Chingshun J Sheu | Ming Chuan University (original) (raw)

Papers by Chingshun J Sheu

Critical Plant Studies in Taiwan, 2024

My application of the idea of “hyperobjects” (197) to Tao Lin’s novel Taipei (2013) is a critical... more My application of the idea of “hyperobjects” (197) to Tao Lin’s novel Taipei (2013) is a critical-plant-studies analysis of a literary text that offers “a dearth of plants” (197). I argue that the novel’s protagonist Paul, who has a divided identity as a Taiwanese American and a person who spends much of his life on the internet, lives in a realm where “the hyperobject of the digital is haunted by the mycorrhizal hyperobject—a return to primordial roots” (203-04).

Journal of Applied English, Jun 2023

In the 2010 Absence of Mind, her Terry Lectures at Yale, Marilynne Robinson argues that Freudian ... more In the 2010 Absence of Mind, her Terry Lectures at Yale, Marilynne Robinson argues that Freudian psychoanalysis is decontextualized from history, culture, and nature. But her own 1980 novel Housekeeping militates for an understanding of psychoanalysis as not a simple cure for trauma, but a means to let traumatic loss open one up to the possibilities of the external environment. In this reading of the novel, protagonist Ruth learns to address her traumatic loss not as something to be resolved, nor as something to be coped with, but as something to be rejoiced in, for it opens her up to the possibility of transcending ordinary existence and comprehending the redemptive powers of memory. Through the act of narration, she transforms her trauma into a work of beauty, thus revealing the value even of events of the utmost sorrow and sublimating her existence into the realm of collective memory.

Ex-position, 2022

Orson Scott Card's science fiction novel Ender's Game has often been held up as a casebook study ... more Orson Scott Card's science fiction novel Ender's Game has often been held up as a casebook study in good leadership, but nobody has yet attempted to measure leadership in the novel using the theoretical resources of leadership studies. This article approaches leadership in Ender's Game and its companion novel, Ender's Shadow, by examining the actions and mentalities of their respective protagonists and significant supporting characters through the lens of various leadership models. In doing so, it seeks to answer two questions: How can textual interpretation outwit formal misdirection by employing different frameworks of measurement? How can a fictional fabula help us to reflect critically on the notion of measuring leadership? The second question will entail critical consideration of the following: What exactly is "good" leadership? Can it be nurtured? Is it predictive of success? And is it worth the cost(s)? The article concludes that there is no ideal leader in this story-world, and that the person who comes closest is not, as most readers think, Ender.

M/C Journal: A Journal of Media and Culture, 2018

On disability, the medical model, the social model, the ecosomatic paradigm, The Unnamed, and min... more On disability, the medical model, the social model, the ecosomatic paradigm, The Unnamed, and mind-body duality. [Online publication; click on "1 File" above.]

Textual Practice, 2020

New media studies has often focused on the difference between traditional and new media objects w... more New media studies has often focused on the difference between traditional and new media objects while neglecting the perspectival difference in worldview and subjectivity concomitant with the becoming-ubiquitous of the digital. In this paper, I first illustrate with some examples from science fiction the complex relation between difference in kind and difference in degree. This allows me to examine why some well-known demarcations between traditional and new media seem blurry and untenable. There is, however, one line of cleavage that does hold water: the binary of analogue and digital proposed by N. Katherine Hayles. To see why, I compare works of fiction that present media technologies via analogue subjectivity with Tao Lin’ s Taipei, a novel that presents lived experience through digital subjectivity, thereby revealing the continuing potential of new media studies for literature.

The Catholic Church in Taiwan: Problems and Prospects, edited by Francis K. H. So, Beatrice K. F. Leung, and Ellen Mary Mylod, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018

The first study in English of the fiction of Taiwanese author Chang Hsiu-ya.

Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction, 2014

I use a modified definition of “epiphany” attuned to Gaddis’s aesthetics to examine the story arc... more I use a modified definition of “epiphany” attuned to Gaddis’s aesthetics to examine the story arcs of some characters in The Recognitions: Wyatt—whose existence becomes dislocated in his childhood and who attempts to regain it in religion, art, and physical love before finally recovering it in the need for agap¯e in his modernist world—Otto, Anselm, Stanley, Agnes, and Benny. I thereby reclassify The Recognitions as a modernist work.

MA thesis by Chingshun J Sheu

Foreign Languages and Literatures, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 2015

The ethical turn in postmodern thought has made ever more pressing the question, How is one to li... more The ethical turn in postmodern thought has made ever more pressing the question, How is one to live one’s life? In this thesis, I propose an answer based on Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialism, extended upon by the work of Alain Badiou.

Chapter One introduces an existential understanding of ethics and meaning, presenting concepts such as the ethical chain, the economy of meaning, and bad faith, that lead us to a perspectivist non-binding normative ethics that is compatible with the three poststructuralist tenets of performativity, contextualization, and the amelioration of difference.

Chapter Two addresses the validity today of Sartrean existentialism—including not only Being and Nothingness but also the Notebooks for an Ethics, the two volumes of the Critique of Dialectical Reason, and the Hope Now interviews with Benny Lévy—via a series of Refutations to charges that it is outdated; that it is irrational; that it is not universal and therefore not a philosophy; that it is nihilist; that it absolutizes freedom and is therefore relativist; that it is humanist; that it is metaphysical, or ontotheological; and that it is incompatible with the poststructuralist belief in the decentering of the center. I establish that Sartrean existentialism withstands these criticisms.

Chapter Three brings in the work of Alain Badiou to elaborate upon Sartre’s rather vague notion of an Apocalypse, which Badiou calls an event. I provide biographical and intellectual links between the work of Sartre and that of Badiou, before detailing how Badiou extends and enhances the Sartrean framework in his development of the structure of an event.

Chapter Four employs the Sartrean-Badiouian existentialist framework in a reading of John Williams’s novel, Stoner, whose protagonist seems ordinary and unsuccessful, but who is shown with the aid of my reading to lead a life full of meaning. This reading also brings in details of Badiou’s four truth procedures and thus makes concrete his often abstract thought.

Chapter Five concludes with a summary of the previous four chapters, followed by a direct comparison of Sartre’s and Badiou’s thought. I then engage with two other leading postmodern ethical theories, Richard Rorty’s liberal ironism and Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Derrida’s ethics of the Other, to show how Sartrean-Badiouian existentialism offers the more comprehensive ethical framework.

Conference Papers by Chingshun J Sheu

Filter: The 32nd Annual Conference of the English and American Literature Association, 19 October, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 2024

Scholars have long noted that the work of Alain Badiou is reminiscent of that of Jean-Paul Sartre... more Scholars have long noted that the work of Alain Badiou is reminiscent of that of Jean-Paul Sartre; in fact, the former has often been seen as derivative of the latter. Both explore the conditions for, development of, and conclusions to substantive change involving a revolutionary zeal in connection with others. There are two main differences between them: Badiou expands his concerns beyond politics into love, art, and science; and, in contrast to Sartre, whose Critique of Dialectical Reason (1960, rev. 1985) sets forth a circular (though not cyclical) model of revolution’s birth and death, Badiou asserts the infinite character of his Events.

This paper focuses on the second difference and so limits its discussion to political Events. It argues that Badiou finds a centrifugal trajectory from Sartre whose tangential point is marked by what in The Immanence of Truths (2018) he calls the “ultrafilter,” specifically the complete non-principal ultrafilter. The logic of this concept, taken from and defined according to the mathematics of infinite sets, is according to Badiou the logic of the truth procedure that prosecutes the Event.

