Indigenous Landscapes and Resource Management in Taiwan and Southeast Asia 

February 24-28, 2023

Taiwan and Southeast Asia are inextricably linked by historical, cultural, and geographic processes that stretch over centuries into the present. Indigenous perspectives throughout Taiwan and Southeast Asia have been marginalized but have now taken the forefront in discussions on climate change and redress. By bringing together the voices of Indigenous peoples and scholars from many disciplines, the workshops aim to bridge contemporary political and academic boundaries to elicit and examine a more nuanced view of Taiwan and Southeast Asia that centers Indigenous perspectives of land and landscapes.

Indigenous peoples in Taiwan and Southeast Asia have innovatively responded to often-dramatic political, social, and environmental changes for centuries. We view these responses in terms of general ecological adaptations and frame our explanations of these transitions through a comparative perspective that emphasizes the unique advantages of a diverse academic and community networks. This workshop examines methodological and theoretical issues relevant to Southeast Asia and Taiwan from: uses of ethnographic analogy and historical records as data sources; applications of anthropological notions of ethnicity, culture change, historical ecology, and political economy to environmental changes; to collaborations with Indigenous and local populations.

Organizers:

Science and Technology Innovation Center for Taiwan-Philippines Indigenous Knowledge, Local Knowledge, and Sustainable Studies, National Chengchi University

Program for Early Modern Southeast Asia, UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies

Department of Anthropology, National Taiwan University

Co-Organizers:

Office of Fellowships for Austronesian Studies

Sponsors:

National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan

Council of Indigenous People, Taiwan

UCLA Asia Pacific Center