Written by Jo-Tzu Huang. Emma Teng’s Taiwan’s Imagined Geography has inspired the author to rethink Taiwan through settler-colonial and imperial frameworks. Teng’s analysis of Qing travel writings reveals how geography and identity were constructed. It challenges Western-centric colonial theories and prompts reflection on Taiwan’s layered colonial histories within global human geography discourse.
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.
