Reflections on the Society in Taiwan in 1980s: A Study Based on The World We Live Magazine

• Main Authors: Ko, Ching-Chi, 柯景棋
• Other Authors: Yin, Chang-Yi
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2015
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/jfg4sz

博士 === 中國文化大學 === 史學系 === 103 === It was a crucial period for Taiwan of its transformation in the 1980s. It included the transitions of politics, the developments of economics and the changes of society, all of which deviated from the traditional context. To find a new way out, the intellectuals penetrated into and gave illuminating insights to the underlying social problems beset Taiwan at that time. The World We Live magazine, which was brought out in November 1985, typically presented the spirit of the time. The World We Live magazine kept the left wing tradition in Taiwan alive, taking the point of view of the hard-working masses, probing into the problems of humanity, history, society, way of life, and environment. The magazine uncovered the pattern of social developments in Taiwan during the forty years after WWII, making an intense criticism of the Cold War structure in Taiwan and its influence on the society. This dissertation sorts out and analysis comprehensively the articles in The World We Live magazine, of which a total of 47 issues brought out, with the approaches of ‘textual analysis’ and the exploration of the historical context. This dissertation aims to expound the characteristics of the society and the social movements in Taiwan in the 1980s, attempting to interpret the difficulties of the social development in Taiwan in this period. This dissertation consists of seven chapters. The first chapter is an introduction to the origins, motives, purposes of the research; as well as to literature review and methods or theories the research adopted. By means of historical review, the second chapter ‘1980s: Taiwan in Transformation’ analysis the circumstances in Taiwan in the 1980s from political, economic, and cultural perspectives. The third chapter ‘The Inheritance of the Left in Taiwan’ aspires to achieve the goals as follows: Introducing the developments of the left wing and the intellectuals of the left in Taiwan in different periods, making efforts to explain the context and inheritance of the developments, inferring from which that the real intentions Chen Ying-Zhen founded The World We Live magazine. Chapter four ‘Issues in The World We Live Magazine’, which plays a pivotal role in this dissertation, carries out a comprehensive examination of The World We Live magazine textually as well as graphically. By means of which, the author attempts to compensate for the limitations in previous studies of this magazine. Scrutinizing the impact of this magazine on the social movements in Taiwan in 1980s is the main purpose of chapter five ‘The World We Live magazine and the social movements in Taiwan in the 1980s.’ The sixth chapter ‘The cover stories of The World We Live magazine and its meaning’ shows that the cover stories of each issues had been reflected the rapid transitions of political and social problems in Taiwan in 1980s; furthermore, this chapter analysis the process of the The World We Live magazine from its start, transformation to the end. Finally, the last chapter reaches a conclusion on the reflections on the society in Taiwan and makes an examination of the developments and influences of the issues mentioned above.