TOPICS: PRACTICING DEMOCRACY IN TAIWAN in Spring 2019 (LW2091E)

Dates of the Practicum: Monday 25 Feb – Sunday 10 March

In this course, we will study the history of democracy and engage in its practice. Our site will be Taiwan, one of the few democratic countries in East Asia, one that witnessed a rapid path towards democratization in the past three decades. Leading up to our trip, we will meet weekly to study the history of Taiwan and its complicated relationship to China. During our time in Taiwan, we will visit museums, archives, and other institutions to study further the history of Taiwan. In particular, we will look at the history of successive colonizations, including the Dutch, the Japanese, and the Chinese. We will engage in the practice of democracy by talking with non-governmental groups, legislators, and civil society activists. Among the topics that we will discuss with them include the death penalty, juvenile education, prison reform, and gay marriage. We will examine the fragile and unpredictable state of democracy in Taiwan.