ISA 2014 World Congress In Yokohama Taiwanese Sociology Forum
2014-06-27
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ISA 2014 World Congress In Yokohama
Date：Friday, July 18,2014Taiwanese Sociology Forum Venue：Navios Yokohama Hotel (ナビオス横浜)
The two keynote speeches of the Taiwanese Sociology Forum focus on the development of civil society in Taiwan. Dr. Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao, the first keynote speaker, who is the director of Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, will examine the process of democratization and emphasize the positive role of civil society in Taiwan from a historical perspective. Dr. Hsiao is a renown specialist of social movements in Taiwan. Dr. Shigeto Sonoda from Tokyo University, well-known for comparative studies in East Asia, will be the discussant. The second keynote speaker is Dr. Hsung, Ray-May from National Chengchi University. Dr. Hsung has spent decades studying social capital in Taiwan and has recently been focusing on comparative studies among Japan, Korea, and China. She will show empirical findings related to the development of civil associations in East Asian countries. The two discussants, Dr. Thunghong Lin and Dr. Mingsho Ho, who both studied the Sunflower movement in 2014, will also contribute their observations of the role of civil society in the student movement. The keynote speeches in the morning are designed to show a general picture of civil society in Taiwan. Session2 : The Crisis and Challenge of Civil Society in Taiwan: Cross-Generational and Cross-National Perspectives This session of the Taiwanese Sociology Forum focuses on the crisis and challenge of civil society in Taiwan. Diverse and exciting discussions from cross-generational and cross-national perspectives are specifically orchestrated for this session. We’ve invited distinguished scholars from all age groups as well as foreign scholars in Taiwanese Sociological Association (TSA) to highlight the current crisis and the survival strategy of civil society in Taiwan from diverse generational and cross-national points of view. Dr. Maukuei Chang, the first presenter, a research fellow of Institute of Sociology at Academia Sinica, will examine the changing nature of civic education in high school in Taiwan in the past 20 years. A distinguished scholar of ethnic/national study in Taiwan, Dr. Chang will discuss the relationship between government’s education reform and civil challenges against a conservative government. The second presenter Dr. Ming-Chang Tsai from Department of Sociology at National Taipei University, who has been studying globalization and social development in Taiwan for decades, will examine the situation of civil revolts in the Sunflower student movement and the role of public sociology in Taiwan. Dr. Po-fen Tai, the third presenter, who is a professor of Department of Sociology at Fu Jen Catholic University, will show empirical findings of the crisis and collapse of universities in Taiwan and emphasize the important role of the Taiwan Higher Education union and the challenge it faces from a historical perspective. Dr. Tai is a director of the Taiwan Higher Education union and has been studying social polarization in East Asian countries for several years. The fourth presenter Dr. Chia-Ling Yang from Graduate Institute of Gender Education at National Kaohsiung Normal University, who interests in social policy and the role of women in civil society in Taiwan. Dr. Yang will discuss the experiences of 'unorganized women' who have never actively participated in social movements. These women, many of whom housewives, joined various kinds of protests and activities in Sunflower Movement, as well as anti-nuclear power movement. Dr. Yang will focus on their motives, experiences, and reflections. Dr. Mayumi Tabata, the last presenter, is an associate professor of Department of Sociology at National Dong Hwa University. Dr. Tabata is a Taiwan-based Japanese scholar who has been studying the role of social capital in the cross-national development of Taiwanese high-tech industry for several years. In this session, she will discuss the fundraising mechanism of the Sunflower movement from the perspective of personal network and social media in Taiwan. She emphasizes the important role fundraising activities play in the civic power against Taiwanese government in a long-term occupying movement. Session1 : The Development of Civil Society in Taiwan Keynote Speech 1: “Civil Society and Democracy in Taiwan: History and Theory” Dr. Hsiao, Hsin-Huang Michael (Director and Distinguished Research Fellow, the Institute of Sociology at Academia Sinica, Taiwan) In this keynote speech, I will first trace the history of how civil society organizations and their prominent individuals have advocated and facilitated the political transformation from authoritarianism to democracy in Taiwan since 1960s all the way to 2014. Some characteristics and features about the pro-democracy civil society organizations and their key leaders are to be delineated and pinpointed. Over the several decades, significant changes can also be observed on the role played by civil society in the democracy-building processes. Then in the final analysis, the Taiwan experience will then be assessed against the different theories concerning the civil society-democracy links. It is concluded that from the Taiwanese case, the positive link between advocacy civil society and the transition, consolidation and safeguarding of Taiwan’s new democracy. Keynote Speech 2 “Social Capitals and Political Efficacy: Taiwan, Korea, and Japan” Dr. Hsung, Ray-May (Professor, Department of Sociology at National Cheng Chi