Introduction
Since the early 1980s, under the leadership of the late Professor Helmut Martin († June 1999), the research activities of the Department of Chinese Languages and Literatures of the Faculty of East Asian Studies has focused increasingly on Taiwan, in particular the country's cultural development.
It is thanks to the commitment of Professor Martin that the Department has at its disposal one of the largest research libraries on the subject of Taiwanese culture and literature in Europe.
A three-year project, funded by the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange in Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C., which started in September 1999, aimed to establish the "Research Unit on Taiwanese Culture and Literature" as a forum for contact and cooperation in the field of Taiwan Studies in order to counter the marginalization of Taiwan research.
The "Research Unit" was inaugurated on 13 November 2002 as a formal part of the Faculty of East Asian Studies, Ruhr University Bochum. As such, it will continue to expand its cooperation with Taiwan experts and institutions specializing on Taiwan research and consolidate its standing as a platform for scholarly exchange in the field.
Latest News
Workshop "Taiwan: Refuge, Province, Colony, or What?"
On 8–9 July 2011, the Ruhr University's Taiwan Research Unit in cooperation with the Department of Chinese History and Philosophy will organise a workshop on "Taiwan: Refuge, Province, Colony, or What?" for graduate students and lecturers. (poster, programme). Invited guest speakers are Nadin Heé (Berlin), Liu I ling (Kaohsiung), and Tsukahara Togo (Kobe).
Taiwanese authors Tsai Su-Fen and Hung Hung visit Bochum
On 20 July 2011, Tsai Su-Fen 蔡素 and Hung Hung 鴻鴻, two prominent authors from Taiwan, will visit the Ruhr University's Taiwan Research Unit. A discussion session with the authors is planned for 6 p.m. More announcements shortly.
International Symposium on "Taiwan literature off the mainstream"
On 5–6 November 2010, the Research Unit on Taiwanese Culture and Literature, in cooperation with the Graduate Institute of Taiwan Culture, Languages, and Literature of National Taiwan Normal University, hosted the international symposium Taiwan literature off the mainstream: Between languages, ethnicities and media.
Convener and local host: Henning KLÖTER, Chair, Department of Chinese Languages and Literatures; Director, Research Unit on Taiwanese Culture and Literature, Ruhr University, Bochum
Convener and Taiwan-based co-organizer: Ann HEYLEN, National Taiwan Normal University, Associate Professor at the Graduate Institute of Taiwan Culture, Languages and Literature, Director, International Taiwan Studies Center, National Taiwan Normal University
Invited participants:
Raoul D. FINDEISEN, Professor, Department of East Asian Studies, Faculty of Philosophy, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
Faye Yuan KLEEMAN, Professor, Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Colorado, USA
LI Khin-huann 李勤岸, Chair and Associate Professor at the Graduate Institute of Taiwan Culture, Languages and Literature, National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan
LIOU Liang-ya 劉亮雅,Professor, National Taiwan University, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Taiwan
Daryll STERK, Lecturer, University of Alberta, Department of East Asian Studies, Edmonton, Canada
Crystal SUN Chia-Sui 孫嘉穗, Assistant Professor, Department of Indigenous Languages and Communication, National Dong Hwa University, Taiwan
For the program click HERE.
June 2009
The Research Unit on Taiwanese Culture and Literature received the Prix de la Fondation culturelle franco-taïwanaise from the Académie des Sciences morales et politiques (Paris).
For details, see
http://www.asmp.fr/prix_fondations/palmares_2008.pdf
http://www.asmp.fr/pdf/lettre_information/lettracad314.pdf
Activities
- The library holdings have been expanded from originally 3,500 to appr. 5,000 titles,
most of which (appr. 4,500 titles) have been computerized and are globally accessible via the Faculty Library online catalogue.- An international Workshop on ongoing developments in Taiwan Research was held in 2001.
- In order to promote scholarly exchange, several visiting scholars have been invited to Bochum. During their visits, a number of events were organized, such as talks and smaller workshops.
- Several bibliographies of Taiwan Research have been published on the internet.
- Books and articles on Taiwanese culture and literature have been published, print and online.