The Politics of Locality: Making a Nation of Communities in Taiwan

by Lu,Hsin-Yi

• ISBN13: 9780415934336
• ISBN10: 0415934338
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-08-30
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

During the mid-1990s, Taiwan witnessed a remarkable proliferation of historical writings and cultural movements pertaining to 'the local'. 'Place (difang)' and 'community (shequ)' became two ubiquitous terms in the lexicon of being Taiwanese. This book is a critical examination of the socio-historical condition in which the discourse of local diversity emerged and gradually permeated Taiwan's public culture. Interweaving ethnographic sensibility and theoretical insights across disciplines, including anthropology, cultural studies and cultural geography the study elucidates the complex relationships between localism, nationalism and globalism. Not only is it a rare type of ethnography in Taiwan studies, this book also enriches our understanding of the increasingly significant field of East Asia (post)modernity.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	ix
Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	xi
Mapping the Local in a Global Terrain	15	(18)
The Emergence of Local Culture	33	(26)
Localizing the National Past: Historic Preservation in Tanshui	59	(24)
Localizing the National Future: Place-Making Movement in Ilan	83	(32)
Searching for an Authentic Community	115	(20)
Enactment of a Nationscape: Travelling the Local Differences	135	(28)
Afterword	163	(6)
Bibliography	169	(10)
Index	179