About ICCS

The International Center for Cultural Studies at National Chiao Tung University (ICCS-NCTU), a college-level unit, was officially established in 2015. In February 2021, National Chiao Tung University and National Yang-Ming University formally merged. ICCS-NCTU thus was renamed to National Yang-Ming Chiao-Tung University International Institute for Cultural Studies (ICCS-NYCU).

The predecessor of ICCS-NCTU was the Center for Emergent Cultural Studies (ECSC), a college-level unit founded in 2003 at National Chiao Tung University. With the support of “the Aim for the Top University Project (ATU)” of Ministry of Education (MOE), ECSC was in charge of the administration office of the University System of Taiwan Cross-Campus Program in Cultural Studies. In 2010, a provisional office of the International Institute for Cultural Studies of the University System of Taiwan (IICS-UST) was set to apply and found the International Program in Inter-Asia Cultural Studies (IACS), supported by the four universities in the University System of Taiwan. In 2012, IICS-UST was officially set and opened to recruit students, with its admission office posted at National Chiao Tung University. ATU of MOE started in 2005 and ended in 2017. Our deadline for executing the project supported by ATU was April 30th, 2014. To sustain this cross-campus platform, IACS was urged to be institutionalized, and ECSC-NCTU also became the International Center for Cultural Studies (ICCS -NCTU), a college-level unit in 2015.

ICCS-NYCU aims to foster critiques and research of inter-Asia cultural studies with geopolitical analysis and global vision. Based on the status quo of specific societies and cultures, the research we support discusses the political economy and historical factors behind the situations. ICCS-NYCU has been vital in promoting knowledge development in academic circles by facilitating historicized and theorized academic research. With this spirit, the concrete commitments of ICCS-NYCU’s establishment are (1) to create innovative issues and to encourage researchers to form interdisciplinary and cross-national research teams, (2) to establish international partnerships and alliances to reinforce the academic exchange, (3) to nurture young researchers and graduate students to cultivate talents and frontrunners in academic circles, (4) to stimulate conversations between the academic circles and the society, (5) to push the academic publishing, online publications, internet archives and knowledge production in various forms, and (6) to source funding and support for domestic and international projects.

Started from 2018, ICCS has been awarded financial support in The Featured Areas Research Center Program within the framework of the Higher Education SPROUT Project sponsored by the Ministry of Education. We have thereby launched the “Conflict, Justice, and Decolonization: Critical Studies in Inter-Asian Societies” research project. This project involves 49 scholars across universities and disciplines to work on six subprojects and 48 topics. Coming from National Chiao Tung University, National Tsing Hua University, and National Central University, our scholars specialize in sociology, anthropology, economic history, political philosophy, the history of thought, material history, gender studies, discourse analysis, and artistic practice.

The main concern of research at ICCS is “Inter-Asian Critical Studies.” The “inter” prefix highlights how inter-Asian societies historically migrate to, interact, influence, conflict with, and benefit from one another. In the post-Cold War era of rampant neoliberalism in the 21st century, we have witnessed global capital flows, the rapid rise of Asia, the reconfiguration of regional politics and economy, and the overwhelming number of international migrant workers in Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. Societies have been suffering from economic and regional inequality, as well as diverse forms of internal conflict due to developmentalism. With Taiwan’s Southbound Policy underway, the academic mission to understand and critique Inter-Asia history, cultures, and societies is ever more urgent as a vital part of our knowledge production in the international academic circles.

In this moment of tumultuous change, diverse types of conflicts are affecting Inter-Asian societies. In order to negotiate critical strategies and solutions for trans-regional collaborations and a future society of co-existence and equality, research teams across disciplines, universities, and national borders must work together on historical re-evaluation, analyses of contemporary issues, knowledge decolonization, and the dilemmas of community formation.

ICCS currently focuses on four major aspects of development: (1) Border-crossing; (2) Connectedness; (3) Education; (4) Practice.

