Transformation and Trends: The Humanities Edition

Author: Huang Chang, Huang Yuifu, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-06-01
Features: Four years ago, to better meet the needs of readers interested in the dynamics of foreign humanities and social sciences research, we systematically screened a large number of articles that had been scattered across various issues of Social Sciences Abroad. From these, we selected a group of outstanding works and compiled them into thematic volumes. This led to the later three-volume series that readers now see: Rethinking Modernity—Contemporary Western Academic Discourse, Conflict and Deconstruction—Contemporary Western Academic Narrative, and Transformation and Trends—Contemporary Western Academic Mainstream. After its release, the series was well-received and highly praised by readers, which was unexpected for us. Of course, this gave us motivation to continue this work.
The authors of Social Sciences Abroad are primarily scholars from central and local social science academies, universities, and other research institutions engaged in humanities and social sciences research. Among them are many outstanding scholars with deep expertise. Many articles published in Social Sciences Abroad, a core journal of national social sciences, have also been well-received by readers. These articles, in various ways, address recent research progress and trends in foreign humanities and social sciences, providing readers with a wealth of relevant information. This research progress, trends, and information are not only useful for scholars specializing in foreign humanities and social sciences and international studies but also offer valuable insights for researchers in China’s humanities and social sciences disciplines. In particular, the research methods, approaches, and perspectives of foreign humanities and social scientists are highly reference-worthy for Chinese scholars, while some knowledge is essential for all humanities and social sciences professionals.
The humanities and social sciences in the 20th century were characterized by institutionalization, specialization, integration, and internationalization. Specialization and integration may seem contradictory, but they are not. Since the emergence of humanities and social sciences, the trend of disciplinary differentiation and refinement has never ceased, yet integration and interdisciplinary research have shown even stronger momentum. This trend has become particularly evident since the second half of the 20th century. The reason may be related to the complexity of contemporary society, as addressing complex social problems, conflicts, and contradictions requires collaborative efforts across multiple disciplines.
The internationalization of humanities and social sciences—or what is now termed globalization—is a major development trend. This is a direct result of increased international exchanges, the growing commonality and universality of global challenges, and the rapid advancement of transportation and communication technologies, especially the advent of the internet. In our current selection process, we followed this line of thinking. The overarching title remains Contemporary Western Academic Trends Series, and we did not change "Western" to "Foreign" for two reasons: first, articles on Western academic trends indeed constitute the majority; second, to maintain consistency and continuity with the earlier series. The series remains in three volumes, with titles as follows: Transformation and Trends—Humanities, Integration and Expansion—Social Sciences, and Intersection and Synthesis—Interdisciplinary Studies. The three volumes collectively include over 90 articles, reviews, commentaries, and translations published between 2000 and 2003. Each volume contains over 300,000 words, totaling slightly more than 1 million words. These articles generally reflect the overall trends of contemporary foreign humanities and social sciences, though they also cover some of the world’s current hot issues, such as globalization, terrorism and counterterrorism, cultural issues, foreign China studies, and important topics in fields like political science and economics.
We have made every effort to organize the selections according to the content of each volume to ensure greater coherence, but due to our limitations and the inherent overlaps in some articles, the divisions may not always be perfect. Additionally, since the articles cover a wide range of disciplines and were published over different periods in Social Sciences Abroad, with varying writing styles and focuses, even when compiled together, they cannot achieve the same level of systematicity as a monograph. We hope readers will understand this. However, I firmly believe that it is precisely this diversity that may enhance readability and appeal.
"Different wines offer intoxication; diverse grains bring satisfaction" (Lunheng). If our series can achieve this, then the efforts of the editors will not have been in vain, and we can find some solace in it.
Colleagues at the publisher and editorial office asked me to write a preface for the series, but there is little new to say. These words serve as the preface.
Against the backdrop of the evolving theories in humanities and social sciences, the development of contemporary Western humanities and the advancement of social sciences have proceeded in tandem. Since the 1950s, the major trend in Western humanities has been an alternation between differentiation and integration. Due to breakthroughs in disciplinary methodologies and other factors, numerous interdisciplinary (or newly emerging) fields have gradually detached from traditional humanities, forming their own specialized domains. This demonstrates that differentiation is an inevitable trend in the development of Western humanities. Similarly, the trend of integration is also evident in the development of humanities, as seen in the emergence of comprehensive issues such as globalization, sustainable development, and peace and development. It is worth noting that in the late 20th century and early 21st century, the trend of differentiation seemed to dominate. Over these five decades, Western humanities developed two distinct characteristics. First, the interpenetration of humanities and social sciences. Frontier issues in humanities have merged with social sciences, creating new disciplines. Compared to other forms of integration (e.g., integration within humanities, integration between humanities and natural sciences), this interpenetration appears more profound. Second, the reversion of the humanities tradition. This period emphasized the study of human nature, empirical research, and interactive research, all of which were key features of humanities research.
There is no doubt that readers can understand all of this in this book.