National Taiwan University

This course embraces documentary film to approach the history of Taiwan. Due to rapidly changing regimes of rule and a contentious geopolitical status, the people living on this island continue to grapple with multiple layers of coloniality, ways of healing from historical trauma, and expressions of identity. The development of documentary film-making in Taiwan is uniquely connected with the democratic movements against authoritarianism and the ethics of representing marginal voices and suppressed memories. Moreover, many directors have utilized cross-overs of film genre and the performing arts to illuminate certain “truths” unreachable through traditional documentary evidence.  

This course focuses on the ways that documentary (and fiction) filmmakers based in Taiwan use music, sound, and the performing arts as both subject and resource to shape narratives of Taiwan. In turn, the class focuses on Taiwanese documentary film to expand their understanding of the potentials and pitfalls of documentary film in the 21st century, especially through experiencing its creative uses of sounds and performances.

This seminar functions as a collaborative lab meeting in which weekly progress updates and group brainstorming sessions shape the core activities. Sessions consist entirely of peer-led presentations rather than formal lectures. Approximately half of the presentations address topics in forensics, while the remainder explore diverse areas of cognitive neuroscience such as auditory perception, visual illusions, and memory. Presentation topics are selected by individual presenters, so the content varies widely and may extend beyond the scope of forensic neuroscience.

This course introduces major works of ancient Near Eastern, Hebrew, Greek, and Roman literature to explore the cultural and historical foundations of Western civilization. Texts such as the Hebrew Bible, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, and Virgil’s Aeneid, are read and analyzed with a focus on themes of heroism, divinity, and human experience. Emphasis is placed on close reading, literary analysis, and active participation through discussions, quizzes, written responses, and group presentations.

This course introduces the economic analysis of environmental and natural resource issues using modern applied microeconomic methods. The course explores how economic principles can be applied to understand environmental problems, evaluate policy solutions, and analyze the sustainable use of natural resources. The course emphasizes applying economic theory to real-world policy questions, developing skills in policy analysis and evaluation, and exploring the intersection of economics and environmental stewardship. 

The first few weeks of the course covers classical topics in environmental and natural resources economics. The remainder of the semester focuses on contemporary issues such as environmental justice, climate change, sustainable development, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), and carbon neutralization economics with global applications. 

This course introduces students to North Indian music, in particular, the art of tabla, North Indian drum. This hands-on course covers the techniques of playing tabla and also covers the principles of tala (measured rhythmic count) system, along with notation and various traditional compositions.

This course will cover a selection of topics including tea, tea utensils and tea ceremonies, agar wood and incense art, lacquer art, and daily life.

The fin de siecle (end of the century) is an important phenomenon in European literature and culture at the end of the 19th century. The works of well-known writers and thinkers such as Wilde, Baudelaire, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and psychologist Freud boldly explore the dark side of human nature and reflect on the decline of civilization, all of which present the cultural characteristics of the fin de siècle. This literature later spread to East Asia with various translated works and artistic creations, arousing enthusiastic responses in Japan and China in the 20th century. Through imitation, dialectics and transformation in the literary and art circles, complex cross-cultural issues emerged.  

This course introduces works in modern Chinese literature that are deeply influenced by European "fin de siècle" literature and culture. It explores poetry, novels, dramas, and reviews spanning the entire twentieth century. It adopts the research method of comparative literature; compares and carefully reads Chinese and foreign works; sorts out transnational literary context and ideological origins, and explores their rich implications, to gain a deep understanding of "fin de siècle" literature and culture and its influence. 

Drawing is a foundational skill essential to both design and artistic creation. In stage design, it enables the representation of space; in costume design, the construction of character; and in lighting design, the articulation of light and shadow. 
 

This course focuses on the human figure, training students to observe various body types and poses to develop a sense of overall proportion. 
 
The course covers the following areas: 
1. Quick charcoal sketching 
2. Studies of human posture and anatomical details 
3. Application of line and mass in composition   

This course examines the role of branding strategy in marketing and provides insight into how different branding approaches can be executed to achieve strategic outcomes. Topics include brand management, customer-based brand equity and positioning, brand resonance and the brand value chain, and the selection of brand elements. The course also covers designing marketing programs and integrated communications to build brand equity, branding in the digital era, and developing systems for measuring and managing brand equity. Additional areas include assessing customer mind-set and market performance, implementing brand architecture strategies, launching new products and brand extensions, and managing brands over time and across global markets and segments.

This course introduces the fundamental concepts and research directions of comparative government and politics and employs these methods and concepts to examine the political structure of various governments. What is comparative politics? The course then proceeds to explore research methods of comparative politics to build students’ basic abilities to engage in comparative political research. Subsequently, the course examines diverse political systems and structures, including democracies and autocracies, constitutional design, electoral systems, and party systems from a cross-national perspective.