The brutal struggle between free will of humanity and historical force has long been a controversial and intriguing subject in the discussions of literature. The point, however, lies not in which side wins eventually, but in exploring what happens in the process of struggle. Viewed from the perspective of literary development, it is quite clear that each different literary movement in postwar Taiwan provides their own unique understanding of the relationship between man and history, between social agency and historical transformation, and ultimately between history and fiction.
This course will be divided into four parts, and each of them dealing with specific historical issues or events. Historical Figures Fictionalized, the first part, deals with how historical figures, such as Song Qingling [宋慶齡] and Chen Yi [陳儀], are treated in fiction. History and (Post-)Colonialsim, the second part, as well as History and Politics, the third part, both try to discuss how past experiences have been represented from different ideological point of view by different writers. Finally, History and Social Movements, the fourth part, will take a close look at how writers explain the failure (or success) of certain social movements after they have long perished. In short, all the four parts try to explore the complicated interactions among history, human experience, and literary mind.