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Developing Taiwan Studies Teaching Programmes in Europe and the US: The Experience of SOAS University of London and University of Texas at Austin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2019

Dafydd Fell*
Affiliation:
SOAS University of London.
Sung-sheng Yvonne Chang
Affiliation:
University of Texas at Austin. Email: yvonne@austin.utexas.edu.
*
Email: df2@soas.ac.uk (corresponding author).

Abstract

Over the last two decades, there has been a rapid expansion in the number of Taiwan programmes at universities in America and Europe; however, few of these Taiwan programmes have attempted to develop teaching courses. Where Taiwan courses have been introduced, they have tended to be in isolation and not well integrated into existing academic programmes. Among the universities with Taiwan programmes, only two have attempted to create comprehensive teaching programmes through which students can graduate with a degree in Taiwan studies: SOAS University of London and the University of Texas at Austin. The purpose of this paper is to compare the experiences of these two institutions in developing such niche teaching programmes. It begins with a discussion of how these two programmes first emerged and then goes on to review their distinct development trajectories and key features. The paper offers an analysis of how these two programmes were able not only to survive but also to expand their offerings and thrive in an academic environment that should be hostile to such niche programmes. It concludes with a review of the remaining challenges facing these teaching programmes.

摘要

欧美高等院校里的台湾研究学程在过去二十年里成长极为迅速,然而其中致力于发展课程教学的却数量有限。同时,既有的台湾课程多以孤立形式存在,鲜有充分整合纳入所属学术单位体系的情况。与众不同的,是伦敦大学亚非学院和德州大学奥斯汀校区这两个特例。这两所大学分别设置了涵盖面广,以教授台湾课程为主的台湾研究学程;就读于该学程的学生毕业时可获颁「台湾研究」的专修学位。本篇论文旨在综述两所学校发展此种非主流台湾学程的经验同异。首先绍介两校最初设立该学程的源起。其次分述两校台湾学程不同的发展轨迹,及其各自所呈现的主要特征。身处对于此类特色学程远非友善的整体学术环境之中,它们不仅得以幸存,甚且能够扩增课程种类,持续茁壮成长——本文将试图对这个现象提出分析、解读。最后的结语所关注的,是以教授台湾课程为主的学程所仍须面对的种种挑战

Type
State of the Field
Copyright
Copyright © SOAS University of London 2019 

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