A. Teaching:
I have taught the following courses one or more times at Iowa State University:
● Seminar on Economic Anthropology
● History and Development of Anthropological Theory
● Field Problems in the Ethnography of Contemporary Society
● Agriculture Development in China
● Contemporary Socio-cultural Anthropology
● Culture Change and Applied Anthropology
● Ethnology of East and Southeast Asia
● Comparative Studies of World Cultures
● Political and Economic Anthropology
● Technology: International, Social and Human Problems
● Family & Kinship in Cross-Cultural Perspective
● Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
● Introduction to Third World Cultures
● Introduction to Anthropology
B. Research:
Within the anthropology discipline, my research interests involve mainly two areas: cultural ecology and economic anthropology. In cultural ecology I investigate the environmental endowments and constraints a society faces in its cultural development, and the institutional mechanisms developed to cope with such conditions. In economic anthropology, I look into a society's indigenous organizations in production, distribution, and consumption, and their changes under modernization projects.
My geographic concentration is East and Southeast Asia. I conducted my dissertation research in Taiwan in 1973-74, with specific attention on factors contributing to Taiwan's current agricultural growth and stagnation. The "opening up" of mainland China presents a new opportunity for my research. Taiwan, Hong Kong and China have similar cultural traditions, but have gone through dramatically different historical processes and developmental policies, especially in the past five decades. A comparison of these three Chinese societies, with a close examination of their changed and unchanged aspects will reveal to us not only the meaning of "Chineseness" but also the relevance of policies adopted in these three societies with regard to agricultural production and economic development. I have conducted fieldwork on rural development in Xiamen, Fujian (1984-85, 96-97), on child nutrition and health in Shandong (1987-91), Guizhou (1995), and Taiwan (1991-92), and sustainable agriculture in Manchuria (1997-2000), Yunnan (2001) and Thailand (2002-08).
My recent research includes the following:
1. Reproducing Chinese Diasporas: Sustainable Agriculture in Northern Thailand (2002-08)
My research project to study Chinese migrant communities in northern Thailand (2002-08) was sponsored by two consecutive international collaborative research grants from the Wenner-Gren Foundation (2003-05). This multidisciplinary and multinational research project contains two Thai scholars (a geographer and a soil scientist), three Chinese scholars (two anthropologists and a photographer) and myself. The completed ethnography, entitled Reproducing Chinese Diasporas: Sustainable Agriculture in Northern Thailand, was published by Lexington Books in 2010.
2. Academia Sinica Thematic Research Grants: “Socio-Economic Changes and Policy Assessment Among Taiwanese Indigenous Populations.” (2006-2009)
Since returned to Taiwan in 2006, I have assumed the responsibility as the PI in a research project to assess socio-cultural change and policy implementation issues confronting Taiwanese indigenous populations (the so-called Taiwanese aborigines) funded by Academia Sinica under its Thematic Research Program. With the assistance of Dr. Chang Ying-hua, project Co-PI and Director of the Center for Humanities and Social Sciences, we divided the project into 11 topical areas and involved 15 researchers from major universities across Taiwan. We conducted site visits, focused groups and in-depth interviews during 2006, and developed survey questionnaires in 2007 and 2008. We published our findings in a single volume in Taiwan in 2010
3. Academia Sinica Thematic Research Grant: “Zang-Yi Corridor and Its Ecosystem, Ethnic Culture, and Future Development.” (2008-10)
Starting in 2005, I began to develop a research project in southwest China, an area called Zang-Yi Corridor, i.e., western Sichuan, eastern Tibet, and northern Yunnan where the three major rivers of Nu Jiang (Salween River in Burma), Lancang Jiang (Mekong River in Southeast Asia) and Jinsha Jiang (i.e, Yangtze River) run parallel. In 2005 I applied and received an NSF grant to organize an exploratory meeting which involved over 30 Chinese scholars and 6 foreign scholars (mostly from the U.S.) in Chengdu, Sichuan, for one week. This was followed by a field survey in summer 2006 that crisscrossed this region with seven scholars in two jeeps. I applied for and received a three-year research grant (2008-10) from Academia Sinica under its Thematic Research Program, titled “Zang-Yi Corridor and Its Ecosystems, Ethnic Cultures, and Future Development.” This multidisciplinary program involves a geographer, a nature conservationist, a medical anthropologist, and an ethno-historian, plus myself.
4. “The Development of NGOs and the Growth of Grass-root Civil Society in Southwest China” (2011-13)
“The Development of NGOs and the Growth of Grass-root Civil Society in Southwest China,” is a National Science Council funded research project in 2011-13.This is a continuation of my research in the Zang-Yi Corridor on development, environmental change, and civil society development in Southwest China. During this three-year project period, I focused on comparing two alpine lakes, Lashi Hai in Lijiang and Napa Hai in Zhong Dian, to understand how the development of tourism has contributed to changing water use patterns, the elimination of indigenous plants and animals, the rise of grass-root conservationism, and the involvements of NGOs. Through a comparison of these two lakes we can gain insights on the interface between globalization and local responses. Besides journal articles, I plan to write an ethnography based on this project.
5. “Community Vulnerability and Health Among Taiwanese Indigenous Peoples” (2012-15)
“Community Vulnerability and Health Among Taiwanese Indigenous Peoples” is a three-year Thematic Research Project that takes “community vulnerability” as the vantage point of analysis in order to understand Taiwanese indigenous peoples’ general health risks and coping strategies when facing unprecedented natural and human made calamities that threaten their livelihood. To understand indigenous people’s disaster prevention and health, we not only need to understand some of the complex and non-linear causal relations of disasters, but also investigate their resilience and external interventions as the entry point to assess their vulnerabilities and the unintended consequences. This project is divided into five sub-projects with a total of 14 researchers involved. The outcomes of the project will include the following long-term goals: constructing healthy indigenous tribal villages, reducing community vulnerabilities, minimizing disaster risks, and rebuilding indigenous sustainable livelihood.
6. “A Tale of Two Lakes: Ecological Change and Development in Yunnan Alpine Lakes”(2014-18)
“A Tale of Two Lakes: Ecological Change and Development in Two Yunnan Alpine Lakes” is a book writing project that received the Humanity’s Milestone Award by the Ministry of Science & Technology. It uses two alpine lakes in northern Yun-Gui Plateau, Lashihai and Napahai, as the vintage point to analyze the ecological changes and their implications since China launched its Reform and Open Policy in 1978. Comparing the different development trajectories initiated by external NGOs around these two lakes will clearly unravel how local cultures closely intersect with the ecological systems and social development, as well as the future directions of China’s grass-roots democracy and civil society. The monograph will be written in English for international publication.
7. “Sustainable Development in Anthropocene: Changing Urban Life in Taiwan” (2015-17)
“Sustainable Development in Anthropocene: Changing Urban Life in Taiwan” is a Thematic Research Project that takes ‘anthropocene’ as its vintage point to analyze how Taiwan, under the impact of globalization, has adjusted to environmental change through urbanization and related life-style changes in order to achieve the goals of sustainable development. This research project involves scholars from Academia Sinica and other related institutions in Taiwan to form a multidisciplinary team, including history, anthropology, psychology, geography, and architecture, in a three-year research. Research foci include: the history of urban development in Taiwan; the reciprocal impact between urban development and environmental change; changing temple space and practices in Taipei Basin; changing urban family and interpersonal relationships; and changing water resource management and distribution in Taipei Basin.