NCCU College of Social Sciences welcomes new staff with a warm reception

Friday April 13, 2018

[alaya_dropcap]N[/alaya_dropcap]ational Chengchi University’s College of Social Sciences (CSS) hosted a warm reception for new faculty of the Department of Ethnology. In collaboration with the Department of Anthropology, the director of the International Master’s Program of Applied Economics and Social Development (IMES), Dr. Wang Shinn-Shyr, and staff of the IMAS (International Master’s Program in Asia-Pacific Studies) and IDAS (International Doctoral Program in Asia-Pacific Studies) programs organized CSS Happy Hour to introduce CSS students and faculty staff members to new scholars joining the college.

The event began with CSS professors and their students showcasing recent and past student-centered cultural excursions in Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. Some of the students who had participated in these excursions wore finely woven clothing produced by indigenous peoples of Thailand. Other students enthusiastically shared their experiences viewing cultural artifacts in museums and visiting cultural heritage sites in Thailand. On one occasion, students even visited a NCCU partner university, Chiang Mai University, and networked with the local Thai students.

Afterwards, three of the new CSS faculty cordially shared their research experiences as well as their motivations for joining the NCCU academic community. Dr. Courtney Work (Cornell University) shared her experience directing and coordinating research in Cambodia for the MOSAIC project with a focus on climate change mitigation policies. Dr. Ellen Hsieh (謝艾倫) (UCLA) and a Postdoctoral Fellow at Academia Sinica (中央研究院) enthusiastically enlightened the audience of her research focus on historical archaeology in Southeast Asia. Lastly, Dr. 劉子愷 (Liúzikǎi) (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) shared his research interest with the audience. His research focuses on Nanchuan Buddhism and border development in southwest China’s Yunnan province.

The real “happy hour” began with delicious Thai food and refreshing Singha beer provided for the students, faculty, and staff by the CSS. Soon, the aroma of curry, lemongrass, and ginger filled the room as attendees conversed with plates of food in one hand and beer in the other. It was certainly apparent that the faculty, staff, and students of CSS organized quite the welcoming party for the college’s new faculty.