1st Edition
Translation and Objects Rewriting Migrancy and Displacement through the Materiality of Art
Translation and Objects offers a new and original perspective in Translation Studies, originating from the conviction that in today’s world translation is pervasive. Building on the ideas of scholars who have expanded the boundaries of the discipline, this book focuses on the analysis of objects that migrants carry with them on their journey of migration.
The ideas of displacement and constant movement are key throughout these pages. Migrants live translation literally, because displacement is a leitmotif for them. Translation and Objects analyzes migrant objects—such as shoes, stones, or photographs—as translation sites that function as expressions as well as sources of emotions. These displaced emotional objects, laden with meanings and sentiments, tell many stories, saying a great deal about their owners, who almost never have a voice. This book shows how meaning is displaced through the materiality, texture, smells, sensations, and forms of moving objects.
Including examples of translations that have been created from a no-nlinguistic perspective and exploring linguistic issues whilst connecting them to other fields such as anthropology and sociology, Vidal sets out a broad vision of translation. This is critical reading for translation theory courses within Translation Studies, comparative literature, and cultural studies.
Preface by Piotr Blumczynski
Acknowledgements
1.Translating beyond words
2.Travelling
3. Migrant objects
4. Translationality and translatio in contemporary art
5. Terra infirma
References
Index
Biography
Mª Carmen África Vidal Claramonte is Professor of Translation at the University of Salamanca, Spain. She has published articles and chapters, edited volumes and books, including Translation and Repetition (Routledge, 2024) and Translation and Contemporary Art (Routledge, 2022). She is a practicing translator specialized in the fi elds of philosophy, literature, and contemporary art.
‘This book offers a necessary reflection on what can be considered original, even if it does not conform to the traditional canon. Its theoretical observations are complemented with abundant examples of literary creativity and repetition in writing or in translation, each more striking than the last. Thus, the book is an example of Vidal Claramonte's idea of reading, authorship, creation and translation: no two readers will be the same, but neither will the reading of this book, at different times, always be the same.’
Jorge Leiva, University of Málaga
'By understanding translation as a form of creative repetition, Vidal Claramonte departs from an essentialist conception of meaning and presents translation as the endless possibility of altering and enriching the source text. This book confirms that translation is a core issue in contemporary thought, both because of the multiple perspectives from which it can be approached and because of the many disciplines to which it can contribute: philosophy, sociology, linguistics, literary theory, art. As Vidal Claramonte reminds us, “Translation is more ludic than ever and, therefore, more serious than ever".
David Marín, Babel volume 70, Issue 3, 2024: https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.00391.mar
