David on Formosa

The October 2007 edition of Taiwan Review has an article by Steven Crook about Taiwan Studies. The article titled, "Taiwan Studies Goes Global", discusses growing interest in the field of Taiwan Studies both in Taiwan and abroad. 

There are several important points raised in the article. The first is that there are now many universities abroad promoting Taiwan Studies with regular conferences and workshops on the subject. Notable among these is the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London which has offered a Master's degree in Taiwan Studies since 2006 — the first institute outside Taiwan to offer such a course. The field of Taiwan Studies is currently very broad and includes contributions from academics with backgrounds in history, geography, political science, law, anthropology, linguistics and other fields.

There are now about 20 institutes and departments in Taiwan teaching courses specifically related to Taiwan. Two of these are of special note: National Chengchi University (NCCU; 國立政治大學) and Chang Jung Christian University (長榮大學) both offer Master's degrees in Taiwan Studies taught in English. (I am studying in the course at NCCU.) The final point of interest in the article is that the country with the longest history of Taiwan Studies is Japan. 

Take the time to read the article as it gives a great overview of the field of Taiwan Studies.