亚裔美国史学五十年:反思与展望

回顾和检讨亚裔美国史学在过去半个世纪里所走过的道路可以发现,早期亚裔美国史学中一个最突出的问题是以意识形态为主导的一元论历史观。在近30年的时间里,学者大都仅仅从"种族歧视"这一个角度去诠释历史事件,反对从其他视野去观察亚洲移民的经历。不过,最近15年来,这个领域中出现了冲破一元论历史观束缚的趋势。新一代学者提出了白人、黑人和亚裔之间三角形关系的论点,从而否定了"有色对白种"的双重种族关系理论模式。从"跨国主义"的视野观察亚裔美国史的人认为,亚洲移民实际上具有双重的民族主义和双重文化认同,从而向"同化论"、"定居者"论和"美国化"论提出了挑战。他们还发现,日本人向美国移民和日本帝国主义的海外扩张之间有着密不可分的关系。这些新动向标志着亚裔美国史学正在逐步走向成熟。

Fifty Years of Asian-American Historiography:Reflecting on the Past and Looking into the Future

This essay aims to examine the merits and problems of Asian-American historiography in the past 50 years.In the early days,a major problem in the field was an ideology-guided,monistic approach to academic research.By only focusing on racial discrimination and by deterring others from exploring Asian immigration history from different or additional perspectives,this approach dominated the field for nearly three decades at the cost of a fuller and more balanced picture of historical events.In recent years,however,there have emerged some new trends challenging the dogmatic approach to Asian-American studies.By examining the relationships between whites,blacks,and Asians as a triangulated relationship instead of a binary one,scholars writing since the mid-1990s have refuted the traditional "black and white" theory on race relations in America.Meanwhile,those who explore Asian-American history from a transnational perspective have argued,persuasively,that Asian immigrants had dual nationalism and dual-cultural identities.In particular,they have discovered that Japanese immigration and Japanese expansionism were closely intertwined.Behind the decision to relocate the Japanese during World War II,"military necessity" did exist.ese new trends indicate that Asian-American historiography is headed toward maturity.