The CJD Project - Asia in Transition in the 21st Century

🍉New Publication | Writing against Occupation: Palestine and Beyond (CJD Booklet No.6)

A collection of articles (2019-2025) published on Conflict, Justice, Decolonization (CJD) on the Israeli-Palestinian War, Genocide in Gaza, colonial structures in Palestine, and the broader histories of social and political struggle across the Arab world.

Publisher: International Center for Cultural Studies, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University

Free download & circulation: https://reurl.cc/YkWaLD

本書收錄 2019-2025 年發表於「衝突、正義、解殖」(CJD) 的著作，主題涵蓋以色列-巴勒斯坦戰爭、加沙的種族滅絕、巴勒斯坦的殖民結構，以及阿拉伯世界中的社會政治鬥爭歷史。

出版單位：國立陽明交通大學文化研究國際中心

全書開放下載：https://reurl.cc/YkWaLD

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We are delighted to announce the publication of Writing against Occupation: Palestine and Beyond.

This volume compiles a range of writings digitally published on Conflict, Justice, and Decolonization (CJD) between 2019 and 2025. It brings together the voices of those who refuse silence in the face of erasure and injustice—voices that continue to believe in the enduring power of words and intellectual work as acts of resistance.

Within these pages, readers will find analyses, testimonies, and theoretical reflections on the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian war, the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the enduring colonial structures in Palestine, and the broader histories of social and political struggle across the Arab world.

We extend our deepest gratitude to all contributors—especially those writing from Gaza, Jerusalem, and Sana’a—who, even amid the devastations of war, have continued to think, write, and speak, offering insights that sustain the ethical and political urgency of this collective project. Our heartfelt thanks also go to Professor Joyce C.H. Liu for her passionate and insightful guidance throughout the making of this issue.

Edited with dedication and conviction by the CJD editorial team, this booklet is both a record of thought and an invitation: may it serve as a resource, an inspiration, and a spark to kindle further acts of engagement, reflection, and solidarity.

🎶 Book Launch: Nyanyian di Perantauan - Kumpulan Lirik Lagu Pekerja Migran Indonesia & Laporan Skena Musik di Taiwan 2024

📌Discussants: Lan Yuchen (editor and co-author), Wu Tingkuan (editor and co-author), Muhammad Irfan (co-author), Fanani Aubrey (co-author)
📌Moderator: Li Qi (Institute of Social Research and Cultural Studies, NYCU)

📌Date & Time: 22 November 2025 (Mon) at 19:30-21:30
📌Venue: Small Small Bookshop (No. 2-1, Alley 4, Lane 192, Wenhua Road, New Taipei City)
📌Format: In-person only

【Abstract】
This volume, published by Trans/Voices Project, features a collection of 115 original song lyrics (and their translations) by thirty Indonesian musicians or groups who are currently based in Taiwan or have been based here. These songs span a diverse range of genres, including folk, pop, rock, metal, punk, reggae, rap, dangdut, and tarling. The volume also contains nine insightful essays exploring the vibrant Indonesian migrant music scene in Taiwan.

【Book Launch Agenda】
How to ”Hear“ Songs from Afar? — Genesis of the Publication and Fieldwork
Indonesian Migrant Workers’ Music Practice in Taiwan
♫ Music Break ♫
Head Banging Abroad: How Heavy Metal Music Empowers Indonesian Migrant Workers
It’s Not Just About the Setting: The Public Space in Indonesian Migrant Workers’ Video Clips
*The event will be conducted in both Mandarin Chinese and English. Simultaneous interpretation from English to Mandarin Chinese will be provided.

