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Translation and Transfer of Knowledge in Encyclopedic Compilations, 1680-1830

Hans-Jürgen Lüsebrink editor Clorinda Donato editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:University of Toronto Press

Published:20th Sep '21

Should be back in stock very soon

Translation and Transfer of Knowledge in Encyclopedic Compilations, 1680-1830 cover

From its modern origins in seventeenth-century France, encyclopedic compilations met the need for the dissemination of information in a more flexible format, one that eschewed the limits of previous centuries of erudition. The rise of vernacular languages dovetailed with the demand for information in every sector, sparking competition among nations to establish the encyclopedic "paper empires" that became symbols of power and potential. The contributors to this edited collection evaluate the long-overlooked phenomenon of knowledge creation and transfer that occurred in hundreds of translated encyclopedic compilations over the long eighteenth century.

Analysing multiple instances of translated compilations, Translation and Transfer of Knowledge in Encyclopedic Compilations, 1680–1830 expands into the vast realm of the multilingual, encyclopedic compilation, the most tangible proof of the global enlightenment. Through the presentation of an extensive corpus of translated compilations, this volume argues that the true site of knowledge transfer resided in the transnational movement of ideas exemplified by these compendia. The encyclopedia came to represent the aspiring nation as a viable economic and political player on the world stage; the capability to tell knowledge through culture became the hallmark of a nation’s cultural capital, symbolic of its might and mapping the how, why, and where of the global eighteenth century.

“The reviewed volume contains a rich bouquet of interesting contributions to contemporary encyclopedia research. These contributions show how encyclopedias can be approached from different disciplines and perspectives and how rich the results can be, not least in terms of knowledge transfer, translations, and national characteristics, even translation errors that have been spread.” -- Urs B, Leu, Zentralbibliothek Zürich * H-France Review *
“This collection is an outstanding addition to encyclopedia studies and to scholarship on the long eighteenth century, on the Enlightenment and early modernity, and on issues in cultural translation.” -- Larry W. Riggs, Butler University * New Perspectives on the Eighteenth Century *

ISBN: 9781487508906

Dimensions: 235mm x 159mm x 24mm

Weight: 660g

376 pages