卡尔·苏尔的文化生态学理论与实践

On Sauer’s theory and practice in cultural ecology

“伯克利学派” ,又称“文化生态学派” ,是一个由卡尔·苏尔创立的、具有广泛学术影响的美国人文地理学派 ,在欧美地理学界和文化人类学界曾产生过巨大影响。本文对伯克利学派创始人卡尔·苏尔的学术思想和学术实践作了系统的分析和总结。苏尔的学术研究主要包括五个部分 :1 )农业起源问题研究 ;2 )文化景观与生态环境相互关系的研究 ;3)美洲探险史和发现史研究 ;4 )人类对自然环境的改造 ;5 )文化生态学方法论探索。指导苏尔学术实践活动的核心思想 ,是他在《景观的形态》和《历史地理学序言》中系统阐述和倡导的文化生态学思想 ,这就是强调文化景观与生态环境之间有机联系的分析 。

Berkeley School, also known as Cultural Ecology School, was represented by Carl O. Sauer, one of the most outstanding American cultural and historical geographers, who served as the director of Department of Geography at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1923 to 1954. Under his leadership this active academic school had produced huge influences in geography and anthropology in North America from the 1920s to 1960s. The academic practice of Sauer could be classified into five categories: 1) agricultural origin and dispersal; 2) the relations between cultural landscapes and natural environments; 3) the researches on the early explorations of America; 4) human impacts on environments; and 5) the methodology of cultural ecology. Sauer's theory and practice in cultural ecology belongs to the logical positive study. He is interested in cultural landscapes and the relationship between the cultural landscapes and natural environments is the core theme in all his researches. When studying landscapes, he not only reveals the regional differentiation, but also emphases the origin and changing process of the cultural landscapes. He believes cultures play very important roles in shaping landscapes, and each unique cultural landscape deeply roots in the local environment. He thinks cultural landscape is built based on the natural landscape on one side, and it is also the creation of human culture on another side. Sauer insists that all cultural landscapes have the genetic or historical characteristics. Cultural landscape is formed and shaped throughout the time sequence. At the different time intervals, the cultural landscape is different. One cultural landscape is the result of the former landscape, and it is also the beginning and condition of the next one. So if we want to well understand the current cultural landscape, we need to know the historical changing process of the landscape. From the 1970s on, Berkeley School declined gradually and Sauer's ideas were abandoned finally in North America, the discussion on the geographical imagination has replaced the early logical positive studies. In some situation, Sauer even becomes the whipping target of post modernism scholars. Actually, geographical facts and imagination are the two aspects of one geographical question, they are complementary but not expelled. From this point of view, Sauer's works still have important meaning for the development of Chinese geography.