Department of Public and Cultural Affairs
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Introduction
The Department of Public and Cultural Affairs was established in 2011. The predecessors of the department were The Graduate Institute of Austronesian Studies which was set up in 2003 and The Graduate Institute of Regional Policy and Development which was set up in 2004. After a long time of hard work and in line with school’s development, the two graduate departments broke through the development, combined their professional fields, and expanded the research perspective. The department applied to set up “The Department of Public and Cultural Affairs” in 2010, and was approved by the Ministry of Education in the same year.
The Department currently has the undergraduate course of Public and Cultural Affairs Department and the MBA course of the Graduate Institute of Regional Policy and Development and The Graduate Institute of Austronesian Studies. The two Graduate courses are about the development of national policy and the effect of disadvantaged or remote districts. The department is located in Taitung, which is the remotest but the most abundant of the ethnic culture area. We not only provide the teaching field, but also help researchers study the public and cultural related issues. For teaching, we emphasize on the relation between local issues and social change, training students with technology integration and independent thinking. We hope that through curriculum planning and local resources, our students will be trained to care about the environment, social issues and have cultural literacy.
Objectives
Department of Public and Cultural Affairs:
1. Train students to care for the cultures of different ethnic groups and help them develop the ability to participate in public affairs and analyze policies.
2. Integrate local resources to train students to care for the environment and address social issues.
3. Develop students’ awareness of cultural policies and the ability to participate in cultural affairs.
Master’s Program of Public Affairs:
1. Discuss the development of different regions and their social and historical context in order to examine the position of eastern Taiwan in national policy and economic development.
2. Participate in the formulation and implementation of regional policies and understanding Taiwan’s regional policies, regional development and the world we inhabit in a global and local context in an attempt to build a intersubjective discourse.
3. Reflect on and criticize the core-oriented political and economic discourse on space from Taitung’s peripheral experience and design multi-dimensional regional policies and development models, in order to better understand and interpret Taitung’s position in regional development, development strategies, and historical background.
Master’s Program of Austronesian Studies
1. Integrate comparative perspectives and historical contexts of Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and Oceania from the view of anthropology in order to master the holistic framework and basic knowledge in the study of Austronesian societies and cultures.
2. Center on ethnographies and social-cultural theories, the curriculum design stresses regional comparisons and historical perspectives, connects archaeology and linguistics, and combines global, historical, regional, and local perspectives and concerns.
3. Train talents to conduct research, teaching and social services related to Austronesian societies and cultures, in addition to explore the social and cultural phenomenon of Austronesian peoples in Taiwan and their challenges from a broader viewpoint and multicultural thinking.
Curriculum
Undergraduate Program:
1. Public affairs and management
2. Introduction to cultural anthropology
3. Research methods in social science
4. Cultural heritage and culture policies
5. Social work
6. Local governance
7. The program of Global and local affairs
8. The program of Social development
9. The program of Ethnicity and Culture
Master’s Program of Public Affairs:
1. Seminar on social economic history on Taiwan
2. Seminar on eastern Taiwan studies
3. Globalization and localization
4. Urban and regional development
5. Humanistic discourses on region
6. Local development and government
7. Geographical information system
8. Public policy: theories and practices
Master’s Program of Austronesian Studies:
1. Social and cultural anthropology
2. Qualitative research methods
3. General introduction to world Austronesian cultures
4. Ethnographies of Taiwanese Austronesian peoples
5. Theories of social and culture
6. Topics in regional ethnographies
7. Research topics: material culture studies, art and anthropology, ritual and performance, anthropology and museum, anthropology of religion, kinship, gender and culture, indigenous peoples and modern states, visual anthropology etc..
Special Features
Come to the backyard of Taiwan, and get to the rest of the world.
In the age of globalization, Taitung is not far and the US is close by. To those with abilities and desires to challenge, the peripheral can be the core. Despite locating at “the backyard of Taiwan”, the departments and graduate institutes of National Taitung University are well planned with unique characteristics. Apart from outstanding courses on teachers’ qualification from former teachers college, NTTU also develops Taiwan’s only Graduate Institute of Children’s Literature and the Department of Public and Cultural Affairs (including Master’s program of Austronesian Studies and Master’s program of Regional Policy and Development). In 2008, NTTU received funding from the Ministry of Education for Teaching Excellence. Studying in Taitung not only enjoys the beautiful scenery, but also broadens students’ horizons with a wide range of scholarships and domestic student exchange programs. We bring out the best in tomorrow’s leaders to stand taller and look further ahead.
