Course Information
Course title
Taiwan through the Lens of Its Museums 
Semester
105-1 
Designated for
 
Instructor
CHUN-YI JOYCE TSAI 
Curriculum Number
LibEdu1064 
Curriculum Identity Number
H01E06400 
Class
01 
Credits
Full/Half
Yr.
Half 
Required/
Elective
 
Time
Wednesday 3,4,5(10:20~13:10) 
Remarks
The upper limit of the number of students: 20. 
Ceiba Web Server
http://ceiba.ntu.edu.tw/1051LibEdu1064_01 
Course introduction video
 
Table of Core Capabilities and Curriculum Planning
Association has not been established
Course Syllabus
Please respect the intellectual property rights of others and do not copy any of the course information without permission
Course Description

At once a Taiwan studies and a museum studies course, this course analyzes a variety of museums in Taiwan—their history, location, architecture, contents, and their constructed narratives—with critical readings in museum studies. The museums featured range from archaeology to contemporary art, from natural history to ethnography, and from concrete artifacts to intangible cultural heritage and digitized material in virtual reality. All are conveniently located in the greater Taipei area for visitations.

Each class will consist of a 2-hour lecture by the instructor, followed by a 1-hour group discussion on key readings or video clips led by the TA. There will be a few museum trips to give students first-hand experiences of institutions introduced in class. Seasoned curators and museum professionals will be invited to give students perspectives from behind-the-scenes.

The course’s goal is threefold: (1) it introduces students to the unique arts, cultures, peoples, and histories of Taiwan as represented through its museums, (2) it brings attention to the historical context that engendered these institutions, (3) and it draws awareness to the theory and practice of collecting, display, and interpretation at work behind the museum’s narratives.

Readings will be mostly in English and occasionally in Chinese. International and local students are strongly encouraged to partner with each other to complete readings and exchange ideas. We will focus on one museum each week and read the museums’ official publications, second-hand scholarship, and studies on similar types of museums abroad.  

Course Objective
(1)Students will be interested in and have a basic understanding of the art, history, culture, and peoples of Taiwan, as well as the history of its museums.

(2)Students will have a basic grasp of key scholarship and topics in museum studies.

(3)Students will develop a critical approach in future museum visitations, being aware of the institution’s ideologies at play behind seeming neutral and objective displays.  
Course Requirement
**There are no mid-term or final exams for this class.

Class Participation (50%):
Students earn this grade by:
(1) attending and participating actively in classes (20%),
(2) completing museum visit worksheets (**due 1 wk after each trip) and other homework (20%),
(3) submitting a short review of the class at the end of the semester (**due wk18) (3 pages) (10%).
More than four unexcused absences after the add-drop period (**wk3) will seriously hurt your attendance and participation grades. In the case of illness, emergency, or other excusable scenarios, absences can be excused when a formal notice and necessary documentation (eg. doctor’s note) is submitted through the “student leave management system” (學生請假) in a week.

Class Presentation (50%):
Students will do a 20-minute group presentation (5 persons per group) at the end of the semester. Students will be assigned group grades based on:
(1) the presentation proposal (2 pages) (**due wk10) (10%);
(2) the oral presentation (a powerpoint presentation or a physical exhibition) (20%);
(3) a written report on the presentation topic (10 pages) (**due on day of presentation, wks 16-18) (20%);
(4) a brief description of what each group member was responsible for (1 page) (0% but required). Individual grades may be adjusted to reflect a student’s contribution to his/her group. Refer to weekly schedule for submission deadlines.

Possible topics may include the comparison and critique of: (1) similar types of museums from the student’s home country and Taiwan; (2) two museums in Taiwan that approach the same subject differently; (3) a proposal for a new museum to be established in Taiwan (what aspect of Taiwan does it account for, and why the subject deserves a museum). At least one of the museums discussed must not have been covered in class. Students must refer to secondary scholarship to frame their analyses and are encouraged to use one of NTU’s many campus museums as their case studies, such as the Agricultural Exhibition Hall (農業陳列館), Anthropology Museum (人類學博物館), University History Museum (校史館).  
Student Workload (expected study time outside of class per week)
 
Office Hours
Appointment required. Note: Please email the teaching staff for appointments.  
Designated reading
References and Resources

Textbooks (學期參考書)