📍Organizer: International Center for Cultural Studies, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (ICCS-NYCU), Sub-project 3: Migration, Unequal Citizens, and Critical Legal Studies
📍Co-organizer: Conflict, Justice, Decolonization: Asia in Transition in the 21st Century

🎶《歌自遠方來：印尼移工歌謠採集與場景書寫2024》新書論壇

📌與談人：藍雨楨（本書編輯、作者）、吳庭寬（本書編輯、作者）、艾爾凡（本書作者）、歐貝麗（本書作者）
📌主持人：李齊（陽明交通大學社會與文化研究所博士候選人）
📌日期時間： 2025年11月22日（六）19:30-21:30
📌地點：小小書房（新北市文化路192巷4弄2-1號）
📌活動方式：實體參與

【活動簡介】
本書由 Trans/Voices Project 製作，共採集、翻譯了115首由三十組在台或曾經在台的印尼樂人原創的歌謠歌詞，這批歌謠風格多元，橫跨民謠、流行、搖滾、金屬、龐克、雷鬼、饒舌、噹嘟、塔林（tarling）等類型。此外，本書亦收錄了九篇討論在台印尼移工音樂場景的文章。

【新書論壇安排】
如何「聽見」遠方來的歌？——出版緣起與田野踏查
印尼移工在台灣的歌謠實作
♫ 中場聽歌 ♫
異鄉甩頭：重金屬音樂如何賦予印尼移工力量
不只是場景：印尼移工影片中的公共空間
*活動將以中文和英文進行。現場提供同步英譯中口譯。

📍主辦單位：國立陽明交通大學文化研究國際中心——子計畫3：遷移、不平等公民、批判法律研究
📍協辦單位：衝突、正義、解殖：二十一世紀轉型中的亞洲

📝CALL FOR PAPER｜徵稿啟事
Conflict, Justice, Decolonization: Asia in Transition in the 21st Century
衝突、正義與解殖：21世紀轉型中的亞洲

https://cjdproject.web.nycu.edu.tw/
ISSN: 2709-5479 (digital) / 2709-7943 (print)

Cultures of Care and Politics of Healing ｜ 關懷文化與療癒政治

In the wake of intersecting crises—war, political repression, pandemic, aging societies, economic downturns, environmental collapse, and global governance—the subjects of health and care emerge as urgent yet contested terrains. These crises not only affect bodies but also reverberate through the emotional, ethical, and spiritual dimensions of collective life.

At stake are pressing questions: What does it mean to heal in the face of trauma, inequality, and despair? How do practices of care and healing confront or reproduce the emotional economies of neoliberalism, where resilience, positivity or “self-care” are often commodified? How might we imagine forms of care and solidarity that resist co-optation and instead foster justice, repair, and new possibilities of being together?

How are we to heal—not only physically, but also mentally, emotionally, spiritually and collectively? Or: How should the very notion of healing be rethought?

Such inquiries are not only central to surviving the present moment, but also to envisioning futures of reparation and redress in the aftermath of war, disaster and multifarious forms of trauma.

We invite contributions that critically explore the multiple forces—cultural, economic, institutional, and geopolitical—that shape practices of care and health, as well as the ways care itself becomes a terrain for negotiating power and (in)equality, or for building community beyond borders.

We welcome submissions that include empirical case studies, theoretical reflections, as well as artistic and literary analyses that examine the entanglements of health, bodies, culture, politics, and collective life across diverse contexts.

(To be continued in the comment)

📝Wired Tianxia, Wounded Borders: Ressentiment, Firewalls, Migrant Bodies, and Aesthetic Interventions [Part II]
👩🏻‍🏫🧑‍🏫Lectures by Transit Asia Research Network

What unfolds when Tianxia— “All-Under-Heaven”—is digitally interwoven into a global Großraum? Can such a wired realm nurture harmony as kin within a planetary household? Unlikely. Ressentiment festers beneath the surface, shaped by geo-historical legacies and geopolitical anxieties. Apparatuses like Germany’s proposed digital Brandmauer or China’s Great Firewall are merely the architectural facades of deeper affective fortifications. These sentiments, displaced onto racialized others, migrants, and outsiders, manifest as localized xenophobia and structural precarity, and echo through contemporary artistic expression. This panel examines these entanglements across Europe and Asia while envisioning ethical and intellectual interventions against the repressive currents of our digital zeitgeist.

