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SUMMARY:Documentary Screening with the Director – Taiwan Undaunted: In S
 earch of the Nation That Cannot Call Itself a Nation - Neal E. Robbins (Fi
 lm Director)
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260223T170000Z
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260223T193000Z
UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/e64c71e1-4c84-4e5c-957c-7ae406be3320/
DESCRIPTION:Taiwan Undaunted\, an award-winning documentary\, explores the
  emergence of Taiwanese nationhood and identity from colonial and dynastic
  times through the democratic awakening. Drawing on over 80 in-depth inter
 views with ordinary people\, experts\, and politicians\, director-presente
 r Neal E. Robbins captures Taiwanese aspirations\, dreams\, hopes\, and fe
 ars. At the centre of his account lie the tensions between Taiwan's indige
 nous heritage\, immigrant roots and the geopolitical complexities across t
 he strait. With China's territorial claims intensifying\, the documentary 
 and Robbins’s eponymous book\, out in February\, reflect on the resilien
 ce of Taiwan's democracy and the uncertain future that lies ahead. The fil
 m and the Q & A with the director afterwards will also afford the opportun
 ity to consider the challenges posed by documentary and book creation on t
 he same topic. “In documentary I could let viewers fly like a bird over 
 the land\, stand in the trenches of World War II battles and take VIP seat
 s at military parades in Beijing while commentary flowed over the scenes\,
 ” says Robbins. “The images had emotional impact but at the expense of
  truncated intellectual breadth and depth. The book echoes the documentary
 \, but refocuses on nuances\, interconnections and subtleties\, creating a
  much fuller\, more organic vision.”\n\nAbout the Speaker:\n\nAfter doin
 g a degree in Chinese at Washington University in St Louis\, Neal E. Robbi
 ns studied the language in Taiwan from 1976-78\, when he also collected Ta
 iwanese short stories later published by Yale University Press. After grad
 uating from Columbia University in journalism in 1979\, he worked as a for
 eign correspondent in Hong Kong\, New Delhi and Washington. He was a profe
 ssor of journalism at Roosevelt University in Chicago from 1986 and from 1
 991-93 at National Taiwan University (NTU). While in Taiwan he contributed
  to The Washington Post\, National Public Radio\, and the BBC. From 1993
 –1995 he was Europe correspondent based in London for the Taiwan newspap
 er China Times\, and from 1997 launched a community website for Cambridge\
 , England\, where he lives with his family. After completing a Taiwan Stud
 ies degree at SOAS\, University of London\, in 2023 he returned to Taiwan 
 in 2023-24 as a visiting scholar at NTU.\nSpeakers:\nNeal E. Robbins (Film
  Director)
LOCATION:Dickson Poon Building (Kin-ku Cheng Lecture Theatre\, Dickson Poo
 n Building\, University of Oxford)\, Canterbury Road OX2 6LU
TZID:Europe/London
URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/e64c71e1-4c84-4e5c-957c-7ae406be3320/
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DESCRIPTION:Talk:Documentary Screening with the Director – Taiwan Undaun
 ted: In Search of the Nation That Cannot Call Itself a Nation - Neal E. Ro
 bbins (Film Director)
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