Literary Translation and Cultural Mediators in 'Peripheral' Cultures

Customs Officers or Smugglers?

Reine Meylaerts editor Diana Roig-Sanz editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Springer Nature Switzerland AG

Published:30th Jan '19

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Literary Translation and Cultural Mediators in 'Peripheral' Cultures cover

This book sets the grounds for a new approach exploring cultural mediators as key figures in literary and cultural history. It proposes an innovative conceptual and methodological understanding of the figure of the cultural mediator, defined as a cultural actor active across linguistic, cultural and geographical borders, occupying strategic positions within large networks and being the carrier of cultural transfer. Many studies on translation and cultural mediation privileged the major metropolis of Paris, London, and New York as centres of cultural production and translation. However, other cities and megacities that are not global centres of culture also feature vibrant translation scenes. This book abandons the focus on ‘innovative’ centres and ‘imitative’ peripheries and follows processes of cultural exchange as they develop. Thus, it analyses the role of cultural mediators as customs officers or smugglers (or both in different proportions) in so-called ‘peripheral’ cultures and offers insights into an under-analysed body of actors and institutions promoting intercultural transfer in often multilingual and less studied venues such as Trieste, Tel Aviv, Buenos Aires, Lima, Lahore, or Cape Town.

“Due to the book’s innovative multidimensional and multilingual approach, together with its insightful contribution to ongoing debates about actor-network theory (ANT) and gender issues, it can be recommended for scholars working not only in Translation Studies, but also in interdisciplinary studies on culture and society in general.” (Ekaterina Grineva, Connections, January 29, 2021)

“This book is quite valuable for readers interested in world literature, translation, cultural history, or cultural transfer to unravel extensive cultural movements across languages by mediators of multiple roles in peripheral cultures in discursive and nondiscursive modes.” (Jianwei Zheng and Wenjun Fan, International Journal of Communication, Vol. 14, 2020)

ISBN: 9783030086176

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 511g

373 pages

Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2018