Author Archives: Zulkifli Musa

Deadline for submission of abstract: 15 September 2015.

The 13th EATS Conference will take place in Prague, Czech Republic, 30 March-1 April 2016. The main theme of the conference is Powerful and Powerless.

Power relationships, broadly understood, pervade society on many levels and in many guises. They may be explicit or implicit, acknowledged or hidden, based on outright coercion or, instead, on more subtle forms of coaxing, manipulation, and indoctrination. They can involve individuals as well as collectives. In different contexts such as faith, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexual orientation, they can render people susceptible to the effects of power in different ways.

We invite participants to engage with the phenomenon of power in their respective area of research, be it social sciences or in the humanities, and to focus on the relationship between those who wield power on the one hand and those who are affected by the decisions of the powerful on the other.

By investigating the strategies, conventions, and tensions underlying the interactions between the two sides, we hope the papers of this conference will offer novel insights into such issues as persistence and change in power relationships over time; the shifting positions and multiple roles individuals as well as groups can assume in different contexts and vis-à-vis different counterparts; the significance of symbolic representations of power; historical, moral, religious, and political justifications of inequality; strategies employed in contesting existing power relationships; formal and informal structures established with the purpose to create, enforce or perpetuate hierarchical relationships; the scope of individual and collective agency in the face of the limiting effects of power. In this way, we hope to expand our knowledge of powerful and powerless in Taiwan and to enrich the discipline of Taiwan Studies.

For submission, please send an abstract of 500 words, including 3–5 keywords in MS Word document, to the EATS website and send a copy to info@eats-taiwan.eu.

Submission will be open from 1 August to 15 September 2015. After a double blind review process, we will announce the successful submissions by 31 December 2015.

Postgraduate students who are affiliated with European institutions, as well as Europe-based post-doc researchers who have received their PhD no longer than three years, are strongly encouraged to take part in the contest of Young Scholar Award (YSA). The winners of YSA will receive a modest monetary reward. If interested, please specify your participation in the YSA contest in your submission with a statement of your status (MA, PhD or post-doctoral). Further details of YSA will be announced in due course.

To nurture junior researchers at their formative stage, EATS will organize a MA panel for students to practice their presentation skills and to receive critical feedback. The MA panel is not confined by the theme of the conference, although it should be relevant to the broadly defined field of Taiwan Studies. For the submission to the MA panel, please write an abstract of 300 words on a topic of your choice.

Accepted postgraduate presenters (PhD and MA students) who are affiliated with European institutions will receive a travel grant of €150.

PhD position in Non-European and Global History (4 years, full time, i.e. 30 hours), focus Asian Maritime History.

Start: 01.10.2015
End: 30.09.2019

Duties and functions:

Scientific support in research and teaching in the field of Non-European and Global History; administrative functions, independent research including the writing of a PhD; after the 3rd year of employment 2 hours of teaching are required. Participation in the research project “The East Asian Mediterranean – The Indian Ocean World: The Making of the First Global Economy in the Context of Human-Environment Interaction” is required (visit this web link).

The successful candidate should possess a historical focus in the fields of inter-cultural relations, commercial, science and knowledge transfer, or inter-cultural environmental, technological or economic history of China between c. 500 and 1500.

Applications from candidates with a focus on the maritime history of China, Sino-Islamic relations, aspects of historical interaction between China and the Indian Ocean or Asia-Pacific worlds are especially welcome. The scholarship provides an opportunity to work in international and interdisciplinary network of scholars working on global history.

Required degree and qualification:

Diploma or Master degree in Global History or a comparable degree, best in sinolgy or East Asian Studies,with a focus on Global History. In addition, a very good command of modern and traditional Chinese is required.

The successful candidate should be open for new methodological approaches including the combination of textual and archaeological sources, possesses a strong knowledge of classical Chinese and at least one other language related to the topic of his/her research. Experience in the analysis of historical inscriptions (such as tomb inscriptions) would be helpful. Working language will be English and/or German.

