Embodied humanities begin with bodily perception—forms of the humanities that can be seen, heard, and touched—and transform sensory experience into internal understanding and abstract knowledge. The College of Liberal Arts at National Taiwan University (NTU) is currently expanding students’ embodied awareness through a wide range of courses and experiential learning opportunities that integrate the humanities with technology, such as VR, 3D applications, and generative AI. Through these efforts, students are guided from concrete, external phenomena toward deeper, abstract forms of understanding. Concerts organized by the Graduate Institute of Musicology, annual productions by the Department of Drama and Theatre, the Museum of Anthropology, the Art Museum, the sound studies at the Graduate Institute of Linguistics, lecture series under the auspices of the Trend Chair Professorship in Humanities and Technology, and courses on the introduction and application of generative AI all help students in several ways. These offerings enable them to experience the power of material objects, become attuned to bodily experience, and explore new media through which knowledge is generated and expressed (Figs. 1–3).
In addition, during the 2025–2026 academic year, the College will launch the Teaching & Research Innovation Project (TRIP). In partnership with Kyoto University and Kyushu University in Japan, and Korea University in South Korea, this initiative will form an East Asian academic collaboration alliance (Figs. 4 and 5). Designed to move beyond conventional academic frameworks, TRIP seeks to stimulate innovation in research and teaching through performances, hands-on practice, and academic symposia, while also fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and cultural exchange. The initiative will kick off with an inaugural event held from June 1–3, 2026 at NTU, aiming to bring together faculty and students from all four institutions to jointly explore and celebrate the renewed vitality of the humanities.
The five articles featured in this issue likewise showcase the College’s achievements in the field of embodied humanities. The first, Seeing Life through Things by Professor Shu-Chuan Tsao, begins with an examination of stones and explores the multilayered relationships between humans and rocks. Through the acts of observing and appreciating stones, tangible sensory experiences give rise to abstract reflections on life. The second article, Learning with Things by Professor Hui-Wen Lu, illustrates how the NTU Art Museum supports the promotion of aesthetic education by forging connections between people and objects through multisensory experience. Following these two object-centered essays, Professor Hsiao-Mei Hsieh’s The Body as Medium and Professor Shu-Kai Hsieh’s Embodied Voices extend the discussion from objects to the body. Through 3D imagery and sound, they consider how abstract knowledge in the humanities can be felt, perceived, and imagined. The final article, From Embodied Humanities to Knowledge Circulation by Professor Yi-Meei Wang, moves from bodily experience to questions of knowledge construction and practice. Using costume design as a case study, it reflects on the future development of humanistic knowledge—how abstract thinking and material practice can be brought together to generate greater social impact.
Fig. 1. Through a wide range of courses and experiential activities, the College of Liberal Arts at NTU expands students’ embodied awareness, guiding them from concrete, external phenomena toward deeper, abstract knowledge. Shown here is
A Feast for Flutists, a concert presented by the Graduate Institute of Musicology.
Fig. 2. Chair Professor Yu-Yu Cheng leads the university-wide general education course
The Interplay of Humanity and Technology, established through a donation from the Trend Education Foundation. Organized around interdisciplinary themes defined each semester, the course invites renowned scholars from Taiwan and abroad to deliver lectures and participate in panel discussions, seeking to address emerging trends in technological development through the depth and breadth of humanistic inquiry.
Fig. 3. The Humanities Hall at the College of Liberal Arts, NTU, integrates cultural heritage preservation with the principles of modernist architecture, offering faculty members and students new possibilities for spatial imagination. In addition to classrooms and research facilities, the building features a performance plaza, an arts and literature library, and exhibition venues. Currently on view at Aura Point on the first floor is A Century of Humanities at a Glance: Toward the College of Liberal Arts Centennial Special Exhibition, which transforms the College’s history into more than thirty snapshots of different eras.
Fig. 4. Dean Yu-Yu Cheng of the College (second from the right) and Professor Akio Onjo, Dean of the School of Letters at Kyushu University (second from the left) jointly signed the agreement on student exchange. Kyushu University was formally invited to participate in the TRIP initiative, further strengthening academic collaboration between the two institutions.
Fig. 5. Dean Yu-Yu Cheng of the College (second from the right) and Dean Hikyoung Lee of the College of Liberal Arts at Korea University (front row, third from the right) jointly signed the TRIP cooperation agreement, marking a significant strengthening of academic ties between the two institutions.