- Preziosi, Donald, and Claire Farago, eds., Grasping the World: The Idea of the Museum. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Co., 2004. [hereafter GW]

- Carbonell, Bettina M. ed. Museum Studies: An Anthology of Contexts. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing, 2004. [hereafter MSAC]

- Knell, Simon J. [et al.], eds. National Museums: New Studies From Around the World. London; New York: Routledge, 2011. [hereafter NM]

Weekly Readings (每週進度)

Week 1 (09/14): Introduction: Approach, Topics, and Goals

- “General Introduction: What Are Museums For?” in Preziosi and Farago, eds., Grasping the World: The Idea of the Museum (Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2003), pp.1-10.

Week 2 (09/21): The Birth of Museums: Critical Issues in Museology

- Bennet, Tony. “The Formation of the Museum,” In The Birth of the Museum: History, Theory, Politics (London & New York, Routledge, 1995), pp.17-47.

- Bal, Mieke. “The Discourse of the Museum,” in Greenberg et al. ed., Thinking about Exhibitions, London: Routledge, 1996), pp.201-220.

Week 3 (09/28): Taiwan’s Museums: A General History

- Knell, Simon. “National Museums and the National Imagination,” in NM, pp.3-28.

- Chu, Chi-Jung. “Political change and the national museum in Taiwan,” in NM, pp.180-192.

Week 4 (10/05): Taiwan’s Native Peoples: NTU Museum of Anthropology (台大人類學博物館)

For everyone:

- Varutti, Marzia V, “Taiwanese memory revisited,” ICOM News Magazine 64.3 (2011). 

- Varutti, Marzia V, “Miniatures of the nation: ethnic minority figurines, mannequins and dioramas in Chinese museums,” Museum and Society 9.1 (2011). 

For English Readers:

- Goldwater, Robert. “Development of Ethnnology Museums,” in MSAC(Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing, 2004). 

- Lonetree, Amy and Amanda J. Cobb eds. The National Museum of the American Indian: critical conversations (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2008). (e-book) 

For Chinese Readers:

- 胡家瑜,〈從民族學研究到異文化展示:由台大人類學系『原住民物質文化』特展談起〉,《國立台灣大學考古人類學刊》51 (1996):148-171。 

- 胡家瑜,〈博物館、人類學與原住民展示─歷史過程中文化再現場域的轉形變化〉,《國立台灣大學考古人類學刊》66 (2007):94-124。 

Week 5 (10/12): Taiwan’s Cultural Legitimacy: National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物院)

For everyone:

- Chang, Lin-Sheng. “National Palace Museum: A History of the Collection.” In Possessing the Past: Treasures from the National Palace Museum, Taipei, eds. Wen C. Fong and James C. Watt (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1996), pp. 3-25. 

For Chinese Readers:

- Huang, Bao-yu, "中山博物院之建築 [The Architecture of the Chung-Shan Museum]", The National Palace Museum Quarterly 1966 (1.1): 69–78. [**in Chinese, by the architect] 

- Chiang, Ya-Chun and Chi-Hsin Yeh. “Construction and Deconstruction of a “Chinese Orthodoxy”: Spatial Representation of the National Palace Museum” (=「中國正統」的建構與解離-故宮博物院之空間表徵研究). Journal of Building and Planning, National Taiwan University (=國立台灣大學建築與城鄉研究學報), No. 21 (2013): 39-68. http://bp.ntu.edu.tw/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/2102.pdf 

For English Readers:

- Chu, Jane C. “The Palace Museum as Representation of Culture: Exhibitions and Canons of Chinese Art History,” in Hua zhong you hua: Jindai Zhongguo de shijue biaoshu yu wenhua goutu 畫中有話: 近代中國的視覺表述與文化構圖, edited by Huang Ke-wu (Taipei: Academia Sinica Institute of Modern History, 2003), pp.477-507. 

- Hamlish, Tamara. “Global Culture, Modern Heritage: Re-membering the Chinese Imperial Collections,” in Museums and Memory, pp.137-160. 

Week 6 (10/19): Taiwan’s Art: Taipei Fine Arts Museum (台北市立美術館)

For Chinese Readers:

- 陳淑鈴主編,《臺北市立美術館》 (=Taipei fine arts museum)。臺北市:臺北市立美術館,2010。 

For English Readers:

- Li, Yu-Chieh. “New Boundaries of Contemporary Art from Taiwan.” Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art 14.2 (March/April 2015). 

