再現世界: 台灣戒嚴時期旅外遊記的文化傳播

Travel notes are one of the ways representations of the world, also are a part of literary production during the Martial Law period, and closely associated with cultural communication. During the Martial Law period, Taiwan people’s chances to travel abroad were limited. These authors who participated in International Visitors Programs were different statuses and purposes to visit, their texts were mostly represent cultural images and discourses of visits in the context of the Cultural Cold War period. Travel notes were the optimal method to be close to the structure of feelings. Even under the anticommunist atmosphere, the writings of these authors reflect on the defects of their homeland through observing the foreign cultural context and reveal their sense of duty to strive to form an ideal society. Some travel writings compared foreign experiences to Taiwanese experiences and imply the necessity of conflict; comparison and absorption is the short cut for Taiwan to implement a more efficient new plan. By studying the experience of cultures worldwide, writers could shape a more ideal society, inspiring change in Taiwan. In the Martial Law period, travel writings not only revealed spatial memories of the visiting humanities landscapes, but also corresponded to the anti-Communists of Taiwanese society. What's more, they revealed the atmosphere of the times and intellectual elites' improvement of the free world. This project will apply the Digital National Security Archive (DNSA) to collect background information, and discuss how authors conveyed exotic culture and their works' meaning in the Martial Law period.