戴维·兰西的儿童人类学思想初探

Research on David F.Lancy’Anthropology of Childhood

儿童人类学发端于人类学的文化和人格学派,主要研究不同时期特定地域儿童的思想观念和行为方式。文章探究了儿童人类学家戴维·兰西的的理论思想,主要从其对该学科领域的历史脉络梳理、不同时期和地域儿童或童年(尤其土著人)的本质探究和相关民族志研究方法的辨析三方面展开。研究的启示是:一是加紧我国儿童人类学学科的系统整理着实紧迫和必要;二是不能“一刀切”式妄断“传统”与“现代”儿童教育的“优”与“劣”;三是在民族志田野考察时,要充分考虑到不同文化背景下儿童的性格特征。

Anthropology of childhood,derived from culture and personality school of Anthropology,mainly studies children’s ideas and behaves in different historical periods and places.The present article explored theories and ideas about David F.Lancy’s anthropology of childhood,which primarily covered disciplinary development path,substantial exploration in different historical periods and places and ethnographic research methods.Finally,it was pointed out:first,it was both necessary and urgent to tease out the field of anthropology of childhood in China;second,it was unable to take“one size fits all”practice to draw a rash judgment,which“tradition”and“modernity”was superior or inferior;third,during ethnographic fieldwork,it was considerable the children’s character traits in different cultural contexts.