Transit Asia Research Network

Critical Concepts Writing Workshop
2025-04-24 - 2025-04-26 | Nanyang Technological University Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore (NTU CCA Singapore), Block 6 Lock Rd, #01-09/10 Gillman Barracks, Singapore, 108934, Singapore
Critical Concepts Writing Workshop

24–26 April 2025Nanyang Technological University Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore (NTU CCA Singapore)

The Critical Concepts Writing Workshop is a key event within the project Critical Reorientation in the Age of Digital Technology: Intersections between Human Craft, Geopolitics, and Artistic Intervention, and is part of the CHCI Initiative: Human Craft in the Age of Digital Technologies.
The Workshop invites 22 senior and early-career researchers to develop a book of 100 critical concepts collaboratively. Preparatory online meetings will be held before the workshop in Singapore to set up the collective writing. During the on-site Workshop, participants will engage in “book sprints” to produce interdisciplinary entries in text, images, drawings, and code, fostering alternative knowledge production and experimental approaches to conceptualisation.
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The Production and Reproduction of Social Inequalities
2024-09-20 - 2024-09-21
The Production and Reproduction of Social Inequalities

Date：September 20-21, 2024 (GMT+8, Taipei Time)
Venue：HC201, HA Building 3, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) & Hybrid event.
Language： English
Organizer： International Center for Cultural Studies, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University.　Social Inequalities Research Unit (SIRU), University of Cologne.　Africa-China Research Network, Academia Sinica.
Registration Link：https://forms.gle/M4iEY7g1LkwsuKZDA
Registration Deadline: September 13

Over the past decade, research on social inequalities has witnessed significant growth, shedding light on the enduring and expanding nature of global inequality. This research has increasingly become interdisciplinary, encompassing diverse fields like sociology, health, and environmental studies, while also adopting an intersectional perspective. While traditional approaches centered on income or education, contemporary studies delve into understanding how elements such as gender, race, ethnicity, and geographical location play pivotal roles in shaping the uneven allocation of resources and opportunities.

In East Asia, a series of “economic miracles” have occurred since the Second World War, starting with Japan, followed by the “Four Asian Tigers,” and culminating with the People’s Republic of China. These economic success stories have contributed to a statistical reduction in global inequality. Similarly, South and Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines have experienced similar patterns of rapid economic growth; and in Africa, countries such as Ethiopia have attempted to join the next wave by adopting ostensibly similar policies.

However, this process of economic development has not been without its challenges. In certain instances, the pursuit of economic progress has led to the creation of peripheries characterized by racialized and gendered migrant labor, as well as the marginalization of indigenous communities, whose labor and land have been exploited to support the growth of industries. This has resulted in the displacement of populations and exacerbated unequal living conditions.

China has been widely recognized as the “factory of the world,” playing a significant role in global manufacturing and trade. Nevertheless, during times of uncertain transitions, other countries or region in the global South may also emerge as potential centers of production. The generation of displaced populations and unequal living conditions can be attributed, in part, to state-led policies and the dynamics of global capitalism. Government policies may prioritize economic growth and attract foreign investments, often leading to the exploitation of cheap labor and natural resources. This pursuit of profit can exacerbate social disparities and displace vulnerable communities. Furthermore, global hierarchies are a common feature of the political economy of global capitalism. As economic power concentrates in certain regions or countries, it tends to perpetuate existing inequalities and create new ones. These hierarchies can shift over time, but the overall structure of economic dominance and exploitation remains.

The workshop revolves around the visit of researchers from the University of Cologne’s “The Production and Reproduction of Social Inequalities” research unit to Taiwan. It seeks to understand why endeavors to enhance equality often lead to enduring disparities. The main objective is to promote dialogue between the Cologne researchers and Taiwan-based scholars and students working on inequality. This two-day event, hosted at the International Center for Cultural Studies at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, will primarily explore conceptual frameworks and methodologies for studying inequality. It will particularly focus on migrant labor, human trafficking, indigeneity, statelessness, and the role of the political economy of capitalism in shaping social inequalities in Asian countries and the global South during the 21st century. Additionally, the workshop will investigate potential projects related to alternative relationality and solidarities from below.

