本文透過新歷史主義及當代主義的辯論探討二十一世紀多元文化教學的挑戰與新方向。在通識教育與國際化的人文教育中，經典的研讀一直是重要的一環。然而，學界對於經典的教學法和價值並沒有共識。本文透過探討美國大學的莎士比亞課程和世界文學課程提出反思：經典的價值在於引發辯論的空間，在於引發讀者思考自身歷史處境與經典世界間的拉鋸和辨證關係。作爲詮釋方法論，新歷史主義及當代主義各擅勝場，在教學上應結合靈活應用。

This article analyzes the tensions between historicist (emphasizing the difference between cultures) and presentist (emphasizing the sameness) approaches to teaching global humanities courses to students in the twenty-first century. Are classics worth studying because they are universal and always relevant to readers in our times? Or is it because they provide an opportunity to re-examine the differences between ”here and now” and ”then and there”? If ”classics” provoke debates in the classroom, they have accomplished the most important pedagogical goal. While the cultural logic of late capitalist reproduction and globalization seems to shrink distances, we should not fail to recognize the value of temporal and geocultural differences.

新歷史主義; 當代主義; 正典; 莎士比亞; 西方漢學; 全球化的文化市場; 多元文化教學; 通識教育

new historicism; presentism; canon; Shakespeare; sinology; global cultural marketplace