LSE publishes new eJournal on Taiwan in comparative perspective
The first issue of Taiwan in Comparative Perspective has been published by the Taiwan Culture Research Programme (TCRP), part of the Asia Research Centre at LSE. This new open-access eJournal uses Taiwan as a comparator for the study and analysis of globally significant issues.
With legislative and presidential elections in Taiwan just weeks away, issues from Taiwan's traumatic past continue to overshadow the young democracy in ways that will have consequences for the whole region.
Two articles in the eJournal focus specifically on these themes of historiography and continuing social trauma, 'Communism' in Taiwan and the Mainland: Transmission of the Great Leap Famine and of the White Terror by Professor Stephan Feuchtwang, eJournal editor-in-chief and senior research associate of the Department of Anthropology at LSE, and, a review of Huang Zhang-jian's book Er-er-ba shijian zhenxiang kaozheng gao (The Truth about 2-28: assessing the documents), by Stefan Fleischauer, University of Tuebingen, Germany.
The 'Red' Tide Anti-Corruption Protest: What Does it Mean for Democracy in Taiwan?, by Dr Fang-long Shih, co-editor of the eJournal and research fellow at the Asia Research Centre, deals with the current Red Protest Phenomenon, a large anti-corruption movement in Taiwan that began in 2006. People in Taiwan had never before experienced or seen a political rally in which the marchers and banners were all in red and on such a large scale. The movement recalls similar protests such as the 2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine.
Co-editor Dr Fang-Long Shih said: ''The history and location of Taiwan makes it a particularly interesting place to focus on with regards to examining the dynamics of modernisation and globalisation. The eJournal aims to contextualise the cultural dimension of these processes, including significant issues such as power and authority, identity formation and class struggle, religion and ideology, and civil society and the state, from a comparative perspective, offering both empirical material and theoretical analysis.'
Other articles consider how social trends are transforming Taiwan's physical urban environment, traditional practices, and sense of identity, the contentious issue of sovereignty by comparison with sovereignty in the EU context, and there are also several book reviews considering issues of identity and historical representation.
Click here to download the first issue of Taiwan in Comparative Perspective.
For further information, please contact Dr Fang-Long Shih by emailing email@example.com or calling 020 7955 6439.
Taiwan in Comparative Perspective is peer-reviewed and is published twice-yearly under the general editorship of Professor Stephan Feuchtwang, who is senior research associate of the Department of Anthropology and Director of the Taiwan Culture Research Programme, and is co-edited by the programme's convenor, Dr Fang-Long Shih, with Stuart Thompson and Dr Paul-François Tremlett, who are both academics at SOAS. It publishes formal academic articles and review articles, but also commentaries which are aimed at a more general readership and which open up debates.
The eJournal encourages a multi-disciplinary or cross-disciplinary approach to the study of the cultural dimensions of globally significant issues, using Taiwan as a comparator. Areas of interest include anthropological and sociological studies, political and economic studies, contemporary literary and historical studies, religious studies, media studies, cultural studies, and gender studies.
Click here for submission guidelines.
7 January 2008