SOP - media and cultural curriculum (proposal)

The area in Communication Studies that I hope to work on is Media and Cultural studies.  I am especially interested in the politics of representation in the Asian media.  In particular, I wish to interpret and analyze the role of the Taiwanese media in the construction of an ongoing divided modern national identity since the lifting of martial law in 1987.  Whereas in many other countries, the modernization (and post-modernization) of the media develops in tandem with other socio-economic factors, Taiwan had developed into a highly industrialized state without corresponding media sophistication.  As a result, there has been little collective memory, consciousness or neutral value system during Taiwan』s post-1987 evolution towards its contemporary national identity.  And after the public had acquired the freedom of speech and expression in 1987, the media sprinted in its development, leading to a sudden multiplication of media outlets and a generally chaotic media environment; I am curious to investigate how debates over identity have been produced out of this chaos.  Additionally, I would like to gain insight into how media globalization, in tension with local trends, has contributed to this evolution of divided national identity.

My research has been prompted by how the political partisans--first the KMT, the former ruling party that ruled Taiwan for 50 years until 2000, and now the DPP--have succeeded in using the media as an apparatus in affecting the news and injecting ideologies into the people;.  The DPP』s current efforts of promoting ideologies that depict what it means to be a 「true Taiwanese」 while evoking the complexities of the Chinese-Taiwanese identity are creating antagonism and even discrimination between groups which had previously considered themselves ethnically homogenous.  By analyzing relevant media constructions of social phenomena, historical backgrounds, political factors, literary texts and other cultural products, I hope to gain a more rounded perspective on that crucial arena of ideology.  Such an attempt to reconstruct the process of Taiwan』s modernization would also help retrieve the collective memory that is lost in such popular polarization.  This reconstruction is significant also because an increasing number of new born 「hybrids,」 whose mothers have come from Philippines, Thailand, Mainland China, Indonesia, has aroused a new turbulent debate about identity and identification, and the media again has played an important role in characterizing such children and mothers as an underclass.  I would be interested in …….

My personal and academic experiences in the past have played a substantial role in my decision to devote myself to the media and cultural graduate program.  As a Taiwanese-Chinese who has spent her childhood in Taiwan and a couple of adolescent years in the United States, I have had the opportunity of receiving education under both local and American educational systems during a period in which Taiwan was struggling to manage the difficult questions of nation-state identity caused by political tensions with mainland China.  This experience abroad afforded me the privilege of observing cultural differences in the two countries and enhancing my sensitivities to diversities innational origin, religion, gender, race, and class.  Yet this experience also inspired me to think about my Taiwanese-Chinese identity and how I have been keen to explore the meaning of these terms, my own racial Chinese background, and my national Taiwanese identity.   

While I have ample reasons for obtaining further education in cultural studies, my growing awareness of the politics of representation is something that I』ve acquired at the English department of National Central University, which has a deep commitment towards multi-cultural approaches towards literary interpretation, thus nourishing students with an understanding of ideologies, cannons, and alternative perspectives in their greater social, historical, cultural, political, and economic contexts.  Having been introduced to a broad range of contemporary theories (Marxism, Feminism, Structuralism, Cultural Studies, Psychoanalysis, Deconstruction, etc.), I』ve gained a more thorough understanding of how the individual mind works, how the society functions, and how individuals relate, understand, and adapt to society.  To further enhance my analysis of social formations and cultural phenomena, I am taking an elective course in Sociology, which prepared me to study the different structures and groupings of social forces.  Entrenched in Taiwan』s milieu of rising social movements, I have been educated about my previous assumptions towards various so-called 「deviant」 or 「anomalous」 groups that have been stigmatized and excluded by the mass media.

My intention in applying to an US-based media and cultural studies program is because I wish to approach this research from a theoretical and comparative perspective, and to interact with professors and students who are working on related issues with respect to other cultures to gain a more rounded opinion.  And this project, though Taiwan-oriented, should really be conducted outside of Taiwan, for I want to keep this project from getting entangled in local partisan politics, as well as to gain some additional academic perspectives from the physical distance.  In addition to the general attraction of your renowned associated Cultural Studies Program, I』m particularly interested in working with Professor Lawrence Grossberg and Professor Kara Keeling for their strong academic background in not only media and cultural studies but also critical and cultural theories such as Marxism, Feminism, Postcolonialism, Poststructuralism, and Postmodernism.  I am interested in how Professor Grossberg examines cultural issues with an interdisciplinary approach from cultural studies, critical theories and popular cultures; with this interdisciplinary approach, I believe I will be better prepared for the research project.  I am also eager to work with Professor Keeling in investigating ways to challenge internalized ideologies and social values and beliefs that seem to be prevailing in societies, particularly contemporary Taiwanese society. 

In addition to working with the faculty in Communications for most of my coursework and for theoretical insight, I believe that faculty members in other departments can offer me further guidance to help me research the process of Taiwan』s modernization.  In particular, I』m thinking of Professor Michael Tsin from the History Department (who works on colonialism and modern Chinese history) and Professor Steve Levine from the Asian Studies Department (who works on contemporary China in international relations).  In addition, I have checked the UNC library catalog and noted that UNC has a sufficient base of Taiwanese periodicals and relevant scholarship on contemporary Taiwan.  If other materials are needed, there is always interlibrary loan.  Hence, I do not anticipate too much difficulty in pursuing Taiwan-oriented research at UNC; on the contrary, I believe it would be an excellent match for me, and I look forward to being able to contribute to your program as well as to learn from it.