ICCS Current Focus and Achievements:

I. Talent Cultivation

1. We have recruited internationally-renowned scholar Alain Brossat as our Yushan Scholar. He has assisted ICCS in promoting international networks, participating in international academic events (online conferences), assisting in talent cultivation, offering courses, supervising young graduate students in research, and publishing articles in English and French.
2. Post-doctoral fellows cultivation: By referencing ARI as our benchmark, ICCS encourages post-doctoral researchers to organize international workshops, go abroad to participate in academic exchanges, and publish papers. ICCS also supports their subsequent publications. From 2018 to 2021, ICCS has cultivated 12 domestic and foreign post-doctoral researchers by recruiting them to our research team. Some post-doctoral researchers have successively obtained the positions of full-time faculty or research fellows at other institutions.
3. Graduate student online publication platform & CJD digital archival project: In line with the theme of our joint-project “Conflict, Justice, and Decolonization: Critical Studies of Inter-Asian Society,” ICCS sub-project 6 is to cultivate talents by encouraging collaborations between local and international students to develop research papers online publication project. Graduate students have obtained the ISSN 2709-5479 (https://cjdproject.web.nycu.edu.tw/publications/) for this publication through a review process. This online publication is peer-reviewed. From conceiving the theme issues, writing call-for-paper, releasing news on domestic and foreign websites, reviewing submissions, publication layout, contacting printing companies, and art design are led by the graduate students. Teachers only assist and provide consultation. Through this publication and implementation platform, this project provides students with pre-training in academic research, publishing, NGO work, social intervention, and other related fields in the future. As of the end of 2021, 92 online articles and three journal issues of international standard have been published: (1) Pandemic Politics: Disruption and (Re)action; (2) Social Movements in a World of Backsliding Democracy; (3) Rethinking the Failed Project of Equality. This graduate student online publication platform is one of the key features in ICCS talent cultivation.
4. Graduate student research group: In line with the theme of our joint-project “Conflict, Justice, and Decolonization: Critical Studies of Inter-Asian Society,” and by referencing University of California system cross-campus collaborations, ICCS sub-project 6 encourages graduate students to plan and form inter-university and cross-departmental research groups, and participate in the ICCS research team. This project has successfully motivated students to discuss research topics and exchange ideas with other students at different year levels from different campuses outside their formal curriculum. In 2021, 7 graduate student research groups have been conducted.
5. Transnational Summer School: ICCS has organized several summer schools in the past. Under our long-term project theme, summer camps or winter camps are planned to call for the participation of international graduate students and encourage local students to participate. Summer school is to strengthen the network of our transnational alliance and stimulate enrollment of international students through global promotion. It also provides opportunities for local students to interact with international students. Our benchmark center ARI also holds activities regularly as such, and it is also one of the key features of ICCS’s talent cultivation.
6. Promote the collaborations among international academic units, provide a platform for international exchange for young scholars, master and doctoral students, and establish a co-supervising and co-lecturing system: As of 2021, ICCS has established 16 transnational collaborative research centers and academic exchange units. Please refer to the supporting materials for details.
7. Promote inter-university and cross-departmental international talent cultivation program: support the inter-university “International Master’s Program in Inter-Asia Cultural Studies (University System of Taiwan) and attract outstanding international students: IACS international students come from 20 countries (Malaysia, Indonesia, Poland, Palestine, South Africa, Belgium, United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Spain, Philippines, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, Uzbekistan, Macau, France, India, Sri Lanka). A total of 101 students, including 38 local students and 63 international students, have enrolled in the program, and 28 students have graduated. Based on current international collaboration, IACS continues to offer English and bilingual courses, invite international scholars to give lectures, hold international summer schools, and create a global campus environment. IACS has created a teaching environment for cultivating top talent and has become a unique inter-university international program. It is to develop more substantial partnerships over its existing Inter-Asian network.

