This seminar delves into two literary works: “Starry Night” (今夜星光燦爛, 1997) and “Passing” (夢魂之地, 2024) authored by Guo Songfen (郭松棻) and Ping Lu (平路) respectively. These narratives revolve around prominent figures implicated in pivotal historical events: Chen Yi (陳儀) amid the 2/28 Incident and Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) during the White Terror period. Rather than solely focusing on their actions vis-à-vis Taiwanese populace during these turbulent periods, the authors adopt a common narrative approach. They concentrate on the intricacies of the protagonist’s inner lives, thereby humanising them for the readership. This narrative strategy seemingly endeavours to circumvent the oversimplified dichotomy of good versus evil. Essentially, it suggests that a nuanced comprehension of perpetrators’ psychology and motivations cannot be achieved by relegating them to the realm of pure malevolence. Nonetheless, I argue that  this narrative approach run the risk of trivialising the significance of these two central figures amidst the atrocities, potentially oversimplifying their actions, and thereby neglecting their accountability within a broader historical context.

To attendants from outside the Department: Please pre-register with the seminar organizer, Jaqueline Berndt (jberndt@su.se), to allow access to the venue.