The ultrafilter marks a qualitative break in Badiou’s hierarchy of infinities. Each infinity, when superseded by a higher infinity, is demoted to a finite “waste product.” This system can be understood through the lens of Badiou’s previous work within the Being and Event project. The first (lower) two levels of infinity Badiou characterizes as negative and combinatory; their finites correspond respectively to the Nature (natural multiples) of Being and Event (1988) and the Evil of betrayal in Ethics (1998). Contrast these to the finites of the higher two levels, which correspond respectively to the reactive and obscure subjects of Logics of Worlds (2006). The schemas of both of these subjects include the symbol for the Event; they wouldn’t exist without it.

In Sartrean terms, the qualitative break marked by the ultrafilter is what privileges the fused group (or group-in-fusion) over seriality and the pledged group, the two positions that bookend the fused group. Seriality is akin to Badiou’s Nature, and the pledged group is a vain attempt to thwart Badiousian betrayal which is itself a betrayal (because the pledge is toward the group itself and not toward its praxis) that yields Badiou’s obscure subject.

This paper’s main contention is that reflecting on the ultrafilter can help us see how Badiou’s thinking is an extrapolation of the Sartrean fused group, an extrapolation that asks: (How) could the fused group be maintained indefinitely, and what would that look like?

2024 Ming Chuan University English Language Center EFL Conference, 11 May, Ming Chuan University, Taipei, 2024

Given the subjective nature of interpretation, assessment in college literature courses has often... more Given the subjective nature of interpretation, assessment in college literature courses has often taken the form of essays or essay questions. This has been impacted by ChatGPT's capacity to generate fluent, coherent, and superficially substantive paragraphs of English writing. How, then, should literature instruction adapt? This presentation reports on the adaptation strategies of one literature instructor at Ming Chuan University. The principle is to enhance subjectivity and tie assessments to evidence found in the assigned version of the readings. How much learning efficacy can thereby be retained will be discussed by way of conclusion.

The 25th International Conference and Workshop on TEFL and Applied Linguistics, 8–9 March, Ming Chuan University, Taipei, 2024

Background: The advent of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT has presented educators with unprec... more Background: The advent of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT has presented educators with unprecedented opportunities and challenges in pedagogy and assessment. This study addresses the critical question of the reliability of these AI tools in educational settings, particularly in assessing English as a Second Language (ESL) writing.

Methods: We undertook a comparative analysis of ESL student compositions from a rhetoric-focused English writing course. These compositions were assessed by two human raters and a customized version of GPT-4, both adhering to a standardized rubric. Inter-rater reliability was assessed by evaluating correlations between human and GPT-4 ratings. Intra-rater reliability for GPT-4 was assessed by having the model provide repeated assessments of the same essays, opening a new “chat thread” for each assessment to prevent memory effects. Intra-rater reliability for the human raters will be evaluated by having them re-assess the essays after an interval period.

Results: This study-in-progress aims to evaluate the reliability of GPT-4 ratings of writing assignments by identifying significant correlations and differences in assessment quality between human raters and GPT-4.

Expected contributions: We anticipate providing insights into the feasibility of integrating AI into ESL writing assessment. Findings will help to clarify the potential of GPT-4 to provide constructive feedback for student writing improvement. This research will contribute to the evolving dialogue on AI in education by empirically testing the capabilities and reliability of generative AI in comparison to human judgment in ESL writing assessment.

Speed Shambles: The 44th Annual CLAROC Convention 2022, 15 June, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, 2022

There are three sets of William Faulkner discourse on the race question: one through Faulkner's p... more There are three sets of William Faulkner discourse on the race question: one through Faulkner's public letters and statements, and two through the fictional channel of his late-period novel, Intruder in the Dust (1948)—namely the speeches of Gavin Stevens and the moral growth of protagonist-focalizer Chick Mallison. This paper asks whether they match, and if not, which position is likelier to result in racial progress. It’s worth asking whether the novel is, in the end, defensive or progressive. The answer will hopefully illuminate potential avenues of social change for communities that, like Faulkner’s South, are resistant to external imposition or even influence.

