미국] 미국사 연구 동향: 역사가의 소명과 팬데믹이 남긴 과제

Abstract

This review essay is to understand recent research trends of American history in Korea over the past two years(2019-2020). From 2019 to 2020, eighty-two articles, five history books, and four book reviews were published in Korea. In general, every research has multi-layered meanings by crossing diverse subjects making difficult to annalize them by one certain subject. As a convenient device, however, this essay discusses recent researches by each subject such as political, gender, immigration, and so forth.<BR> One of prominent trend is a profound achievement in the field of medical history. After COVID19, hatred for particular race called xenophobia is reemerged everywhere in the name of national security or public health. Yet this is nothing new in American history. Since 2000, historians both in the field of medical and immigration/race studies have attempted to reveal diverse historical experiences from diverse immigrant groups across racial or ethnic lines. Another distinctive trend is that the fields of political/diplomatic history is recovering their previous mainstream position by publishing seventeen articles and a book.<BR> According to Oscar Wilde, “The only Obligation we have to history is to rewrite it.” Facing pandemic COVID19, historians can no longer keep their role in the past. Rather, with new insights, we should be ready to answer diverse current issues since there is nothing permanent except change as Heracleitos said.