Int'l Master’s Program in Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, UST Hosted Student Orientation Party
The International Master’s Program in Inter-Asia Cultural Studies (IACS-UST) &
International Institute for Cultural Studies (IICS) hosted a faculty reunion and student orientation party on September 19, 2015. Held at the library of National Tsing Hua University, the event was attended by dozens of people, including Prof. Jen-Inn Chyi and Prof. Sheng-Fen Lin, the vice chancellors of UST (The University System of Taiwan). Prof. Jing-Yang Jou, President of National Central University; Prof. Ying-Chun Tsai, Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at National Tsing Hua University; Prof. David Tseng, Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at National Chiao Tung University; Prof. Kai-Yuan Cheng, Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at National Yang Ming University; and Prof. Jack Lee, Vice Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at National Central University were also among the guests in attendance.
UST is a network system that connects National Chiao Tung University, National Tsing Hua University, National Central University and National Yang Ming University. With a pool of over 75 outstanding faculty members from various disciplinary backgrounds in these four universities, IACS-UST fosters inter-disciplinary and cross-cultural studies, focusing on critical inter-Asia cultural studies. The program is organized and funded through IICS, Taiwan’s first ever inter-university academic institute that devotes itself to inter-disciplinary teaching and research. Established in 2013, IACS-UST has so far enrolled a cohort of 34 graduate students, 15 of whom joined the program this autumn from Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia and Russia.
Prof. Joyce C.H. Liu, Director of IICS, reiterated in her welcome speech that launched as an international venture, IACS-UST promotes academic exchange and scholarly collaboration across national borders. To achieve these aims, IICS and IACS-UST have in the past years initiated various projects that involved student exchange, scholar-in-residence, international conferences, and transnational publications.
Covering diverse aspects in the study of Asian and Inter-Asian cultures, IACS-UST consists of four highlighted course clusters. These are clusters that focus respectively on ‘Critical Theory and Asian Modernity’, ‘Contemporary Thought-trends and Social Movement’, ‘Gender and Sexuality Studies’, and ‘Visual Culture Studies (including Art History & Cinema Studies)’. For the climax of the welcome party, the convener of each course cluster presented research and pedagogical achievements from the past year. These include ‘The Inter-Asia Cultural Studies Society (IACSS) Summer School’, coordinated by the ‘Critical Theory and Asian Modernity’ course cluster and taking place in July 2014.
With more initiatives on the way, the faculty promised an equally exciting and lively academic year to come.
