GE2023-06

Required Reading:

• Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata
• Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
  
  

Have we ever wondered how those inhabiting the demi-monde* live and love, laugh, and die? After all, we share the same genetic makeup; they’re just as human as we are, and buffeted by the same forces that could change our lives. Perhaps, though, through interaction, we can better understand who they really are, what their world is like, and the nature of the barrier between us. Even fall in love? Or, are we destined to remain in two different worlds, and “ne’er the twain shall meet”? In this digital age of pre-canned (mis)conceptions and instant judgments perhaps it is better that we take a little time to understand them, face to face, and achieve greater empathy. 

* Cambridge Dictionary: Demi-Monde - a group of people who live and behave in ways that are not traditionally accepted as normal or morally correct.

Find your own answer, through the life of two women of the demi-monde, Komako of Northwest Honshu and Holly Golightly of New York, East and West. Two outstanding literary works, “Snow Country” by Japan’s Nobel Laureate Yasunari Kawabata, and “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” by one of America’s best and most colourful author Truman Capote, will be your guides, complemented by scintillating audio-visual elements.

Host:	Mr. Peter Lai 黎慶寧先生
	(Honorary Professor at the Department of Politics and Public Administration, HKU)
Date:	23/9, 7/10, 14/10, 28/10, 4/11/2023 (Sat)
	*Participants of the Opera Soiree - Her Love and Life: Woman of the Demi-Monde, would also join the session on 14/10.
Time:	15:00 – 17:30
Venue:	GE Gatherland 240 (MB240, 2/F, Main Building, HKU)
Fee:	$200 (Enrolled students will receive the clothbound edition of both books. A deposit of $100 will be refunded upon full attendance.)
Quota:	10
Registration:	https://onlinepytsysprd.feo.hku.hk/event/110595?code=6d32c6642e3847f88a7e0a36c8fba4a7&preview=1  Registration will start on GE Enrolment Day (7 Sep).

Date	Time	Venue
23 Sep 2023	15:00 - 17:30	GE Gatherland 240 (MB240, 2/F, Main Building, HKU)
07 Oct 2023	15:00 - 17:30	GE Gatherland 240 (MB240, 2/F, Main Building, HKU)
14 Oct 2023	15:00 - 17:30	GE Gatherland 240 (MB240, 2/F, Main Building, HKU)
28 Oct 2023	15:00 - 17:30	GE Gatherland 240 (MB240, 2/F, Main Building, HKU)
04 Nov 2023	15:00 - 17:30	GE Gatherland 240 (MB240, 2/F, Main Building, HKU)

Bio of Instructor(s) 導師簡介:

 

	Mr. Peter Lai　黎慶寧先生 After graduating with first-class honours at HKU in 1973, Mr. Lai joined the Hong Kong Government as an Administrative Officer. From 1985 Mr. Lai was almost continuously engaged in Sino-British negotiations on the future arrangements for Hong Kong and was appointed a Member of the Sino-British Land Commission (1991 – 1994). In late 1994 he was appointed the first 'local' Secretary for Security of the Hong Kong Government. He left the civil service on 1 August 1998. Mr. Lai is an Honorary Professor at the Department of Politics and Public Administration, HKU.