Ping-hui Liao (

Traditional Chinese A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

: 廖炳惠) is Chuan-liu Chair Professor in Taiwan Studies at the Department of Literature of the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

(UCSD). Prior to taking the chair professor position at UCSD, he was a distinguished professor at

National Tsing Hua University National Tsing Hua University (NTHU; ) is a public research university in Hsinchu City, Taiwan. National Tsing Hua University was first founded in Beijing. After the Chinese Civil War, the then-president of the university, Mei Yiqi, and other ...

and also Director General of the

National Science Council The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC; ) is a statutory agency of Executive Yuan of the Republic of China (Taiwan) for the promotion and funding of academic research, development of science and technology and science parks. NSTC is ...

Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. He was also a

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

during the 2001–02 academic year and before that a visiting scholar at the Harvard-Yenching Institute in 1996-97 and

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in 1991–92. He graduated from

Tunghai University Tunghai University (THU; ) is the oldest private university in Taiwan, established in 1955. It was founded by the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (UBCHEA). It is located in Xitun District, Taichung, Taiwan. According to ''Tim ...

in 1976. He received his Ph.D. at the

in 1987. Liao works primarily in the fields of

comparative literature Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study ...

postcolonial theory Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is ...

, and

cultural studies Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the political dynamics of contemporary culture (including popular culture) and its historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers generally investigate how cultural practices re ...

. He is also interested in the study of

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

, sister arts, and visual culture. He has written many books, including ''At the Crossroad of Taiwan and World Literature'', published in 2006, and ''Ways of Eating: Savoring Postmodernity'', published in 2004. He has also edited ''Taiwan Under Japanese Colonial Rule, 1895-1945: History, Culture, Memory'' with

David Der-wei Wang David Der-wei Wang (; born November 6, 1954) is a literary historian, critic, and the Edward C. Henderson Professor of Chinese Literature at Harvard University. He has written extensively on post-late Qing Chinese fiction, comparative literary the ...

. Published by

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fiel ...

in 2006, the volume was one of the first English studies of colonial Taiwan. In 2007, Liao and Wang organized a conference at Yale named Taiwan and its Contexts. The two intend to publish a volume documenting its findings.''Taiwan and its Contexts'' conference at Yale University
/ref> Liao also serves on the editorial collective of ''

Public Culture ''Public Culture'' is a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary academic journal of cultural studies, published three times a year—in January, May, and September—by Duke University Press. It is sponsored by the Department of Media, Culture, and Commu ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liao, Ping-Hui Columbia University staff University of California, San Diego alumni University of California, San Diego faculty American people of Taiwanese descent Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Tunghai University alumni