Taiwan Studies – Taiwan Insight

Indigenous Taiwan through Critical Lenses: Comparative and Place-Based Perspectives

29 September 2023 Chee-Hann Wu

Written by Yi-Yang Cheng, Ssu-Chieh Jessica Fan and Susan Hou. Centring on Indigeneity in Taiwan, the interdisciplinary roundtable “Indigenous Taiwan through Critical Lenses: Comparative and Place-Based Perspectives” conceptualized Taiwan as a grounding point for multiple geographical perspectives. Instead of positioning Taiwan as a boundary object between the East and the West, it prompted a fresh envisioning and repositioning of Taiwan as a liminal space of unbounded and interconnected possibilities. Put differently, the roundtable discussions explored alternative ways of positioning Taiwan in/and the world, including perspectives which might have previously been marginalized or eluded consideration.

Beyond Books: Taiwanese Stories in the World

27 September 2023 Chee-Hann Wu

Written by Ssu-Chieh Jessica Fan and Cheng-Ting Wu. In recent years, Taiwan literature has experienced a surge in visibility and recognition within the global cultural community. To explore the border-crossing potential of Taiwanese stories, the planning team of the NATSA 2023 conference organized a special event, creating a lively platform for discussing the circulation and reception of Taiwanese fiction and non-fiction works in the international book market and academia.

Taiwanese American as an Aesthetic/Academic/Activist Concern

25 September 2023 Chee-Hann Wu

Organized by I-Lin Liu. Taiwanese American is not a given status but a process of becoming. For first and second-generation Taiwanese Americans, the experience of living in a foreign land and becoming a member of an ethnic minority group often creates occasions for rethinking or reconceptualizing the meanings of being Taiwanese or Taiwanese American. This article focuses on the meaning(s) of Taiwanese American identity, community building, and the future of the Taiwanese American identity.

NATSA: Repositioning Taiwan

22 September 2023 Chee-Hann Wu

Written by Chee-Hann Wu. The North American Taiwan Studies Association (NATSA) is a registered nonprofit organization and the largest scholarly association dedicated to Taiwan Studies in the United States and Canada. It was founded in 1994 when Taiwan Studies became a booming field of research that attracted international attention during the 1990s, a period of rapid political, economic, social, and cultural change in Taiwan. The growing academic interest in Taiwan called for a regular and interdisciplinary academic forum. To establish such a forum, the North American Taiwan Studies Association’s constitution was drafted and ratified at the first annual conference at Yale University in June 1994.

In memory of Prof. Ian Inkster

11 September 2023 Adrian Chiu

Written by Chun-yi Lee. The deep sorrow of never receiving another book proposal from Ian is everlasting. But I know in my heart that his influence will continue: his thoughts will inspire further contributions to Taiwan-related studies. Thank you, Ian. We learned so much from you when you were with us, both in person and through email communications, and we will keep learning from your writings every time we read your publications. And yes, I always, always give you my positive vibes!

Reflections on the Twentieth Anniversary of the European Association of Taiwan Studies

7 September 2023 Adrian Chiu

Written by Dafydd Fell. It was a special moment to open the 2023 European Association of Taiwan Studies (EATS) Conference back at SOAS twenty years after we started planning the first conference. The venue for the opening in June 2023 was even the same as the first 2004 conference in the SOAS University of London’s Khalili Lecture Theatre. It was also wonderful to see many people at this year’s conference who had also been involved in the early history of the association. Reflecting back over the last twenty years, it is remarkable how European Taiwan Studies has developed, and EATS has played a critical role in this Taiwan Studies miracle.

Taiwan Studies in Europe in 20 years: Looking forward to another 20 years

12 July 2023 Adrian Chiu

Written by Isabelle Cockel and Chun-yi Lee. The 20th Annual Conference of the European Association of Taiwan Studies (EATS) was held at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, on 26th – 28th June 2023. More than 120 participants joined this intellectual festival. A fire drill flushing out all the participants from the SOAS Main Building on the second day added a memorable highlight to the otherwise smooth proceeding of a panel-packed conference. Taiwan Insight featured four conference papers from the 3rd to the 12th of July as part of the celebration. This postface reflected upon the steady growth of Taiwan Studies, as demonstrated by them, in the past twenty years in Europe and beyond.

The Development of Taiwan Studies at Roma Tre University

5 July 2023 Adrian Chiu

Written by Rosa Lombardi and Silvia Schiavi. Since 2012, Roma Tre University carried out a series of activities to promote the knowledge and dissemination of Taiwanese culture and literature, contributing to the development of Taiwan studies in Italy. Before that, there was very little or no space devoted to Taiwanese literature in Italian universities, and courses in modern and contemporary Chinese literature mainly still deal with Chinese mainland literary production. Given this scarcity of studies on Taiwan in Italy, Prof. Rosa Lombardi and Dr Silvia Schiavi have promoted and implemented a series of events to raise awareness about the island and foster a better understanding of the Sinophone world through the introduction of Taiwan’s rich culture, history and literature to the students and the general public.

Taiwan Studies: An experience from India

4 August 2022 Adrian Chiu

Written by Manoj Kumar Panigrahi. The government and academicians must work upon a little academic knowledge of Taiwan in India. To begin with, Taiwan Studies can make space for itself within existing programmes or research centres in Northeast Asia or East Asia. Once it gains a stronghold, it can take off as a separate entity. I am optimistic about collaborating with other Taiwan Studies programmes worldwide to enhance India’s new front of research. The primary and most important goal now thus is to initiate and cultivate interest in Taiwan in India. Whether the interest in Taiwan is coming independently or clubbing it with other studies should not matter at the current stage. The debate of whether it shall be clubbed with “China studies” or be called “Sinitic” study can be taken up later.

Taiwan Studies and Sinology: A Curriculum Perspective

3 August 2022 Adrian Chiu

Written by Henning Klöter. The contributions by Perkuhn and Chien, Wang and Achen and again Chien mention some successful examples of Taiwan studies centres and associations in the US, the UK and mainland Europe. The core of Wang’s and Achen’s argument is that all of them can and should do without sinology. So far, so good. But if we look at the sustainability of Taiwan studies, we need to look beyond centres and associations and ask how the field can attract new cohorts of students and what they expect to learn. In other words, we need to discuss how the study of Taiwan should be integrated into existing curricula or whether Taiwan needs a curriculum in its own right.

A Reflection on ‘Taiwan Studies’ as a Discipline in and of Itself

2 August 2022 Adrian Chiu

Written by Niki Alsford. To conclude, Taiwan Studies exists as an academic discipline because those who engage with it—whether in the continental or oceanic stories—care deeply about it. Debates surrounding its positionality will continue in an almost cyclical context because the anxieties academics have about the future of the field are shaped by the very concerns that we are all facing in a continued onslaught on languages, humanities, and social sciences at academic institutes across the globe. The future-proofing of the discipline rests in encouraging our students to engage with and think about Taiwan. After all, it is a brilliant island to study.

Promoting Taiwan Studies is about spending money strategically: My user’s experiences as a senior abroad professor in Taiwan Studies

1 August 2022 Adrian Chiu

Written by Yi-Ling Chen. The dialogue about if Taiwan studies can be a part of Sinology (Perkuhn and Chien v.s. Wang and Achen) is interesting. Both groups mention the problems of job markets and the sustainability of the institutions. Thirty years ago, the choice of Taiwan research could be academic suicide. Nowadays, the situation is improving only slightly because of the persistent challenges of job opportunities and attractiveness for students and audiences. As Taiwan Studies is a part of soft power, strategic thinking is necessary for the funding agencies to ensure success.

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