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The Faculty of Education and Shaw College of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) will present two public lectures by Prof. Harry R. Lewis, Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University. Professor Lewis is the author of numerous books and articles on various aspects of computer science. His book about higher education, Excellence Without a Soul: Does Liberal Education Have a Future? was a Boston Globe best-seller and the subject of favorable reviews in both the Boston Globe and the Wall Street Journal. As a member of the Harvard faculty since 1974, Professor Lewis has helped launch thousands of Harvard undergraduates into careers in computer science. Members of the public are welcome to join the lectures. Details are as follows:

The Lee Hysan Lecture, Faculty of Education, CUHK

Topic:           Approaches to General Education?
Date:            Monday, 17 January 2011
Time:            4:30 p.m.
Venue:         Auditorium B6, Ho Tim Building, Faculty of Education, CUHK
Language:    English
Online registration: http://serverf.fed.cuhk.edu.hk/faculty/applications/candi_110117
Enquiries:     Ms. Angie Choi, Faculty of Education, CUHK (Tel: 2609 6905; Email: achoi@cuhk.edu.hk)
Live broadcast: http://www.fed.cuhk.edu.hk/leehysan2011

Synopsis:
In every advanced economy, universities are facing a dilemma about their conflicting purposes. On the one hand, universities are engines of economic growth. So universities are, quite properly, measured on the basis of how well they advance knowledge and train experts. At the same time, a good education gives students certain characteristics that are not associated with specialized expertise. How can universities educate students to understand these larger issues of their place in the future of the world, in the face of the relentless demands for greater expertise? This is the challenge of general education.

Drawing on lessons from history about why the various general education programs lost their momentum, Professor Lewis will describe what goals are achievable today and what approaches are now workable in secondary schools and universities.

The Lee Hysan Lecture is organized by Faculty of Education and Shaw College, CUHK and sponsored by Lee Hysan Foundation.

Sir Run Run Shaw Distinguished Visiting Scholar Lecture 2010-11

Topic:               Civic Education in the Information Era
Date:                Wednesday, 19 January 2011
Time:                5:00 p.m.
Venue:              Lecture Theatre, Shaw College, CUHK
Language:        English
Registration & enquiries: Ms. Fiona Ho, Shaw College, CUHK (Tel: 2609 8538 or email: fionaho@cuhk.edu.hk)
Transportation: Shuttle bus will depart at 4:25 pm and 4:40 pm at the University MTR Station

Synopsis:
In the information era, people expect Internet to provide universal access to information, break down knowledge barriers and bring peace and brotherhood to the human race. However, dis-intermediated communication may do more to splinter than to unite societies. In this lecture, Professor Lewis will explore the apparent paradox, and what it implies about the demands the Internet places on educational systems to prepare adults for responsible citizenship in a world of plentiful, cheap, and unreliable information.

Rather than diminishing the importance of the educational system by putting information at the fingertips of every citizen, the Internet creates new civic education burdens. Educated citizens must be able to read deeply, to listen intently and empathetically, to analyze rationally, to present thoughts and debate their merits vigorously, and to confront rather than dismiss unsupported assertions. Cyberspace may yet prove to be a civic participation utopia, but not unless schools and universities show the way.

Since 1989, Shaw College has been operating the Sir Run Run Shaw Distinguished Visiting Scholar Scheme.  Every year, an internationally distinguished scholar is invited to give lectures and to meet the teaching staff and students of the College as well as the University. Previous scholars include Prof. Lee Yuan-tseh, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry; Prof. Yau Shing-tung, Fields Medalist; and Prof. Charles Kao, Nobel Laureate in Physics.