University) This study attempts to explore the plausible mechanisms among social capitals, trust, civic engagement and political efficacy in Taiwan, Korea and Japan. The data are from 2012 East Asia Social Survey on Social Capital, including data from Taiwan, China, Japan and Korea. After World War Two, Taiwan, Korea and Japan have experienced more similar Political and Economic Changes and shared Confucian cultures, so I will focus on the comparison in these three societies. Social capital through participating voluntary associations is conceived as organizational social capital which facilitates the trust norm and monitoring political efficacy. However, social capital through accessed individual social networks are also important social resources for civic engagement and perception of political efficacy in these three societies as well. This study differentiates social capitals into individual social capital, organizational social capital and trust. Individual social capital is measured by the diversity of accessed position-generated networks, and organizational social capital is measured by the diversity of voluntary associations people participated in. Trust is classified into three types of trust as well: trust to personal contacts, trust to public agents, and general trust. This study attempts to examine the effects of individual and organizational social capitals on three types of trust, and then furthermore examine the function of all types of social capitals in terms of civic engagement and perception to political efficacy. There are some similarities and differences among the complex mechanisms between the relationships of all types of social capitals and political efficacy. One dominant and more universal mechanism is that there is a positive effect of position-generated social capital on all types of trust in all these three societies. The effects of organizational social capitals on trust to government agents and personal contacts are stronger in Korea and Japan, but the position-generated individual social capital has stronger effects on trust to personal and general trust in Taiwan. Both individual and organizational social capital affect civic engagement in three societies, but the effects of these two social capitals on perception to political efficacy even are stronger except for those in Korea. Trust to government agents and trust to personal contacts have direct effects on the perception of political efficacy in three societies, and trust variables also become intervening variables in Taiwan. Session2 : The Crisis and Challenge of Civil Society in Taiwan: Cross-Generational and Cross-National Perspectives Presentation 1 “Contesting Citizenship Education in Taiwan’s New Democracy” Dr. Maukuei CHANG (Research Fellow, Institute of Sociology at Academia Sinica, Taiwan, and Adjunct Professor, Department of Sociology at National Taiwan University) This paper will discuss the changing nature of civic education in high school in Taiwan in past 20 years (1995~2014). In this period, Taiwan has witnessed fundamental changes in its political system, evolving from an authoritarian-liberal (1990~1996), liberal-democratic (1996~2008), and to democratic-conservative regime (2008~ present time). In between there were four severely contested elections about the Presidency, and twice the regime changed hands. As it is in the education arena, year 1994 was marked as the beginning year for massive education reform in Taiwan, education has become liberalized from rigid government control to a more or less open but contested place for competing interests and ideologies. The paper suggests that, democratization of authoritarian regime implies the mobilization of citizens for participation and engagements with politics, transform the general public into active citizenship who were otherwise de-politicized and passive subjects when facing rule of the state. Against this background, this paper submits that first, education reform movement is an integral part of a larger democratization movement. Second, civic education reform must take place in a new democracy. The paper also maintains that reform of civic education system is always difficult since it requires an engine to power the course. And in practice, it must be an integral part of the larger process of education reform. It should help students to understand the underlying principle for democratic system to function, resisting the tempting of power to rush and to dictate one’s own education reform. As the KMT (the ruling conservative nationalistic party in Taiwan) regained power in 2008, and continued its rule in 2012, the government begins to intensify its cooperation with China, and to roll back the idea of citizenship, make it becoming more conservative one. The impact of emerging conservatism on civic education reflects in government’s recent effort to revise the civic education curriculum. And soon after the revision become effective, Taiwan was plunged into severe conflicts between student and civil movement and KMT regimes domination of the Parliament. Civic education is not only a mere reflection or “super structure” of the political change, but also a factor, a social force that helps to strengthen civil challenges against a conservative government. KW: citizenship, civic education, citizenship regime, national identity, democracy Presentation 2 “Civil Revolts and Public Sociology: Taiwan in 2014” Dr. Ming-Chang Tsai (Distinguished Professor, Department of Sociology at National Taipei University) Numerous sociologists become more engaged in social movements and civil revolts in Taiwan in the year of 2014 in Taiwan. Until this moment, two major social protests