Abstract
It has been almost 20 years since the first Philippines poets’ club established in 1999. In the past, researches in the academic circles mainly discuss such topic from a Sociology, or Politics and Economics point of view, and there hasn’t been one from literature perspective, that elaborates how migrant works express their circumstances through documenting their working experience overseas. This thesis is the first degree thesis that builds ‘Migrant Worker’s Literature’ framework, aiming to discuss the formation of migrant worker’s literature in Taiwan from a ‘Field’ point of view. After drawing the boarder of the definition of ‘Migrant Worker’s Literature’, we can find that the unique way of elaborating such topic originates from the class flow of migrant worker’s identity and their experience from temporary overseas stay, that creates a different route of development and aesthetic tension, which is the key point that this thesis is going to further discuss through the concept of ‘field’. This thesis will take 3 steps to elaborate the ‘field’ in Migrant Worker Literature. Firstly, I will discuss the formation the ‘Filed of Migrant Worker’s literature clubs’ and the ‘Field of Migrant Worker Literature Award’ in Taiwan, and observe what specific capitals migrant workers will obtain in these two fields, as well as the inner structure and operation within both fields. Secondly, from a translation point of view, with Migrant Worker Award as an example, to discuss how migrant literature is perceived differently by translators, award judges, and eventually readers, along with what are the cultural divergences that lead to such mistranslation. Lastly, we will focus on ''Taipei, Listen To Me!” Poetry & Essay Writing Contest and Migrant Worker Award winning articles, to take a look at how are migrant works’ habitus gap and displaced identity are reproduced through metaphor, so that to know in the field of migrant literature, what existing and not yet appearing aesthetic positions are. The research above will show that in Taiwan, migrant worker’s literature is not just works from migrant workers, but more of a type of literature that is coordinated, translated, created, and eventually formed by agents in the migrant worker and literature fields. Literature from migrant workers also does not only have social value in expressing themselves - with the unique subject and content, it also reflect the very special aesthetic value in the field of Taiwan literature in general.