Ho Ming-Sho (Professor, Department of Sociology, National Taiwan University)
Chair/Discussant: Paul Y. Chang (Associate Professor of Sociology, Harvard University)
*Please note 10:30 am start time*
Co-sponsored with the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies
Taiwan’s Sunflower Movement and Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement of 2014 belong to an unusual case of “eventful protests” for their large-scale and intensive participation as well as radical transformation in consequences, which require new conceptual tools to make sense of their trajectories. The speaker will develop the notion of “standoff” to understand the contentious interaction between protesters and the government. While these two incidents are not so-called “leaderless” movements, sustained occupation will not be possible without voluntary and the on-the-spot strategic responses among grassroots participation. Theorized as “improvisation”, the talk will also examine the functions and the limits of these bottom-up contributions. With growing institutionalization of the research field of social movement and contentious politics, mostly focusing on the routinized social protests in democracy, the notions such as standoff and improvisation call attention to the rare, albeit significant moments when people are able to make their own history.
Upcoming Events
Visiting Scholar Talks
The U.S. Cultural Relations Program towards China and the Emergence of Transpacific Intellectual Networks (1942-1947)Tuesday, October 7, 2025
Visiting Scholar Talks
Appropriation or Dialogue—and Why It Matters: The Poetics and Politics of Cross-Cultural AdaptationWednesday, October 15, 2025
Visiting Scholar Talks
Food, Memories, and Agri-Science in Action: Reconsidering Food Regimes in AsiaFriday, October 17, 2025