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NIU looks toward globalization as art students present their research at conference in Taiwan

October 9, 2012

Photo of a suitcase with international travel stickersSamantha Goss and Li-Hsuan Hsu, doctoral students in the NIU School of Art, will act as representatives of the university when they present research during the International “Sisterhood University” Conference of Graduate Students in Taiwan.

The conference, scheduled this Saturday and Sunday at the National Changhua University of Education (NCUE) in Changhua City, invites students and educators to present high-level research findings with their peers. Both Goss and Hsu have been funded by NCUE to attend the conference.

Hsu, who will be presenting a lecture titled “Media and Aesthetics: Encountering Tension between Educational and Non-Educational Systems,” also will serve as a translator at the conference.

Goss will give a talk titled “Analyzing Personal Expression, Visual Culture and Hip-hop Fashions in the Art Classroom.” She said she is curious to see if her information translates to the Taiwanese audience.

“I’m presenting research based on a lesson I taught covering fashion choices and what they signify to different people,” Goss said. “I know I like seeing images of other countries’ pop culture, and I’m hoping that the Taiwanese audience will as well.”

Joining Goss and Hsu as presenters will be NIU professor Kerry Freedman and School of Art Director Doug Boughton.

Doug Boughton and Kerry Freedman

Doug Boughton and Kerry Freedman

The conference not only gives NIU the ability to be seen on an international stage, Boughton said, but it also provides Goss and Hsu a unique student opportunity.

“This provides an international perspective for our students,” Boughton said. “It’ll be helpful for them to get the experience, as well as give them an opportunity to say they participated at a conference of this magnitude.”

In conjunction with the conference, Boughton will be signing a memorandum of understanding with NCUE in hopes of gauging Taiwanese interest in student and faculty transfer programs.

Goss said she hopes that the memorandum will allow for more international research and international student-teaching opportunities.

“Our world is becoming increasingly global,” Goss said. “I hope this relationship allows for greater transmission of knowledge between the universities.”