关于"人类学"与"民族学"的关系问题

关于"人类学"和"民族学"这两个学科名称的关系问题,学术界有不同的理解,国内有关部门的分类也较为混乱.本文认为,"民族学"这一学科的形成以1839年巴黎民族学会的成立为标志.早期的"民族学"学科是广义的,既研究文化,也研究体质.19世纪下半叶后,"民族学"由广义变为狭义,主要研究文化.而"人类学"这一学科名称在早期则是狭义的,主要研究体质.后来"人类学"由狭义变为广义,既研究体质,也研究文化.在当代中国,"民族学"又有广义和狭义之分,广义的"民族学"是具有中国特色的学科,狭义的"民族学"与"文化人类学"和"社会人类学"基本相同.把广义的"民族学"与"人类学"并列为一个一级学科,比较符合学科发展的历史和当前中国的现实.

The Relationship between Anthropology and Ethnology

In China, there are different interpretationsto the relationship between the two discipline anthropology and ethnology. And authorities concerned also have not clear definition for them. This paper argues that the founding of the Societe Ethnologique de Paris marked ethnology formed as a title of discipline. The early fields of the ethnology both included cultural and physical studies. After the middle of 19th century, the ethnology narrowed its extent into physical studies. The term of anthropology was first used in its narrow sense, with the meaning of physical studies. Later, it extendedto the cultural studies. In contemporaryChina, the ethnology both has broad and narrow sense. The ethnologyin broad sense is a discipline with Chinese characteristics, but the one in narrow sense has the same field with cultural or social anthropology. It is in lines with above history and present condition of China to make ethnology in broad sense and anthropology as first class discipline.