The Taiwan in the World program was established in 2020 with a gift of $2 million from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The program aims to promote and disseminate Taiwan studies in a global context and train the next generation of scholars and professionals well-versed with Taiwanese society, culture, and political economy, including proficiency in Mandarin Chinese and the reading and use of traditional characters. The program includes a lecture series, a translation initiative to bring Taiwan scholarship to a wider English readership, scholarships for the study of Mandarin Chinese language, a postdoctoral fellowship, and an interactive website to disseminate scholarship on Taiwan studies and US-Taiwan-China international relations.
The inaugural Taiwan in the World Lecture Series program, Lessons from the Pandemic: Taiwan’s Response to COVID-19 and the Future of Global Health Policy and Research, features M.C. Frank Chang, Wintek Chair in Electrical Engineering and Distinguished Professor at UCLA in dialogue with Dr. C. Jason Wang, Director of the Center for Policy, Outcomes and Prevention (CPOP) and Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at Stanford University.
UCLA Taiwan in the World Program:
The Taiwan in the World Lecture Series sheds light on Taiwan’s international relations, US-Taiwan relations, US-Taiwan-China relations, as well as Taiwan’s political system, social structure, and institutions, including public health and healthcare systems with timely policy response to Covid-19. The quarterly lectures feature academics, policy makers, and other experts. Videos from the series will be available on the Taiwan in the World website.
View the full list of Taiwan in the World lectures
Taiwan in the World Postdoctoral Fellowship
As part of the Taiwan in the World program, the Asia Pacific Center offered a postdoctoral fellowship in Taiwan studies focusing on social science or policy. The fellowship supported the work of exceptional scholars in the social sciences whose presence at UCLA will strengthen the study of Taiwan in a global context. Past fellows coordinated the Taiwan in the World Lecture Series while in residence. Due to changes in university policy, the postdoctoral fellowship program is not currently recruiting new fellows. The Taiwan in the World lecture series continues to run through the UCLA Taiwan Studies Working Group.
UCLA Taiwan Studies Working Group
The UCLA Taiwan Studies Working Group is a collaborative and interdisciplinary group of graduate students that offers an intellectual space for the examination of enduring and emerging issues pertaining to Taiwan from a transnational perspective. The working group not only brings Taiwan as an area of study in conversation with other modes of knowledge production but also goes beyond orthodox global divisions of intellectual labor by taking seriously the possibility of Taiwan as a site of theorization. In addition to regular convenings and discussions, the working group provides coordination support for the UCLA Taiwan in the World lecture series, which features invited scholars from around the world. Interested members across the Southern California Region are encouraged to join the UCLA Taiwan Studies Working Group and can learn more by visiting the working group website.
Taiwan Studies Translation Initiative
The aim of this initiative is to translate foundational scholarship of the history, culture, and society of Taiwan into English, making the works of important scholars in Taiwan more widely accessible. The program is chaired by Michael Berry, Professor of Asian Languages and Literatures and Director of the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies, a renowned translator of contemporary Chinese literature. The initiative will sponsor the translation of one academic monograph each year, and will also offer a student translation prize for an academic article or other work.
Support for Mandarin Chinese Language Instruction
The Taiwan in the World program has supported courses in the Department of Asian Languages & Cultures such as “Topics in Chinese Language and Culture” (Chinese 103). The course was part of a Chinese language series that focused on linguistics, and was a requirement for undergraduate Chinese majors. The course was offered in spring quarter (starting in 2021) with a focus on Mandarin Chinese using traditional characters.
The APC recognizes the centrality of Chinese language and scholarship to Taiwan Studies, connecting the study of contemporary Taiwan both to the classical tradition from which it in part emerges and to the broader Asian region of which it is such a vital part. In order to prepare the next generation of scholars, policy makers, and business leaders for success in an increasingly globalized world, the APC offers scholarships to UCLA graduate and undergraduate students from disciplines spanning the Social and Physical Sciences, Humanities, and professional schools to attain advanced proficiency in Mandarin Chinese language (including reading/writing in traditional characters) and Taiwan studies. Taiwan in the World Chinese language fellowship applications are open to UCLA graduate and undergraduate students in winter quarter each year for study at UCLA or in Taiwan.