Layered Taiwan: Interwoven Pasts and Multiple Futures — a Taiwan Studies Conference at Boston University
Boston University hosted the first conference in the Taiwan Studies Lecture Series for 2025 on March 27, titled Layered Taiwan: Interwoven Pasts and Multiple Futures. It was co-organized by the Center for the Study of Asia in the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, and the Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Boston (TECO). The conference, moderated by Professor Robert Weller, brought together four leading scholars to examine Taiwan's dynamic identity through the lenses of history, culture, and global politics.
Professor Robert Hefner, Director of the Center for the Study of Asia, opened the conference. He was followed by Cynthia Huang, Director of TECO's Education Division, who welcomed everyone and affirmed the value of sustained academic collaboration between Taiwan and Boston University, saying “Taiwan Studies is not just about the past—it opens a conversation with the world about the future”.
Dr. Chang Lung-chih 張隆志, Director of the National Museum of Taiwan History, gave the first presentation, on Representing the Multiple Histories of an Island Nation: The Case of the National Museum of Taiwan History. He spoke about the museum's role as a space for public engagement and shared authorship of historical narratives. “We invite citizens to be co-authors of history, not passive viewers” he said, and he also outlined efforts to integrate transitional justice and identity into curatorial practice.
Professor Scott Simon from the University of Ottawa then gave a presentation titled Indigenous Peoples and States: Layers of History in Taiwan’s Archipelago, and discussed the cultural and political complexities of Taiwan's indigenous communities. After a lunch break in which discussion continued, Catherine Tsai, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard, gave a presentation titled Becoming Japanese: Naturalization and Memories of the Taiwanese Diaspora in the Yaeyama Islands, 1960–1972. She traced the experiences of Taiwanese migrants in Okinawa and their evolving hybrid identities.
Dr. Daigengna Duoer, from the Department of Religion at Boston University, gave the final presentation, titled Strata of Sovereignty: Buddhist Relic Diplomacy in Cold-War Taiwan. She examined the religious and geopolitical dimensions of the 1955 transfer of Xuanzang's relics from Japan to Taiwan. The conference concluded with a roundtable discussion moderated by Professor Robert Weller which explored the layered and fluid nature of Taiwanese identity, and Taiwan's role as a site of rich intellectual inquiry and a vital participant in global academic discourse.