fulbright Taiwan online journal

fulbright Taiwan online journal

Tag: English

My Neighborhood Park

There is a small park near my apartment in Taipei where I like to go running.  The park has a track, so most nights there are a fair number of people running or walking their dogs. The park is something I’ve always loved about my neighborhood.   I see the same people and dogs frequently, and it’s nice to feel like part of the community. One recent night, I was walking home from dinner with a friend. For weeks it has been pouring rain day and night in Taipei, but this night the rain finally let up. The crisp feeling in the air after weeks of rain made me eager to get out and take advantage of the weather. I only planned to stop at home long enough to put on my running shoes. However, my plans quickly changed as our walk home from dinner took us by my park, where I was a bit dismayed but mostly confused to find large crowds of people heading toward the entrance. With a run now out of the question, my friend and I agreed to follow the crowd and find out what was happening. What we found surprised us: a full concert stage

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Teaching Philosophy in Taiwan

     I am writing this while on a teaching Fulbright in the Department of Philosophy at National Taiwan University (NTU) in Taipei, during the 2012-2013 school-year. My duties are to teach one graduate class each semester. The first course was American Pragmatism and the second course Comparative Moral Psychology. In this essay, I will discuss how the content in these courses has been modified from similar courses I have taught in the States and what has happened as a result.      There are two basic things that distinguish my Taiwan students from my previous American students. The first is their bilingual abilities. In addition to their native Chinese ability, they can all read English with great facility and have an adequate level of competence in both speaking and listening. The second distinguishing mark is their background in Chinese philosophy. The Department of Philosophy at NTU is divided into two tracks, the Eastern Philosophy track and the Western Philosophy track. Regardless of the track, all undergraduate students are required to take the same basic courses in the history of philosophy, which include thorough introductions to Chinese philosophy. These two characteristics of Taiwan students have allowed me to tailor my

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Research & Reflections

fulbright taiwan online journal