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Although the majority of people have a limited personal experience of the state, the abstract concept of ‘nation’ can only be taught but also elevated into an object of passionate fervour, harnessed to induce patriotic action. This nationalist fervour is typically fostered through education, daily school routines, and exposure to national symbolism, with a particular emphasis on national identity.
The impact of mass education is extremely significant because it not only produces knowledge and reproduces values but also ‘creates’ individuals who see no viable alternative to the pre-existing condition (Apple 1979: 6). In the case of post-war Taiwan, the state only imposed compulsory mass education but also tightened its ideological grip during the formative years of childhood by extending the duration of compulsory education (from six to nine years in 1968) and standardizing textbooks. The ideological impact of education was particularly effective during the early post-war decades when resources were scarce and access to alternative information was almost impossible.
This lecture will investigate what kinds of geographical ‘knowledge’ and political ideology were systematically taught in school, and consider how the state’s involvement in education results in the China-centric identity among students. Moreover, the lecture will explore the state’s intervention in shaping students’ ideas of ‘homeland’ and ‘country.’
About the lecturer:
Dr. Bi-yu Chang is Deputy Director of the Centre of Taiwan Studies, SOAS, University of London. The central concern of her research has always been the politics of culture. It has led her to examine the complex interplay between knowledge and power, explore the relationship between culture, place, and identity, and investigate the thorny issues of recent decades, such as nation-building, independence, and cultural identity crisis in Taiwan. In the past few years, she has been focused on two dimensions of state involvement in identity construction, one is on Taiwan’s nation-branding project through post-war tourism, and the other on nation building via education reform. She has also extended her research interests into the issue of indigenous education.