Translation and the Production of Knowledge(s)

Publications, Translation

Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics, published by the American University in Cairo, has released its 38th issue (2018)

Guest-edited by Mona Baker

The point of departure for this special issue of Alif is that knowledge is “produced” rather than “discovered,” and that translation is a core mechanism for the production and circulation of all forms of knowledge. With very few exceptions, the intimate connection between translation and the mediation of knowledge has received relatively limited attention in translation studies to date, and even less in other areas of the humanities that one would expect to engage with this topic extensively. Therefore, this special issue contributes to shattering this illusion by presenting a wide range of case studies that demonstrate the complexity of translation and the variety of ends that it can be made to serve. Far from a disinterested practice that merely “transfers” different types of knowledge between cultural groupings with equal power and resources, the studies presented here reveal that translation creates traditions and narratives that actively shape the world for us.

English and French Section
  • Spencer Scoville: Translating Orientalism into the Arabic Nahda 
  • Samuel England: An Ayyubid Renaissance: Saladin, from Knighthood to Nahḍa
  • Rafael Y. Schögler: Translation in the Social Sciences and Humanities: Circulating and Canonizing Knowledge
  • Karen Bennett: Translation and the Desacralization of the Western World: From Performativity to Representation
  • Simon Labrecque et René Lemieux: Traduire la virtù de Machiavel en anglais
  • Rita Filanti: Self-Censorship and Fascism
  • Samah Selim: Politics and Paratext: On Translating Arwa Salih’s al-Mubtasarun 
  • Anna Bogic: Translation and Feminist Knowledge Production: The Serbian Translation of Our Bodies, Ourselves 
  • Mark Shuttleworth: Translation and the Production of Knowledge in Wikipedia: Chronicling the Assassination of Boris Nemtsov
  • Henry Jones: Wikipedia, Translation, and the Collaborative Production of Spatial Knowledge
  • Maeve Olohan: A Practice-Theory Analysis of Scientific Editing by Translators
  • Iulia Mihalache: Les traducteurs et les technologies: Un mode de réflection dans l’action

Interview with Lydia Liu
The Battleground of Translation: Making Equal in a Global Structure of Inequality (Interviewed by James St. André)

Arabic Section
  • Sameh Hanna: Knowledge Production and Identity Formation in Two Arabic Translations of the Bible
  • Mariam Saeed El Ali: “Do You Know What this Bird is Saying?”: Translating Animal Language as Spiritual Knowledge
  • Tarek Shamma: Early Translations of Aristotle’s Poetics: Wasted Opportunity or Creative Adaptation?
  • Richard Jacquemond: Palestinian Literature Translated into French: History and Impact
  • Ahmed Haikal: Israeli Responses to Hebrew Translations of Darwish’s Poetry
  • Mahmoud Alhirthani: Translation and the Re-Production of Knowledge: The Example of Edward Said
  • Mustafa Riad: Translation and Modern Nation-Building in Egypt: Tahtawi as Translator
  • Rana Roshdy: Translation and Liberation from Western Hegemony: Al-Sanhuri’s 1948 Law
  • Sayyed Daifallah: Translation and Acculturation: On Cultural Criticism
  • Ashraf Abdel Fattah and Rashid Yahiaoui: Media Translation and Trans-Editing: News Reporting or Reality Representation?

Interview with Khaled Mattawa
Translation and Identity (Introduced and Interviewed by Samia Mehrez)
 
Subscription and correspondence
For a complimentary review copy, contact alifecl@aucegypt.edu
In Egypt: LE 60; available at AUC Bookstores.
Abroad: Individuals: $60 (+ $25 shipment charges); Institutions: $120 (+ $25 shipment charges).
 
Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics 
The American University in Cairo
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E-mail: alifecl@aucegypt.edu