Week 1: Introduction

I am a member of the Taiwanese American Union (TAU) student group at UCLA. TAU is a cultural organization focusing on promoting Taiwanese and Taiwanese American culture on campus. Like many other culture groups on campus we have an annual culture show. This year is the 7th annual Taiwanese Culture Night and it will be held on Saturday April 28th in the Freud Playhouse. The show will include a skit, video shorts, a cappella medlies, and a rock band performance. And the show will be presented in a mix of English, Mandarin, and Taiwanese.

Even before joining a culture group, I've always been interested in other cultures. I like traveling and learning about different peoples and their customs. My major is International Development Studies with a minor in Political Science and Urban/Regional Studies. Although I'm most familiar with Asia, I'm especially interested in all regions of the developing world. I'd like to learn more about how we, as in the West, studies other cultures and how that affects the way non-Western cultures are perceived. I've learned a bit about cultural imperialism and Orientalism, so I'm interested in how ethnomusicology goes about studying other cultures without overpowering the culture's own voice.