Week 7 (10/26): Museums on NTU Campus (台大博物館群)

For Chinese readers:

- 劉子銘等作,《Hi! NTU 解讀台大的82個密碼》(=National Taiwan University Culture Tour) (台北市:國立台灣大學,2010),頁45-80。[**read chapters related to NTU museums]

For English readers:

- Skim NTU Museums website: http://www.museums.ntu.edu.tw/

Week 9 (11/09): Taiwan’s Natural History: National Taiwan Museum (國立台灣博物館)

For everyone:

- 李子寧等作,《百年物語: 臺灣博物館世紀典藏專輯》 (= The story of collection in a century; National Taiwan Museum Centennial Exhibition)。臺北市:臺灣博物館,2009。 [**read introduction on museum history; pick 3 collectors and 5 objects to focus on] 

For Chinese Readers:

- 《國立台灣博物館簡介》(=Introduction to National Taiwan Museum)。台北:國立台灣博物館,2013。[**skim for official presentation of museum on paper] 

For everyone

- Allen, Joseph R. Taipei: City of Displacements (University of Washington Press, 2012). (e-book) [**focus on environs of NTM] 

Week 11 (11/23): Taiwan’s Literature: National Museum of Taiwan Literature (國立台灣文學館)

For Chinese Readers:

- 張進忠,《臺灣文學的發展展覽圖錄》。台北:國立台灣文學館,2010。

For English Readers:

- Read articles and interviews on American Writer’s Museum, scheduled to open in Chicago in 2016: http://americanwritersmuseum.org/articles/. 

Week 12 (11/30): Taiwan’s Historical Trauma: 228 Memorial Museums (二二八紀念館)

For everyone

- Duffy, Terence M. “Museums of ‘Human Suffering’ and the Struggle for Human Rights,” in MSAC, pp.117-122. 

- Schlereth, Thomas J. “Collecting Ideas and Artifacts: Common Problems of History Museums,” in MSAC, pp.335-347. 

For Chinese Readers:

- 《二二八國家紀念館館介》 (= National 228 Memorial Museum) 。臺北市:二二八國家紀念館基金會,2012。 

Further Readings (延伸閱讀) 

- Culture Museums: An introduction to the specialized museums of Taiwan's Counties and Cities (Taipei, Taiwan: The Council for Culture Affairs, 2001). [**skim to get a sense of local government exhibition centers featuring aspects of regional culture]

- 胡家瑜,〈博覽會與台灣原住民─殖民時期的展示政治與「他者」意象〉,《國立台灣大學考古人類學刊》62 (2002):3-39。 

- 許功明,“原住民觀眾對科博館台灣南島民族展示之看法之研究”,《國立台灣大學考古人類學刊》52 (1997): 99-128。 

- 李茗洋,〈二二八、陳澄波與嘉義美術家〉,國立臺北教育大學臺灣文化研究所碩士論文,2011。 

- Dal Lago, Francesca. “Chinese Art at the Venice Biennale: 1. The Virtual Reality of Chinese Contemporary Art.” In Chinese Art at the End of the Millennium, ed. John Clark. (Hong Kong: New Art Media Limited, 2000), pp.158-166. 

- DiMaggio, Paul. “Classification and Framing of American Art,” in MSAC. 

- 李子寧,〈臺灣博物館與歷史展示─從總督博物館到省博初期的變遷 (1920-1960)〉,國立臺灣博物館藏歷史檔案。

- 臺北市政府文化局編著,《台北二二八紀念館常設館專輯》 (=Taipei 228 Memorial Museum Permanent Collections)。臺北市:臺北市政府文化局,2011。 

- 侯坤宏,〈從二二八到後二二八─由歷史解釋權角度觀察〉 (=From 228 to post-228: Observations concerning the right to interpreting history),《研究二二八》 (=Studies of 228 Incident),臺北:博揚,2011。 [in Chinese, author was former Director of Academia Historica] 

- 褚靜濤,《二二八事件研究》 (= The study of the February 28th Incident in Taiwan) 北京市: 社會科學文獻,2012。 

- 張炎憲等著,《二二八事件責任歸屬研究報告》 (台北二二八事件紀念基金會,2006)。 

- 張信吉主編,《走進臺灣文學館》。臺南市:國立臺灣文學館,2011。 

- Chang, Sung-sheng Yvonne, Michelle Yeh, Ming-ju Fan eds. The Columbia Sourcebook of Literary Taiwan. New York: Columbia University Press, 2014. 

