帕克的“边缘人”理论及其当代价值

The Press Path of Robert E. Park’s Study on “Marginal Man” and Its Enlightenment

帕克以美国城市化进程中的少数族移民为对象,以社会学实证经验方法研究人类集体行为、种族关系、城市生态等社会问题,提出了影响深远的“边缘人”理论。《移民报刊及其控制》是其“边缘人”研究的重要成果,其研究的材料、路径是移民报刊,但其研究的目的、落脚点不是移民报刊,而是城市移民、少数族等“边缘人”群体。传播学界把此书视为大众传播学研究的成果与起源可以理解,但不够准确。还原帕克社会学研究的重点、落脚点,重新梳理其学术路径,对理解其社会学思想、移民少数族研究、“边缘人”理论等很有必要,对研究与解决当代国际社会不断增多的少数族移民问题和当下中国城乡一体化、城市化、新型城镇化进程中出现的城市移民问题具有重要价值。

Taking as subject the immigrants of ethnic minorities in the process of urbanization in the United States and studying such social issues as human collective behaviors, relations with ethnic minorities and urban ecology through the sociological method of empirical demonstration, Parker put forward the “marginal man” theory with profound influence. The Immigrant Press and Its Control is the significant result of his research, and the materials and path of his study are immigrant press. However, his starting point and endpoint are not immigrant press, but groups of marginal men such as urban immigrants and ethnic minorities. It is understandable that the media circles regard this book as the result and origin of the study of mass communication, but it is not accurate. To restore the focal points and endpoints of Parker’s sociological study and to re-analyze its academic path are of great necessity for understanding its sociological ideology, the studies on immigrants of ethnic minorities and “marginal man” theory, and are also of significant value for studying and addressing the issue of the ever-increasing number of immigrants of ethnic minorities in contemporary international community and the issue of urban immigrants who have appeared in the process of urban-rural integration, urbanization and new-type urbanization in current China.