Read more: https://cjdproject.web.nycu.edu.tw/2025/08/07/wired-tianxia-wounded-borders-ressentiment-firewalls-migrant-bodies-and-aesthetic-interventions-part-ii/

📝Wired Tianxia, Wounded Borders: Ressentiment, Firewalls, Migrant Bodies, and Aesthetic Interventions [Part I]
🧑‍🏫Lectures by Transit Asia Research Network

What unfolds when Tianxia— “All-Under-Heaven”—is digitally interwoven into a global Großraum? Can such a wired realm nurture harmony as kin within a planetary household? Unlikely. Ressentiment festers beneath the surface, shaped by geo-historical legacies and geopolitical anxieties. Apparatuses like Germany’s proposed digital Brandmauer or China’s Great Firewall are merely the architectural facades of deeper affective fortifications. These sentiments, displaced onto racialized others, migrants, and outsiders, manifest as localized xenophobia and structural precarity, and echo through contemporary artistic expression. This panel examines these entanglements across Europe and Asia while envisioning ethical and intellectual interventions against the repressive currents of our digital zeitgeist.

Read more: https://cjdproject.web.nycu.edu.tw/2025/08/07/wired-tianxia-wounded-borders-ressentiment-firewalls-migrant-bodies-and-aesthetic-interventions-part-i/

📝The Relevance of Post-colonial Imagination in 21st Century Asia
✍️Event Report Article by Serena Di Maria

On May 26, 2025, the workshop The Relevance of Postcolonial Imagination in 21st Century Asia was hosted by the International Center for Cultural Studies (ICCS-NYCU) and the International Master’s Degree Program in Inter-Asia Cultural Studies (IACS, NYCU) at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University. The event was part of the sub-project The Geopolitics and Cultural Economy of Societal Relations in a New Greater China convened by Professor Allen Chun.

Read more: https://cjdproject.web.nycu.edu.tw/2025/08/07/the-relevance-of-post-colonial-imagination-in-21st-century-asia/

📝The Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Academia: Research Ethics and Tools
✍️Event Report Article by Fen-Ni Yu

This lecture, organized by the CJD program, sought to respond to the growing ambivalence and ethical anxiety surrounding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in academia. As generative AI becomes increasingly common in academic writing and research, scholars and students alike often find themselves torn – on the one hand worried that misuse of AI may lead to ethical breaches, and on the other hand unable to deny the productivity it affords. This lecture invited Professor Alexandre Erler to explore the topic “The Use of AI in Academia: Research Ethics & Tools,” examining the tension between technological application and ethical responsibility from a philosophical perspective.

This lecture was structured around three main axes: a mapping of current AI tools used in academic contexts; the potential and promise of these tools; and the ethical risks and gray areas they introduce. From the perspective of a philosopher, Erler wove between technological development and humanistic reflection, leading us to rethink the essence and future trajectory of “academic creation.”

Read more: https://cjdproject.web.nycu.edu.tw/2025/06/07/the-use-of-artificial-intelligence-ai-in-academia-research-ethics-and-tools/

📝Turning War Horrors into Art?
✍️Article by Merima Omeragić

This paper is based on the analysis of the documentary film Facing Darkness [Se souvenir d’une ville] (2023) directed by Jean-Gabriel Périot. I focused on the cinematic exploitation of the topic of the Yugoslav wars, specifically the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the besieged Sarajevo. Facing Darkness is a film that can be understood in many possible cinematic meanings, not only because of its complex structure, but also due the fact that it was realized as a documentary that represents the importance of the idea of filming war. Thus, I decided to make unusual connections by identifying a cinematic vision of the universal destructive power of war, which I outlined in the films of Hayao Miyazaki and Jean-Gabriel Périot. I further posed the question of the poetic segments of this documentary in two coordinates. The first one is Imamura Taihei’s theory about the preparedness to film war and the importance of focusing on raising consciousness, and the second relates to Susan Sontag’s understanding of the spectacle of war horror in Bosnia. Another key dimension of film interpretation involves a philosophy of engagement in the artwork. Taking Facing Darkness as an example, I have considered the principles of filmmaking, not only in relation to aesthetics, but also in regard to director Périot’s cinematic solutions, techniques, and knowledge. The above mentioned aspects are important because they have a decisive influence on the creation of a film that represents ethical anti-war, humanist and pacifist values.

