The Visual Politics of Taiwanese Nationalism: Contested National Identities in the Imagery of the Sunflower Movement

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dc.contributor.advisorHenders, Susan J.
dc.contributor.authorVerrall, Robin Duncan
dc.date.accessioned2021-07-06T12:46:31Z
dc.date.available2021-07-06T12:46:31Z
dc.date.copyright2021-03
dc.date.issued2021-07-06
dc.date.updated2021-07-06T12:46:31Z
dc.degree.disciplinePolitical Science
dc.degree.levelDoctoral
dc.degree.namePhD - Doctor of Philosophy
dc.description.abstractThis dissertation explores how national identity is constructed and contested in visual media by analyzing the use of national symbols in the visual materials produced by the 2014 Sunflower Movement in Taiwan. Through comparison with imagery published by the governments Mainland Affairs Council, I examine different conceptions of national identity circulating in contemporary Taiwanese society. I also consider how visual materials contribute to the construction and reproduction of national identities. My analysis of the imagery produced by the Sunflower Movement indicates a reformulation of Taiwanese national identity. While these images frame Taiwan primarily in opposition to a Chinese identity promoted by the ruling Nationalist Party (KMT), they also selectively appropriate symbols typically associated with Chinese identity. This re-signification indicates the need for fine-grained, contextual analyses of the construction and contestation of conventionally national symbols. I develop a method of visual analysis based on social semiotics, demonstrating its usefulness in analyzing the visual reproduction of implicit attitudes and beliefs, including national identity. I apply this method to a range of visual materials produced by participants in the Sunflower Movement photographs, drawings, paintings, and posters and compare these with government imagery. Chapter 2 presents the rationale for a visual analysis of national identity. I then review the dominant conceptions of Chinese and Taiwanese identity over the past 150 years, highlighting how the Sunflower Movement imagery both adopts and adapts existing conceptions of national identity. The subsequent chapters analyse three themes in the Sunflower Movements imagery. First, I examine how these images appropriate the Republic of China flag, resignifying it from a symbol synonymous with KMTs Chinese nationalism to one associated with a local Taiwanese identity. Next, I consider how symbols conventionally associated with Chinese history are variously evoked to critique or legitimate different conceptions of the nation in Taiwan. Finally, I explore how maps and map-like logos combine spatial and affective imagery to frame Taiwan as political territory distinct from China. My conclusion considers opportunities and limitations of using visual analysis to study national identity, and situates the project in the literatures on Taiwanese identity and on national identity more broadly.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10315/38449
dc.languageen
dc.rightsAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.
dc.subjectInternational relations
dc.subject.keywordsnationalism
dc.subject.keywordsnational identity
dc.subject.keywordsTaiwan
dc.subject.keywordsTaiwan-China relations
dc.subject.keywordscross-strait relations
dc.subject.keywordsvisual analysis
dc.subject.keywordsvisual politics
dc.subject.keywordssocial semiotics
dc.subject.keywordsSunflower Movement
dc.subject.keywordsprotests
dc.subject.keywordssocial movements
dc.subject.keywordsmulti-modal analysis
dc.subject.keywordsbanners
dc.subject.keywordsposters
dc.subject.keywordsimages
dc.titleThe Visual Politics of Taiwanese Nationalism: Contested National Identities in the Imagery of the Sunflower Movement
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation

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