流动的民族身份——文学选集与文学史视阈下的美国文学“少数性”特征研究

A Fluctuating National Identity in Literature Anthologies and Histories: Understanding American Literature as Minor Literature

美国文学自孕育至今,其发展脉络在很大程度上符合吉尔·德勒兹和菲利·瓜塔里的"少数文学"论述。本文以美国文学选集和文学史论述话语下的美国民族身份为中心,对美国文学这一概念的变迁进行梳理,得出以下结论:首先,美国文学中的"美国"是一个修辞,是一个通过写作而塑造、开拓的过程,而写作在美国社会历史进程中起到一个调节阀的作用;其次,美国文学各发展阶段具有同一隐含属性,即对边缘和少数的不断指涉。持续的身份焦虑和强烈的政治意图是美国民族身份的文学书写产生流变的深层原因之一。

The past years have witnessed the resurrection of nationalism in the West and the "Right Turn"in the international community. With China's reevaluation of the literary canon movement as a background,reexamination of textbooks in American literature is an imminent task. This paper portrays American literature through the lens of literature anthologies and histories. It points out that the development of American literature fits into the description of"minor literature"proposed by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari.By examining the four traditions that form the origin of American literature,and outlining the changes in the way that American national literature is defined,this paper argues that American literature is a discourse that is constructed by writing,the very practice of which serves as a valve in the American historical and social development.