In order to encourage original academic research on the culture of Macao and the exchanges between Macao, Mainland China and other countries, the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) has set up the Academic Research Grant programme. After an evaluation process, five research projects from local and overseas scholars received the 2018 Academic Research Grant.
In order to ensure the integrity and impartiality of the selection process and in accordance with the Academic Research Grant Regulations, IC has commissioned the Institute for Social and Cultural Research of the Macau University of Science and Technology to organize a panel of experts in order to carry out an anonymous review of the applications and to provide academic comments to the Selection Panel. The Selection Panel was composed by the Vice President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Leong Wai Man; the Professor of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, James Lee; the Professor of the Institute of Macao of the Jinan University, Jin Guoping; the Professor of the Department of History of the Chinese Culture University, Wang Ming Sun,; and the Head of the Division of Research and Publications of IC, Wong Man Fai. After seeking advice from professionals and in-depth discussion, the Panel selected five research projects out of a total of the 41 applications for this year’s Grant, namely:
1. “Twentieth Century Macau in an Age of War and Revolution: A multi-archive Enumeration” by researcher: Geoffrey Charles Gunn, who obtained his Ph.D. in Humanities/Political Science from Monash University, and is a Honourable Professor and experienced researcher on Macao’s history. The project aims to study the process of 100-year evolution of Macao in the era of war and revolution of the twentieth century, including a focus on the life of people of Macao during the war, the society at the beginning of the post-war period, and the political and economic changes of Macao until 1999.
2. “Research on the Medical and Health Development and Urban Management in Modern Macao” by researcher Wu Yuxian, who obtained a Ph.D. from the Department of History at the University of Macau and now works as an assistant researcher at the City University of Macau. The project starts with the study of the modern medical and health sector of Macao, focusing on the “reconstruction of urban space”, “expansion of colonial power” and “autonomy of the Chinese” in the modern urban governance of Macao, thus revealing the process of Macao’s “modernization”.
3. “Research on the ‘Literary Society of Xueshe’ in Macao” by researcher Tang Chon Chit, who obtained a Ph.D. in the Study of Literature, History and Philosophy from Shandong University, and currently works as a Professor in the Department of Chinese at the University of Macau. The project focuses on the “Literary Society of Xueshe” in Macao, which was the first literary group in the history of Macao’s literature with local residents as its members and has symbolic significance for the study of the history of Macao’s literature. The project introduces this literary group active in Macao from the perspective of historical facts and elaboration analysis, demonstrating the historical transformation and unique situation of Macao’s literature in the process of the development and evolution of literature and culture from a particular and innovative perspective.
4. “Componentes Culturais Relevantes dos Principios Orientadores para a Tradução Jurídica Bilíngue de Macau” by researcher Lu Chi Seng, who obtained a Ph.D. in Philosophy (Literature - Portuguese) at the University of Macau, specialized in Chinese-Portuguese/Portuguese-Chinese legal translation, and currently works as a translation advisor, legal translator and legal advisor in a government department in Macao. The project is aimed at the study of legal translation in Macao. Legal translation not only refers to the conversion of a legal idea from one language to another but also the transformation of culture. No matter what type of translation, it should adopt the translation method of functional equivalence rather than word-to-word translation and pay attention to heterogeneous isomorphism in different cultures. This project is an applied research combining theory with practice.
5. “Research on Disaster Prevention, Protection and Management in Historical and Cultural Districts in Macao” by researcher Zhou Long, who obtained a Ph.D. in Philosophy (Planning, Design and Construction) at the University of Oklahoma and now works as an assistant professor in the School of Innovation and Design at the City University of Macau. The project focuses on the issues related to disaster prevention, protection and management in Macao’s historical and cultural districts, explores the various problems threatening Macao’s world cultural heritage in terms of natural disasters, Macao’s special geographical location and climatic conditions, and studies Macao’s historical districts from the spatial texture changes to existing conservation strategies and natural disasters influence.
For details about the Academic Research Grant Regulations and the list of grantees, please visit IC’s website at www.icm.gov.mo. For enquiries, please contact IC through tel. no. 2836 6866 during office hours or email to bolsa.depub@icm.gov.mo.