19世纪英国下层儿童生活史研究述评

Studies of English Poor Children's Life in 19^(th) Century

19世纪英国下层儿童的生活史是近年来西方史学界的热门话题。从儿童史研究的角度来说,它缘起于20世纪60年代史学界对儿童和童年历史的关注,但在随后二三十年里始终附属于家庭史研究。从19世纪英国史研究的角度来看,它长期被湮没在工业革命史的研究之中。随着儿童史研究的转型,它才逐渐由儿童史研究的边缘向中心发展,也逐渐由工业革命史研究的边缘迈向中心舞台,童工问题、下层儿童童年生活的转型等问题成为考察和评价工业革命前后英国社会的一个重要视角。

Life history of English poor children in 19th century has become a heated discussion topic in western historical studies in recent ＂years. It is derived from the attentions of historians to the history of children and childhood in the 1960s, which was then in the category of family history. In the historical studies about 19th century England,it was only a part of the history of industrial revolution. The historiographic turning in the study of children and childhood made it move from the marginal to the central stage not only in the history of children and childhood, but also in the history of industrial revolution. The studies of child labour and the childhood transformation in 19^th century England, etc. , have become important perspectives of English society during that very era.