II. Academic Research

1. This joint project covers three dimensions, including Reevaluation of History, Analysis of Contemporary Issues, and Future Society of Co-Existence. From an interdisciplinary perspective, this joint project explores current complex social conflicts and inequalities. Our researchers examine how various unequal power structures are formed by the historical process, legal systems, cultural institutions, knowledge production, and ideologies of multiple conditions. In the face of current capital flow and the subsequent rapid increase of migrant labors and unequal citizenships, we need to think about how to conduct different types of knowledge decolonization and social-artistic intervention.
2. This project implements six subprojects: Subproject I – The Politics of Memory and the Craft of Governance: Inter-Asian Studies on State, Society, Ethnicity and History; Subproject II – Inter-Asian Decolonization of Knowledge under the Shadow of Post/Cold War Culture; Subproject III – The Emerging Political Economy of the 21st Century: The New Rise of China, Neoliberalism, and Neocolonialism; Subproject IV – Unequal Citizens and Legal Reform in the Inter-Asian Context: Trans-local Collaboration GHI Platform; Subproject V -Toward a Society of Equal Coexistence and Socio-Artistic Intervention in the Inter-Asian Context: Media Lab; Subproject VI – Talent Cultivation and CJD Publication Platform for Graduate Students’ Research Projects: an Online Journal. A total of 49 inter-university members and eight post-doctoral researchers recruited by ICCS have participated in the above six subprojects. Each research group has accumulated substantial publications and has plans for the next phase.
3. International Networks and Transnational Alliance: “Migration, Logistics and Unequal Citizens in Contemporary Global Context” is a project funded by the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes, CHCI. Beginning in 2019, we have developed Global Humanities Institute, a transnational alliance networking 12 international academic institutions, 36 senior international scholars, and 24 young international scholars to form a continuous research group to promote the work of transnational forums and publications. In 2019, two preparatory meetings were held in Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In 2020, 22 domestic and foreign NGOs were invited to join the network and conduct six international online seminars. We have built a website and Facebook page for this multinational collaboration to continue dynamic communications. In 2021, an international online seminar, a five-day online summer school, and a forum on marine migrant workers were held, and an online multimedia archive/website and offline journal/book publication are in progress:
   https://www.facebook.com/groups/574497913413877/；
   https://ghi2021.web.nycu.edu.tw/
4. Signed agreements on academic and teaching exchanges between transnational collaboration units: ICCS has established an alliance of 16 academic institutions that have signed agreements.
5. Recruit distinguished international scholars and establish a global research and teaching environment: 1 distinguished international scholar to give lectures in Taiwan; Visiting international scholar: A total of 50 international long-term and short-term visiting scholars in 2021 (including online conference).

III. Industry-University Cooperation

1. Dialogue between the school and the greater society, and diversification of knowledge production: The research program conducted by ICCS consists of basic research in humanities and humanistic social science fields without any aspiration to make a profit or accumulate surplus. Our center advances interdisciplinary collaboration and social responsibility, and connects different research institutions, government bodies, and corporations to promote dialogue between the school and society. The center encourages researchers and graduate students to engage with society, respond to social issues, and then publish and circulate their findings broadly. This type of diverse knowledge production produces long-term impacts and cultural value for the local community.
2. Academia Responds to Social Problems: Sub-Project 4 investigated policies, systems and discourse. The May 26, 2021 workshop “Exceptional Zone at Sea and Dysfunctionality of Law? Future Policies on Migrant Fishers and Marine Life” and the November 19, 2021 workshop “Future Labor Policies on Migrant Fishers and Flag of Convenience” each invited scholars of law, a team from the independent media organization The Reporter, a Control Yuan member who also serves as a member of the Taiwan Human Rights Commission, the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, and NGOs including the Presbyterian Church In Taiwan Seamen and Fishermen's Service Center, a representative of the Apostleship of the Sea (Kaohsiung, Taiwan) Stella Maris International Seafarers Centre, Greenpeace, the Yilan Migrant Fishermen Union, and the Taoyuan Serve the People Association to engage in a dialogue on law and society and improve the migrant fishers labor and human rights protection of foreign nationals.
3. Social involvement through artistic creation: Sub-Project 1’s Liu Liu Shu-chin produced the documentaries Lmuhuw, The Vitality of the Matai Historical Trail and Home on the Base of the Tongue: The Person who Protects Lmuhuw. Sub-Project 5’s Lai Wen-Shu exhibited her art series Silence, Memory, Forgiveness. The HsinChu Living Museum’s “Home under the Big Chimney” exhibited Encountering / Foreseeing the Sixth Fuel Factory: Solo Art Installations by Wen-Shu Lai. In 2021, Sub-Project 5’s Lin Hsin-I exhibited Kaoshengzhi and Khun-giân: The Third Voice, and held a screening of Soft : Screen. Sub-Project 5’s Hsieh I-yi curated Seawater Encounters Place: The Fine Art of Island Moisture. Sub-Project 5’s Tsai Hwa-Jen organized several curations of the Women Make Waves International Film Festivals.