Children’s and Young Adult Literature and/in Performance: The 6th Annual Conference of the Taiwan Children’s Literature Research Association, 19 Nov., Tunghai University, Taichung, 2016

Unlike the titular character of Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card’s popular young adult novel about ... more Unlike the titular character of Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card’s popular young adult novel about genius children tricked into fighting a space war, Bean, the protagonist of the “co-quel” Ender’s Shadow, lacks inborn leadership abilities, instead possessing a genetically enhanced intelligence. In addition to learning how to overcome his overly rational personality to empathize and assert effective leadership, he must also win the loyalty and trust of his subordinates and peers, who resent him for being the smallest yet smartest student at the Battle School, and the recognition of his superior officer, Ender, who appraises soldiers strictly by merit. Ultimately, by taking Ender as his role model and attempting to emulate his leadership tactics, Bean strives to understand what it means to be human in the face of his genetic alterations, ultimately realizing his own, unique leadership potential. In this paper, I shall argue that Bean’s search for leadership and identity depends crucially on his performatively learning from and emulating others. Drawing on the work of Jean-Paul Sartre and on contemporary leadership research, I shall demonstrate how, in order for Bean to become an effective child soldier and leader, he must first attempt to act like one.

2018 International Symposium on Literature and the Environment in East Asia: War and Peace: Militarism, Biopolitics, and the Environment in East Asia, 20-21 Oct., National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, 2018

I show how the structure of Timothy Morton’s monograph Hyperobjects can be mapped onto the plot o... more I show how the structure of Timothy Morton’s monograph Hyperobjects can be mapped onto the plot of Stanisław Lem’s Solaris.

After Existentialism: UKSS 2017, 18 July, Oxford University, Oxford, 2017

Alain Badiou has famously called Sartre his “absolute Master,” and scholarly attempts have been m... more Alain Badiou has famously called Sartre his “absolute Master,” and scholarly attempts have been made to connect his work, which The Guardian has called “post-existentialist,” with Sartre’s. These efforts, however, have mostly either focused on superficial similarities or discussed merely a narrow portion of the large philosophical oeuvre of both thinkers.
In this paper, I will show that Badiou’s philosophical system is an extension of Sartre’s thought, and that the two thinkers complement each other. I will trace a line of ethics through Sartre’s and Badiou’s thoughts in parallel and draw explicit conceptual links between them. The main extension originating in Badiou is his solution to what Thomas Flynn calls the fraternity-terror problem plaguing the fused group in the Critique of Dialectical Reason I. Instead of having the fused group pledge to each other, which introduces exis into pure praxis, Badiou has the fused group continue to seek and oppose an Outside, and the structural mathematics that underlies his system is aimed at delineating how this movement can be possible. In this sense, he takes up Sartre’s challenge of formulating a structuralism that accounts for praxis and develops concepts that Sartre merely intuits and sketches out in his later works.

Crossing Boundaries: The 1st Graduate Conference on Literary Studies in Taiwan, 8 Nov., National Taiwan University, Taipei, 2014

Explores what remains of the concept of the subject after the ravages of (post)structuralism, and... more Explores what remains of the concept of the subject after the ravages of (post)structuralism, and finds it still intact.

Contested Modernity: Place, Space and Culture, 27 May, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, 2017

The effect of place and space is often limiting in a passive way. But what if they played a more ... more The effect of place and space is often limiting in a passive way. But what if they played a more active role? In Stanisław Lem’s Solaris, the planet is a force to be reckoned with. Jean-Paul Sartre shows us that the question of whether Solaris has agency need not be dichotomous. In his Critique of Dialectical Reason, vol. 1, he posits the concept of the practico-inert. If praxis refers to creative intentional human acts freely willed and carried out, then the practico-inert is the remains of praxis, imbued still with residual momentum and impugning on future actions. The practico-inert can be an institution, a structure, a physical object, or even the Rube Goldberg-like reactions to stimuli of Solaris. In Solaris, the physical space of the research station is shaped on the one hand by the approaches to studying Solaris, and on the other hand by the history of Solaristics—that is, past approaches to studying Solaris; the very physical environment of the station is determined by Solaris. The physical manifestation of Solaris seems both active and passive: It seems limited to modeling higher-order mathematics. When the “guests” appear, in response to a radiation stimulus, they are limited in curiously passive ways. Sartre notes that the practico-inert can be re-interiorized into a new praxis, which is what Kelvin’s wife, Harey, does in her self-discoveries. The curious enigma of the planetary presence’s possible agency can best be answered with Sartre’s dialectical relation between praxis and the practico-inert, offering new understandings of agency.

Silence, Sound, Rhythm, and Performance: 2019 Southern Humanities Conference, 21-24 Jan., Hyatt Place, Asheville, 2019

In the cinema, silence, sound, rhythm, and to a lesser extent performance are often subordinated ... more In the cinema, silence, sound, rhythm, and to a lesser extent performance are often subordinated to plot and spectacle, bombarding the viewer with visceral excitement or sentimental melodrama. August at Akiko’s, the debut feature film by Hawai‘ian Christopher Makoto Yogi which is still seeking distribution, does the exact opposite. Plotless for most of its 75-minute running time, the film allows us to luxuriate in the human silence and natural sound of an old Hawai‘ian plantation; the jarring sound and unpredictable rhythm of music by renowned modernist jazz saxophonist Alex Zhang Hungtai, who plays protagonist Alex; and the naturalistic yet radiant performances on screen in its use of non-professionals playing themselves, including the other protagonist, Buddhist innkeeper Akiko Masuda.

After a rough patch in his life, Alex comes to Hawai‘i to seek his grandparents, arriving only to find that they’ve passed away, and that their house is being transformed into a parking lot. Aimless, he stays at Akiko’s Buddhist inn, where he joins her and the few other guests for morning meditation, joins in community activities during the day, and plays music in the evenings. All the while, he’s drawn by dream- and meditation-images of his grandparents calling to him.

Yogi has written movingly about the historical trauma of indigenous and Japanese communities in Hawai‘i and the film’s attempt to explore the connection between trauma and nature. Most of Alex’s daytime activities has to do with ancestral reverence, and the bare plot is about returning to one’s roots with a sense of peace. In this paper, I will explore how silence, sound, rhythm, and performance are employed to present a form of cinema that lacks any sense of narrative impetus, instead enacting within the viewer the same sense of deep healing and coming to terms with historical trauma that Alex pursues in the film.

Backward Glances: History, Time, Memory: The 24th Annual Conference of the English and American Literature Association of the Republic of China, 29 Oct., National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, 2016

Marilynne Robinson’s novel Housekeeping is the narrative of a family defined by traumatic loss. I... more Marilynne Robinson’s novel Housekeeping is the narrative of a family defined by traumatic loss. In a functioning of post-memory, the death of the patriarch ripples through three generations onto the protagonist Ruth, who by the end of the novel deals with her trauma by becoming a wanderer. I contend that this ending, and the interim process of Ruth’s spiritual growth, shows how there is a psychological and spiritual benefit to addressing traumatic loss not as something to bear and cope with but as a source of new meaning in life. Drawing on contemporary trauma theorists, I interpret the novel, especially in its lyrical extended metaphors, as demonstrating the ethical obligation to transform traumatic repetition into narrative catharsis. Ultimately, my reading of the novel concludes that incorporating traumatic loss into one’s life and even celebrating it as a source of spiritual growth can lead to a more complete human experience.

2014 Western Classical and Medieval Academic Conference, 24 May, Fu Jen Catholic University, Taipei, 2014

A comparative reading of the two Antigones that emphasizes their similarities.