Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica

Speaker: Charles Chih-Hao Lee (Assistant Research Fellow)

Topic: The Distance Between Us and the World: From Concentric Zones to World and Global History

Host: Jeng-guo Chen (Research Fellow and Deputy Director)

Date: October 19 (Sun.), 10:00 – 11:00, 2025

Venue: 5F, Conference Room, Museum of the IHP

Note: 2025 Academia Sinica Open House IHP Lectures

Abstract:

We tend to understand the past and future of both individuals and communities by starting from their immediate surroundings. The so-called Taiwan-as-subject historical approach likewise aims to place Taiwan at the center, understanding Taiwan, East Asia, and the world from the inside out. But is the world truly on the periphery of the history of Taiwan? If international forces profoundly shape Taiwan’s collective destiny more so than domestic activities, do we also need to understand the history of Taiwan from the outside in? This lecture explores the rise and limitations of modern nationalist historiography, while reviewing past attempts to move beyond nationalist historiographical narratives, particularly through the writing of world and global history. It also uses certain historical events to illustrate why we must narrate Taiwan’s story from the perspective of world history.