Find the agenda HERE

Book Discussion at TARN Workshop 2024
2024-08-02 16:30 - 18:00 (Asia/Krasnoyarsk) | Training Room, AIT Library, Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand
The Center on Gender and Forced Displacement is excited to invite you to an insightful book discussion in collaboration with the Transit Asia Research Network (TARN), the International Center for Cultural Studies (ICCS), and the Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group (CRG)!
Date: August 2, 2024Time: 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM (Bangkok Time)Location: Training Room, AIT Library, Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand
Book Discussion Highlights:
In “Border as Method” by Prof. Sandro Mezzadra and Prof. Brett Neilson, we will explore the complexities of borders, a groundbreaking examination of how borders operate and influence global dynamics. This discussion will delve into the intricate ways in which borders affect political, social, and economic systems globally.
Also we will delve into the struggles of marginalized communities in “The Marginal Nation” by Prof. Ranabir Samaddar, a profound exploration of the multiple nuances of migration that shows how the marginal becomes central. This discussion aims to highlight the challenges and resilience of marginalized communities and their significant impact on broader societal dynamics.
To Register: https://forms.gle/aKkXvDhFBBBtQsor6
To Join Us Online: Click Here
Meeting ID: 862 5212 3489
Passcode: [REDACTED]
We look forward to your participation in this engaging discussion and your valuable insights into these critical works. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or need further information (sristy.sen@gmail.com).
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TARN 2024 MEETING Industry-led Operations of Capital in the 21st Century
2024-08-01 08:00 - 2024-08-04 20:00 UTC | Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok, Thailand, 58 Moo 9, Km 42, Paholyothin Highway, Khlong Luang, Pathumthani, Bangkok, Thailand
The “Chip War” (Chris Miller, 2023), a battle for the world’s most critical technology and the new Nomos of the earth, has emerged as the contemporary form of the Cold War. Chips, as the material foundation and infrastructure, perform a myriad of functions including algorithms, computation, design, differentiation, documentation, memory, execution, and automation. As the core driver of the entire system, chips have propelled all digital-related industries into the age of AI.
Digital industries are not merely endorsed but are actively demanded by states. On the other hand, industry has accelerated its own pace in capital operations, reshaping the logistics and infrastructure of the production-supply chain, and dramatically altering the global geopolitical landscape. As Heidegger articulated a century ago, modern technology can be understood as the Gestell, a gigantic frame and apparatus, challenging, gathering, and ordering humanity to proceed as if destined, extracting natural and human resources. However, the digitalized automatic technology of the 21st century, disguised as innovative development, has quickened its pace and penetrated all aspects of our lives.
Through this workshop, we intend to examine the profound changes and critical challenges in the complex geopolitical landscape of Asia and the wider world, including conflicts, inequities, and the enduring impacts of colonial power relations. Our focus is on understanding these dynamics in a global context and investigating their contemporary significance.
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The 3rd International Conference on Innovations in the Social Sciences and Humanities (ISSH 2024)
2024-07-26 08:00 - 2024-07-27 17:00 UTC | Ton Duc Thang University, 19 Nguyen Huu Tho Street, Tan Phong Ward, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
Date: July 26th – 27th, 2024Conference Venue: Ton Duc Thang UniversityAddress: 19 Nguyen Huu Tho Street, Tan Phong Ward, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, VietnamEmail: issh2024@tdtu.edu.vn
The 3rd International Conference on Innovations in the Social Sciences and Humanities (ISSH 2024) is our 3rd international conference after second successful conferences. This conference is organized by University of Melbourne (Australia); Kaunas University Technology (Lithuania); Higher School of Economics University (Russia); Jadavpur University (India); London Metropolitan University (UK); Gampaha Wickramarachchi University of Indigenous Medicine (Sri Lanka); and Walailak University (Thailand).
The main topics of the conference include but not limited to:

Innovations and social change in the global context– Social Structure;– Social Development;– Migration;– New Communications and Media Anthropology.
Innovations in Tourism– Human and Cultural Resources in Tourism;– New Forms of Tourism;– Trends in Tourism Management;– Digital tourism.
Innovations in Social Work– Training and practicing social work;– Social work service;– Social work responses to new social problems.

