Open the field of vision (more modern research)

Author: Sun Jin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-12-01
Features: The content of this book has two layers of meaning. One is the main focus of my academic research over the past decade, including issues of farmers, political system reform, and social transformation. The other layer means that these contents can be broadly categorized under the research direction of "comparative modernization," and they also (can be said from a methodological perspective) demonstrate what comparative modernization entails. In my view, current research on modernization (and comparative modernization) may not have entirely gone astray, but at least there is a significant possibility of that. Therefore, the arguments in this book, on one hand, explain what this deviation is, and on the other hand, through the study of specific issues, demonstrate how related academic research should approach what I call a "perspective" of comparative modernization if it is not deviated. I believe that my understanding of the above two aspects is reasonable and practical, and it holds both theoretical value and real-world significance.
For example, the professional direction I recruit doctoral and master's students in is "comparative modernization," and I often receive questions from students (and scholars): What does comparative modernization mean? What will I learn if I pursue this direction? How do I choose a research topic? They even ask what subject or major this "direction" belongs to. My answer is: It doesn’t matter, as long as it is related to modernization. In fact, what in the world today is unrelated to modernization? So, the issue lies in how we view the relationship between modernization and its true meaning. I use the term "perspective" to represent this relationship. This book not only presents views and insights on the major issues of modernization but also reflects an understanding of the ontological form of comparative modernization.
Perhaps, from the conventional understanding of a "monograph," the content of this book may seem "not specialized" and clearly involves multiple disciplines or fields such as political science, sociology, philosophy, economics, and the vaguely defined "culture." However, all these contents (including the so-called disciplines or fields they belong to) are unified in the sense of modernization. In other words, it is a "specialized" study of "comparative modernization." Therefore, although some parts of this book have been published before, it is not merely an anthology of general papers but rather an integrated research composed of interconnected parts and issues.