形塑文化空間: 在台跨國外籍人士的生活策略與類型

Abstract

在獨立居台外籍人士的多樣案例研究當中，我揭示了這些個案如何構成、協商並了解到他們生活在全球後福特主義邏輯之制約下。我所關注的是兩個平面的交及: 一則是晚近資本主義的不確定性，另一則來自藉由異國文化脈絡形塑其當下生活的具體個人敘述。

我搜集來自西方各國人士的主觀證詞，據此製作出一份可能性與限制性的圖示。以其廣義言之，後福特主義在此是一有效的隱喻，因為它生產出身心之必然性運動的複雜體系，亦是後戲局之混沌條件的結果。它意謂著缺乏明確的規定，承諾的暫時性特徵，不安全感，速度以及劇烈競爭。在此環境下，越來越多西方國籍人士為了緩解此一壓力而來到台灣找尋其自身的居所。他們既非大型公司的外派顧員，也不是弱勢移工。他們的經驗與生活世界展現出特定的內在動力，且尚未被正視與研究。

我使用若干特定概念的理論框架構成我的研究方法，包括：德勒茲(Gilles Deleuze )與瓜達里(Félix Guattari)的「遊牧主義」、包曼(Zygmunt Bauman)的「流動的現代性」、布希亞(Jean Baudrillard)對「資本」的詮釋、艾迪(Peter Adey)與厄利(John Urry)對「移動性」的討論、波彤斯基(Luc Boltanski)與查佩羅(Eve Chiapello)對「資本主義精神與意識形態」的分析，以及尼采(Friedrich Nietzsche)與傅柯(Michel Foucault)關於「生命美學的概念」。

除了每一個案的獨特性之外，對已知材料的分析使我得以將這些個體分類為五種作為主要核心的典型，它們分別為：商務承包員、教育人士、藝術家、遊牧性承包員以及經濟促因之外籍人士。即便各自有各樣不同的表現，但每一類型都是透過某些特性以及整體世界觀與策略而產生的分類。當這些個體在台灣生活與工作時，我亦可指認出台灣社會文化性與規範性之母體的若干特性，它們促使並形塑了外籍人士得以適應台灣的形態，進而重新組構了他們來此的目的，更甚者驅動了必要技能的發展，使其得以探索異國文化與社會所未知的領域。

My multi-case study of independent expatriates in Taiwan has explored the ways in which selected individuals compose, negotiate and understand their lives under the conditions of global post-Fordist logic. I have focused on the point of intersection between two planes: uncertainty of current capitalism, and concrete, individual narratives coming from people who shape their lives in the context of foreign culture.

I have gathered subjective testimonies from Western transnationals to draft a map of possibilities and constraints within which they operate. Post-Fordism, applied here in a broad sense as a useful metaphor, produces the complex system of necessary movements, physical as well as mental, which are the consequences of chaotic conditions of the post-game, including the lack of clear rules, provisionary character of engagements, insecurity, speed and severe competition. In this environment, more and more Western nationals seek places of their own in Taiwan to cope with pressures. They are neither corporate expatriates supported by large companies nor underprivileged migrant workers; their experiences and life-worlds exhibit specific internal dynamics which have not yet been fully addressed in academic literature.

I have formulated my approach by applying a theoretical framework built on certain notions: Deleuze and Guattari's take on nomadism, Bauman's liquid modernity, Bourdieu's capitals, Adey’s and Urry's discussions of mobilities, Boltanski and Chiapello's spirit and ideology of capitalism, Nietzsche's and Foucault's concept of life aesthetics.

Despite the unique nature of each case, my analysis of gathered material allowed me to categorize the individuals into 5 types that can serve as gravitational centers of ideal types: Business Entrepreneurs, Educators, Artists, Bohemian Entrepreneurs and Economic Expatriates. Each type, although manifested in a variety of ways, is characterized by certain features and overall world-view and strategy. As these individuals live and work in Taiwan, I was able to identify several features of Taiwanese socio-cultural and regulatory matrix that facilitate and shape their adaptation patterns, reformulate their goals as well as drive the development of skills necessary to navigate the unknown territory of foreign culture and society.