The suspended island

ASERI is pleased to present the volume

The suspended island
Taiwan and the balance of the world

by Stefano Pelaggi
LUISS University Press

Monday 18 March 2024, 6.30 p.m.
in ASERI (Via San Vittore 18) and ONLINE

Introduces:

Riccardo Redaelli, Full Professor of History and Institutions of Asia, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart

Speakers:

Stefano Pelaggi, Researcher, Sapienza University, Rome

"This volume tells the stories of the people who inhabited the island of Taiwan: those who arrived thousands of years ago and those who crossed the waters of the Taiwan Strait from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century; soldiers retreating from the Chinese Civil War and Kuomintang officials in the aftermath of World War II; migrants who have arrived in recent decades from Southeast Asian countries. But also the stories of the colonizers who imposed their power on the other inhabitants of the island for more or less long periods: the Dutch and the Spanish, the pirates and smugglers, the officials of the Qing Empire and the Japanese, up to the Kuomintang regime. The geographical boundaries of the island have remained unchanged, but the stories and paths of those who live there have redefined the perimeter of what it means to be Taiwanese. Taiwan's virtually unique role as an autonomous entity within the international community has allowed for an unprecedented formulation of national identity. The dynamic contemporary Taiwanese society is the result of dominations, interactions between different ethnic groups but above all of the ways of coexistence between those who have chosen, sometimes forced, to call their home 'Taiwan'."

The author:
Stefano Pelaggi teaches at the Department of History, Anthropology, Religions, Art, Performing Arts of the University of Rome Sapienza. In recent years he has taught at numerous universities in Myanmar, Argentina and Taiwan, where he has lived for a long time. Author of numerous essays and academic articles, Stefano Pelaggi is also the author of several books on popular colonialism, migration flows in the construction of foreign policy and nationalism. Researcher at the Center for Geopolitica.info Studies and at the Taiwan Center for International Strategic Studies (TCISS) he deals with Taiwan, the Chinese-speaking world and the Asia Pacific region from a historical perspective.

Participation is free upon registration. 

Limited seats in the hall.

Info: info.aseri@unicatt.it