Read more: https://cjdproject.web.nycu.edu.tw/2025/04/22/turning-war-horrors-into-art/

📝The Dynamics of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Media and the Private Sector in Vietnam
✍️Article by Nguyen Thanh Huong

This paper examines the socialist-oriented market economy of artificial intelligence (AI) policies and the potential impact of AI dynamics through the lens of Vietnam’s private media sector. It first reviews documents of key policies published by the central Vietnamese government, which show influential actors in national and regional strategies for AI development. Then, this study outlines three prominent private media agencies: DatvietVAC, VNG Corporation, and YeaH1 Group. These companies are selected to represent important aspects of Vietnam’s development of media AI applications, including the influence of a well-established media and communications governance, and a growing interest in international corporate activities. The paper concludes that while the government focuses on using media to support its national AI strategy, private companies are taking the lead in driving new technology forward. They are using Vietnam’s unique mix of state-led and market-driven approaches to grow quickly. However, this also highlights the challenge of balancing global influences with local needs, as Vietnam works to create a future where AI is innovative, fair, and true to its national identity.

Read more: https://cjdproject.web.nycu.edu.tw/2025/04/12/the-dynamics-of-artificial-intelligence-ai-media-and-the-private-sector-in-vietnam/

sector and communications -orientedmarketeconomy

📝On the Work of Art in the Age of AI Production
✍️Article by Chung-Jen Chao

Artificial intelligence (AI) has matured and developed rapidly since 2022, bringing new opportunities as well as challenges to various aspects of society. It has forced people to view many things in a new light, including artistic creations such as texts, images, and sounds. These are being redefined or imbued with new meanings, challenging two dimensions primarily: appreciating and understanding.

The significance of the human creator is diminished or even removed in the creative process, raising questions about whether such creations can still be considered art. Roland Barthes’ announcement of “The Death of the Author” has thus become a reality, while Walter Benjamin’s concept of “Aura” is also under threat. In light of this, this article will first categorize different kinds of AI-based creations according to the degree of human input, and then analyze how AI’s involvement affects the appreciating and understanding of artworks within each category. This will help clarify the potential for new receptive and interpretive possibilities arising from these changes.

Read more: https://cjdproject.web.nycu.edu.tw/2025/04/12/on-the-work-of-art-in-the-age-of-ai-production/

-machinecollaboration

📝Educational Adaptation in the Age of Hyperconnectivity: Addressing Emotional and Civic Needs in Digital Society
✍️Article by Juan González Fuentealba and Constanza Rivano Delzo

📌Abstract:

This study examines the ontological, existential, and subjective shifts introduced by digitalization, which impact social relationships and personal identity. Focusing on the functional effects of digital culture, particularly instant communication, it addresses the ethical and pedagogical challenges posed by hyperconnectivity and the vast information accessibility of the internet.

As well, it examines the psychological mechanisms of language acquisition from cognitive and behavioral perspectives, emphasizing the interconnected growth of categorial processes and affective structures essential for socialization in a digital context.

Emerging new relational styles, shaped by digital interactions, may mirror traits associated with the autism spectrum, as face-to-face communication declines. This transformation calls on educational institutions to take greater responsibility for fostering emotional literacy, self-regulation, and civic-moral behavior, addressing the evolving social needs of digital society.

Ultimately, this research highlights the evolving ethical and pedagogical responsibilities of education in a digitally mediated world, by integrating technical skills with critical emotional and civic competencies. Such efforts will ensure that education not only responds to the demands of digital society but also upholds the values of empathy, adaptability, and responsibility in a world fundamentally transformed by digital technologies.

Read more: https://cjdproject.web.nycu.edu.tw/2025/04/01/educational-adaptation-in-the-age-of-hyperconnectivity-addressing-emotional-and-civic-needs-in-digital-society/