Dept. of Sociology Celebrates 45th Anniversary with Cross-strait Exchange Conference

To mark the 45 years since its foundation in 1973, the Department of Sociology of SCU launched a series of celebrating activities, starting with a Cross-strait Conference of Sociological Theory and Cultural Study.

Soochow President Wei-Ta Pan, the Chair of Department of Sociology Stone Shih, and Professor Neng Liu of the Department of Sociology at Peiking University jointly unveiled the conference at Soochow’s Waishuangsi Campus on October 26^th, 2018.

President Pan praised the exchanges and interactions between the two Departments of Sociology since their cooperation for a cross-strait conference in 2016. It was great seeing Professor Liu again in the occasion of the 45^th anniversary of Soochow’s Department of Sociology, Pan added. He hoped that this event could lay a stronger foundation for the cooperation and academic research between the two universities.

"This is a great opportunity for scholars across Taiwan Strait to exchange social and academic views," Liu said. He also paid tribute to the expansion of Soochow’s Department of Sociology in the field of technology research and scale in the past 45 years, and hoped to create a new environment for annual exchange through academic seminars and to achieve the goal that senior scholars and their new generation counterparts may learn from each other.

Shih thanked every teacher and student of the Department for their contributions that make such a large conference possible and successful, and he also thanked President Pan for leading Soochow to the path of excellence. Shih further expressed his appreciation for Professor Liu and his department for participating in this grand event and discussing sociological theories and cultural issues with scholars in Taiwan.

Soochow’s Department of Sociology was established in 1973 by Professor Mao-Chun Yang at the Waishuangsi Campus, with "Sociological Investigation," "Research on Sociology Teaching in Central and Eastern Europe" and "Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Social Practice" as the three major focuses. In addition to the cross-strait conference, other celebrating events included an international symposium on October 27^th on “Regional Research and Social Policy,” which was co-organized with Charles University in Prague, a competition for the department’s logo design, and a celebration banquet.