Capacity for teamwork required.

Salary: EUR 1,997,40 gros monthly (14 (!) monthly payments annually; the exact sum may be higher depending on the individual situation of the applicant)

Applications should be addressed to the rector of Salzburg University, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Heinrich Schmidinger, and be sent in written form, indicating the number of vacancy (GZ A 0038/1-2015) with usual documents, cv, photo to the Serviceeinrichtung Personal, Kapitelgasse 4, 5020 Salzburg, Austria, and those in English additionally electronically via e-mail to:

E-mail: Angela.Schottenhammer@sbg.ac.at

Closing date for applications is 6 May 2015.

The Research Postgraduate Scholarship for the Study of the Tainan Region, 2015

GUIDELINES

Purpose of the scholarship

The purpose of the scholarship is to nourish interest in the Tainan region, to enhance knowledge about its past and present, and to prepare the new generations to future developments. The scholarship aims also to encourage M.A. and Ph.D. candidates to pursue their humanities or social science studies on the Tainan area.

Organisers

• The Tainan Research Postgraduate Scholarship for the study of the Tainan Region is funded by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government.
• Other institutions are collaborating to take care of the process: the International Center for Tainan Area Humanities and Social Sciences Research.

Applicants’ qualifications

Applicants applying to the Tainan Research Postgraduate Scholarship must meet the following requirements:

1. Must be either M.A. students or Ph.D. candidates in a university or a college in Taiwan or outside Taiwan
2. Must write a M.A. dissertation or Ph.D. thesis on a subject relating to the Tainan area, in the humanities or social sciences
3. Must complete the dissertation/thesis in two years (2017) after application

Number of recipients and amount of scholarship

1. Two Ph.D. scholarships; each will be granted at NTD 100,000
2. Five M.A. scholarships; each will be granted at NTD 50,000
3. The scholarship will be divided into two portions and respectively be granted in two times: 2/5 in September 2015; 3/5 after the completion of the dissertation/thesis and the submission of the dissertation/thesis to the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government
4. In order to encourage fieldwork research, the recipients are eligible to apply to stay at the International Center for Tainan Area Humanities and Social Sciences Research for short periods. In that case, they are required to submit to the Committee of the Research Center a localized fieldwork proposal.

Application deadline and period of selection

1. Applications will be received between February 1st and April 30th, 2015. The envelope containing the application must be postmarked by the 30th of April, at the latest.
2. The selection process will last until late August 2015(see appendix 1).

Application

Applicants must include in their application the following items:

1. Application form (see appendix 2), (three copies plus one electronic version on CD)
2. Research proposal (three copies plus one electronic version on CD), including:
   i) title of the proposed research and its problematic, including: importance of the research in its field, motivation and purpose of the research, related literature review, methodology
   ii) estimate of the possible achievements and limits of the research
   iii) research progress schedule
   iv) bibliography
3. Attestation of registration for the year (e.g. student card with the stamp of registration, or copy of school reports)
4. Two recommendation letters (one letter must be from the applicant’s supervisor)

Selection process

1. The applications received by the Foundation will first be examined by a Pre-selection Committee to assess the prerequisites of the applicants and their topics. The research proposals are then externally evaluated. Finally, on the basis of the reviewers’ reports, a Selection Committee will determine the list of the scholarship recipients (see appendix 1)
2. The Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government will notify every scholarship recipient via letter
3. Within three months after scholarship recipients complete their dissertation/thesis and pass their defense, they are required to submit four copies of their dissertation/thesis plus two electronic version on CD to the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government.

