External Engagement in Taiwan Studies

Although Taiwan studies is prone to prevailing trends within the broader academy and in international affairs that are outside of Taiwan scholars' control, there is one area where Taiwan scholars can raise the visibility of the field. Namely, outreach activities in which we disseminate our research and insights on Taiwan beyond the narrow confines of the field and the academy to engage external audiences. The importance of academic perspectives feeding into popular and policy debates, and the value of work that does not conform to the traditional academic currency of peer-reviewed publications are currently being debated across the academy, particularly as blogs and other online outlets have become popular venues for researchers. This article provides a report of a recent collective academic outreach activity (the Taiwan 2012 blog) and a survey of Taiwan scholars' attitudes and current practices. The article demonstrates that there is clearly a market for an authoritative academic resource on Taiwan and that such an exercise can increase the profile of the field and strengthen its collective identity. However, there are also formidable obstacles; crucially the relatively low level of value attributed by individuals to such activities.