Abstract
In recent years, community engagement has become central in Taiwan’s formal education system. This ethos is embodied in the Taoyuan Studies Course Group, offered by the Center for General Education at Chung Yuan Christian University (CYCU). Through the lens of the art and art theories, sociology, cultural heritage, and ecological engineering, CYCU’s Taoyuan Studies applies an interdisciplinary approach to understanding urban environments. While theoretical knowledge provides the analytical frameworks for regional studies, topic-based site visits link participants to Taoyuan’s various communities and industries, including a rice farm, a sweet potato liquor distillery, a wood craft company, and a fishing stone weirs preservation association. These sensory-based learning experiences deepens students’ physical and emotional connection to Taoyuan’s people and places, and thus strengthening their identification with the city they inhabit. Via embodied immersion, students not only situate themselves in Taoyuan’s multi-faceted history, but also encounter current regional phenomena. By discovering and sharing the stories of Taoyuan through sights, sounds, scents, taste, and touch, students created imaginative archives of Taoyuan. Curriculum design and sensory learning results are detailed in this paper, in order to demonstrate the critical significance of the humanities in re-imagining communities.
Presenters
Lily WeiAssociate Professor, Center for General Education, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Beyond Borders: The Role of the Humanities in Reimagining Communities
KEYWORDS
Regional Studies, Sensory Learning, Higher Education, Interdisciplinary Pedagogy, Art Education