International Exchange Programs
The NTTU has sister school arrangements with University of the West in the US, Sunchon National University in Korea, Sendai University in Japan, Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City and University of Social Sciences & Humanities in Vietnam to provide opportunities for students to study abroad on exchange student programs. Each year, 35 students are awarded a scholarship of NT$20,000 – NT$80,000 for short-term exchanges during the summer, and 9 students are subsidized up to NT$300,000 for full-time exchanges for one semester or one year.
Domestic Student Exchanges: A Pioneering First
Apart from providing students opportunities to study abroad through student exchange programs, we are also the first in Taiwan to provide “Domestic students exchanges” for students of NTTU to study at other renowned universities in Taiwan for one year. Successful applicants are able to fulfill their four year studies at two universities, this includes more opportunities to learn from different professors and to get to meet more friends while broadening students’ horizon. To date, there are 10 universities around Taiwan in the exchange program, namely NTTU, National Cheng Kung University, National Central University, National Chung Hsing University, Shih Chien University in Kaohsiung, Taipei National University of the Arts, Tunghai University, National Chengchi University, Fu Jen Catholic University and National Taichung University.
Striving for Outstanding International Students to Taitung
For students who have no experience in overseas study, international students on campus provide them a way to meet other cultures and stimulate local students to walk out to the world. With the increase of foreign students at NTTU, academic departments and administration offices have actively enhanced teaching and service efficiency. NTTU has been keen on inviting outstanding foreign students from abroad with favorable conditions, which in turn stimulated the growth of foreign students. NTTU provides unprecedented opportunities for students to go global and invite world excellence to Taitung.
The Graduate Institute of Children’s Literature
Established in 1996, the Graduate Institute of Children’s Literature is the only academic institution with interdisciplinary curriculum design: train talents in children’s literature, provide academic research resources, and promote theories and practices in reading. The Graduate Institute of Children’s Literature provides Doctoral and Master’s degree programs, summer class and weekend class in Taipei. NTTU provides students from all backgrounds dedicated to children’s literature an opportunity for advanced study and develop the potential of teachers with language education. The Graduate Institute of Children’s Literature has been well-received and greatly recognized over the past decade.
Department of Public and Cultural Affairs
The Department of Public and Cultural Affairs includes public affairs and ethnic cultures. The geographically and politico-economically marginal location of Taitung and the wide diversity of ethnic cultures provide the best environment for education and discussion of public and cultural affairs. With ‘Practicum in Public Affairs’, ‘Anthropological Fieldwork Practicum in Cultural Field Study’, and ‘Project Planning and Evaluation’ courses, students experience a variety of cultures in real life settings. The department serves as a platform for NTTU to promote exchanges with ethnic groups and new immigrants, and establish cooperation opportunities with the local government and local communities. Our continuous discussions on public affairs and cultural issues prepare students to care for local issues, analyze policies, participate in planning, and develop comparative perspectives on public affairs. The department also provides Master’s programs in Regional Policy and Development (established in 2004) and Austronesian Studies (established in 2003). The faculty and resources for teaching and research in these two Master’s programs fully support the development of the department. This indicates that the department provides three unique and interconnected programs including both undergraduate and graduate degrees. The vision of the department to reach the world echoes the characteristics of NTTU from the peripheral to the core.
Department of Somatics and Sports Leisure Industry
The Department of Somatics and Sports Leisure Industry is the first and the only department in Taiwan that combines somatic education with sports recreation industry. The department incorporates the natural advantage of exercise, health, leisure and tourism, and combines travel and vacation with somatics, which satisfies the need of the modern society. The department stresses the integration of theory and practice and focuses on somatics theory and techniques to train professionals in somatics. We provide learning opportunities for inner exploration through yoga, health, chi kung, somatic technique, pilates, shiatsui and massage, and somatic hands-on therapy under the god-gifted natural environment. The department also trains talents to guide, manage, and operate in the recreational sports industry and tourism industry with natural recreational facilities in Taitung, including rafting, canoeing, hot spring, climbing, paragliding, diving, bicycling, and triathlon.
Future development
1. Train students to increase their cultural awareness, pay attention to local issues and develop comparative perspectives on public affairs.
2. Cooperate with universities and research institutes abroad by establishing student exchange programs and overseas studies programs in order to deepen students’ understanding of different cultures.
3. Establish a regional research center to promote regional studies and international academic exchanges, in addition to cultivate talents for regional studies.
4. Mobilize domestic resources, expand international cooperation, and establish our department as a bastion for training people in Austronesian studies. 5. Establish doctoral programs, achieve our missions of organizing a think tank for the peripheral, training local talents, and engaging in social practices.
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