SOAS Taiwan Studies Summer School Returns With Indigenous Documentaries Festival

This year’s summer school program for the Centre of Taiwan Studies (CTS) of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (SOAS) is an extended 8 day serving of talks, seminars, and roundtables and the chance to enjoy screenings of Taiwan Indigenous Documentaries.

The SOAS Taiwan Studies department was founded in 1999 and is one of the leading university-level departments of the 19 such centers worldwide. The summer school program, which started in 2007, is a highly anticipated annual event attracting speakers from the full breadth of the discipline. Following 2 years online during the peak of the pandemic, the in-person event is back with all sessions also available virtually.

The program — which encompasses the Taiwan Indigenous Documentaries Festival 2022 — covers a broad range of topics from gender politics to urban social movements, Neoliberal urban development and the possible housing solutions (Chen Yi-Ling) and the rise and fall of social movement political parties and New Findings in Taiwanese Public Opinion and Participation (Lev Nachman), but the most consistent theme through the 2022 program is Taiwan Indigenous issues.

Talks on Indigenous topics include Traditional Maritime Knowledge among Amis Spearfishing Men in Taiwan(Futuru Tsai), Niki J.P. Alsford’s focus on Taiwan as an island on the edge of ocean (rather than a continent) and its importance as the cradle of Austronesian expansion in Taiwan as Ocean, Tobie Openshaw on Searching for the Koko Ta’ay and Indigenous Hunting Rights -The Struggle for Tribal Autonomy and Eliana Ritts on Game shows, word play, and Indigenous language revitalization.

The summer school kicks off with screenings of the 9 films in Taiwan Indigenous Documentaries Festival with 3 each from Futuru Tsai (蔡政), Mayaw Biho (馬躍·比吼) and Yang Ming-Hui (楊明輝). Screenings are available online for 24-hour windows from July 1, allowing participants to schedule their own viewing (pre-registration is required). There will be live screenings at SOAS followed by director Q&As each morning between July 4-6.

Indigenous Documentaries Festival at SOAS (courtesy of SOAS)

SOAS Director of Taiwan Studies Dafydd Fell says that the documentary festival reflects both elements of the MA course and increasing interest in Indigenous studies across the discipline as reflected by CTS’s attention over the last few years including the 2017-19 Contemporary Taiwan Indigenous Lecture series and the 2021 publication of Taiwan’s Contemporary Indigenous Peoples book in 2021.

In a nod to the growing interest in Taiwan Studies globally Thursday evening sees a roundtable on the sustainability of Taiwan Studies programs. The SOAS program has championed the promotion of the field for two decades and this is a chance to discuss how to make programs secure long term.

“Even though I’ve talked about a golden age for international Taiwan Studies, actually many of the programs are quite vulnerable,” said Fell. “Over the last decade numerous Taiwan-focused centers and courses have opened and then later closed down. So for this panel I invited a group of speakers that have personal experience of Taiwan Studies programs in the US and Europe and also programs with quite different institutional histories.”

In order to promote the study of Taiwan the summer school is free to attend onsite in London, and the hybrid format allows for those overseas interested in the field to gain a more thorough understanding without the expense of attending in person.

Fell hopes the hybrid format will allow full participation for those attending virtually.

“This year will be a little experimental, but we do hope to get a balance between the online and in-person audiences, so that both will be able to join the Q&A.”

Amid a rich program Voices of Orchid Island: film screening and discussion in memory of Dr. Hu Tai-li stands out as a highlight. The two-hour slot at 6 p.m. on the Monday will celebrate the life of the anthropologist and film maker Hu Tai-li, who passed away earlier this year.

“We were lucky to host Dr Hu for a film screening of her film Stone Dreams back in 2008,” said Fell, adding that this was one of his favorite ever CTS events.

Full details of the program and the registration form can be found on the dedicated SOAS Taiwan Studies summer school page.

“Children in Heaven” (courtesy of SOAS)

The events will be held between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. BST (5 p.m. to 3 a.m. Taiwan time) at the CTS with the virtual sessions running on Microsoft Teams.

In related news, on June 22 CTS announced three MA Taiwan Scholarships worth up to £5000 in fee waivers. The deadline for application is July 15.