Very Impressive! NSYSU Department of Sociology Celebrates Students Passing Thesis Defenses with Creative Calligraphy That “Has a Voice”

CTS News / Lin Yen-Ting, Comprehensive Report / Kaohsiung City

In ancient times, people identified four great joys in life, one of which was achieving academic success and being recognized on the honor roll. On July 21, the Department of Sociology at National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU) announced that students from its Indigenous Master’s Program had all received recognition from their thesis committee members and successfully passed their master’s thesis defenses with outstanding scores.

To celebrate the students’ achievements, the department created traditional-style honor boards. However, what caught people’s attention was the wording on the boards: phrases such as “Very Impressive,” “You’re Absolutely the Best,” “Seriously Excellent,” and “You’re Truly Amazing.” The eye-catching messages quickly attracted online attention, with netizens joking, “Why do these words sound like they have a voice?”

Image source: Facebook page of the Department of Sociology, National Sun Yat-sen University

Honor Board Phrase “Seriously Excellent” Goes Viral: Netizens Say “The Words Have a Voice”

The Department of Sociology at NSYSU recently published a congratulatory post featuring the honor boards. The announcement stated that students from the Indigenous Master’s Program—including first cohort students Bao Ching-Hui (Balen) and Legean Rurapirap, as well as second cohort students Chou Hsiao-Feng (Humhum Ispalidav) and Vais ljaljali—had all received positive evaluations from their thesis committees and passed their master’s thesis defenses with exceptionally high scores.

The department also shared four photos of the honor boards. In addition to displaying each student’s name, the central calligraphy featured phrases such as “Very Impressive,” “You’re Absolutely the Best,” “Seriously Excellent,” and “You’re Truly Amazing.” Written in a style resembling the expressive tone commonly used by Indigenous communities, the messages were both warm and humorous, leading netizens to comment, “Why do these words sound like they have a voice?”

Thesis Explores Tribal Economy: First Indigenous Master’s Program Student Graduates

Among the graduates, Chou Hsiao-Feng (Humhum Ispalidav) became the first graduate of NSYSU’s Indigenous Master’s Program in June. Her master’s thesis, titled “A Preliminary Study on the Production and Marketing Relations of Chayote Fern in the Indigenous Homeland of Namaxia District, Kaohsiung City,” examined tribal economic issues from a community-based perspective and received high recognition.

Chou stated that by personally researching tribal culture and approaching the subject from a perspective different from that of Han Chinese researchers, she gained a deeper understanding of Indigenous culture and research methodologies. She hopes that her knowledge and experience will allow her to contribute to tribal policies, development, and community issues in the future.

NSYSU noted that the 38-year-old Chou had long desired to return to school for further education after years in the workforce. When she learned about the establishment of the Indigenous Master’s Program, she was attracted by the opportunity to study alongside Indigenous community members and by the program’s excellent faculty. She found the classes warm and welcoming, while also gaining extensive knowledge about Indigenous peoples and Austronesian cultures. The program’s Saturday schedule also allowed her to balance her public service career and family responsibilities.

Chou explained that although her professional background is in social work, living within the tribal community allowed her to recognize the importance of tribal economies. She wanted to investigate how the production and marketing of chayote fern, a long-term agricultural crop, influenced tribal development. She observed that over the past seven years, the planting area of Namaxia chayote fern expanded dramatically from less than one hectare to 50 hectares, making it one of Taiwan’s largest production areas after Hualien. In the past, prices offered by Han Chinese wholesalers were often low; however, after tribal residents successfully entered the wholesale market and gained greater control over their own marketing channels, incomes became more stable and the tribal economy improved.

Breaking Stereotypes and Cultivating Indigenous Policy Professionals

Chou’s advisor, Professor Wang Hong-Zen of the Department of Sociology at NSYSU, stated that Taiwanese society has often stereotypically viewed Indigenous peoples as being primarily focused on sports, recreation, or artistic and cultural fields. The Indigenous Master’s Program in Sociology aims to challenge these stereotypes and cultivate Indigenous professionals capable of developing comprehensive policies.

Current graduate research topics include Rukai tourism, traditional song transmission, Paiwan inheritance culture, ethnobotanical studies, Bunun hunting and gender culture, Hla’alua language revitalization, Sakizaya traditional reconstruction, and employment issues among urban Indigenous peoples. Through these diverse research topics, Indigenous scholars are providing Taiwan with new perspectives on a wide range of social issues.

News Link: https://news.cts.com.tw/cts/local/202207/202207222086507.html