Another semester begins at NCCU
After a very long summer vacation it was back to school again this week. I am now starting the second year of the Master’s in Taiwan Studies. If all goes to plan then I will finish the course within a year.
I am taking two classes this semester, State and Society in Taiwan and the Ethnic Development of China. The introductory lecture in Ethnic Development of China gave a quite fascinating overview of China’s 55 official ethnic minorities. The lecturer also pointed out some of the anomalies and mistakes in the classification. He also told the story of how the Kalmyks became the only Buddhists in Europe.
State and Society in Taiwan explores the relationship between state and civil society and also looks at frameworks for social science research. It should be very useful for me as it is related to my thesis topic which is about the rights of indigenous peoples in Taiwan.
End of the last semester at NCCU
Semester 2 at NCCU
End of semester at NCCU
End of semester at Shi-Da
Reading about Taiwanese History
Posted: September 26th, 2008 under Taiwan, Taiwan Studies.
Tags: nccu
Comments
Comment from Sebastian
Time 22 December 2008 at 1:38 am
Hello David,
I hope you don’t mind that I leave a comment on a post that is a little older.
I am about to decide where to go for pursuing a master’s degree in Taiwan Studies and I always wanted to go to NCCU, just like you. However, recently I had some doubts and I was asking myself why not pick a Taiwan Studies program that is taught in Chinese instead.
For me neither one is my mother tongue, so I will have some problems in that regard anyway. But I could not quite convince myself yet as to why I would prefer one over the other (even though I have to admit that when comparing the two, English is still easier for me to work with).
I know NCCU has some great professors and I also think the structure of their program looks great (these two points also influenced my early decision to go there).
So I just wanted to ask you what were your reasons to chose a program that is taught in English over one in Chinese. Or was it less the language and more the general environment?
Maybe you can help me to make up my mind 
Thanks a lot in advance!
Comment from David Reid
Time 22 December 2008 at 10:14 am
Sebastian,
I will send you an e-mail with answers to your questions.
Comment from Sebastian
Time 23 December 2008 at 8:38 am
Thank you very much for your helpful answers, David. You mentioned a couple of things, I had not thought of before.
Comment from Fili
Time 26 September 2008 at 5:46 pm
Sounds terrific.