International Conference: Overseas Students and Global Knowledge Circulation in the 19th to 20th Century

July 7-8, 2026

This conference addresses the role of overseas students as knowledge brokers in a global context. In the second half of the 19^th century, transnational migration and colonial expansion increased rapidly. The acceleration in global travel routes via train, steamship, and planes was accompanied by the establishment of global communication networks that facilitated the movement of people, commercial products, and technical instruments. In addition, it contributed to the circulation of knowledge and social practices. In this context, overseas students played a crucial role in accessing, translating, and disseminating texts across linguistic, epistemological, and cultural boundaries. As translators, knowledge brokers, and agents, overseas students transformed epistemic communities both at home and abroad; they contributed to entanglements that became characteristic of globalization processes before and after historical ruptures of the 20^th century.

近現代留學生及全球知識流動

本次研討會探討海外學生在全球脈絡下作為知識中介者的角色。19世紀下半葉，跨國移民與殖民擴張迅速增加。隨著火車、蒸汽船及飛機等全球交通路線的加速發展，全球通訊網絡隨之建立，促進了人員、商業產品及技術儀器的流動。此外，這也促進了知識與社會實踐的流通。在此背景下，海外留學生在跨越語言、認識論與文化界限的過程中，對於獲取、翻譯及傳播文本發揮了關鍵作用。身為翻譯者與知識中介者，海外留學生改變了國內外各知識社群的面貌；他們促成了各種相互交織的關係，而這些關係已成為二十世紀歷史斷裂前後全球化進程的顯著特徵。