it is that way. When looking at existing institutions and organizations, you have to keep on asking some basic questions, such as why it is the way it is? Why must it be like this? And then you may steer its development to a better direction. 7 你希望培養出怎樣的社會科學學生? What qualities do you expect social science students to possess? 希望他們對社會有深入認識和反思。大學教育有別於職業訓練之 處,就是在訓練基本謀生技能之外,更培養尋根究柢研探問題的 精神,因為敢問,才有機會改變社會的狀況。 I hope they can have a deep understanding of society and reflect on it. University education is different from vocational training in that we not only teach students professional skills, but also teach them to make inquiries that would get to the roots of problems. Only when you make such inquiries can you change society. 8 未來社會科學院的課程會有甚麼改變? Will there be any change to the programmes offered by the Faculty of Social Science? 我們制訂了策略計劃,準備朝統一招生計劃的方向發展。即剛入 學的新生不分系,到二三年級再按興趣選擇主修,甚至可以不選 主修,只要修夠學分就畢業。現在,除社會工作學系外,其餘七個 課程各撥兩成學額給統一招生計劃。另外,亦準備開辦跨科際 課程。現正構思由建築學院和地理資源管學系合辦「都市研究」 課程。 We’ve formulated a strategic plan. One of the new initiatives will be a broad-based admission initiative, which will not require freshmen to choose a major. They will choose a major in their sophomore or junior year. They may not even be required to choose a major. They can graduate as long as they have enough credits. Now, except for the Department of Social Work, all other seven programmes will allocate 20% of their student places for broad-based admission. We also want to offer some interdisciplinary programmes. Already in the pipeline is a progamme called ‘urban studies’, which will be jointly offered by the School of Architecture and the Department of Geography and Resource Management. 9 研究方面又有哪些首要工作? What will be your priorities as regards research? 我會鼓勵同事多申請研究撥款,同時也希望設立訪問教授席,讓 各系申請。每學期或每年可以有兩三位不同範疇的訪問教授來 訪,藉此提升我們的研究能力,也更了解國際學界的最新發展。 I’ll encourage my colleagues to apply for more research grants. I’ll also establish visiting professorships so that each year or each semester, we can invite two or three visiting professors from different fields. By doing so, we can strengthen our research ability and keep abreast of the latest developments in international academia. 10 你在新聞與傳播學院的網頁,有句忠告給學生: ‘Professionalism is more than knob-turning and key- punching’,能否解釋它的意思? On your webpage at the School of Journalism and Communication, you posted a piece of advice to students: ‘Professionalism is more than knob-turning and key-punching’. Can you elaborate? 學院強調新聞從業員的專業訓練、專業精神。但我們發覺剛進大 學的一二年級生,對技巧性的東西很感興趣,比如拍片、網頁設 計、音樂製作之類,覺得這樣就是專業。我那句話想強調,不是轉 幾下旋鈕或者按幾個鍵就叫專業,專業精神的重點是價值觀,忠 於行業的基本守則。以新聞為例,一定要報道事實,把準確消息 帶給市民。 The School stresses the importance of journalistic pro- fessionalism. But we found that many newly admitted students are interested only in the technical aspects of training, such as video shooting, webpage design, or music making, etc. In their eyes, professionalism is about those skills and techniques. What I wanted to convey with that piece of advice was: professionalism is not about turning a few knobs or punching a few keys on a console. It’s about values. Journalists with professionalism should adhere to certain principles of their trade, such as reporting the facts and bringing accurate news to the people.

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDE2NjYz