Special Topics: Issue 42

The Transformation and Revitalization of Taiwan Literature: Multilingualism, Posthumanism, and New Forms of Writing

This issue of Journal of Taiwan Literature Studies explores how contemporary global shifts are influencing the development of literature, specifically through the lenses of multilingualism, the normalization of AI mediation in daily life, and post-humanist thought.

One central area of inquiry involves ongoing debates surrounding the appropriate naming and cultural positioning of Taiwan's linguistic diversity: How should these languages be integrated into literature and everyday writing? Once adopted into active writing practices, what cultural meanings and social implications might emerge? These questions go beyond language choice or representation; they invite postcolonial reflection on historical memory and identity. As such, addressing these linguistic issues is crucial and demands serious scholarly attention.

Patterns of language use have affected curatorial strategies and the design of guided tours in museums, the needs of which have led to the development of new textual formats and subsequent shifts in public reading habits. Concurrent changes in travel and media dissemination have established audiobooks as an alternative reading format, challenging the status of traditional print in society. When considered alongside the increasing interplay of multilingualism and human–AI collaboration in writing, it is apparent that these developments are normalizing the evolution of textual forms and may even signal deeper reforms in language and literature.

Meanwhile, post-humanist thought centers on how rapid technological advancements are reshaping the human body and mind. This theoretical lens has permeated disciplines such as philosophy, literature, social sciences, and life sciences. At its core, posthumanism seeks to move beyond the traditional human-centric worldview to reconsider the essence of humanity and the complex relationships between humans, technology, nature, and even non-living entities. The rise of new literary forms and genres such as science fiction and digital poetry demonstrates the impact of post-humanist ideas on literary creation in areas such as the construction of characters, narrative structures, and underlying value systems. Exploring how literature reflects, interprets, or responds to the lived realities and ethical questions of human–technology coexistence has therefore become a central concern of post-humanist literature.

In light of these issues, the Journal of Taiwan Literature Studies welcomes submissions addressing the theme “The Transformation and Revitalization of Taiwan Literature: Multilingualism, Posthumanism, and New Forms of Writing.” Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Language use in canonical literary works and audiovisual media, with a focus on advancing scholarly understanding of multilingualism and language mixing in Taiwan, their historical contexts, and related colonial and postcolonial ethnic issues.
2. Interdisciplinary dialogues and reflections across literature, film, music, and theater that engage with AI, guided tours, curatorial practices, linguistic diversity, and the creation of Taiwanese literature.
3. The multiplicity of emerging genres and their relationship to academic ethics, including the hybridity and modernization of language use in curation, guided tours, pop songs, folk ballads, and traditional opera.
4. Genre crossovers in Taiwanese literature (e.g., realism and fantasy, light novels and historical fiction, romance novels and historical fiction, new immigrant literature and autobiographies, or other hybrid forms).
5. Japanese-language literature written in Taiwan during the era of Japanese rule that have been translated into Chinese.
6. How teaching and research in Taiwanese literature departments are responding to the Development of National Languages Act, AI, and academic integrity in the age of AI.

This issue is organized in collaboration with the Association for Taiwan Literature. As such, authors may also refer to related calls for papers issued by the Association and the National Museum of Taiwan Literature.

Deadline for submissions: December 31, 2025