Dr Fang-Long Shih is a specialist in the anthropology of Chinese religious, civic and political culture in Taiwan. Her writings, based on extensive fieldwork conducted in Taiwan since the 1990s, have been about the development of civil society in relation to colonialism, modernisation, nationalism, democratisation, and globalisation, often using examples from religion or culture as a case study.
Dr Shih has since 2003 joined the London School of Economics and Political Science (ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳), and works as Research Fellow of Taiwan Research Programme in Asia Research Centre (2003–16), in 'Research and Expertise' (2016–18), and in Anthropology Department (2018–22). She has since 2009 served as Co-Director (with Professor Stephan Feuchtwang) of the ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Taiwan Research Programme. The Programme aims to promote grounded, critical, and contextualised research and analysis of economic, political, societal, and environmental change from cultural perspectives, while being attentive to Taiwan in its contemporary geopolitical and global contexts.
In 2006 Dr Shih launched a continuing seminar series, ‘Taiwan in Comparative Perspective’, serving as chair, and in 2007 she established the journal Taiwan in Comparative Perspective, serving as editor, the first scholarly journal on Taiwan based outside Taiwan. Both contextualise processes of modernisation and globalisation through interdisciplinary studies of social scientific issues using Taiwan as a lever of comparison. There is a twofold agenda: to act as a forum and catalyst for the development of evocative analytical perspectives through comparative dialogue with – sometimes against – Taiwan-engaged research; and to make enhanced sense of Taiwan-related events and experiences by invoking contemporary theoretical perspectives.
Dr Shih taught the MSc course ‘Taiwan in Comparative Perspective’ in Department of Anthropology, ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ (2009–12); the MA courses (1) Contemporary Chinese Religions: Methods and Issues; (2) Anthropology of Contemporary Chinese Societies in the Centre for Chinese Study, Masaryk University, Czech Republic (2010–); the MA courses (1) Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights in Modern Taiwan; (2) Modern History, 1919–2020, China and Taiwan in Comparative Perspective in Graduate Institute of Taiwan History, National Chengchi University, Taiwan(2019; 2020). She also serves on the Board of Advisors, Global Taiwan Institute, Washington DC (2016–); the Board of Directors of the American Association for Chinese Studies (2015–); Associate Editorial Board, International Journal of Taiwan Studies (2016–22); Advisory Committee, North American Taiwan Studies Association (2013–15) ; and Advisory Committee, European Association for Taiwan Studies (2006–07). She has also undertaken international media interviews (e.g. by The BBC World TV News; The BBC World News–Impact; The World Tonight–BBC Radio 4; New York Times), and theoretically informed opinion pieces relating to Taiwan (e.g. in Liberty Times; Thinking Taiwan; Up Media; Voicettank).