Critical Curatorial Practices in the 21st Century: Public Space, New Media and Geopolitics
2024-04-29 18:30 - 21:30 UTC | ZOOM
Speakers：Wen-Shu Lai | Professor/Director, Institute of Applied Arts, NYCU, TaiwanKarin G. Oen-Lee | Senior Lecturer, Head of Art History, School of Humanities, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Shwetal Ashvin Patel | Ph.D. Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton, UK
Moderator：Joyce C.H. Liu | Professor/Director, International Center for Cultural Studies, NYCU, Taiwan
Discussants：Tammy Ko Robinson | Associate Professor, Department of Applied Art, Hanyang University, S. Korea Hwa-Jen Tsai | Assistant Professor, Institute of Social Research and Cultural Studies, NYCU, Taiwan
Date & Time: 2024年4月29日 18:30-21:30 (Taipei time)Venue：Online Format：Online Forum–Zoom:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81870341834……Meeting ID: 818 7034 1834Code: 998835–*The lecture will be held in English.
Introduction:
In response to the profound transformations and complex challenges of the 21st century, what strategies can curatorial artists employ to tackle global and local issues? What are their perspectives on curatorial practices in this era? How can curatorial practices intervene in public spaces and question history? How can contemporary new media and virtual spaces serve as mediums for curation? How can curation serve educational purposes? Are museum spaces becoming restrictive, or do they still possess the power to shape community dynamics? Amidst the current global geopolitical changes, can curatorial practices also consider the limitations of artists’ identity politics? To delve into these questions, we have invited three cross-local curatorial artists to participate in this online forum, sharing their past artistic experiences and collectively contemplating the potential dimensions of critical curation in the 21st century. We have also invited art educators to join in discussing these issues.
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Speakers and topics：
Wen-Shu Lai | Interrogative Design as a social intervention and curational method
The Interrogative Design, initiated by Harvard University professor Krzysztof Wodiczko, is a method for investigating social or political issues, raising critical inquiries, instead of solving problems. Through entering public spaces, taking artistic actions, and using people or things as living metaphors to transform specific sites into metaphorical spaces. In other words, speakers, spaces, and tools serve as intermediary media to interact with participants or audiences and initiate dialogue through intermediary mechanisms. As a method or strategy, the interrogative design conveys information through cross-disciplinary integration such as multimedia projections, interactive installations or curation. The purpose is not to provide solutions but to raise or reveal problems behind the social or political phenomena. The praxis of Interrogative design could be seen as a curational method or approach, an attitude, a critical action, or a social intervention, thus bringing about the conditions of the invisible or the marginal voices to be seen or heard, and triggering follow-up and
Karin G. Oen-Lee ｜Polyphony in Practice
21st century curatorial practices raise questions of the polyphonic: how to include diverse modes of knowledge production and discursive practice while also preserving elements of the spatio-temporal exhibition experience that resist or defy discourse. Drawing from examples at museums, non-collecting contemporary art spaces, pop-up non-profit spaces, and (gasp) commercial galleries, I will share notes on a mode of exhibition making that incorporates para-curatorial elements on equal footing with research, programming, and collaborations with individuals and institutions. How can podcasts, publications, and educational programmes (short-form, long-form, informal, and formal) provide entry points for curatorial practitioners who have non-traditional backgrounds? And how can connoisseurship or object-based practices evolve alongside the diffuse notion of “experience” in exhibition-making? Beginning with a deep dive into four different curatorial projects involving ceramics in and ending with four curatorial projects related to new media practices, this presentation will showcase examples of the vexed issues of working in the conceptual space of the curatorial while simultaneously inhabiting the practical space of project management and coalition building in the virtual and material space of the global art world.
Shwetal A Patel, PhD ｜Soft Power & New Cold War/s
The recent expansion of BRICS (​​a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) centring six additional countries to the geopolitical grouping, portents to a new era of rising soft-powers from West Asia, South & South East Asia, Latin America and Africa. For the better part of the European colonial project beginning in the 15th century, international cultural exchange was primarily choreographed and controlled by a small group of powerful countries. Arguably, a seismic shift began from the 1980s onwards as the US became the sole dominant global economic and military power. Today, as the cultural sector attempts to tackle the unprecedented challenges that demand collective multilateral efforts, the established norms of international cultural relations are undergoing yet another transformation in an age reminiscent of the Cold War (circa 1947 – 1991). This lecture-workshop provides students and practitioners with tools to investigate the aforementioned multi-polar geopolitical moment and provides an opportunity to think together about the limits of identity politics along with the application of ​​United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights within this paradigm shift. This epochal transition also mirrors the growing diversification of the art world, reshaped by the dynamic interplay of multiple soft-powers in an age of hyper financialisation and hyper connectivity. Given these complex and evolving scenarios, the lecture-workshop speculates on the ethical considerations for practitioners in the field.
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Bios ：
Wen-Shu Lai, an academic and artist, earned MA and MFA degrees in Art and Design, later achieving a Doctoral degree in Art Education from the University of Iowa. Her teaching tenure began at Angelo State University, Texas, where she taught Art from 2001 to 2004. Currently, Lai holds key roles at the National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan. She is a professor and director at the Institute of Applied Arts, leads the Interrogative transArt Lab, and contributes significantly to the NYCU Sixth Fuel Factory team. Additionally, she engages as a researcher at the International Institute for Cultural Studies at NYCU. In her artistic pursuit, Lai focuses on ontological inquiries, exploring the essence of existence. She served as a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley in 2016. Her research interests span a wide artistic spectrum, encompassing Art Intervention, Cross-disciplinary Arts, Interrogative Design, Hermeneutic Theory, Phantom Narratives, and Artist’s Books. Lai’s diverse approach underscores her commitment to investigating the intersections of art, culture, and interpretation.
Web Site: https://wendylai.lab.nycu.edu.tw/
Karin G. Oen-Lee is a curator and art historian based in Singapore where she is Senior Lecturer and Head of Department, Art History, at Nanyang Technological University’s School of Humanities. She works on historical, modern, and contemporary creative practices related to the transcultural and the transmediatic. Recently, Karin was Deputy Director of Curatorial Programmes at NTU CCA Singapore and co-editor with Ute Meta Bauer and Tan Boon Hui of the 2022 book SEA: Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia. She previously served as associate curator of contemporary art at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco where her exhibition projects included teamLab: Continuity (2021), Haroon Mirza: The Night Journey (2018), and Koki Tanaka: Potters and Poets (2016). Prior to her time in San Francisco, Oen was a curator at the Crow Museum of Asian Art in Dallas. She received her BA from Stanford, MA from Christie’s New York, and PhD in the history, theory, and criticism of art and architecture from MIT, where her dissertation focused on experimental new media practices in early Reform Era China. She is a board member of The Institutum, a Singapore-based nonprofit dedicated to contemporary art education and outreach; and iPress, a non-profit publisher of books on architecture, urbanism, and social space founded in Boston in 1970.
Web Site: https://dr.ntu.edu.sg/cris/rp/rp01883
Shwetal Ashvin Patel is a writer and researcher practising at the intersection of visual art, exhibition-making and development studies. He works internationally–– primarily in Europe and South Asia–– and is a founding member of Kochi-Muziris Biennale in India, responsible for international partnerships and programmes. He holds a practice-based PhD from Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton, where his thesis was titled ‘Biennale Practices: Making and Sustaining Visual Art Platforms’. He is a guest lecturer at Zürich University of the Arts, Royal College of Art, and Exeter University, besides being an editorial board member at OnCurating.org and a trustee at Milton Keynes Museum and Coventry Biennial. He lives between United Kingdom, Belgium and India.
Website: https://www.gazette-drouot.com/……/dr……/23794