- 葉石濤,《臺灣文學史綱:日譯註解版》; 中島利郎、澤井律之日譯本註解;彭萱漢譯。高雄市:春暉,2010。 

- Yen, Hsiao-pei. “Constructing the Chinese: Paleoanthropology and Anthropology in the Chinese Frontier, 1920-1950.” Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University, 2012. Download here: http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/10086027/Yen_gsas.harvard_0084L_10240.pdf?sequence=1 

- Karp, Ivan, and Steven D. Lavine, eds. Exhibiting Cultures: the Politics and Poetics of Display. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1991. 

- Macdonald, Sharon and Gordon Fyfe, eds. Theorizing Museums: Representing Identity and Diversity in a Changing World. Oxford: Blackwell: The Sociological Review, 1996. 

- Greenberg et al. eds., Thinking about Exhibitions. London: Routledge, 1996. 

- Bennet, Tony. The Birth of the Museum: History, Theory, Politics. London & New York, Routledge, 1995.

- Crane, Susan. ed. Museums and Memory. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2000. 

- Kaplan, Florna E. S. ed., Museums and the Making of “Ourselves”: The Role of Objects in National Identity (London and New York: Leicester University Press, 1994). 

Web Resources(網路資源): 

General 

- Chinese Association of Museums (Taiwan) : http://www.cam.org.tw/big5/museum01.asp 

- International Council of Museums (ICOM) : http://www.icom.org/ 

- American Alliance of Museums(AAM) : http://www.aam-us.org/ 

Individual 

- National Taiwan Museum : http://www.ntm.gov.tw/tw/public/public.aspx?no=63 

- Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology : http://www.sshm.ntpc.gov.tw/ 

- NTU Museums—Museum of Anthropology : http://www.museums.ntu.edu.tw/ 

- National Palace Museum : http://www.npm.gov.tw/en/ 

- Taipei Fine Arts Museum : http://www.tfam.museum/Index.aspx?ddlLang=en-us 

- Taipei 228 Memorial Museum : http://228memorialmuseum.gov.taipei/ct.asp?xItem=1651473&ctNode=38985&mp=11900A

- National Museum of Taiwan Literature : http://www.nmtl.gov.tw/en/

- Digital Taiwan – Culture and Nature: http://culture.teldap.tw 
References
Preziosi, Donald, and Claire Farago, eds., Grasping the World: The Idea of
the Museum. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Co., 2004. [hereafter GW]

Carbonell, Bettina M. ed. Museum Studies: An Anthology of Contexts. Oxford,
UK: Blackwell Publishing, 2004. [hereafter MSAC]

Knell, Simon J. [et al.], eds. National Museums: New Studies From Around the
World.
London; New York: Routledge, 2011. [hereafter NM]  
Grading
 
No.
Item
%
Explanations for the conditions
1. 
Class Participation 
50% 
Students earn this grade by: (1) attending and participating actively in classes (20%), (2) completing museum visit worksheets and other homework (20%), (3) submitting a short review of the class at the end of the semester (3 pages) (10%). More than four unexcused absences starting from Week 4 will seriously hurt your attendance and participation grades. In the case of illness, emergency, or other excusable scenarios, absences can be excused when a formal notice and necessary documentation (eg. doctor’s note) is submitted to the TA within a week.  
2. 
Class Presentation 
50% 
Students will do a 20-minute group presentation (5 persons per group) at the end of the semester. Students will be assigned group grades based on: (1) the presentation proposal (2 pages) (10%); (2) the oral presentation (a powerpoint presentation or a physical exhibition) (20%); (2) a written report on the presentation topic (10 pages) (20%); (4) a brief description of what each group member was responsible for (1 page) (0% but required). Individual grades may be adjusted to reflect a student’s contribution to his/her group. Refer to weekly schedule for submission deadlines. Possible topics may include the comparison and critique of: (1) similar types of museums from the student’s home country and Taiwan; (2) two museums in Taiwan that approach the same subject differently; (3) a proposal for a new museum to be established in Taiwan (what aspect of Taiwan does it account for, and why the subject deserves a museum). At least one of the museums discussed must not have been covered in class. Students must refer to secondary scholarship to frame their analyses and are encouraged to use one of NTU’s many campus museums as their case studies, such as the Agricultural Exhibition Hall (農業陳列館), Anthropology Museum (人類學博物館), University History Museum (校史館).  
 
