MY MOTHER-IN-LAW'S VILLAGE: RURAL INDUSTRIALIZATION AND CHANGE IN TAIWAN.
Item
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Title
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MY MOTHER-IN-LAW'S VILLAGE: RURAL INDUSTRIALIZATION AND CHANGE IN TAIWAN.
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Identifier
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AAI8312352
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identifier
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8312352
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Creator
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HU, TAI-LI.
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Contributor
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Burton Pasternak | Daniel Gross
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Date
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1983
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Anthropology, Cultural
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Abstract
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The author observed that since 1970 about twenty small-scale factories had emerged in her mother-in-law's village, Liu Ts'o, in central Taiwan. This phenomenon has been closely related to Taiwan's export-led industrialization which has recently extended to rural Taiwan. Due to the fact that many such industries are not registered and their development is not reflected in macrolevel data, this anthropological intensive study based on data collected during the field period between October of 1976 and March of 1978 and subsequent visits aims to reveal the dynamics of Taiwan's industrialization by examining the main characteristics of and conditions for the emergence of Liu Ts'o's small-scale industries, and how traditional socio-cultural factors interact with new forces. Events occurring in the family of the author's mother-in-law are used (sometimes in the form of short stories) to illustrate changes in the larger environment.;Several findings have been derived from this research. First, the absense of strong lineages in this "single-surname village" gives rise to a more diffused and independent type of small-scale industry. Second, the conditions for the emergence of Liu Ts'o's industries include the post Land-Reform farm economy, which has accumulated capital; the rigid development of export-oriented industries which trained young villagers to become industrial workers; the establishment of international and domestic subcontracting system; and the villagers' expectation of being capitalists and free workers; as well as the older generation's ideal of maintaining stem and joint families. Third, the pre-existing socio-cultural institutions have been preserved and modified to adapt to rural industrialization. For example, although pre-marital avoidance has given way to a high rate of premarital pregnancy, the essence of marriage remains. Finally, after visiting eleven studied Taiwanese villages, the author discovers that industries have penetrated into these rural communities in various forms. Those villages with small-scale industries face similar problems, like the instability of work and labor force, the contradiction of agricultural and industrial work and the pressure of high wages and automation. Nevertheless, they do provide supporting evidence to the view that Taiwan's pattern of industrialization shows more local dynamism.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Anthropology