–主辦單位 Organizer：國立陽明交通大學文化研究國際中心ICCS-NYCU子計畫六「藝術介入與社會行動」MOE-SPROUT 2.0, Sub-project 6: SocialiIntervention and Artistic ProductionTransit Asia Research Network (TARN)

Creating Emancipatory Futures: Filmmaking and Activism
2024-03-11 10:00 - 13:00 UTC | HA Building 2, 106A, NYCU(Hsinchu Campus), 1001 University Road,, Hsinchu, 300, Taiwan
Time： March 11, 2024 1000-1300 Venue ：陽明交通大學新竹光復校區人社二館106室 R106, HA Building 2, NYCUZOOM online meeting room：https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8368………
Speaker: Valerie Soe, Professor, Asian American Studies Department at San Francisco State University, USA
Valerie Soe has created nearly two dozen experimental and documentary films that look at social and political concerns such as racism, representation, and the histories of Asians living in the United States. In this presentation, Soe will screen a selection of her short documentary films and talk about her filmmaking process and how her work intersects with issues in the Asian American community. As Robyn Magalit Rodriguez and Diane C. Fujino note, “Both study and struggle are necessary and intertwined components in our collective work toward creating emancipatory futures.” This presentation explores the uses of creative praxis in working towards empowerment, liberation, and social justice
BIO:
Valerie Soe is a filmmaker, writer, and artist whose work has won awards and exhibited at venues worldwide. Her feature documentary, LOVE BOAT: TAIWAN (2019) won the Audience Award at the Urban Nomad Film Festival in Taipei and has played to sold-out festival audiences across North America and Taiwan. She is currently in production for her feature documentary WE GO DOWN SEWING: THE AUNTIE SEWING SQUAD. Her writing has been published in books and journals including Countervisions: Asian American Film Criticism, The Palgrave Handbook of Asian Cinema; Amerasia Journal, and Asian Cinema, among others. Soe is the author of the blog beyondasiaphilia.com (recipient of a 2011 Art Writers’ Grant, Creative Capital/Andy Warhol Foundation), which looks at Asian and Asian American art, film, culture, and activism. She is a Professor in the Asian American Studies Department at San Francisco State University.

Discussant:Dean Brink, Professor, Foreign Language and Literature Department, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
Moderator:Joyce C.H. Liu, Director, International Center for Cultural Studies, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
主辦單位 Organizer:國立陽明交通大學文化研究國際中心 ICCS-NYCU子計畫六「藝術介入與社會行動」 MOE-SPROUT 2.0, Sub-project 6: Social Intervention and Artistic ProductionTransit Asia Research Network (TARN)台聯大系統亞際文化研究國際碩士學位學程&文化研究國際中心 IACS-UST & IICS-UST

教育部高等教育深耕計畫—特色領域研究中心經費補助「衝突、正義、解殖：21世紀轉型中的亞洲」計畫MOE-SPROUT 2.0, Conflict, Justice, Decolonization: Asia in Transition in the 21st Century
中心主任兼總計畫主持人劉紀蕙ICCS Director and Principal Investigator: Joyce C.H. Liu
所屬子計畫Research Cluster｜子計畫六〔藝術介入與社會行動〕Sub-project 6: Social Intervention and Artistic Production
計畫主持人Principal Investigator｜劉紀蕙Joyce C.H. Liu、賴雯淑Wen-Shu La

Read the sidenote here

Gender, Geopolitics and Forced Migration conference at AIT, Thailand
2024-03-04 08:00 - 2024-03-05 17:00 UTC | Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok, Thailand, 58 Moo 9, Km 42, Paholyothin Highway, Khlong Luang, Pathumthani, Bangkok, Thailand
International Conference on “Gender, Geopolitics, and Forced Migration”
Centre on Gender and Forced Displacement (CGFD) at the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand would like to invite you to participate in the International Conference on “Gender, Geopolitics, and Forced Migration” to be held on 04-05 March 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand. The conference marks International Women’s Month 2024 to “Inspire Inclusion” to forge Gender Equality by arguing for a gender-sensitive approach to geopolitics in international relations, foreign policy making, and national politics. Taking feminist perspectives on war, conflicts, displacements, migration, and peace, the three-fold objectives of the conference are
1. To Investigate the gendered assumptions/stereotypes in the study of forced migration, displacements, international relations, and national and foreign policy making, including their explicit geopolitical and biopolitical reasoning and how political spatialization renders women and vulnerable groups even more vulnerable.
2. To examine the implications of militarized notions of territorial citizenship, using the masculinist ideas of power, space, and security and feminine representations of peace, security, and victimhood.
3. To explore how the practical everyday implications of geopolitics and biopolitics and their intersectionalities impact the causes and consequences of displacements.

