从“后学”到认同政治:当代美国人文思潮走向

From Post-isms to Identity Politics:Reflections on American Humanities Today

近半个世纪以来是美国人文学术界“后学”(后结构主义、后现代主义、后殖民主义)理论兴盛的时代。“后学”中的后殖民主义理论是美国的本土产物,跟英国的文化研究交相辉映,实现了英美人文领域的后学与文化研究的范式转型,在社会科学领域也产生了影响。后殖民主义理论核心是“认同(或身份)政治”,植根于美国这个种族、族裔、信仰、传统极为多元的移民国家的经验。近年来这种学院派话语逐渐向英美社会蔓延,形成政治正确话语,产生了极为广泛深远的社会影响。认同政治以文化多元论和相对主义的面貌出现,对在美国乃至全球兴起的民粹主义、民族主义、逆全球化潮流推波助澜,与之相互呼应。反思美国认同政治,有助于中国人文学术寻找自己的理论与现实问题。

Theories of poststructuralism,postmodernism and postcolonialism have dominated the U.S.humanities for almost half a century.As an indigenous theory of the U.S.,postcolonialism,together with British Cultural Studies,transform the Anglo-American academic scene of the humanities and impact fields of social sciences.The core of postcolonial theory is identity politics,based largely in North American experience of diverse racial,ethnic,cultural and religious communities of immigrants.Such an academic theory has recently spilled over every social sector,constituting political correctness(PC)as a prevalent socio-political discourse,with far-reaching impact.Identity politics appears in various guises,such as multiculturalism and relativism,reverberating with the newly emergent populist,nationalist and antglobalization sentiments across the world.Critique of identity politics may help navigate intellectual inquires to the theoretical and real issues that China faces now.