西方人类学民族志范式的转型与发展

The Transformation and Development of Western Anthropology’s Ethnographic Paradigm

民族志作为一种认知、表征异文化的活动与载体,其背后的认知和写作过程充斥着民族志者自身知识体系的限定、以自身社会为参照的本体预设和与当地人互动过程的影响,进而也限定了民族志文本对他者的表征。依照对民族志认知本质的认识程度和对他者的表征差异,将西方的民族志历史分为业余民族志、科学民族志、反思民族志和“本体论转向”四个阶段。业余民族志和科学民族志未认识到民族志认识发生的本质,而将民族志文本视为对土著社会的客观表征。其实该阶段的民族志活动处在欧美社会的神学与社会进化思想下,因而将欧美与土著社会之间的差异视为一种人与非人、先进与落后的关系。反思民族志认识到民族志认识过程的非客观性,指明民族志文本只是对他者的一种“散点”表征,群体间差异在多元文化主义思想的影响下被视为同属人类的不同文化表现。“本体论转向”民族志认识到民族志认识发生过程受民族志者自身知识体系和自身社会的参照性影响,希望通过搁置它们来呈现他者的本体性存在,进而探寻不同的知识生成与世界构成的方式。

Ethnography is a process and a medium for cultural representation and cognition.The cognition and writing processes involved in it are constrained by the ethnographer’s own worldview,the ontological assumptions in reference to their own culture,and the interactions with the locals,all of which have an impact on how the Other is represented in the ethnographic text.The history of western ethnography is divided into four phases:amateur ethnography,scientific ethnography,reflective ethnography,and “ontological turn” according to the degree of awareness of the cognitive nature of ethnography and the differences in how the Other is represented.Amateur and scientific ethnographies overlook the nature of what transpires in ethnographic knowledge and views ethnographic literature as impartial depictions of indigenous communities.The differences between European and American cultures and indigenous societies were actually seen as a relationship between human and non-human,advancedness and backwardness,because the ethnographic operations at this era were actually founded on the theology and social evolution of European and American societies.Reflective ethnography acknowledges the subjectivity of the process of ethnographic cognition,showing that ethnographic texts only provide a “scattered” representation of the Other,and that the concept of differences among ethnic groups is impacted by multiculturalism and seen as different cultural expressions of humans.The “ontological turn” in ethnography recognizes that the ethnographer’s own knowledge system and the referentiality of his own culture have an impact on the process of ethnographic cognition.By putting these factors aside,this ethnography aims to demonstrate the ontological presence of the Other so as to explore different forms of knowledge formation and the structure of the world.