再论历史研究的范式转型--当前西方史学若干前沿问题

On the Paradigm Shift of Historical Research:Some Frontier Problems in Current Western Historiography

20世纪70年代以来,西方历史研究出现所谓"元叙事的危机",这种对既有历史研究模式的质疑,触发了后现代主义的兴起。后现代主义对西方历史研究的意识形态、概念设定、研究路径和研究领域以及语言特征进行了批判性清洗。20世纪90年代,全球化的迅猛进展,促进了"全球视野"以及相伴随的历史研究的新的关注点和新路径的萌生。这些助推了西方历史研究在21世纪的范式转型。论文探究了当前西方历史研究重构过程中产生的若干重要问题,包括如何重新定义历史书写的对象;哪些历史变迁值得研究;历史研究的空间如何重新调整;如何摆脱地方性视阈;如何协调传统历史编纂模式与新的研究路径;国别史和微观史如何体现新的历史眼光等等。本文认为这些问题是新的历史书写所面临的一些普遍性问题,对这些问题的恰当处理正在引导历史研究向新的形态过渡。

Since the 1970s,the so-caUed "crisis of meta-narrative"has appeared in Western historical studies.This questioning of the existing historical research model has triggered the rise of postmodernism.Postmodernist scholars had waged a critic campaign against the ideology, conception,approach and research focus as well as the linguistic features of Western historical studies.In the 1990s;the rapid progress of globalization promoted the "global vision"and the new fields of historical inquiry and approach.These help promote the paradigm shift of Western historical studies in the 21st century.This essay explores several important issues arising from the current reconstruction of Western historical research,including how to re-define the objects of historical inquiry;what historical changes are worth studying;how to reconstruct the space of historical research;how to avoid the local perspective;how to coordinate the traditional pattern of Historiography and the new approach;how to apply the new approach in national history and micro history,and so on.The paper argues that these issues are of vital importance facing scholars of the new historiography,and proper handling of these issues could guide the transition of historical research to new forms.