Type of Credit: Partially Required
Credit(s)
Number of Students
*** Please note: This course is conducted in English. All the lectures, discussions, and presentations will be delivered in English.
This course aims to guide students in exploring how contemporary Taiwan cinema reflects and shapes the multifaceted aspects of Taiwanese culture and society. By analyzing films from various periods and styles since the 1980s, we will investigate how these visual works depict Taiwan’s cultural identity, social changes, and historical context. The course content will cover the themes including social issues, development and social changes, family structure and urban cultures, gender and LGBTQ rights, social criticism and activism in contemporary Taiwan cinema, as well as the interaction between film and contemporary society. Students will learn how to interpret the cultural and social meanings within films and acquire fundamental methods of visual analysis. Through viewing the films from contemporary Taiwan cinema, in-depth discussions, and analytical exercises, students will develop a comprehensive understanding of Taiwan’s cultural and social dynamics and enhance their critical thinking and aesthetic comprehension in cinematic art.
能力項目說明
1. Analyze the films from Taiwan since the 1980s and to understand how they reflect Taiwan's cultural and social changes
2. Interpret the cultural and social meanings within contemporary Taiwan cinema
3. Evaluate how Taiwan cinema interacts with and influences society
4. Use fundamental methods of visual analysis for examining film content and stylistic elements
5. Enhance critical thinking and understanding of contemporary Taiwanese cinema, culture, and society
| 教學週次Course Week | 彈性補充教學週次Flexible Supplemental Instruction Week | 彈性補充教學類別Flexible Supplemental Instruction Type |
|---|---|---|
|
Week |
Topic |
Content and Reading Assignment |
Teaching Activities and Homework |
Student workload expectation |
|
|
In-class Hours |
Outside-of-class Hours |
||||
|
1 |
Introduction | Introduction to the Course | Lecture and Discussion |
3 |
5 |
|
2 |
Holiday |
National Holiday |
No Class |
|
|
|
3 |
Development and Social Changes I | Hou Hsiao-hsien: The Boys from Fengkuei (1983) | Lecture and Discussion |
3 |
5 |
|
4 |
Development and Social Changes II |
Introduction to Hou Hsiao-hsien Student Small Group Weekly Presentation 1. 2 |
Lecture, Discussion and Presentation |
3 |
5 |
|
5 |
Women Narratives and Female Agency I | Edward Yang: That Day, on the Beach (1983) | Lecture and Discussion |
3 |
5 |
|
6 |
Women Narratives and Female Agency II |
Introduction to Edward Yang Student Small Group Weekly Presentation 3. 4 |
Lecture, Discussion and Presentation |
3 |
5 |
|
7 |
Holiday |
National Holiday |
No Class |
||
|
8 |
Family Structure and Contemporary Urban Culture I | Ang Lee: Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) | Lecture and Discussion |
3 |
5 |
|
9 |
Family Structure and Contemporary Urban Culture II |
Introduction to Ang Lee Student Small Group Weekly Presentation 5. 6 |
Lecture, Discussion and Presentation |
3 |
5 |
|
10 |
Mid-term Presentation | Final Project Proposal | Presentation |
3 |
5 |
|
11 |
Gender and LGBTQ rights I | Chih-yen Yee: Blue Gate Crossing (2002) | Lecture and Discussion |
3 |
5 |
|
12 |
Gender and LGBTQ rights II |
Introduction to LGBTQ-related films in Taiwan cinema Student Small Group Weekly Presentation 7. 8 |
Lecture, Discussion and Presentation |
3 |
5 |
|
13 |
Social Criticism and Activism I | Lekal Sumi and Cheng Yu-Chieh: Wawa No Cidal (2015) | Lecture and Discussion |
3 |
5 |
|
14 |
Social Criticism and Activism II |
Introduction to activism-related films in Taiwan cinema Student Small Group Weekly Presentation 9. 10 |
Lecture, Discussion and Presentation |
3 |
5 |
|
15 |
Final Project Week I | Final Project Presentations I | Presentation |
3 |
5 |
|
16 |
Final Project Week II | Final Project Presentations II | Presentation |
3 |
5 |
|
17 |
Flexible Supplemental Instruction Week I |
Capstone self-learning |
Self-learning Session |
3 |
5 |
|
18 |
Flexible Supplemental Instruction Week II |
Capstone self-learning |
Self-learning Session |
3 |
5 |
1. Class Participation and Discussion (including Attendance): 30%
2. Student Small Group Weekly Presentation: 30%
3. Final Group Project: 40%
1. Hong, Guo-juin. Taiwan Cinema: A Contested Nation on Screen. Palgrave MacMillan, 2011.
2. Darrell William Davis and Ru-shou Robert Chen (eds). Cinema Taiwan: Politics, Popularity and State of the Arts. Routledge, 2007.
3. Chris Berry and Feii Lu (eds). Island on the Edge: Taiwan New Cinema and After. Hong Kong University Press, 2005.
4. Lim, Song Hwee. Taiwan Cinema as Soft Power: Authorship, Transnationality, Historiography. Oxford University Press, 2022.
5. Wilson, Flannery. New Taiwanese Cinema in Focus: Moving Within and Beyond the Frame. Edinburgh University Press, 2015.
6. Chiu, Kuei-fen, Ming-yeh Rawnsley, and Gary Rawnsley (eds). Taiwan Cinema: International Reception and Social Change. Routledge, 2017.
7. Emilie Yueh-yu Yeh, Darrell William Davis, and Wenchi Lin (eds). Thirty-two New Takes on Taiwan Cinema. University of Michigan Press, 2022.
8. Bi-yu Chang and Pei-yin Lin (eds). Positioning Taiwan in a Global Context: Being and Becoming. Routledge, 2019.
9. Paul G. Pickowicz and Yingjin Zhang (eds). Locating Taiwan Cinema in the Twenty-First Century. Cambria, 2020.
10. Christopher Brown. Mapping Taiwanese Cinema 2008-20: Environments, Poetics, Practice. Edinburgh University Press, 2024.