Comprehensive Study on “Taiwan Literature”:

Important research fields range from indigenous peoples literature, traditional poetry, to new literature during Japanese Colonization and post-war literature. The Institute of Taiwan Literature focuses on both new and old literature and highlights both folk literature and literatures of individual writers. The top priority is to include all the studies of the development of Taiwan Literature by the teachers, students, and other scholars of related fields, examining and sorting out these materials and underlining the interpretation and analysis of literature, so that a new model of the subject can be established.



Comparative Studies on Regional Literature:

As an open island, Taiwan’s development of history and culture is closely related with other cultures. The Institute of Taiwan Literature focuses on its studies and teachings on the communication between Taiwan and other neighboring regions in different historical periods of time, and explores how Taiwan includes, resists, and transforms foreign cultures and literatures, examining the peculiar features of Taiwan literature from the perspective of comparative literature.



Training of Literary Theories and Research Methodologies:

Being an institute of “literature,” the Institute of Taiwan Literature cannot ignore the teaching and studying of Chinese traditional and Western modern and contemporary literary theories. The studies of traditional literature should refer to the studies of Chinese literature; the studies of modern and contemporary literature should consult the development of theories around the world. Theories deeply influence the creation and critique of Taiwan literature. For example, postmodernism, postcolonial discourses, and feminist discourses should be studied particularly. Students in the Institute of Taiwan Literature can thus develop their academic vision in world-class level through the training of incisive and objective theories and methodologies.



Collecting and Compiling related literary studies on Taiwan Literature:

The establishment of a serious subject must begin from the accumulation of historical materials. No matter it is oral literature or written literature, as an emerging academic field, Taiwan literature should gather government and folk forces to collect and compile materials and documents comprehensively. In order to create a solid research foundation, the Institute of Taiwan Literature will devote itself to collecting and compiling historical materials in literature according to academic norms.



Research Fields:

1. Literary theories and research methodologies
2. Indigenous Peoples Literature
3. Classical Literature
4. Literature during Japanese Colonial Rule
5. Contemporary Literature
6. Taiwan Drama and Theater
7. Cinema and Images
8. Gender Literature and Culture
9. Cross-cultural Flow and Regional Comparative Literature