Global Encounters: Cross-cultural Representations of Taiwan

Description

Global Encounters: Cross-cultural Representations of Taiwan

　　Taiwan’s status as an island surrounded by powerful nation states has forced upon it a history of permeable borders and an ever fluctuating cultural subjectivity.  Originally inhabited by Austronesian tribal peoples, the island has over the centuries fallen under the political, economic, and cultural influences of the Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, and Chinese occupiers. Globalization has further transformed and complicated Taiwan’s vistas of political reforms, cultural productions, and ethnic re-composition. Such gradual but radical transformation has, in countless ways, encouraged the nation-state identity and identification to vacillate between insularism and globalization. This collection is an example of the multitude of voices that speak for Taiwan. These selected essays, contributed by scholars from different countries (Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, UK, and USA), engage with the debates on Taiwan’s identity and nationhood while also attempting to step beyond the nationalistic frame. Whereas the openness to new ideas may alter our perspectives, this collection reminds us to embrace external influences without forgetting to celebrate our unbroken, unique historical legacy.

Acknowledgements
Introduction

The Voyage of the Sandeq Explorer: A Taiwanese Adventure in the Austronesian World　by Terence Russell

Tribal Gothic: Supernatural Images of Resurrection and Insurrection in Taiwanese Aboriginal and New Zealand Maori Writing　by  Timothy Fox

Where Is Her(e): M?tissage as Indigenous Intervention in Taiwanese Liglav A-Wu’s Who Will Wear the Beautiful Garments I Weave? and Canadian Lee Maracle’s I Am Woman: A Native Perspective on Sociology and Feminism　by  Bennett Yu-hsiang Fu

Risky Fiction: Betrayal and Romance in The Jing Affair　by Chih-ming Wang

Heart of Madness: Identity Crisis and Cultural Conflicts in the Colonial World
by Paoi Hwang

Alienation, Marginality, and the Re-Imagination of Cultural Identity: The Impact of Colonialism and Shi Shuqing’s Defamiliarization of Taiwan and Hong Kong　by Isaac Yue

Transcending Intellectual Boundaries: The Lyrical Phenomena of Fang Wenshan　by Lim Lee Ching

The Vanishing Self: A Suggestion　by John Wu, Jr.

Elliptical Taiwan or On Beauty　by Jeremy Fernando

Notes on Contributors
Index