happened in this year-- they were organized against a new nuclear power plant and against the Cross-Strait Agreement on Trade in Services. The peak of collective revolt is the dramatic event of hundreds of students occupying the Parliament in March 18 for 23 continuous days. From a public sociology perspective, there are roles sociologists in Taiwan can play more actively, to advocate policy standings in pursuit of societal betterments. I suggest that each sociologist establishes a tie to a civil society or civil movement. This linkage is chosen according to an individual’s specific field of research, and can become an identity when being a citizen. The bottom line is a sociologist cannot afford alienating oneself in a critical time of social transformation in which sociologists can contribute valuable knowledge in finding the way ahead. Presentation 3 “The Collapse of the University? Practices and Reflections from the Taiwan Higher Education Union” Dr. Po-fen Tai (Professor, Department of Sociology at Fu Jen Catholic University) The expansion of the higher education system may bring academic bankruptcy in Taiwan. It is estimated that one third of the universities will go broke in a few years, and more than ten thousand faculties may lose their positions. The shrinkage of the university may not only brings the reduction of employment for teachers and staffs, but also problems of graduate unemployment, the gap between schooling and employment, and more importantly, it is a potential threat for academic freedom and public participation. There are three explanations for the decline of Taiwan’s higher education system: (1) authoritarianism (transformed into new managerialism); (2) academic capitalism; (3) population transformation. These explanations emphasize the contextual forces that facilitate the rationalization and instrumentalization of the university, but may ignore the agency in a changing higher education system. It is critical for both theory and practice of public sociology to understand the possibility and intention of the intellectual actors engaged in the changing educational environment. To response to the crises, Taiwan Higher Education Union (THE Union) has been established in February 2012, when teachers are first allowed to organize a union. THE Union presents an emerging awareness and class consciousness of academic faculty, and it also has a potential for creating opportunities for intellectuals’ involvements in educational revolution and engagement in public sphere. However, THE Union also faces a conflict between the masculine unionism and new unionism, as well as a balance between the protection of labor rights and the requirement of public service. This report comes from the experience of a female leadership in THE UNION, and provides a further understanding for the discipline and resistance in Taiwan’s higher education system. Presentation 4 “'Unorganized Women' in Sunflower Movement in Taiwan” Dr. Chia-Ling Yang (Assistant Professor, Graduate Institute of Gender Education at National Kaohsiung Normal University) Women have participated in different social movements throughout history but their experiences and contributions are often ignored. In Taiwan's gender studies, some discuss women's movement in changing laws specifically related to women, and others explore women's experiences in participating women's groups or organizations. Different from the focus of previous research, this paper aims to discuss experiences of 'unorganized women' who never actively participated in social movement. These women, many of them housewives, joined various kinds of protests and activities in Parliament occupation, anti-trade agreement with China as well as anti-nuclear power movement in recent months in Taiwan. I will focus on their motives, experiences of empowerment and reflections of their own actions in social movement. Presentation 5 “The Fundraising Mechanism of Sunflower Movement: Social Capital and Social Media” Dr. Mayumi Tabata (Associate Professor, Department of Sociology at National Dong Hwa University) In Taiwan’s sunflower student movement, social media technology played an important role that student activists interact with movement supporters. Recently, research has examined virtual communities in cyberspace foster social capital and social support (e.g., Wellman et al.1996; Doerntea and Moren-Cross, 2005). Social media mediated communication such as Facebook links people within and between real-life communities who are often physically dispersed, maintains strong, supportive ties as well as increase the number and diversity of weak ties. Participation in civic and political activities is also facilitated by social media usage (e.g., Fenton, 2011; Hampton et al. 2011; Stout et al. 2014). Fundraising is extremely important activity in the sustainable operation of student movement, and in Taiwan’s sunflower student movement, student activists raised a large amount of money through social media such as crowd-funding website. Flying V, a crowd-funding website raised almost $200,000 dollars in only three hours, played a key role in supportive ties of sunflower movement. In this study, I try to analyze how the closed relationships (strong ties) in members of sunflower student movement was transformed into open relationship with movement supporters, while achieving great sympathy among Taiwanese throughout the country, facilitated the fragmentation of closed solidarities and successfully raised funds in countrywide supportive ties of social media.
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相關檔案下載(1)  TSA Program Information (final)0709.pdf |
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