Officially Created Knowledge: A Study of the History of Taiwan in Taiwanese Children’s Literature

• In Event: Poster Session 1
  In Poster Session: Examining Authenticity in International Literature for Children and Adolescents

Abstract

This presentation examines both linguistic and visual representations of the history of Taiwan presented in nine Taiwanese informational children’s books that were published during the martial law era (1949-1987) to uncover ideological assumptions and power relations. Apple’s (1990) relational analysis is adopted as a methodology, and constant comparative analysis and iconography are adopted as analytic methods to analyze both the inner examination of literary meanings and the outer relations of socioeconomic and political forces. The study concluded that the ruling party (the Kuomintang) utilized the literature as one of the avenues to indoctrinate Chinese identity and Nationalist ideologies (e.g. one China ideology). What are marginalized are the voices and the authentic representations of the diverse groups of people.

Author

• Lin-Miao Lu, University of Georgia