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.

The first five-year project took "Re-evaluation of history—Analysis of Contemporary Issues—Towards the Future" as the central axis to consider the possibility of an equal and symbiotic society. The ICCS SPROUT Project 2.0 will further focus on the urgent issues of conflict and social inequality in the present, amid Asia's transformation in the 21st Century. The critical questions we address include the following topics: the transformation of Asia's geopolitical economy, technological upgrading of digital governance, capital flows, market liberalization, and political factors that have led to massive migration of migrant workers, refugees, and undocumented persons being marginalized in local societies due to discrimination, forced labor, violation of human rights, as well as environmental disasters and ecological crises caused by excessive development.

These tremendous changes require necessary and urgent scholarly work but cannot be solved through a single-disciplinary approach alone. Thus, the ICCS project combines research and higher education and bridges transdisciplinary, trans-universities, and transnational collaboration scholars to collaborate in this joint project. ICCS project also works with civil society organizations and human rights groups. With the commitment to translating academic research into creative production and social action.

ICCS Current Focus and Achievements:

I. Talent Cultivation

1. Recruit distinguished international scholars and establish a global research and teaching environment: We have recruited internationally-renowned scholar Alain Brossat as our Yushan Scholar. He has assisted ICCS in talent cultivation, offering courses and supervising young graduate students in research. We also had a total of 50 international long-term and short-term visiting scholars in 2021 (including online conference).
2. Post-doctoral fellows cultivation: 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,” this online publication is peer-reviewed. From the process of conceiving the theme issues to academic publishing are led by the graduate students. Teachers only assist and provide consultation. 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.
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 and winter schools in the past. Under our long-term project theme, summer camps or winter camps call for the participation of international graduate students and encourage local students to participate so as 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.
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. 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. 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.

II. Academic Research

1. The main development direction refers to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): optimizing the quality of higher education (SDGs-4), emphasizing gender equality (SDGs-5), reducing the inequality of marginalized people domestically and internationally (SDGs-10), raising awareness of environmental protection and sustainable survival of biodiversity (SDGs-15), promoting peace, justice and sound judicial systems (SDGs-16), and establishing partnerships for transnational cooperation alliances (SDGs-17). Our ultimate aim is to create an inclusive society of equal co-existence.
2. 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. ICCS has established an alliance of 16 academic institutions that have signed agreements.

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. 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 several NGOs 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.