Cultural, Ethnic, and Political Nationalism in Contemporary Taiwan: Bentuhua

The essays in this volume analyze what is arguably the single most important aspect of cultural and political change in Taiwan over the past quarter-century: the trend toward "indigenization" (bentuhua). Focusing on the indigenization of politics and culture and its close connection with the identity politics of ethnicity and nationalism, Cultural, Ethnic, and Political Nationalism in Contemporary Taiwan is an attempt to map prominent contours of the indigenization paradigm as it has unfolded in Taiwan. The opening chapters concern the origin and nature of the trend toward indigenization with its roots in the unique historical trajectory of politics and culture in Taiwan. Subsequent chapters deal with responses and reactions to indigenization in a variety of social, cultural, and intellectual domains.