「南方」作為一個地理方位，在不同的歷史和政治脈絡中，常常被賦予更多意義。對台灣而言，「南方」正是一個不斷被重新想像的概念。它曾意味著帝國的邊陲，是殖民擴張的前線，土地上的人是被歸類、定義、書寫的對象。近幾年，「南方」則提供了尋找台灣和世界連結的視角：當目光從大陸轉向海洋，當這座島嶼被置於東南亞、太平洋和南島世界的座標之中，它成為了不同族群、文化與歷史彼此交會的節點。

近年台灣的大眾文化中，出現愈來愈多重新思考台灣歷史及與世界關係的作品，海洋和島嶼漸漸成為重要的敘事空間與隱喻。與此同時，原住民的歷史、文化與當代處境，也愈來愈多地進入藝文作品之中。文學從夏曼・藍波安的《八代灣的神話》到Nakao Eki Pacidal的《蕉葉與樹的約定》，電影從《賽德克・巴萊》到近年的《哈勇家》、《獵人兄弟》，小說改編電視劇則從《斯卡羅》到《八尺門的辯護人》⋯⋯

當原住民逐漸取回對自身的敘事權、原住民議題和南島文化受到更多關注，台灣社會也在重新思考：誰是台灣故事的主角？誰可以述說台灣的歷史？而這座島嶼內部多元族群、文化與歷史交織出的異質性與複雜性，又該如何被表達？

「台灣季・在世界之間」紐西蘭站第一場講座活動，在紐西蘭坎特伯雷大學任教、研究華語及台灣文學的副教授吳家榮，將從台灣歷史、文學與當代文化出發，介紹「南方」如何從帝國的想像，逐漸成為台灣重新定位自身、連結南島世界的一條路徑。

“The South” has often taken on meanings far beyond geography in historical and political contexts. For Taiwan, “the South” once signified the periphery of empire and the frontier of colonial expansion, where the people who inhabited the land were objects to be classified, defined, and written about. In recent years, “the South” has offered Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples a perspective from which to explore their indigeneity and connections with the Austronesian world. This perspective, along with Indigenous histories, cultures, and contemporary experiences, has become increasingly visible in Taiwanese literature, music, cinema, and television.

As Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples carve out a growing space as storytellers through generations of efforts to reclaim their histories and assert their own voices, how does Taiwanese popular culture draw on “the South” to reflect the diversity and complexity of the island’s intertwined peoples, cultures, and histories?

For the first public talk of #TaiwanAcrossCities in Nowhere Aotearoa, Dr Chia-rong Wu, Associate Professor in the Department of Global, Cultural and Language Studies at the University of Canterbury, whose research focuses on Sinophone and Taiwanese literature, will draw on Taiwan’s history, literature, and contemporary culture to explore how “the South” has evolved from an imperial imaginary into a pathway through which Taiwan reposition itself and forge new connections with the Austronesian world.

Event will be in Mandarin.

Contact the host of 在台灣想像「南方」：從帝國邊陲到南島世界