A Game of Knowledge-Power Struggle in Taiwan Sociology
Abstract
In Taiwan’s academic circle, sociology is a late comer with a rather small size of population. Among all of the sociologists, American-trained Ph. D. holders occupy an overwhelming amount. As a result, influenced by positivism as the main trend of thought dominated in American sociology, American-trained Taiwanese sociologists, particularly those holding the positions in the major research and teaching institutions, forms as a dominant power-holding ideological clique. They play an important role in shaping the development of Taiwan sociology through a mean by controlling the various institutionalized channels of opportunity. To a small-sized academic community just in the beginning stage of promotion like Taiwan sociology, such a power-centralized process of institutionaliztion will hazard to the future wellness of structure of the entire community if sociology is considered as a discipline desperatedly required to concern with the cultural meaning of locality embedded in social phenomena investigated.