Important information

1. The list of recipients will be announced September 1, 2015 and be posted on the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government and the International Center for Tainan Area Humanities and Social Sciences Research (ICTAHR) website.
2. If scholarship recipients are unable to complete their dissertation/thesis, they must inform the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government. The Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government has the right to withdraw the scholarship and to claim back the money already granted.
3. The scholarship recipients must follow ethical and academic rules of conduct vis-à-vis the research or the writing of their dissertation/thesis; otherwise, the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government has the right to withdraw the scholarship and to claim back the money already granted.
4. The recipients are required to acknowledge the support of the “The Tainan Research Postgraduate Scholarship for the study of the Tainan Region” in their dissertation/thesis and any subsequent publications or presentations based on their dissertation/thesis.
5. The recipients are encouraged to submit an excerpt adapted from their dissertation to the journal Tainan Texts and Documents, published by the the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government.
6. Scholarship recipients are encouraged, after they completed their fieldwork, to select and provide the International Center for Tainan Area Humanities and Social Sciences Research with a copy of the first hand field data they think could help other students or scholars in their research and constitute valuable archives for the study of the Tainan area.
7. The Tainan Research Postgraduate Scholarship for the study of the Tainan Region is funded by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government. Other institutions are collaborating to take care of the process:
   the International Center for Tainan Area Humanities and Social Sciences Research.
8. The application has to be sent by post to: the International Center for Tainan Area Humanities and Social Sciences Research. On the envelop please add the mention : “Tainan Research Postgraduate Scholarship for the Study of the Tainan Region – Application” to the following address: the International Center for Tainan Area Humanities and Social Sciences Research, No. 245, Liu-an Village, Jiali District, Tainan City, 72242, Taiwan. Tel: 886 (0)6 7212338, E-mail: ic.tahr@gmail.com. Contact: Mr Wen Sheng-Chih
9. The announcement of the Tainan research Postgraduate Scholarship can be found on the following websites: Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government and International Center for Tainan Area Humanities and Social Sciences Research 

For complete details and application form, click here.

Call for Paper: (In)Visible Taiwan
12th Annual Conference of the European Association of Taiwan Studies (EATS), 2015
Deadline for submission: 31 October 2014

The 12th Annual Conference of EATS will take place at Jagiellonian University in Kraków, 8-10 April 2015. The main theme is (In)Visible Taiwan, which addresses issues about Taiwan and the field of Taiwan Studies that may appear paradoxical from interdisciplinary perspectives.

For example, while democratisation is arguably the most significant development in modern Taiwan, what are the hidden challenges that need to be identified and resolved? While some may praise Taiwan’s economic power, others may be disappointed in the lack of global recognition of Taiwanese brands. Is the perceived ‘problem’ a real problem? If so, why and are there any sensible solutions? Given the difficult international situation that Taiwan faces, how should we put Taiwan’s effort in claiming an international presence – politically and culturally, officially and unofficially – into context? How may we evaluate appropriately Taiwan’s (in)visibility? Moreover, how have the contributions of artists, writers, filmmakers and various cultural and creative workers sustained, enriched and articulated Taiwan’s vibrant and multi-faceted cultures? How may the scholarly communities of Taiwan Studies further engage with different disciplines and advance our understanding of Taiwan?

We welcome submission of individual abstracts which tackle the main theme of the conference from all disciplines of social sciences and arts and humanities. We also welcome submission of panels (3–4 abstracts per panel) which consider the issues of (in)visibility within or outside Taiwan from the viewpoint of a specific subject/topic. Furthermore, EATS will organize a MA panel for students to practice their presentation skills and to receive critical feedback. The MA panel is not confined by the theme of the conference, although it should be relevant to the broadly defined field of Taiwan Studies.

For individual submission, please write an abstract of 300–500 words, including 3–5 keywords listed by the EATS website. For the submission to the MA panel, please write an abstract of 300 words on a topic of your choice. For panel submission, please prepare a ONE PAGE description of the panel (including the title and rationale of the panel plus the titles of 3–4 proposed papers), together with all proposed abstracts of 300 words each. Please submit to the EATS website here and send a copy to info@eats-taiwan.eu.

The deadline for submission is 31 October 2014. The EATS Website will be ready for accepting submission from 1 October 2014. After a double blind review process, we will announce the successful submissions by 31 January 2015.