歷史的轉向：社會科學與歷史敘事的結合

The Historical Turn: The Articulation of Narrative and Social Science in Historical Sociology

不少社會學者視敘事為認識論上不可相容的異類，急切地要將說故事自社會學的歷史解釋裡逐出。本文基於敘事性與人類生活經驗的時間性間相互依存的關係，倡議社會科學的歷史解釋應納入敘事作為更多樣而成熟的選擇。筆者以為，社會科學的解釋與敘事的理解非但不應相互排斥，甚且可以相輔相成。社會學的歷史研究裡，敘事究竟可以扮演什麼角色，其與傳統社會科學的解釋又有什麼關連？本文嘗試從認識論與方法論來探究兩者結合的可能性與方式，並以《番頭家》一書的寫作經驗作為實例。

Narrative is regarded as the epistemological 'other' by many sociologists, who are eager to drive story telling out of their historical explanations. Adhering to the reciprocity between narrativity and temporality, this paper advocates incorporating the narrative mode into historical explanations in sociology as a sign of both methodological diversity and maturity. This article illustrates the compatibility of narrative understanding and social science explanation through the writing experience of The Aborigine Landlord: Ethnic Politics and Aborigine Land Rights in Qing Taiwan.