“加州学派”与早期现代史研究范式的转换

The California School and the Paradigm Shift of Early Modern History

早期现代史研究长期受西方中心主义范式的支配。在这种范式下,西方的历史被界定为一系列构成现代性要素的"西方特性",非西方则被想象成缺失"西方特性"的前现代社会。近年来,西方中心主义范式遭到多元主义范式的挑战,在这方面,"加州学派"的比较研究功不可没。该学派否定了"西方特性"论,致力于寻求西方与非西方历史的相似性因素,同时也承认两者的差异性。将西方与非西方社会平等视之、互为主体的交互比较方法将大有用武之地。

The early modern history has long been dominated by the Eurocentric paradigm.Under the Eurocentric paradigm,the western history has been theorized into a set of standardized modern values characterized by'western uniqueness',while its counterpart being assigned with pre-modern values characterized by 'the missing of western uniqueness'.At the same time,comparative methods could also be utilized to break from the Eurocentrism and its monist paradigm.Having set milestones in its development,the California School has not only prompted the necessities for comparative studies,but more importantly challenged the suffocated Eurocentric paradigm,acknowledging both the similarities and the differences between the West and Non-west Moreover,the reciprocal comparisons of the Californian School that treat with Western and non-Western societies equally and consider the two sides as mutual subject and object will be fruitful.