Translation and Power

The contributors to this volume see translation as an activity that takes place not in an ideal neutral site but in real social and political situations, with parties who have vested interests in the production and reception of texts across linguistic and cultural boundaries. Translation is not simply a process of faithful reproduction but invariably involves deliberate acts of selection, construction, and omission. It is inextricably linked to issues of cultural dominance, assertion, and resistance -- in short, to power.

Although governments, churches, publishing firms, and other powerful institutions may influence the translation process, many translators have found ways to resist that influence and have used translation to introduce new ideas and modes of expression. Exploring the nexus of translation and power, the essays in this volume offer a wide variety of examples, across multiple languages and societies. They range from case studies of historical episodes in which translation has played a role in the assertion of political and military power, such a

Rosemary Arrojo teaches translation studies at the Universidade Estadual de Campinas in Brazil Michael Cronin is director of the Centre for Translation Studies at Dublin City University Sabine Fenton directs the Centre for Translation and Interpreting Studies at the University of Auckland Edwin Gentzler is associate professor of comparative literature and director of the Translation Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Camino Gutierrez Lanza is a lecturer at the University of Leon in Spain in the Department of Modern Philology Christopher Larkosh is an independent scholar working on issues of literature and culture in the context of multilingualism and global migration Alexandra Lianeri is a research fellow at the Institute of Hellenic and Roman Studies in the Department of Classics at the University of Bristol Lin Kenan is professor of translation studies at Tianjin Foreign Studies University Carol Maier is professor of Spanish at Kent State University Paul Moon is a senior lecturer in development studies at Te Ara Poutama, the Faculty of Maori Development, at the Auckland University of Technology Adriana S. Pagano is associate professor of English in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil Sherry Simon directs the Ph.D. in Humanities Programme at Concordia University, Montreal Maria Tymoczko is professor of comparative literature at the University of Massachusetts Amherst