28 October 2021

HSUHK Global Humanities Initiative hosted its first open colloquium at Fung Yiu King Hall on 28 October 2021. HSUHK’s GHI serves as a humanities hub in the region that promotes scholarship and research and examines human cultures. The colloquium was titled ‘Shall we play? Cultural references for the current debate’. Professor Luiz Oosterbeek, President of the International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences (CIPSH) of UNESCO, and Professor Ping-chen Hsiung, Secretary-General of CIPSH were invited to be the keynote speakers.

Professor Oosterbeek examined the role of play from an archaeological perspective. Human develops in play with creativity while the social experiences involved render sustainability. Professor Hsiung shared her cultural studies about how people in imperial China perceived ‘play’ and practised ‘cricket fight’. It would shed light on how the game has evolved and sustained in different forms in modern times.

The final part of the colloquium was a discussion session chaired by Professor Gilbert Fong, Co-Director of HSUHK GHI Committee, and Professor Desmond Hui, Founding Head of Department of Art and Design (AAD). Dr Christine Choy of the Department of Art and Design and Dr Sai-yau Siu of the School of Translation and Foreign Languages gave discussants’ remarks in response to Professor Oosterbeek and Professor Hsiung’s presentations. The discussion panel then had an interesting exchange on the social aspects of play and gaming. More than 130 students, staff and members of the public attended the colloquium online.