The Afterlife of Taiwan's Xiangtu Literature

Speaker: Chen Li-Ping

This session will be held using Microsoft Teams. Click the LINK to join.

Abstract

This talk revisits the development of nativist literature in Taiwan from the 1930s to the postcolonial era. I begin with an overview of the term xiangtu, particularly in relation to colonial resistance, local consciousness, and self-empowerment. The emphasis on locality, however, reinforces the settler colonial structure and territorial attachments that marginalize Taiwan’s indigenous communities and archipelagic network. With a close examination of the overlooked allusion to African cultural nationalism and the understudied contribution of overseas intellectuals in the xiangtu discourse, I point out the ultimate task of decolonization is to move beyond nativism in order to foster inter-community solidarity where all forms of hegemonic forces and coercive measures can be dismantled.

Speaker's Bio

Chen Li-Ping is Postdoctoral Scholar and Teaching Fellow in the East Asian Studies Center at the University of Southern California. Her research interests include literary translingualism, diaspora, and nativism in inter-Asian and transpacific contexts. Li-Ping is also a podcast host for the East Asian Studies New Books Network.

Organiser: Centre of Taiwan Studies

Contact email: df2@soas.ac.uk