跨國旅行下全球現代性的反思-分析台灣交換學生的認同

Abstract

旅行，在觀光客與「找到自我」的年輕人之間，被勾勒出既充實卻又模糊的想像。近年來，台灣年輕的交換學生們以出國交換作為壯遊，企圖建構自我與社會認同。他們的自信與勇氣往往受到讚揚，跨國旅行成為躋身世界的舞台，然而從後現代消費社會的角度視之，年輕世代對於個人認同乃至生活風格的確立，逐漸揚棄過去傳統社會穩定的「親密關係」、「工作」、「志業」等價值，取而代之的是「美學」、「公民意識」、「個人主義」的生活政治。現今，遑論人口販賣、跨國勞工、難民之移動，旅行儼然已成為一套享有衝動特權且無須理由的新倫理價值，尤其對於年輕世代而言，他們更因此而重新思考工作、旅行、消費的意義。本文透過參與觀察與深度訪談，以全球化現代性觀點探究交換學生跨國旅行經驗與台灣社會互為交織的意涵，分析台灣交換學生如何藉由旅行操作，展現自我與社會認同，以及其積極行動背後的推力與拉力因素。另一方面，從現代性消費的角度分析旅行的符號如何被複製、生產、消費，這個過程如何有效地整合與掩飾交換學生的欲望。一個人的旅行，在跨國文化衝擊下，轉而反身凝視並闡連（articulate）自我的過去、現在、未來，藉以比較、反思鑲嵌在原來社會與國家的困境。Travel, for youngsters and tourists, lies on the border between being abstract and concrete. Recently, more and more Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs, embarking on their “Grand tour”. To elaborate, they attempted to acquire social recognition for themselves and built their self-identity with the experience accumulated in the “Grand tour”. In the tour, their confidence and courage in this type of tour are often acknowledged so travelling across countries has taken the world by storm.Nevertheless, from the perspective of a post-modern consumer society, the younger generations have gradually abandoned the values that stabilize traditional societies, such as “intimate relationships”, “work”, and “career”. Instead, “aesthetics”, “civil awareness”, and “individualism” are crucial elements in life politics that have replaced the above-mentioned values stabilizing the conventional societies in the past. Nowadays, without any reason, travel has become confirmed as a new ethical value system with impulsive privileges, let alone “human trafficking”, “cross-country labor”, and “refugee movement”. People need to contemplate and rethink the meaning of work, travel, and consumption, especially the younger generations.This research, through in-depth. interviews, analyzes Taiwanese exchange students’ travelling experience and explores their observation of Taiwanese society from the perspective of global modernity. The analysis foxes on how these students display their self-identity and the social recognition for them by means of “travelling”. Further, another aim of the research is to take a closer look at what are the active actions and the Push and the Pull behind these actions. On the other hand, from the perspective of modern consumption, this study also attempts to analyze how the symbols of travel are copied, produced, and consumed, and how this process effectively integrates and conceals the desire of exchange students.Individual travelling experiences, under cross-cultural influence, turn to reflect on and articulate the past, the present and the future of oneself, so as to compare and ruminate the predicaments embedded in the original society and country.