Online Talk: “The Afterlife of Taiwan’s Xiangtu Literature”

The Centre of Taiwan Studies at SOAS London invites to this online talk on “the afterlife of Taiwan’s Xiangtu Literature” with Chen Li-Ping as a speaker.

The talk revisits the development of nativist literature in Taiwan from the 1930s to the postcolonial era. Chen Li-Ping begins 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, she points to 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.

Find more information on the event and find the registration link here.