Since joining the team at NTNU’s International Taiwan Studies Center, there is a question that has resurfaced again and again that until coming here, I hadn’t given much thought to. During my time as an graduate student of Taiwan studies at SOAS, the question “what is Taiwan studies?” didn’t seem particularly relevant because to me, Taiwan studies was exactly that, the study of Taiwan. However, while it seems obvious from the outside that the study of the other is validated exactly because it is other, from the inside, that is, in Taiwan itself, things are a little more complex. What counts as Taiwan studies and what is simply the study of literature, or music, or politics, that happens to be taking place in Taiwan? Can any kind of study or research that takes place in Taiwan be designated as under the umbrella of Taiwan studies?
Of course, this path can lead to a debate about the definition and value of area studies more generally, but the purpose of raising the question of defining Taiwan studies was to stimulate conversation.
One of the joys of my current role is being able to interview researchers from all over the world for our new ITSC podcast (click here to listen). Talking with Mike Liu from Pittsburgh University recently was extremely enlightening. On the question of how his research into Japanese colonial medical policy in Taiwan relates to the field of Taiwan studies, he pointed to the uniqueness of Taiwan as a place and as a case and that the study of this uniqueness that can provide insights and generate knowledge that the study of no other place or case is able to do. Following on from this viewpoint, the next step is that knowledge learnt from the unique case of Taiwan can then be applied to other places, other cases and other disciplines. This perspective inspired me to make an attempt at a definition:
Taiwan studies is the study of the uniqueness of Taiwan, from which lessons are learnt that contribute to global knowledge and conversations across all disciplines.
A simplistic beginning, but this is where the ball comes into your court! We would like to invite our readers to write in with their own definitions of Taiwan studies in order to stimulate a conversation that we hope will grow, develop and mature. For our next issue, three definitions will be chosen by a panel of experts here at NTNU and we will send a small gift to each of those whose definitions are chosen. We look forward to a lively global conversation! Finally, we at the ITSC are excited to announce the launch of our new podcast series which you can read about below. We will be releasing monthly episodes that look in depth at some of the fantastic research that is being carried out on Taiwan all around the world. Read more and listen in below!
