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The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of Arts and Architecture FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHS, HISTORY, AND ART EDUCATION: A WEB OF TAIWANESE VISUAL CULTURAL SIGNS A Thesis in Art Education by Chiu-Jhin Chen © 2007 Chiu-Jhin Chen Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2007 ii The thesis of Chiu-Jhin Chen was reviewed and approved* by the following: Yvonne Gaudelius Professor of Art Education & Women’s Studies Assistant Vice President and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education Thesis Adviser Chair of Committee David Post Professor of Education Mary Ann Stankiewicz Professor of Art Education Christine Thompson Professor of Art Education In Charge of Graduate Program in Art Education Brent Wilson Professor Emeritus of Art Education *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School. iii ABSTRACT In this study, I propose a model for learning Taiwanese visual culture through tracing the roots of Taiwanese visual culture and the layers of Taiwanese cultural identity. Understanding the ways in which the Taiwanese construct their contemporary identities and the ways a study of their signs could contribute to the Taiwanese art education curriculum are the main goals of this study. Adopting the qualitative cultural study method, this study addressed three research questions: (1) What are the roots of Taiwanese visual culture? (2) What does one specific group of middle-class family photographs from the 1920s-1940s contribute to our understanding of Taiwanese culture and identity? and (3) What might the in-depth, multifaceted interpretation of these special forms of visual culture contribute to the content of the elementary and junior high school Arts and Humanities curriculum? I searched for interview participants who had access to plenty of family photographs taken between 1920 and 1940, who had been in school during the Japanese colonial period, and who were willing to be interviewed about their family history. The ultimate goal of this study is twofold: the first investigation examines the heritage of Taiwanese visual culture through a literature review, photographic interpretation, and ethnographic interviews; the second investigation explores the content of the Taiwanese elementary and junior high school Arts and Humanities curriculum in order to build Taiwanese visual cultural identity. My research produced three main results. First, photography functioned as a window or mirror for society and enabled me to see Taiwanese visual cultural roots and iv cultural diversity. Second, there existed the phenomena of different depths of assimilation. In the Japanese colonial period (1895-1945) the Taiwanese were affected directly by the Japanese for about three generations. The Taiwanese were spontaneously assimilated into Japanese civilization through fashion, modern schooling, industry, medicine, hygiene, and the improvement of material life, but as far as ethnic assimilation, the spiritual domain, they were still hesitant. Third, the reflection of the cultural combination and conflicts was among the Taiwanese, the Japanese, the Chinese, and the West. The Taiwanese culture is a hybrid culture, reflecting multiple societies, and creating a new style of visual culture that is not the traditional Chinese, Japanese, nor Western culture. The Taiwanese might not be able—or want—to pursue orthodox cultural status. They accepted continual change. The Taiwanese built their own unique visual cultural identity. Family portrait photographs reveal phenomena that exist between private and public lives—phenomena existing in the space between local and national culture. When we dig more deeply, we find more signs within the visual cultural web. The photographs reveal how a personal identity is built—how individuals come to know their culture and be understood with who they are. School teachers can design their curricula through both global and local domains by using photographic interpretation. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………..........viii LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………………...x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………...………………….……...….xi Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION…………………………..……………...…………………..1 Research Motivation……………………………………..…………………………....1 Statement of Problem…………………………………………………………………4 Research Questions……………………..……………………………………………..7 Research Significance…………………………………………………………………8 Personal Background…………………………………………………………….10 Definition of Key Terms…………..…………………………………………………11 Identity…………………………………………………..…………………….....11 Aborigines in Taiwan……………………………..……………………………...13 Taiwanese……………………………………………………………………….15 Chinese…………………………………………….…………………………….17 Limitations of the Study……………………………………..……………………….18 Research Structure……………………………………………….