Translation and Political Engagement
- 1 April 2000
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in The Translator
- Vol. 6 (1), 23-47
- https://doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2000.10799054
Abstract
The possibility of using translation for geopolitical agenda and political engagement has stimulated substantial interest in the last decade within translation studies and in other disciplines. Defining engagement in translation studies as translation with an activist component, this article reviews the discourse pertaining to translation and engagement. The case study of the translation of Irish literature into English over the last century, from the epoch of Irish cultural nationalism through Irish political independence to the present, is used as an exemplar of a translation movement that has been effective in achieving significant geopolitical results. Desiderata for a theory of translation and engagement are discussed, in the context of which a criticism is offered of Venuti’s contribution to the discourse of translation and engagement. The article concludes with the identification of characteristics shared by translation movements that have effectively contributed to political engagement and geopolitical change.Keywords
This publication has 11 references indexed in Scilit:
- Postcolonial TranslationPublished by Taylor & Francis Ltd ,2012
- The Translator's InvisibilityPublished by Taylor & Francis Ltd ,2003
- Gender in TranslationPublished by Taylor & Francis Ltd ,2003
- THE SCANDALS OF TRANSLATIONPublished by Taylor & Francis Ltd ,1998
- What is Translation? Centifugal Theories, Critical InterventionsPublished by Kent State University ,1997
- Venuti's VisibilityTarget. International Journal of Translation Studies, 1996
- Descriptive Translation Studies – and beyondPublished by John Benjamins Publishing Company ,1995
- Contracting ColonialismPublished by Duke University Press ,1993
- Siting TranslationPublished by University of California Press ,1992
- Toward a Science of TranslatingPublished by Brill ,1964