After the First World War, rapid shifts in world history reshaped geopolitical and economic structures, outlining what we now know as modern civilization. Examining the upheavals and lingering effects of war offers insight into how human society was shaped: How has war shaped modern democracy, belief systems, medical advancements, popular culture, and women‘s rights?
In the creative realm, war and art have long engaged in a dynamic interplay. Conflict changes artists, and in turn, artists—whether adopting classical or avant-garde approaches—interpret and depict war through their subsequent works. In these expressions, how have people imagined war? How have they revisited conflict? This lecture will also consider society’s varied readings of war and scrutinize issues surrounding the authority to interpret history.
■ Speaker | Yi-Chen Hong
Yi-Chen Hong holds a PhD in sociology from the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) in Paris, specializing in the sociology of art. She currently serves as an adjunct assistant professor in the Departments of Sociology at National Chengchi University and National Taipei University. She is also a board member of the Taiwan Association for the Sociology of Arts and Culture, as well as a lecturer at the Trend Education Foundation and Art Living Cafe. Her expertise spans the sociology of art, cultural sociology, French social theory, visual culture studies, and modernist art. Her translation works include Cafés de la mémoire (Chantal Thomas) and The Man Who Died (D.H. Lawrence), covering fields as diverse as literature, philosophy, religion, and sociology.