Read the Conference Report:

CHCI Annual Meeting 2024 Registration
2024-02-29 | UC Berkeley
From May 28 – June 1, the Townsend Center for the Humanities at UC Berkeley will host the next CHCI Annual Meeting. The conference theme is “. . . At Risk” and will examine the multiple challenges encountered by scholars operating within increasingly hostile environments at home and abroad. The full program will be available by mid-February.
Registration is now open with early bird registration pricing available until February 29. If you are able to register now, we encourage you to secure your spot for one of our very special Saturday excursions!
Scholarships ProgramIt is our pleasure to offer a limited number of in-person scholarships. Scholarships include conference registration, roundtrip airfare, accommodations, conference meals, and entry to the optional member dinner. Any individual from a CHCI member institution may apply for this opportunity. The deadline is February 19, 2024. Applications will be reviewed by staff and a selection committee from the CHCI International Advisory Board, and we anticipate contacting selected individuals by March 4, 2024.
What is the CHCI Annual Meeting?The CHCI Annual Meeting is our international conference for leaders in the humanities and humanistic social sciences. Each Annual Meeting is hosted by a member center or institute and focuses on a theme chosen by the host director. The program is a balance between thematic sessions and member-oriented sessions, including a Membership Plenary, Best Practices for Humanities Centers, and sessions led by our CHCI Networks. The Annual Meeting takes place in May/June and we aim to meet at a venue outside of North America every other year. Attendees include but are not limited to humanities center and institute directors and staff, early career scholars interested in humanities leadership, humanities networks and funders, academic administrators, and non-academic humanities leaders.
If you have any questions about registration or any aspect of the conference, please contact Membership and Diversity Officer Aaron Fai at info@chcinetwork.org.

Image: Hans Hofmann: Detail from Above Deep Waters, 1959; oil on canvas; 84 1/4 x 52 in.University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive; Gift of Hans Hofmann

30 Minute Methods: Reflections on Organized Networks and Collective Research Methods
2024-01-23 16:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Krasnoyarsk) | ZOOM
30 Minute Methods TDTU, VSA (Sth) and TARN 2023-2024
Jan 23, 2024 16:00 (Time Zone: UTC+7)
Professor Ned Rossiter
Reflections on Organized Networks and Collective Research Methods
-Những Phản Ánh về Mạng Lưới có Tổ Chức và Những Phương Pháp Nghiên Cứu Tổng Hợp
Zoom Meeting link:https://us05web.zoom.us/j/89191284691?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 891 9128 4691
Passcode: [REDACTED]

The 30-minute Methods seminar series invites noted scholars to present their insights on new and pressing sociological approaches.
In 2023-2024, the series is a collaboration between the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of Ton Duc Thang University (TDTU), the Southern Department of the Vietnam Sociological Association (VSA – Sth) and the Transit Asia Research Network (TARN).
TARN provides the speakers: Professor Brett Neilson of the Institute for Culture and Society at the Western Sydney University (12/12/23), Professor Joyce C. H. Liu of The International Center for Cultural Studies of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (19/12/23) and Professor Ned Rossiter, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University (23/01/24). [Slides will be bilingual and spoken text will be translated]

Perspectives on Palestine: Dialogues on History, Humanity, and Hope 巴勒斯坦觀點：歷史、人性與希望的對話
2024-01-15 17:00 - 20:00 UTC | HA Building 2, 106A, NYCU(Hsinchu Campus), 1001 University Road,, Hsinchu, 300, Taiwan
Perspectives on Palestine: Dialogues on History, Humanity, and Hope 巴勒斯坦觀點：歷史、人性與希望的對話
日期時間 Date and Time:
Jan 15, 2024 (Monday) 17:00 – 19:40*Taipei Standard Time (GMT +8)
地點 Venue:
陽明交大光復校區 人社二館 F106Humanities Building 2 (人社二館) F106
報名連結 Registration link: Film Programme & Symposium on Palestine (google.com)*Film screening and symposium will be held in person and online.
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講者和與談人 Speakers and Panelists:

哈澤姆·阿爾瑪斯里Hazem Almassry來自加薩，獨立研究者，臺灣國立陽明交通大學 社會與文化研究所博士from Gaza, Independent researcher, Ph.D. from Institute of Social Research and Cultural Studies, NYCU, Taiwan

魯巴·薩利赫Ruba Salih意大利波隆那大學人類學教授Professor of Anthropology, University of Bologna, Italy

法里德·阿拉塔斯Farid Alatas新加坡國立大學社會學教授Professor of Sociology, National University of Singapore, Singapore

阿蘭·布羅薩特Alain Brossat法國巴黎第八大學哲學教授Professor of Philosophy, Paris 8 University, France

邁克爾·弗曼諾夫斯基Michael Furmanovsky日本龍谷大學大眾文化研究教授Professor of Cultural Studies, Ryukoku University, Japan