IV. Research Contributions

1. Advancing Publication: In 2021, ICCS’s researchers and international co-editors published four international monographs. Domestic and international articles: 22. Published in SSCI, A&HCI, THCI, TSSCI and other indexed journals: 9. Anthology chapters: 13. In 2021, the team participated in 33 international conferences, presenting a total of 40 conference papers. ICCS-supported project work products or project researcher works accounted for a combined publication total of 10 monographs. 6 WPS articles. 20 CJD Student Research Group online articles. The center supported publication of nine domestic and international journals: 2 issues of ROUTER: a journal of cultural studies, 3 issues of Renjian Thought Review, and 4 issues of IACS.

V. Enhancing the Center’s Website Features

1. ICCS continues to improve website features and add relevant updates, including recent events, newsletters, movies, short videos of events, recent publications, global partnerships, and various publication websites in order to become an effective online platform for the transmission of research.
   ICCS website: https://iccs.chss.nycu.edu.tw/zh/index.php
   Research Overview: https://iccs.chss.nycu.edu.tw/zh/result_overview.php
   Conflict, Justice and Decolonization (CJD) project: https://cjdproject.web.nycu.edu.tw/publications/
   Working Paper Series (WPS) platform: https://iccs.chss.nycu.edu.tw/zh/wps_list.php
   CHCI-GHI: https://ghi2021.web.nycu.edu.tw/
   

Plans for 2022:

1. Publication of each sub-project research cluster’s research: Monographs and journal special collections on topics such as the politics of memory, the decolonialization of post-cold war knowledge, the rise of China and the Belt and Road Initiative, unequal citizenship and migrant rights, and artistic engagement in a symbiotic society. Simultaneously, ICCS will continue to engage the greater community by proposing various forms of knowledge production through curation, workshops, e-zines, and documentaries about various interdisciplinary topics.
2. Continuation of Research Scholar Development Programs: We will continue to promote recruitment of post-doctoral scholars, encourage graduate students to form research groups, facilitate online publication, and provide an atmosphere of international cooperation and a space for academic publication.
3. Planning of the 2023 ACS Institute: De-colonization in the 21st Century: By extending ICCS’s long-term program topic and integrating sub-projects 3, 4, and 5, we will build on the Southbound National Cooperative Alliance established by the GHI, and strengthen our collaboration with Western Sydney University’s Institute of Culture and Society and the Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group by co-plannning the ACS Institute commissioned by the Association for Cultural Studies.
4. Application for the next phase of the “Transit Asia Research Cluster and Media Lab”: By extending sub-projects 3, 4, and 5 and building on the Southbound National Cooperative Alliance established by the GHI, ICCS will collaborate with Western Sydney University’s Institute of Culture and Society to develop the Transit Asia Research Cluster and Media Lab and pursue the sustainable development of the center.
5. Enhancement of the internationalization of the campus academic environment: Through our international partners and consortiums, we plan to invite colleagues from partnering institutions as to stay on campus as visiting scholars in order to collaborate in various ways such as teaching courses, giving lecture series, co-teaching, and co-supervising thesis projects.
6. We aim to make ICCS a leading institute for the critical study of Inter-Asian society within the social sciences academic community both in Taiwan and abroad.