…………….…….20 Chapter 2 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE……….…..……………………..………..23 The Interpretation of Photographic Signs..…………….………..…………………...24 Background………………………………………………..……………………..24 Photographic Interpretations…………………………..…………………………28 Photographic Meanings and Functions………………………..…………………31 Taiwanese Cultural Identities………………………………..………………………44 Background………………………………………..……………………………..45 Taiwanese Historical Identities…………………..………………………………46 Characteristics and Problems……………………..……………………………...51 Democratic and Multicultural Society………………..………………………….56 Indigenization…………………………………………………..………………..58 The Ambiguous Situation………………………………………….…………….60 Japanese Colonial Education in Taiwan……………….…………………………….61 Background……………………………………………..………………………..62 Japanese Government’s Expansion…………………..…………………………..63 Education in Taiwan……………………………………….…………………….64 The Taiwanese Attitude…………………………….……………………………83 Art Education Transition in Taiwan……………………….………………………...84 vi Background..…………………………………………..……………………….84 Arts and Humanities…………………………………..…………………………86 The Conceptual Roots of Art Education…………..………..……………………91 Visual Culture and Arts and Humanities Curriculum………………..…………..95 Chapter 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY….………………………………..………...98 Looking for Participants……..…………………………………….………………...99 Interviews…………………………………………………………..………………102 The Protocol Questions…………………………………………………………103 My Role in this Study………………………..…………………………………104 Materials Contributing to the Study…………………….……..……………………106 Data Coding and Analysis……………………………….…………………………107 Data Managing………………………………..……………………..…………108 Coding Process and Analysis……………………………………..…………….109 Data Verification and Validation………..……………………….……………..114 Chapter 4 WRITING THE STORIES OF THE SHEN FAMILY…….………..………116 Selecting Research Participants…………………………..…………...……………116 The Interview Process…………..………………………..…………………………118 The Shen Family…………………………………………………………..………..121 Shens’ Family Background……………………………………………..………122 Jo Shen’s Brief Biography and Characteristics……………………….………..126 Li Shen’s Brief Biography and Characteristics…………………….…………..129 The Shens’ Life Stories…………………………………………………..…………131 Visual Signs and Cultural Identities………………………………..…………..131 Foot-binding, Economic Status, and Social Class………………….…………..146 Discussion of the Conflicts…………………………………..…………………154 Summary………………………………………………………………………159 Chapter 5 WRITING THE STORIES OF THE CHANG FAMILY……..….…………161 Selecting Research Participants………..………………………..………………….161 The Interview Process………………....………………………….………………...162 The Chang Family………………………………………………..…………………164 Henry Chang’s Brief Biography……………………………..…………………164 Henry Chang’s Family Background………………………….………………...166 Henry Chang’s Characteristics……………………………….………………...169 The Changs’ Life Stories………………………………………….………………..169 Jan-Zi’s Early Years……………………………………………….…………...170 Wedding Dresses and Cultural Identities…………………………..…………...186 Henry Chang’s Childhood………………………………………….…………..196 Economic Status Reflected in Visual Signs………………………..…………..211 Summary..........……………………………………………………………….223 vii Chapter 6 EDUCATION IN TAIWANESE COLONIAL SOCIETY…….………….225 Education and Economic Status………………………………………...…………..225 Economic Status Was an Educational Condition……………………………….225 Education Improving Economic Status…………………………….…………..228 Education and Cultural Diversity…..…………………………………...…………..230 Impact of Education on Dress Styles………………………………..………….231 Education Shaping Cultural Assimilation…………………………..………...233 Education and Class Difference…………………………………………..………...236 Gender Difference……………………………………………………..………..236 Ethnic Difference……………………………………………………..………...238 Summary……………………………………………………………………………240 Chapter 7 RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCOVERY…….………………..……….241 Research Results……………………………………..……………………..………241 Windows and Mirrors of the Society…………………………………..……….241 The Assimilated Domains…………………………………………….………246 The Cultural Conflicts…..………………………………………………..……..251 Discovery from the Research Process………………………………………..……..254 Predicament of Language Translation…………………………………….……254 Narrative limitation………………………………………………………..……255 Chapter 8 CONCLUSION: REFLECTIONS ON ART EDUCATION..………...…….257 Boundaries of Arts and Humanities Curriculum……………………….………..…258 Various Ways in Teaching Family Photography…...………………………………259 References………………...………………………………………………………..…...264 Appendix A IRB Consent Form…………………………………………………….….274 Appendix B Face-to-face Interviews ………………………………………………..…278 Appendix C Documents ……………………………………………………………..…279 Appendix D Artifacts …………………………………………………………………..280 Appendix E Sample of Interview Transcripts……………………………………….…281 Appendix F My Teaching Syllabus…………………………………………...………289 Appendix G Time Line of Taiwanese History, Art, and Education……….…………...293 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1-1: