多元文化时代的美学

Aesthetics in A Multicultural Age Emory Elliott

文章试图探索近来在美国的全球性迁移与种族多样性是如何影响文化产品 ,又如何使重审美学在当代社会的性质与作用成为必要的。基于对文艺传统批评标准的重新评价和对解构理论的认识 ,批评家和学者们受到鼓励去创立一种新的、更具历史感的、政治上带有自我意识的评判文化产品的标准 ,以使先前被狭隘的美学标准所拒绝的艺术作品和文化表达有公平的机会 ,虽然作者也注意到过度提倡文化差异与区别会产生消极的影响 ,如导致非正义和压迫 ,甚至会滋生冲突等。社会科学和人文学科所面临的任务 ,是在尽量完整地理解文化产品所处的社会、政治和经济境况的语境下 ,建立起评价文化产品的全新原则。在一个多元文化的社会环境中 ,解构以单一种族、单一性别和单一意识形态的审美意趣为准则的传统经典结构 ,努力建立起与当代理论和文化环境相适应的美学体制。

The purpose of this thesis is to explore some of the ways in which recent global migration and the expanding ethnic diversity of the nature and the role of aesthetics in our contemporary society. The reassessment of traditional critical standards for literature and the arts based on the recognition of the usefulness of deconstruction theories encouraged critics and scholars to work toward the formation of new and far more historically informed and politically self aware standards for judging works of cultural production, though the over celebration of the benefits of diversity could possibly lead to certain injustice and oppression, even serious conflicts. At present, the urgent task of our social science and humanities is construct a system or systems of aesthetics consistent with current theories and cultural conditions.