Trans-Culturalization: 2026 Annual Conference of Cultural Studies and International Academic Symposium

【Conference Time】March 7-8, 2026 (Sat, Sun)
【Conference Location】National Taiwan Normal University (No. 162, Section 1, Heping East Road, Da'an District, Taipei City)
【Organizers】Cultural Studies Association (CSA), International Center for Taiwan Studies at National Taiwan Normal University
【Theme Description】
Under the multiple effects of global mobility, digital technology, and media transformation, culture is no longer viewed as a stable, closed system of interpretation, but as a dynamic and fluid process of continuous translation, transformation, and reconfiguration. The formation and transmission of culture are not confined to national boundaries or a single form of media but demonstrate their heterogeneity and transformability between language, sound, visual images, the body, and digital algorithms.
This year's annual conference is co-hosted with the International Center for Taiwan Studies at National Taiwan Normal University under the theme "Trans-Culturalization" (trans-culturalization), rethinking the conditions and forms of cultural generation and reproduction. The word "Trans-" not only means across or beyond but also implies the dynamic energy of transformation, transition, and regeneration; and "culturalization" indicates culture as a field of "mediality" (means) rather than "finality" (ends) practice, constantly being shaped, encoded, hybridized, and even resisted and intervened. Therefore, "Trans-Culturalization" not only describes the state of cultural exchange, translation, and re-contextualization but also points out how cultural production and perception are reorganized and imagined through "trans-techne" and "trans-borders," including gender, ethnicity, geography, media, identity, etc.
The 2026 Cultural Studies Annual Conference invites researchers from different fields to jointly explore how culture continuously traverses between language and sound, image and text, history and technology, ethnicity and media, and islands and the world through "crossing," "penetrating," and "connecting," echoing the multiple concerns and critical perspectives of cultural studies on symbolic meaning, production practice, and institutional structures. We hope to extend the discourse power of cultural studies in Taiwan and highlight Taiwan's indispensable contribution to the composition of world culture. Through the vision of "Trans-Culturalization," we look forward to providing a more fluid, dynamic, and porous interpretive framework for contemporary cultural studies.