活動概述 Event Overview：
“There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.” – Howard Zin
“沒有任何旗幟能大到可掩蓋殺害無辜人民的恥辱。” – 霍華德．辛
This symposium, “Perspectives on Palestine: Dialogues on History, Humanity, and Hope”, dives into the urgent examination of the dire political and humanitarian situation in Palestine, particularly surrounding the Israeli military assault on the Gaza Strip that unfolded subsequent to the “Al-Aqsa” operation conducted by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
The bombardment unleashed by Israel through land, air, and sea has ruthlessly targeted Gaza’s population, inflicting catastrophic consequences with approximately 22,000 casualties, up to January 2nd, 2024, predominantly among women and children. Alarming estimates from UNRWA indicate that a million people have been displaced, precipitating a collapse in the health sector and giving rise to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. In the face of such devastation, we cannot turn a blind eye to the human toll on innocent lives.
We strive to foster an unwavering sense of empathy, kindle the flames of compassion, and instill a genuine desire for the well-being of every individual ensnared by the ongoing situation. Together, let us confront the harsh realities and pave the way for a future where hope triumphs over despair.
「巴勒斯坦觀點：歷史、人性與希望的對話」座談會的目的是直接切入來檢視巴勒斯坦危急的政治和人道情況，特別聚焦在以色列軍事對加薩走廊的襲擊，這是繼哈馬斯於2023年10月7日進行的「阿克薩」（Al-Aqsa）行動後展開的。
以色列通過陸、空和海上的轟炸無情地瞄準加薩的百姓，造成災難性後果，造成約22,000人傷亡，其中主要是婦女和兒童。聯合國難民救援機構令人震驚地估計有一百萬人被迫流離失所，導致了醫療部門的崩潰，引發了前所未有的人道災難。
面對這樣的破壞，我們不能對無辜生命所承受的人間悲劇視而不見。我們對每位陷入困境的個人抱以堅定的同理心，點燃慈悲之火，且真誠關懷之。讓我們攜手面對殘酷的現實，為「希望戰勝絕望」鋪出一條道路。
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講者簡介 Speaker’s Bio:
Dr. Hazem Almassry
Is from Gaza and an independent researcher with a doctorate degree in social research and cultural studies from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan. He specializes in Middle East issues, particularly the Arab Spring and its social, political, and economic impacts, with a focus on democratic transition. He also researches political Islam movements and their influence on public life in the Arab world. Dr. Almassry has been invited to speak at institutes in Taiwan on his areas of expertise.
Prof. Ruba Salih
Is a Professor of Anthropology at the Department of the Arts, University of Bologna, Italy. From 2010-2022 she was based at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. Her research interests and writing cover transnational migration and diasporas across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, Islam and gender, the Palestine question and refugees, trauma and conflict in the Middle East. She has been an elected Member of the Board of the Trustees of the Arab Council for the Social Sciences from 2015 to 2019. She has been a visiting scholar at Brown University, at the University of Cambridge, and at the University of Venice, Ca’ Foscari, Italy.
Prof. Syed Farid Alatas
Is a Professor of Sociology at the National University of Singapore, Singapore. He lectured at the University of Malaya in the Department of Southeast Asian Studies prior to joining NUS. His areas of interest are historical sociology, the sociology of social science, the sociology of religion, and inter-religious dialogue. He has many books and research published and translated into several languages. His research interests span Philosophy of Social Science, Sociological Theory, and Political Economy.
Prof. Alain Brossat
Is a philosopher. He is an emeritus professor at the Paris 8 University Vincennes-Saint-Denis. He is the author of many books, notably The Term of Disaster, The Body of the Enemy, and To End the Prison. His research principally involves political philosophy and contemporary philosophy, with the main axes being violence and politics, forms of modern violence, state(s), political systems, totalitarian powers, genocides, and civil war(s).
Prof. Michael Furmanovsky
Is a Professor of Cultural Studies at Ryukoku University, Japan. He grew up in the close-knit Jewish community of Zimbabwe as the child of a Lithuanian Jewish immigrant and a German-Jewish mother. He lived in Israel for a year in the 1970s and hitchhiked through the West Bank. Although his academic work is in Japan Studies, he has been following the Israeli-Palestine conflict and has been personally affected by it, for over 50 years
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Coordinated by Kahlan A. Alradhi & Hanh T. L. Nguyen策劃人： 阮蘭欣與安凱蘭
Organizer: International Center for Cultural Studies, NYCU, Transit Asia Research NetworkInternational Program in lnter-Asia Cultural Studies, University System of Taiwan.MOE-SPROUT 2.0, Conflict, Justice, Decolonization: Asia in Transition in the 21st Century, Sub-project 3: Migration, Unequal Citizens, Critical Legal Studies & Sub-project 6: Social Intervention and Artistic Production
教育部高等教育深耕計畫—特色領域研究中心經費補助「衝突、正義、解殖：21世紀轉型中的亞洲」計畫MOE-SPROUT 2.0, Conflict, Justice, Decolonization: Asia in Transition in the 21st Century
所屬子計畫Research Cluster｜子計畫三〔遷移、不平等公民、批判法律研究〕子計畫六〔藝術介入與社會行動〕Sub-project 3: Migration, Unequal Citizens, and Critical Legal StudiesSub-project 6: Social Intervention and Artistic Production
計畫主持人Convenor｜劉紀蕙Joyce C.H. Liu、邱羽凡Yu-Fan Chiu賴雯淑Wen-Shu La
活動策畫Event Planner｜王虹凱Hong-Kai Wang

