The interactive website “
Centering Taiwan in Global Asia” built by the Asian Studies Center of the University of Pittsburgh was recently awarded Honorable Mention for the 2023 Buchanan Prize for Curricular Materials by the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) to “…recognize an outstanding pedagogical, instructional, or curriculum publication designed for K-12 and college undergraduate instructors and learners.” The award will be presented at the AAS national conference in March.
The Education Division of TECO in New York pointed out that the Asian Studies Center of the University of Pittsburgh is committed to promoting Taiwan studies at the University of Pittsburgh and nearby liberal arts colleges. With the support and recommendation of the Education Division of TECO-NY, the Asian Studies Center of the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania received a three-year subsidy from Ministry of Education in Taiwan for curating the project of “Centering Taiwan in Global Asia”. This project is currently in its third year, which has achieved many fruitful results in all aspects. The website (https://centeringtaiwan.pitt.edu/) explores the themes of Indigeneity & Early Settlement, Navigation, Trade & Piracy, and Colonization to introduce the rich and contoured history of the island of Taiwan and its role as a nexus for global trade and conquest by outside powers. Highlights from Indigeneity & Early Settlement include the representation of some of Taiwan’s early inhabitants, such as the Atayal, Seediq, and Paiwan communities, as well as inclusion of the Hakka and Hoklo migration from mainland China in earnest in the 17th century CE. The website’s map page on Navigation, Trade & Piracy features the stories of important individuals in Taiwan’s history such as Zheng Zhilong and the famed Koxinga. The Colonization map page highlights outside powers such as the Dutch and Spanish, who sought to control Taiwan for both its natural resources and strategic importance.
Developed by a team at the Asian Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh in consultation and collaboration with recognized scholars of Taiwan’s history, this website fills a gap in curriculum about Taiwan by providing a content-rich and guided, interactive, spatial digital humanities resource for classroom use. 在駐紐約辦事處教育組積極聯繫及推薦之下，美國賓州匹茲堡大學亞洲研究中心自109年起獲教育部補助第一期共3年之「以臺灣為中心的全球亞洲計畫(Centering Taiwan in Global Asia)」臺灣研究講座計畫，目前已執行至第3年，各項成果豐碩。匹茲堡大學臺灣研究計畫團隊特別針對美國中小學學習臺灣歷史課程的需求，設計開發臺灣歷史課程教材教法，並建置「以臺灣為中心的全球亞洲」互動式教學網站，該網站最近榮獲美國亞洲研究協會頒發「2023年布坎南獎(Buchanan Prize)」之最佳課程及教材獎項提名的殊榮。美國亞洲協會盛讚該網站「…是為 K-12中小學及大學生與老師所設計之傑出教學及課程教材」。此網站探討台灣原住民與早期開墾、航海、貿易與海盜及殖民等主題，介紹了台灣島嶼豐富多彩的歷史與其在全球貿易和外部勢力之間的角力關係。匹茲堡大學亞洲研究中心團隊指出，臺灣豐富多元的歷史與在當今全球地緣政治和經濟貿易市場中日益重要的角色，有必要將臺灣研究納入美國的K-14課程中。