Progress
Week
Date
Topic
Week 1
09/14  Introduction: Approach, Topics, and Goals 
Week 2
09/21  The Birth of Museums: Critical Issues in Museology 
Week 3
09/28  Taiwan’s Museums: A General History  
Week 4
10/05  Taiwan's Native Peoples: NTU Museum of Anthropology (台大人類學博物館)<br>
<br>
**Class Trip (I): NTU Museum of Anthropology<br>
<br>
**Sign-up / pre-pay for NPM Southern Branch day-trip  
Week 5
10/12  Taiwan's Cultural Legitimacy: National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物院)<br>
<br>
**NTU Museum of Anthropology worksheet due 
Week 6
10/19  Taiwan's Art: Taipei Fine Arts Museum (台北市立美術館)<br>
<br>**Submit group member list 
Week 7
10/26  Museums on NTU Campus (台大博物館群)<br>
<br>**Guest Speaker: NTU Museums Staff<br>
Topic: "Introduction to NTU Museums: History and Fun Facts"<br>
<br>**Class Trip (II): NTU Museums<br>
<br>**Skim NTU Museums website: http://www.museums.ntu.edu.tw/<br>
<br>**Submit 2 topic proposals 
Week 8
11/02  **Class Trip (IV): TFAM<br>
<br>**Group presentation topics approved 
Week 9
11/09  Taiwan's Natural History: National Taiwan Museum (國立台灣博物館)<br>
<br>**Guest Speakers: NTM Researcher / Education Specialist<br>
Topic: "Behind the Scenes at NTM"<br>
<br>
**NPM museum worksheet due 
Week 10
11/16  Taiwan's Historical Trauma: 228 Memorial Museums (二二八紀念館) 
Week 11
11/23  Taiwan's Literature: National Museum of Taiwan Literature (國立台灣文學館)<br>
<br>**Proposal feedback returned<br>
<br>
**TFAM museum worksheets due 
Week 12
11/30  **Class Trip (V): National Taiwan Museum 
Week 13
12/07  **Class Trip (VI): National 228 Memorial Museum 
Week 14
12/14  **Student presentation (Groups 1, 2, 3) 
Week 15
12/21  **Student presentation (Group 4, 5) 
Week 16
12/28  **No class 
Week 17
01/04  **No class 
Week 18
01/11  **No class<br>
<br>**Final papers and class reviews due 
Week 1-1
  Lecture PPT for week 1 
Week 2-1
  Reading & discussion questions for week 2 
Week 2-2
  Lecture & discussion PPTs for week 2 
Week 3-1
  Reading & discussion questions for week 3 
Week 4-1
  Reading & discussion questions for week 4 
Week 4-2
  Lecture & discussion PPTs for week 4 
Week 5-1
  Reading & discussion questions for week 5 
Week 5-2
  Lecture & discussion PPTs for week 5 
Week 6-1
  Reading & discussion questions for week 6 
Week 6-2
  Lecture & discussion PPTs for week 6 
Week 7-1
10/30  **Class Trip (III) National Palace Museum, Southern Branch (故宮南院)<br>
<br>**For those that don't go, visit NPM Northern Branch and write a museum visit worksheet 
Week 8-1
  Museum worksheet and itinerary for week 8 
Week 9-1
  Reading questions for week 9 
Week 9-2
  Lecture PPT for week 9 
Week 10-1
  **Group presentation proposals due 
Week 10-2
  Reading & discussion questions for week 10 
Week 10-3
  Lecture & discussion PPTs for week 10 
Week 11-1
  Reading questions for week 11 
Week 11-2
  Lecture & discussion PPTs for week 11 
Week 14-1
  Presentation, paper, sources 
Week 14-2
  National Taiwan Museum seafood series