In her 2020 book on Japanese colonialism and translators, Wang Huei-chen examines bilingual intellectuals born during the period of Japanese Rule, highlighting their ability to ‘cross languages and borders’ (跨語越境) through both their lives and writings. Building on Wang’s concept of linguistic and territorial crossing, this workshop delves into the meanings and expressions of connection within contemporary Taiwanese literary and visual culture. It investigates how genre and medium serve as bridges across seemingly insurmountable temporal and linguistic divides, how literature and cinema facilitate convergence between humans and the natural world, and how retrospective, historically-grounded texts can uncover narratives obscured by historical archives. In doing so, the workshop aims to situate established ideas of cultural connectivity—such as intertextuality—within new contexts while also exploring emerging forms of cultural connection in contemporary Taiwan.

Workshop Programme

10.10: Welcome and Introductory Remarks
10.15-11.15: Professor Chris Berry, KCL: ‘Taiwanese-Language Cinema as Cold War Industry and Culture: Compliance without Commitment’
11.15-11.45: Coffee
11.45-13.15: Panel 1
Billy Beswick, University of Oxford: ‘Interference Patterns: Nation, Indigeneity, and Kinship in Post-martial Law Taiwan’
Dr Ti-han Chang, University of Central Lancashire: ‘Linking the New AI (Artificial Indigeneity) from Taiwan to the World: On Hsu Chen-fu’s Taming the Blue Sheep’
13.15-14.45: Lunch
14.45-15.45: Professor Chia-Ling Yang, University of Edinburgh: ‘A Blast of Lyricism’
15.45-16.15: Coffee
16.15-17.45: Panel 2
Dr Aoife Cantrill, University of Oxford: ‘In The Glitch: Looking at Translation Through Two Pieces of Taiwanese Contemporary Art’
Dr Wen-chi Li, University of Oxford: ‘The Difficulty of Writing: Queer Temporality, Affect, and Historicity in Taiwanese Poetry’

Funded by the International Taiwan Studies Center at National Taiwan Normal University