National Taiwan University

This course discusses Taiwan's popular culture, reviews relevant literatures of Taiwan's popular culture, explores how identity is produced and consumed through ensuing cultural commodities develop its own critical understanding of (Taiwan's) popular culture (in particular the production and consumption of popular culture as cultural, political, economic, social, and historical practices and processes), and teaches approaches, concepts, and issues in the study of production and consumption of popular culture. The course goes through Taiwan's rapid development of both consumer society and democracy hybrid cultural characteristics based on 400 years of hybrid colonial history some representative examples in popular culture, for example, Popular Literature, Popular Music and Cinema, Betel-Nuts Beauties and Electronic-Fancy-Float Girls, Shopping and Queuing, Wedding and Portrait Photography, Adult Films, ACG and Trendy Dramas, Being Kawaii, Baseball, A-Bian Doll, Call-in Show and Red-Shirt Army, and finally Night Market and Food Culture. It discusses the following questions: What is "Taiwaneseness"? How are "Japaneseness" and "Taiwaneseness" (re-)presented in Taiwan's cinema? How is "Taiwaneseness" (re-)produced, circulated, and consumed in Taiwan's popular culture?

This course introduces the fundamental theory of linear algebra and its applications in the field of agronomy. It is designed for students with limited mathematical background who wish to apply linear algebra to practical problems. The course covers essential concepts such as matrices and systems of linear equations, vector spaces, and eigenvalues and eigenvectors. Through the use of applied examples and case studies, students learn how to use linear algebraic methods to analyze and solve real-world problems.

The advent of globalization and the Internet has ushered in numerous economic benefits. However, it has also interconnected global economies and supply chains, thereby increasing the vulnerability of companies to a wide range of rapid and often unpredictable events. These include changes in national policies, international political incidents, natural disasters, and local incidents, all of which necessitate swift and effective managerial responses, strategic risk management, and crisis communication skills. Crisis management equips leaders with the necessary skills to navigate these challenges. This includes: a) Pre-crisis skills for performing vulnerability assessments to identify potential risks and understanding the factors that make up these risks but also avoidance strategies, such policy and ESG adherence; b) Crisis response skills that encompass effective and decisive communication abilities, comprehension of risk reduction strategies, and the ability to engage all stakeholders ethically and effectively; c) Post-crisis skills that aid companies in not only recovering their reputation but also learning from the experience to develop lasting responses and adaptations that help prevent recurrence. This course places a strong emphasis on practical, real-life applications.

The course focuses on understanding the interaction among diets, nutrients, genetics and metabolism from molecular mechanisms to interventions.

This course discusses language in classical and contemporary sociological theory. It also provides a preliminary understanding of how language is studied in fields outside of sociology, including linguistics, sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology, and history. It covers the role of language in social life, challenging its traditional marginalization within sociology. While language is often treated as a reflection of race, class, and gender, the course examines how it actively constructs these and other social and symbolic boundaries. It also explores why language has been largely left to fields such as linguistics and linguistic anthropology, and argues for sociology’s distinct contribution to its study. Drawing on interdisciplinary readings and recent sociological research, the course analyzes language as a key force in shaping social relations and social change. Students design a research project on an original case of their own choosing.