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2-28
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ANTHROPOLOGY 469A/JSIS 484F

TAIWAN: CULTURE, SOCIETY, HISTORY

TOPICS AND READINGS FOR FRIDAY, JANUARY 15

TOPICS
Today we will look at the original inhabitants of Taiwan and their place in deep history as well as in history since they have been in intensive contact with colonizing regimes. Although indigenous or aboriginal peoples are only about 1.5% of Taiwan's population, they occupy a large proportion of its territory, and they have a place in the construction of Taiwan's nationhood that is partly imposed upon them, but increasingly of their own making. We will return to the position of indigenous Taiwanese later in the course; for now we look at the outline of their history. In order to do so, we will have, in addition to discussion, two brief presentations:
  • A presentation, by the instructor or by a guest, on the current situation of Taiwan's indigenous peoples
  • A presentation by the instructor on indigenous artists and their work; you may want to look at this paper that goes along with the presentation: Aesthetics and Politics in Taiwan's Aboriginal Contemporary Arts by Stevan Harrell and Lin Yu-shih.
READINGS
ASSIGNMENT

By 8:00 a.m on Friday, January 15, please post 200-400 words on question of why many Han Taiwanese are now eager to claim indigenous Taiwanese origins, and how you think indigenous people might feel about this tendency. This post may be in either English or Chinese.