Nationalizing ethnicity: museums and the representation of cultural difference in Taiwan and China

本研究透过分析原住民族群在博物馆中的表现，探讨台湾博物馆中文化差异的协商。本研究是在前人对中国博物馆的研究基础上的延伸，为比较中国与台湾的视角提供了框架。博物馆作为集体身份的代表和归属感概念的构建的特权场所，很少有其他机构能够捕捉到当代多元文化社会中影响文化身份的转变。在台湾，这样的过程异常复杂。台湾原住民的物质文化，不仅在台湾的博物馆中占有重要地位，在上海博物馆和帕劳的国家博物馆中也占有重要地位。为什麽台湾原住民在台湾各大博物馆中占有重要地位？原住民物质文化的意义如何在博物馆中被挪用、协商与转换？关于博物馆展示文化差异在地方、国家和地区身份形成中的作用，这些表现模式告诉了我们什么？这些问题在考虑到台湾原住民和他们的物质文化是至少三个同时发生的过程的核心时变得更加突出：i）原住民对政治承认和自我赋权的要求; ii）原住民身份的“国家化”是原住民融入台湾民族的主体叙事的结果; iii）通过对原住民的南岛起源的论述，台湾在太平洋的战略定位，也服务于台湾从中国大陆文化独立的主张。在这样的背景下，土著物质文化在博物馆中的表现与土著、民族和地区身份的形成密不可分，本研究旨在为理解与土著群体的博物馆表现相关的社会和政治利益提供原创和及时的贡献。本研究将以台湾为例，透过博物馆的棱镜，探讨原住民族群与国家的关系，并以田野调查所得的资料为分析基础，探讨：-透过博物馆在国家与原住民之间的权力谈判中的角色，帮助了解博物馆在后殖民多元文化社会中的角色;- 通过揭示本土博物馆认识论，进一步研究非西方博物馆学模式;-增进对台湾民族主义文化基础的理解;研究成果将通过以下方式传播：2篇针对跨学科学术受众的同行评议文章; 1篇针对博物馆专业人士的文章; 3场研讨会演讲。未来在台湾的研究经费申请将提交给AHRC研究经费-早期职业研究者。奖学金将在莱斯特大学博物馆研究学院举行，我目前是那里的荣誉访问学者。学校被选为1）卓越的研究：在2008年，RAE评为拥有任何英国大学任何学科的世界领先研究人员的最大集群; 2）在我感兴趣的领域的研究相关性：物质文化和文化表现，博物馆和社区，以及东亚的博物馆; 3）在英国和国际上与博物馆和大学建立了广泛的联系网络。我很高兴有机会得到Sandell博士的指导，他在博物馆，不平等和社会包容的辩论中做出了重要贡献，并在指导台湾博物馆博士生方面拥有丰富的经验。基于以上考虑，博物馆研究学院将为我的学术生涯提供最佳的制度和智力支持。

The project investigates the negotiation of cultural difference in the museums of Taiwan through the analysis of the representation of Aborigine groups. The research builds and extends on previous research on Chinese museums, which provides the framework for a comparative China-Taiwan perspective.As privileged sites for the representation of collective identities and the construction of notions of belonging, museums as few other institutions can capture the transformations affecting cultural identities in contemporary multicultural societies. In Taiwan, such processes are exceptionally complex. The material culture of Taiwanese Aborigines figures prominently not only in the museums of Taiwan, but also in the Shanghai Museum and the National Museum of Palau. Why have Taiwanese Aborigines become so prominent in a variety of museums in Taiwan? How are the meanings of Aborigine material culture appropriated, negotiated and transformed in museums? And what do these modes of representation tell us about the role of museum displays of cultural difference in the making of local, national and regional identities?These questions gain saliency when considering that Taiwan Aborigines and their material culture are at the core of at least 3 simultaneous processes: i) Aborigine's claims to political recognition and self-empowerment; ii) the 'nationalization' of Aborigine identity as a result of Aborigines' incorporation into the master narrative of the Taiwanese nation; iii) the strategic positioning of Taiwan in the Pacific through discourses on the Austronesian origins of Aborigines, also serving Taiwan's claims to cultural independence from mainland China. In such a context, the representation of Aborigine material culture in museums is entangled in the making of indigenous, national and regional identities.The research aims to provide an original and timely contribution to the understanding of the social and political stakes associated with the museum representation of indigenous groups. It will do so by developing a theoretical framework to investigate, through the prism of museums, the relation between indigenous groups and the nation in the under-researched yet unique case study of Taiwan.Building on the analysis of data collected during fieldwork in Taiwan, the research will:- contribute to the understanding of museums' role in post-colonial, multicultural societies by making apparent the agency of museums in negotiations of authority between the State and Aborigines;- further the investigation of non-Western museological models by revealing indigenous museum epistemologies;- enhance the understanding of the cultural foundations of Taiwanese nationalism;Research findings will be disseminated through: 2 peer-reviewed articles addressing an interdisciplinary academic audience; 1 article addressing museum professionals; 3 seminar presentations. A grant application for future research in Taiwan will be submitted to the AHRC Research Grants-Early Career Researchers.The fellowship will be held at the School of Museum Studies, University of Leicester, where I am currently an Honorary Visiting Fellow. The School has been chosen for 1) research excellence: in 2008, the RAE rated it as having the greatest cluster of world-leading researchers of any discipline in any UK University; 2) relevance of research in my areas of interest: material culture and cultural representation, museums and communities, and museums in East Asia; and 3) broad network of links, in the UK and internationally, with museums and universities. I am enthusiastic about the opportunity to be mentored by Dr. Sandell, who has made key contributions to debates on museums, inequality and social inclusion, and has extensive experience in supervising doctoral students working on Taiwanese museums.In consideration of the above, the School of Museum Studies willprovide the optimal institutional and intellectual support to develop my academic career.