On November 14 and 15, 2024, the UW Taiwan Studies Program will bring together early American academics of Taiwan for a conference where they will discuss their legacy and the future of Taiwan studies.
In the postwar period, Taiwan underwent significant political and economic changes that attracted the attention of scholars. Among these were American academics who conducted ethnographic fieldwork in Taiwan in the 1970s and 80s, produced pioneering research, and mentored generations of scholars that form the field of Taiwan Studies today. They would write on the intersections of gender, identity, and culture; the role of religion in shaping the political and social landscape of Taiwan; and the impact of colonialism and globalisation on Taiwanese society. Principally, they studied Taiwan as a surrogate for a China that was closed and denied to them and American scholarship. Through their efforts to examine Chinese culture and how it was shaping the modern Taiwanese society, they came to understand Taiwan’s distinctiveness. This particularity would lay the foundations for Taiwan Studies in today’s academia.
This workshop will bring together many of the early generation of American scholars:
Hill Gates (Stanford)
Robert Weller (Boston University)
Stevan Harrell (University of Washington)
Barbara B. Harrell (University of Washington)
John Shepherd (University of Virginia)
David K. Jordan (UCSD)
Coming together, they will discuss and explore their experiences of living in and researching Taiwan. They will contribute to a wider discussion on their contributions to the past, present, and future of the field of Taiwan Studies.
Furthermore, the workshop will include a talk by UW faculty Jing Xu. Xu will discuss her new newly published book revisiting the research of Arthur and Margery Wolf, who advised many of the early generation of Taiwan scholars.
This workshop is open to UW students, faculty, staff, and the wider community. Though the workshop is in-person only, the proceedings will be recorded on video and made available on the internet at a later date.