Whose History and by Whom: an Analysis of the History of Taiwan In
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WHOSE HISTORY AND BY WHOM: AN ANALYSIS OF THE HISTORY OF TAIWAN IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE PUBLISHED IN THE POSTWAR ERA by LIN-MIAO LU (Under the Direction of Joel Taxel) ABSTRACT Guided by the tenet of sociology of school knowledge, this study examines 38 Taiwanese children’s trade books that share an overarching theme of the history of Taiwan published after World War II to uncover whether the seemingly innocent texts for children convey particular messages, perspectives, and ideologies selected, preserved, and perpetuated by particular groups of people at specific historical time periods. By adopting the concept of selective tradition and theories of ideology and hegemony along with the analytic strategies of constant comparative analysis and iconography, the written texts and visual images of the children’s literature are relationally analyzed to determine what aspects of the history and whose ideologies and perspectives were selected (or neglected) and distributed in the literary format. Central to this analysis is the investigation and analysis of the interrelations between literary content and the issue of power. Closely related to the discussion of ideological peculiarities, historians’ research on the development of Taiwanese historiography also is considered in order to examine and analyze whether the literary products fall into two paradigms: the Chinese-centric paradigm (Chinese-centricism) and the Taiwanese-centric paradigm (Taiwanese-centricism). Analysis suggests a power-and-knowledge nexus that reflects contemporary ruling groups’ control in the domain of children’s narratives in which subordinate groups’ perspectives are minimalized, whereas powerful groups’ assumptions and beliefs prevail and are perpetuated as legitimized knowledge in society. INDEX WORDS: History of Taiwan, Children’s literature, Hegemony, Ideology, Selective tradition, Relational analysis, Sociology of school knowledge, Power relations WHOSE HISTORY AND BY WHOM: AN ANALYSIS OF THE HISTORY OF TAIWAN IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE PUBLISHED IN THE POSTWAR ERA by LIN-MIAO LU A.E., Chienkuo Technology University, Taiwan, 1995 B.A., Eternal-Life Christ College, Taiwan, 2004 M.A., The Ohio State University, 2005 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2012 © 2012 LIN-MIAO LU All Rights Reserved WHOSE HISTORY AND BY WHOM: AN ANALYSIS OF THE HISTORY OF TAIWAN IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE PUBLISHED IN THE POSTWAR ERA by LIN-MIAO LU Major Professor: Joel Taxel Committee: James Marshall Jennifer M. Graff Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia December 2012 iv DEDICATION This study is dedicated to the memories of the forerunners who, while making a living in their ancestral homes too harsh and hopeless, sailed across the treacherous oceans and migrated to Formosa (Taiwan) to pursue their dreams and cultivate the place they called home. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Being the ninth generation of the Lu family in Taiwan, my ancestors’ history of migrating, of being forced to abandon their ancestral home located in Fukien Province of China to look for a better fortune in Formosa in 1690 contributed to the initial motive for conducting this research aimed at studying how the history of Taiwan was taught in the literature for children. As I recall my journey in making this dream come true, I realize that I have been very fortunate to have been able to take a variety of enlightening graduate courses at the University of Georgia and receive support and encouragement from many people. In terms of literacy pedagogy, Dr. Bob Fecho’s Culture, Literacy, and Classroom course provided the fundamental and crucial notion of critical pedagogy that broadened my vision of how a classroom, particularly a multicultural classroom, can be and should be successful. Dr. JoBeth Allen’s Writing Pedagogy course helped me see writing as an activity involving reading, creativity, observation, and reflection. Dr. James Marshall’s Guiding the Reading of Young Adults vivified the normally rigid course called Reading by adopting popular graphic novels and technology and by implementing provocative classroom activities to motivate students and enrich their reading experiences. In addition, my deepest appreciation goes to my major professor, Dr. Joel Taxel, whose children’s literature courses nurtured my specialty and cultivated in me a critical eye that values authenticity, equality, and multiplicity. While working on this project was sometimes lonely and stressful, Dr. Taxel’s encouragement and patience were always a great and soothing remedy that in time eased my mind and pushed me forward. Without his guidance and assistance, I would vi never have been able to accomplish this study. Thank you, Dr. Taxel, for your faith in me and for everything you have done to bring this meaningful project to completion. I also own much gratitude to my doctoral committee members, Dr. James Marshall and Dr. Jennifer Graff. Dr. Marshall’s insightful suggestions on reader response theories have been invaluable. Along with Dr. Melissa Freeman’s qualitative research courses, Dr. Graff’s Methodologies in Reading Education course provided a strong foundation for understanding theories and methodologies related to educational research. Her Immigrants in Children’s Literature course helped me grasp the important theory of critical multiculturalism, which strengthened my analysis of the research data related to the multiethnic society of Taiwan. Additionally, both Dr. Marshall and Dr. Graff were thorough in their reading of my work and my dissertation, and their comments and suggestions were always very helpful and encouraged me to think deeper and further. Finally, my deepest debt is to my family. My beloved grandmother’s caring attitude and affectionate love toward me had always been a most precious gift that comforted me during the lonely journey of pursuing my master’s and Ph.D. degrees in the US. Although she is no longer here, her persevering spirit helped me grow stronger and tougher and will always live on in my life. I am also indebted to my parents for their love, generosity, and willingness to support me and provide for me the strongest shoulder and that sweetest and warmest place called home. My mom’s “take-it-easy” attitude has also been a most effective antidote that eased my exhaustion and anxiousness, and my father’s “keep-pushing-forward” and “I-am-here-to-back-you” manner has given me courage to challenge myself and the unknown future. Last, I wish to thank my sister, Penny, my brothers, Dravy and Frank, and their spouses and children for their love, support, and timely assistance that goes beyond words, and for taking care of the family while I was away. I am forever grateful to have you all as family. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................................x LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1 Introduction to the Study .........................................................................................1 Background of the Problem .....................................................................................4 Statement of the Problem: Literature as Ideological Constructs ...........................12 Research Questions ................................................................................................15 Significance of the Study .......................................................................................16 2 IDEOLOGICAL TRANSITIONS: THE CHANGING HISTORY AND HISTORIOGRAPHY OF TAIWAN ...........................................................................19 Introduction ............................................................................................................19 The Early Days of Taiwan .....................................................................................20 Before World War II ..............................................................................................21 After World War II ................................................................................................23 Chiang Kai-shek’s KMT Era (1949–1975) ............................................................27 Chiang Ching-kuo’s KMT Era (1978–1988) .........................................................32 Lee Teng-hui’s KMT Era (1988–2000) .................................................................36 viii Chen Shui-bian’s DPP Era (2000–2008) ...............................................................40 Taiwanese Historiography .....................................................................................42 3 CRITICAL AND EMPIRICAL UNCOVERING: SOCIOLOGY OF SCHOOL KNOWLEDGE ............................................................................................................47 Epistemological and Theoretical Underpinnings ...................................................47 The Seeming Contradiction between Literary Criticism and the Issue of Human Agency: The Reader and the Text .........................................................................65