~ A DIDACTIC FORUM FOR XXI CENTURY EXPLORERS ~

CURRENT NEW LOCATION: National Taiwan University

WHAT IS LYCEUM GNOSIS???

Lyceum Gnosis means School of Knowledge in Greek. The Father of Western Philosophy Aristotle had once founded his own Socratic school, commonly known as The Lyceum, which lasted for generations. Today, Lyceum Gnosis in Taipei is the brainchild of Denis Huang, a 30 year old political scientist-cum-philosopher who began his teaching career in Taiwan after the infamous September 11th Twin Towers incident.

At Lyceum Gnosis, Denis teaches a vast array of courses in English, ranging from Western Philosophy to Film Writing. Every class had been inspired by very unusual aspects of his background.

Denis was raised in North America, the Caribbean and Europe by his Taiwanese parents who had left Formosa in search of a better learning environment for their only child. Due to Taiwan's political instability and rigid pedagogical practices, Denis' parents opted to raise him in the West, in hopes of preparing him for a political career upon returning to a newly-democratized Taiwan.

Since Denis was educated in English and Spanish, he laments his inability to read and write in Mandarin Chinese. At times it has been difficult to adapt to a society that expects him to fully relate to the local culture without cutting him any slack for being so Western-minded. Yet Denis sees his peculiar condition as an asset--he can better synthesize all cultures into a harmonious whole. In fact, one must understand the cultural cleavages that divide the world in order to ameliorate our deplorable human condition.

As a child, Denis' father taught him literature and Western languages (even French) day and night. But the young lad had an even greater passion for fiction writing. Writing stories secretly against his father's wishes, Denis was vindicated at the age of 12 as he won First Prize in Madrid's Fiction Writing Contest for Young Adults (ages 12-18). Later on, in high school he not only continued to be a prolific writer, but was the editor-in-chief of the English and the Foreign Language Literary magazines. During his university studies, he participated in many writers' workshops, including the best ones in America at the University of Iowa.

In line with his rebellious nature, Denis refused to accept his father's atheistic teachings. He attended an ultra-conservative religious university for part of his college education. There he studied theology meticulously, learning to put the modern secular world in the context of its Judeo-Christian origins. Today, Denis values the great moral ethical values inherent in all religions, while steering clear of self-righteous and hypocritical attitudes.

In the end, Denis got both his bachelor's & master's degrees in Political Science. His graduate specialization at the University of Toronto was in liberal democratic models and theories. His Ph.D. work in New York focused on social movements, interest groups and electoral studies. He was an adjunct faculty member at the City University of New York, teaching a course called the Politics of Sexuality.

Although Denis began to fall in love with the art of independent film-making a decade ago, it was during his stay in New York that he made up his mind to devote the rest of his life to movie-making. He therefore stopped pursuing job options in university settings, and decided to start his own tutoring school to share his ideas with others while preparing for a concurrent film-directing career. The greatest advantage of working for himself, is his newly-discovered flexibility in lifestyle. Denis hopes that one day, he can count myriad students among his audience at the first screening of his celluloid debut in the movie festival circuits.

Warm greetings from the new National Taiwan University location in Taipei!

If you have not yet read the introduction in the left-hand column, I urge you to do so first before reading further. That will help you better understand why I teach these classes!

As you may already know from word-of-mouth or some internet bulletins, I offer weekly private tutoring classes in a very cozy apartment near Taiwan National University (3 minutes' walk from the Taipower MRT station). My classes are very unique, and I am sure that you can not find other similar ones in Taiwan. I would strongly recommend that you come try (a) class(es) for a day. The first class you take in each course is free of charge, so you can come here without any obligations.

Unfortunately, most Taiwanese students are too shy and polite, and are afraid of new environments... I want to let you know that I am a truly easy going & friendly teacher, and that all my students are super nice. It would be a real pity if you do not come here to try a class for free. Most "bushibans" in Taiwan focus on the conversation fluency aspect of learning English. Those cram schools often help timid / insecure students open up and have more courage to speak to foreigners. Having taught previously in two of the largest English bushibans in Taiwan, ELSI (KOJIEN) and GLOBAL VILLAGE, I have a very good understanding of what is offered to students there.

Those bushibans consistently fail to address three fundamental aspects of language learning: pronunciation, advanced vocabulary & critical thinking in English. My classes focus on these weaknesses. I try to perfect the students' pronunciation, grammar and word choices constantly; so do not be surprised or nervous if you hear me correcting anyone when he or she speaks in class. I believe that only lazy and irresponsible teachers would let their students make the same mistakes repeatedly.

But the most important offer I have for the students who come to me is the guarantee that all the courses are taught at a college level (we read very educated texts). The class reading materials are not ESL-oriented (English as a second language); they are readings for native speaking adults. The purpose is to get you (the non-native speaker) to think in English, and to express your mature ideas successfully while avoiding the common pitfall of translating from your native language.

I now encourage you to click on ALL the links above this column and find out more about each course offered, as well as the important contact information, tuition policy and the additional information on my background.

If there is anything else you would like to know, please feel free to ask.

I hope that you are motivated to come try a class first. Remember, if you do not think the class is right for you, you do not have to return!!!

By the way, could you do me a favor by voting on the learning poll / survey at the bottom of this page? And if you have any suggestions for the classes or for this website, please leave me your comments in the guestbook. Thanks!

SHALOM!!! (Peace!!!)
DENIS HUANG (3/16/2005)