The first event in the College of Communication Academic Series—the NCCU–UTokyo Visual Culture Workshop—was held on September 12 at the Journalism Building.Associate Professor Ai Kuno from the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies was invited to give a keynote lecture, exploring the sensory ontology and bodily perception differences between virtual reality (VR) and panoramic theater.NCCU Journalism Associate Professors Yi-Chieh Lin and Yu-Fen Ko also presented their latest research findings, creating new opportunities for future academic collaboration.
As a subproject of NCCU’s Project of Academic Excellence 100, the College of Communication Academic Series aims to strengthen international academic partnerships and foster global scholarly exchange.The workshop began with opening remarks from Professor Hsiu-Hui Sun, Dean of the College of Communication and Distinguished Professor of the Department of Advertising, who warmly welcomed Professor Kuno and expressed hopes for sustained collaboration and innovative research outcomes.Professor Shu-Mei Wang, Chair of the Department of Journalism, served as the moderator. Faculty members including Ju-Hsiu Chen, Hui-Wen Liu, Tsui-Chuan Lin, and Ting-Yu Kang, along with several graduate students, participated in the workshop and joined in lively discussion.
Professor Ai Kuno, whose research focuses on the history of technology, culture, and capitalism, is the author of Visualizing Taste (Harvard University Press, 2019), translated into Chinese as 《秀色可餐?》, which received the Hagley Prize in Business History from the Business History Conference.In her keynote, Kuno discussed the sensory dimensions of VR technology, comparing today’s immersive virtual experiences with the 19th-century panoramic theater. While VR emphasizes individual immersion and bodily realism, she noted that it often lacks the collective atmosphere and participatory sense that characterized historical panoramic spectacles.
Professor Yi-Chieh Lin shared her research topics, including livestreaming and “big eater” influencers, Taiwanese consumers’ sustainability practices, the globalization of the Donggang Bluefin Tuna Festival, and journalism technology and governance. Her future studies will extend into issues of sensory capitalism, technology, and privacy.Professor Yu-Fen Ko analyzed how postwar Taiwanese television culture developed along the intertwined paths of technological nationalism and developmentalism. Under the Kuomintang government’s “de-Japanization” policy, Japanese companies such as Toshiba and Hitachi remained key TV suppliers, and Taiwan Television Enterprise (TTV) was established with guidance from Japan’s Fuji TV—revealing that “domestic” brands like Tatung were in fact largely Japan-made.
Other participating faculty also offered diverse perspectives on technology and visuality.Professor Ju-Hsiu Chen argued that new VR technologies can engage not only visual senses but also bodily perceptions, and therefore may not necessarily lack a sense of participation.
Professor Ting-Yu Kang cited interviews on transnational family relationships, observing that while technology enables easier contact across distances, the inability of distant fathers to physically embrace their children reveals the limits of virtual “presence.”
The workshop concluded with enthusiastic exchanges between scholars from both universities. Participants from NCCU and UTokyo expressed their intention to stay connected and pursue continued collaboration.Organizer Professor Shu-Mei Wang noted that her prior experience as a visiting scholar at the University of Tokyo allowed her to recognize overlapping research interests with Professor Kuno, leading to the creation of this workshop. She hopes the partnership will further expand interdisciplinary research across Asia—linking technology, culture, society, and history.All students and faculty are warmly invited to join future CoE 100 Series events and participate in these inspiring academic exchanges.
