Knowledge production in the era of neo-liberal globalization: reflections on the changing academic conditions in Taiwan

Abstract

This essay is an intervention to interrupt the blind adoption of the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) by Taiwan's academic regime to evaluate scholarly work. Situating the changing local conditions of knowledge production in the larger context of neo-liberal globalization, we trace the trajectory of implementing the new evaluation system and then pinpoint the critical impacts on intellectual work in this wave of 'internationalizing' research and publication promoted by the state bureaucracy. We argue for an alternative vision of globalization that is locally grounded, multiculturally nurturing and democratically driven.