方兴未艾的大西洋史

The Rise of the Study of Atlantic History

第二次世界大战之后,"大西洋共同体"和"大西洋世界"等概念出现于欧美的政治和学术研究中,并逐渐发展成为一个热门研究领域,吸引了世界各地优秀学者的研究兴趣。本文从学理出发,综述了西方史学界对大西洋史的定义;在介绍大西洋史在西方兴起的背景时,重点分析了冷战时期的国际局势及史学研究等因素对大西洋史发展的推动作用;在综述大西洋史研究成果的同时,将欧美研究大西洋史的学者及其论著大致归为三类,并在肯定其成就的基础上,指出了这些研究的不足与缺陷。目前大西洋史研究的重要缺点之一是表现出强烈的"欧洲中心论"色彩,非洲及大西洋沿岸的非洲人没有得到应有的重视,大西洋史家也很少关注美洲印第安各族。这样的大西洋史将是不完善的。

After World War II,the ideas of 'Atlantic Community' and 'Atlantic World' began to appear in politics and academic circles in EuroAmerica.They gradually also attracted attention from scholars all over the world who helped turn the study of 'Atlantic history' into new research field.This essay first discusses the concept of ' Atlantic history' in Western historical circles.It then stresses that the international situation during the Cold War helped the development of Atlantic history.By reviewing the publications of the field,it argues that there are three types of studies on Atlantic history.It concludes by stating that although the study has achieved marked progress,it also suffers from Eurocentrism,for little attention has been paid to the role played by Africans and American Indians in shaping the history.