在效果研究与批判理论之间:默顿与早期传播研究

Between the Effect Tradition and Critical Theory:Merton and Early Communication Studies

在传播学史主流叙事中,默顿往往作为拉扎斯菲尔德的合作者被提及。但这一叙事遮蔽了默顿20世纪40年代对传播研究的知识贡献。以后来之见,默顿完全可以被视为美国传播学阐释主义范式的一个重要先驱。默顿对宣传、传播议题的关照远远超出了效果研究的视野,不仅极大地丰富了美国传播学,也影响和启发了文化研究、传播政治经济学乃至其他领域的研究。但默顿在理论与方法上的游移,使其成为一个介于效果研究与批判理论之间的灰色人物,难以被任何一个范式的经典叙事重视。

Merton was often described as Lazarsfeld's collaborator by the mainstream narrative in the history of communication studies.However this narrative largely overlooked Merton's own contributions to the field which could made him as an important American pioneer of interpretive studies of communication in the 1940s.Merton's several researches on the issues of propaganda and communication had outrun the effect tradition extensively,not only enriched American communication studies,but also inspired cultural studies,political economy of communications and many other fields.Partly due to his eclecticism in both theoretical and methodological considerations,Merton was marginalized by both paradigm of effect tradition and critical theory.