Chemistry, Psychology and Sociology of Knowledge

I started my first degree in chemistry (in Naitonal Taiwan University) after winning the gold medal of the XXV International Chemistry Olympia. Then I seem to be facing a promising future and I did enjoy the intellectual delights brought by chemistry knowledge. However, soon after entering NTU I turned to believe that humanity and social issues are far more important than technologies in shaping our life and future. And compared with the well-established paradigms in chemistry, the less-settled nature of social science seemed a great challenge to me. So I changed my major to psychology.

The psychology training granted me discerning eyes for human mind and behaviour as well as skills to exert positive influences on others. I once considered pursuing advanced studies in organisational or social psychology, but was later halted by the exposure to some local research works in senior years, because they seemed more like academic-jargon plays than genuine intellectual explorations. The doubts led me to a series of epistemological and methodological debates, and to the question how the institutional factors of local academia (e.g., resource allocation, publication format) were influencing the academic outputs. That was my first encounter with the concept 'sociology of knowledge.'

Globalisation and LSE

With those doubts I chose to join the 'real world,' first doing the mandatory military service in airborne special unit and later working as editor and marketing specialist for a local leading publishing company. Within just a few years, I saw the rise of cyber-biz and digital anxiety, I experienced Taiwan's agony over the diversified identities and economic quagmire, I witnessed social conflicts of various forms in China in several trips there, and I observed the turmoil after 9-11. Every time I looked into people's stress and anxiety, yet I ended up seeing the causes rooted in something of bigger scope - society, economy or culture. And all the discussions in the end converge in one word: globalisation.

To explore more on globalisation, I went to LSE studying for a master in sociology in 2002, which was an extensive and fruitful year. I first learned how to grasp relevant literature and produce professionally written analyses in limited time. I also met schoolmates from all over the world and acquainted myself with some of the hottest contemporary debates from global perspective.

Politics and Book about China

Back to Taiwan, I first worked as a parliamentary assistant and later as an election campaigner. These experiences not only familiarised me with various public issues, but also gave me an insider¡'s perspective to see how those issues were presented, addressed, and compromised among various agents in the political sphere. In particular, I developed a deep concern about the power structure underlying knowledge/narrative formation, which echoes my early doubts on the institutional design of local academia. 

In 2005, I worked as freelance translator/editor for a Taiwanese publisher and took the chance writing a book about my earlier journeys in Western China (the Silk Road and Sichuan-Tibet highland), featuring discussions about the contemporary ethnical-social conditions there and critical reflections on the Han-centric historical narratives and tourism-invented traditions and myths. The book was published in July 2006, but its completion only marks the start of my intellectual pursuit of understanding the contemporary social transformations of China and its neighboring regions.

Purpose of the Proposed Study

Throughout the years, I came across many local issues that need to be addressed by rigorous social scientific investigation. And I feel more and more committed to this calling. To start with, I proposed a thesis about the sociology in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore to help me first acquire (1) a solid understanding of the epistemological/ philosophical basis of Western social scientific traditions, (2) an overview of the sociology research conducted in these societies, and (3) critical reflections of the research practice in the 'academically peripheral' countries, and the power structure behind. I am convinced that these insights will be valuable assets for becoming a productive social researcher in this region.

The thesis itself is aimed to be a sober reflection on the development of sociology in these areas, which hopefully can provide significant insights to the fields of sociology of knowledge, cultural globalisation and some academic administrative controversies. Also, I hope that the finding will be of special value to China, as many of its universities have just re-established sociology as a discipline recently and may learn some lessons from the three cases.

 'A thesis that echos with my past' is an extended version of my intellectual autobiography in which I traced the major themes of my PhD thesis to elements of my earlier life. 

Milestones

1993 won the gold medal of Intl. Chemistry Olympia, admitted to NTU

1994 read T.Kuhn's Structure  

1995 changed major to Psychology

1996 fascinated in neural biology

1997 heard sociology of knowledge in a talk with KSYang

1999 pondering IT's social aspect at the height of .com craze

2000 reflecting on development on my first trip in China

2001 edited The Psychology of the Internet (Chinese)

2001 growing concerns of globalisation as Taiwan suffered from a major economic setback

2002 rising doubts on academic professionalism after visiting some US Univ

2002 reflecitons on ethnicity, identity, and geographical forces in my 2nd trip in China

2003 obtained MSc in Sociology, with merit, from LSE

2004 close observation of how power works in politics sphere

2005 reflecting on shifting work patterns as a freelancer

2006 published my first book Shiner than Sun, Purer than Snow

2006 started PhD study in Sociology, Univ of Warwick

2007 linitiated the JISCmail-based forum Taiwan Studies