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Will this world ever be the same? A series of Palestinian films with Qais Assali, Shuruq Harb & May Marei
2024-01-15 14:00 - 16:30 (Asia/Shanghai) | HA Building 2, 106A, NYCU(Hsinchu Campus), 1001 University Road,, Hsinchu, 300, Taiwan
Will this world ever be the same? A series of Palestinian films with Qais Assali, Shuruq Harb & May Marei
Time: Monday, January 15 14.00-15.00pm: film screening15.00-16:30: Q&A with the filmmakers*Taipei Standard Time (GMT +8)
Location: HA Building B F106
報名連結 Registration link: Film Programme & Symposium on Palestine (google.com)*Film screening and symposium will be held in person and online.
–Films:Griever of the Sea – A tribute to Shireen Abu Aqleh (2022) by May MareiThe Kingdom (2015) by Qais AssaliThe Seventh Sarha (2017) by Qais AssaliWhite Elephant (2018) by Shuruq HarbThe Jump (2021) by Shuruq Harb

“We cannot divide time into distinct crises when they exist simultaneously in the body.”⎯ @palestinewritingworkshop on Instagram
We are reflecting what Korean American poet Cathy Park Hong ruminates in Minor Feelings: “at what cost do I have this life? At what toll have I been granted this safety here? […] I didn’t live through any of it, but I’m still a descendant of those who had no time to recover; who had no time, nor permission, to reflect.”
We are also thinking on and expanding some of the questions Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish raises in Memory for Forgetfulness: what are the meanings of exile and loss? In a time of war– what is one’s role? how does one mourn? Can one mourn? What does one do to keep going everyday? And what is the relationship of writing and filmmaking (time & memory) to history (remembering is precisely a modality of forgetting)?
With love and rage, this short film screening brings together works by Palestinian filmmakers/artists Qais Assali, Shuruq Harb & May Marei, in the hope of offering a desire or an energy for the audience to continually ask questions, to think, to act and to imagine another world is possible. -⎯ written by Hong-Kai Wang

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策畫人：王虹凱
Curated by: Hong-Kai Wang
Organizer: International Center for Cultural Studies, NYCU, Transit Asia Research NetworkInternational Program in lnter-Asia Cultural Studies, University System of Taiwan.MOE-SPROUT 2.0, Conflict, Justice, Decolonization: Asia in Transition in the 21st Century, Sub-project 3: Migration, Unequal Citizens, Critical Legal Studies & Sub-project 6: Social Intervention and Artistic Production
教育部高等教育深耕計畫—特色領域研究中心經費補助「衝突、正義、解殖：21世紀轉型中的亞洲」計畫MOE-SPROUT 2.0, Conflict, Justice, Decolonization: Asia in Transition in the 21st Century
所屬子計畫Research Cluster｜子計畫三〔遷移、不平等公民、批判法律研究〕子計畫六〔藝術介入與社會行動〕Sub-project 3: Migration, Unequal Citizens, and Critical Legal StudiesSub-project 6: Social Intervention and Artistic Production
計畫主持人Convenor｜劉紀蕙Joyce C.H. Liu、邱羽凡Yu-Fan Chiu賴雯淑Wen-Shu La
活動策畫Event Planner｜王虹凱Hong-Kai Wang

A DISCUSSION OF CRITICAL TAKEAWAYS FROM THE GLOBAL REFUGEE FORUM (GRF) GENEVA, 2023
2023-12-21 11:30 - 13:00 (Asia/Krasnoyarsk) | Bangkok
A DISCUSSION OF CRITICAL TAKEAWAYS FROM THE GLOBAL REFUGEE FORUM (GRF) GENEVA, 2023
Date: 21 December 2023
Time: 11:30 am- 13:00 pm (UTC+07.00)
📢 Zoom ID: 827 094 8779Password: [REDACTED]
Language: Lecture in English
Distinguished Discussants: Ms. Roula El-Rifai (Senior Program Specialist, IDRC, Canada), Dr. James Milner (Carleton University, Canada), Prof. Paula Banerjee (IDRC Research Chair, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand), Dr. Fuad M Mohammed, MD (IDRC Research Chair, American University in Beirut), Dr. Opportuna Kweka (IDRC Research Chair, University of Dar Es Salaam Tanzania), Dr. Nyi Nyi Kyaw (IDRC Research Chair, Chiang Mai University, Thailand), Dr. Heather Alexander (IDRC Research Chair, Network Coordinator, IDRC, Canada) and Dr. Luisa Feline Freier (IDRC Research Chair, Universidad del Pacifico, Peru)

Join us for an exciting discussion with IDRC Regional Research Chairs to critically reflect on the progress made towards the Global Compact on Refugees and IDRC Research Chairs’ Response to Global Refugee Forum 2023
Key Themes:• Ease pressure on countries that host refugees• Enhance opportunities for refugees to become self-reliance• Expand refugees’ access to third-country solutions• Support conditions in refugees’ countries of origin

Organizer: Center on Gender and Forced Displacement (CGFD)
Funder: International Development Research Centre: IDRC

