From December 2020 to January 2021, the Taiwan Studies Program hosted the Land/scaping Taiwan workshop virtually with a group of 11 scholars from different fields (including history, sociology, art history, anthropology, media studies, urban studies, etc) presenting papers from around the world. “Land/scaping” was inspired by a broad and multidisciplinary approach. It highlighted how spatial, cultural, and material frames including both human and non-human actors could reveal new approaches to studying Taiwan. Scholars explored subthemes of environment, urban and rural spaces, indigeneity, images, representation, and resistance. Due to the onset of the COVID pandemic, the graduate student organizing committee adapted the previously planned April 2020 in-person workshop to an innovative, asynchronous, remote workshop during the winter. The new format allowed participants to present pre-recorded videos and prepared papers on a weekly basis. Written feedback and a live concluding session at the end of the workshop enabled a diverse and wide ranging discussion.
Land/scaping Taiwan intends to hold a second workshop in person at UW when circumstances permit following the global pandemic. Organizers will work toward organizing a joint publication, such as a journal special issue, that will be the focus of the second workshop. The Taiwan Studies Program thanks the Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for its generous support of this workshop.