后现代主义的制度化与后现代研究新趋势——琳达·哈琴访谈录(英文)

Institutionalization of Postmodernism and New Trends in Postmodern Studies:An Interview with Professor Linda Hutcheon

琳达·哈琴,加拿大多伦多大学英语系及比较文学研究中心教授,著名的后现代文学理论家,曾任美国现代语言协会主席。作为后现代主义的积极辩护者,哈琴强调后现代主义绝不是非历史的、非政治的、玩弄拼贴游戏的文化大杂烩,而是以独特方式对原本隐含在文学、文化和历史文本中的话语-权力关系进行解码和重新编码,暴露出在任何文化实践下都暗藏着的意识形态潜文本和不公正的权力再生产机制,进而为更积极的政治实践创造条件。本次访谈以笔谈的形式完成于2012年3月至5月,讨论话题主要围绕后现代理论与实践在国内外的最新发展趋势进行。哈琴认为后现代主义并未像有些人宣称的那样已然终结,而是进入了一个暂时可被称作"晚期后现代主义"的阶段,成为经典化和制度化了的反话语,被普遍接受并运用在当下的文化实践、艺术创作和教学研究之中。哈琴还谈及了数字信息技术对后现代主义的影响,讨论了历史书写元小说诞生的历史语境以及后现代主义在政治维度上马克思主义、女权主义和后殖民主义的区别与联系等问题。

Linda Hutcheon, Professor Emeritus of English and Comparative Literature at University of Toronto and the 119th President of MLA, is one of the most prestigious postmodern theorists. As a defender of postmodernism, Hutcheon argues that postmodernism is anything but ahistorical and apolitical cultural pastiche; rather, it tries in a unique way to decode and recode the discourse-power relationship underlying cultural, literary as well as historical texts, so as to expose the ideological subtext buried in any cultural practices and the compulsory mechanism that reproduces unjust power, hence to pave the way toward more positive political practices. This in- terview was conducted in the written form by emails from March to May, 2012, focusing on the new trends of postmodern studies and practices. In her opinion, postmodernism has not been dead as some theorists declared, only that it has entered into a new phase which can be temporarily called ＂the late postmodern moment,＂ that is, postmodcrnism has evolved into an institutionalized and canonized counter-discourse, widely adopted and applied in contemporary cultural practices, artistic creativities, as well as academic and pedagogic studies. This interview also covers other topics, such as the influence of digital information technology upon postmodernism, the historical background of the growing-up of historiographic metafiction, and the similarities and differences between postmodern politics and that of Marxism, feminism and post-colonialism.