After many consultations and exchanges with domestic scholars, it became evident that it was indeed necessary to promote an understanding of Europe and establish research programs associated with European Studies. During the second meeting of the 14th Council of Academia Sinica on December 22, 1990, the proposal was approved to restructure the Institute of American Culture to include European Studies and change its name to the “Institute of European and American Studies”. Later, Academia Sinica sent the proposal to the Secretary General of the Office of the President of the R.O.C. for approval and reported to the Third Bureau of Office of the President for the reassignment of the agency seal and chops. On August 3, 1991, the Institute of American Culture officially changed its name to the Institute of European and American Studies, reappointing Wei Liang-tsai as its first director. In hopes of encouraging European Studies, the director, deputy director, and chiefs of the three research divisions, Humanities; Sociology and Economics; and Law and Political Science, organized a European Studies preparatory task force, with Chu Yen invited to serve as an advisor and recruit new research members in the related fields with the assistance of the Advisory Committee of the Institute. The formal establishment of the IEAS is not only a systemic change, but a symbol of the expansion of research topics in academic research. Responding to the inseparable relationship between the various cultural systems of the United States and Europe, under the umbrella term of “European and American”, research colleagues had more liberty and flexibility to pursue their research interests; as the faculty could not be expanded immediately, cooperation between IEAS research fellows and scholars outside the Institute and Academia Sinca increased meticulously. On the academic side, the IEAS had taken account of researchers’ expertise and selected topics for in-depth study relating to European and American history, philosophy, literature, culture, society, and legal and political structures to synchronously extend its basic research and systemic concern with current affairs. At the same time, responding to concerns on specific substantive issues related to European and American international organizations and relations, the Institute has conducted systemic academic research and analysis, and encouraged colleagues to collaborate across disciplines. Building on the existing three research divisions (Humanities; Sociology and Economics; and Law and Political Science), five thematic research projects were developed: Cultural Studies; Language, Cognition, and Society: Trends in Contemporary Western Philosophy; European Union; U.S.-Taiwan-China Relations; and Social Development and Policy in the US and Europe. 50 Years and Beyond: The History and Prospects of the Institute of European and American Studies 9
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