30 Minute Methods: Limit as Method
2023-12-19 16:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Krasnoyarsk) | ZOOM
30 Minute Methods TDTU, VSA (Sth) and TARN 2023-2024
Dec 19, 2023 16:00 (Time Zone: UTC+7)
Professor Joyce C.H. Liu
Limit as Method
-Phương Thức Giới Hạn
Zoom Meeting link:https://us05web.zoom.us/j/89191284691?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 891 9128 4691
Passcode: [REDACTED]

The 30-minute Methods seminar series invites noted scholars to present their insights on new and pressing sociological approaches.
In 2023-2024, the series is a collaboration between the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of Ton Duc Thang University (TDTU), the Southern Department of the Vietnam Sociological Association (VSA – Sth) and the Transit Asia Research Network (TARN).
TARN provides the speakers: Professor Brett Neilson of the Institute for Culture and Society at the Western Sydney University (12/12/23), Professor Joyce C. H. Liu of The International Center for Cultural Studies of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (19/12/23) and Professor Ned Rossiter, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University (23/01/24). [Slides will be bilingual and spoken text will be translated]

Industrial-Scale Scamming Compounds and the Network of Outsourcing Recruitment Systems in the Labor Supply Chain
2023-12-18 14:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Shanghai) | HA Building 2, 106A, NYCU(Hsinchu Campus), 1001 University Road,, Hsinchu, 300, Taiwan
Industrial-Scale Scamming Compounds and the Network of Outsourcing Recruitment Systems in the Labor Supply Chain
Date: December 18, 2023
Time: 14:00-17:00 (Time Zone UTC+8)
Venue: HA Building2, 106A, NYCU (Hsinchu Campus)
📢Zoom Meeting Link:
https://shorturl.at/wFIKM
Zoom ID: 832 4977 3875Password: [REDACTED]
Language: Lecture in English (Mandarin Interpretation provided)
Sub-project 3: Migration, Unequal Citizens, and Critical Legal StudiesConvenor｜Joyce C.H. Liu、Yu-Fan Chiu

This webinar delves into the rapidly evolving landscape of outsourcing recruitment systems and human trafficking within the labor supply chain, highlighting the recent cases of scamming operations in Southeast Asian countries, including Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, and Taiwan. These illicit activities suggest pervasive corruption among senior officials and involve transnational recruitment networks linking local businesspeople with organized crime. The stark reality of violence and labor exploitation represents a disturbing trend. The session aims to explore how advancements in cyber connectivity and data mining operations have facilitated new methods of human trafficking and severe forms of forced labor, and to consider the extent to which these illegal activities are conducted within legally ambiguous zones.

Organizer: ICCS-NYCU, MOE-SPROUT 2.0, Conflict, Justice, Decolonization: Asia in Transition in the 21st Century, Sub-project 3: Migration, Unequal Citizens, Critical Legal Studies.
International Program in lnter-Asia Cultural Studies, University System of Taiwan (IACS-UST)、International Institute for Cultural Studies, University System of Taiwan (IICS-UST)
Co-organizer: Transit Asia Research Network

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30 Minute Methods: Border as Method
2023-12-12 16:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Krasnoyarsk) | ZOOM
30 Minute Methods TDTU, VSA (Sth) and TARN 2023-2024
Dec 19, 2023 16:00 (Time Zone: UTC+7)
Professor Brett Neilson
Border as Method
-Lý Thuyết Giới Hạn
Zoom Meeting link:https://us05web.zoom.us/j/89191284691?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 891 9128 4691
Passcode: [REDACTED]

The 30-minute Methods seminar series invites noted scholars to present their insights on new and pressing sociological approaches.
In 2023-2024, the series is a collaboration between the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of Ton Duc Thang University (TDTU), the Southern Department of the Vietnam Sociological Association (VSA – Sth) and the Transit Asia Research Network (TARN).
TARN provides the speakers: Professor Brett Neilson of the Institute for Culture and Society at the Western Sydney University (12/12/23), Professor Joyce C. H. Liu of The International Center for Cultural Studies of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (19/12/23) and Professor Ned Rossiter, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University (23/01/24). [Slides will be bilingual and spoken text will be translated]

ACS Institute
2023-08-10 - 2023-08-15 | National Yangming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Hsinchu, Taiwan
The ACS Institute 2023 will discuss the question of decolonization in the 21st century. We face the drastic increase of international migration and stateless persons, the prolonged pandemic, extensive digital surveillance, the prevalence of extended platform economies, the precarity of temporary laborers on land and at sea, the environmental crisis, and climate change. Along with these developing conditions, the intensified social inequality worldwide also escalates.
We encourage scholars and students of cultural studies to re-think the project of decolonization in the 21st century. Today, colonialism indicates the colonial matrix of uneven power relations interwoven with various local/geopolitical structural factors. Under the systemic structure of colonial power relations, a part of the community/population/city becomes a colony/subalternate space. The project of decolonization in the 21st century, first and foremost, is to identify and analyze the colonial power relation that engineers and reproduces the unequal social relations and environmental injustice, to disclose its historical formations, and to challenge the fixations of institutional and ideological exclusions. We invite interdisciplinary critical analysis and innovative artistic projects to engage with the regeneration and experimentation of alternative forms of creative decolonization.
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