Positionalities of Translation Studies: On the Situatedness of Translation Research: Bloomsbury Advances in Translation Garda Elsherif Bloomsbury Academic

Positionalities of Translation Studies

On the Situatedness of Translation Research

Positionalities of Translation Studies

On the Situatedness of Translation Research

Description

This volume explores historical, cultural, linguistic, and anthropocentric influences on Translation Studies (TS).

It brings together nuanced, individual, self-reflexive case studies and juxtaposes them in order to provoke discussion on the role of contemporary researchers in the discipline of TS. As well as reflecting on the historical and geographical dimensions of the situatedness of TS, the book builds on existing reflections on the local, political and linguistic positions of TS and examines the practical and methodological consequences of these discussions.

By considering insights and perspectives from various disciplines, the contributors refer to the current state of the art in TS and reconstruct the discussions held on Eurocentrism, anthropocentrism and the historicity of TS that have been discussed in isolation so far. This volume maps potential relations between them and introduces an analytical concept of positionality that highlights commonalities among various discourses. As well as theoretical and historical analysis, the contributors ask how to methodologically deal with this inevitable positioning of research in contemporary research practice. The contributions cover various aspects of positionalities and its influences on translation research, including gender, anthropocentrism, experiential knowledge and geopolitics. They also explore various histories of translation studies, in different temporal, spatial and linguistic settings, such as China/Chinese, Iran/Persian, the Netherlands/English, Ukraine/Ukrainian/Russian and France/French, thereby highlighting that TS as a discipline is not a monolith but consists of various histories interconnected with each other.

List of Figures
List of Contributors
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction: Positionalities of and Self-Reflexivity in Translation Studies, Garda Elsherif (University of Mainz, Germany) and Joanna Sobesto (Jagiellonian University, Poland)
Part I: Reflections on the Positionalities of Translation Studies
2. Feminist Positionalities in Translation Studies, Hilary Brown (University of Birmingham, UK) and Gabriela Saldanha (University of Warwick, UK)
3. Translating Humans? Anthropocentrism and the Linguistic Borders of the Social World, Tomasz Rozmyslowicz (University of Mainz, Germany)
4. Positionality of the Chinese School of Translation Studies: Academic Nationalism and Experiential Knowledge, Ye Tian (University of Manchester, UK)
5. A French-Speaking Translation Studies Area: Under Influence? Yves Gambier (University of Turku, Finland)
Part II: Writing the Histories of Translation Studies
6. “This Is Not a Translators' Union”: The Vereniging Nederandse Vertalingen (1932-1950) and the Dutch Translation Scene in the Pre-Holmes Era, Gaëtan Regniers (Ghent University, Belgium)
7. Translation Studies in Iran: Practice, Training and Research, Farzaneh Farahzad (Allameh Tabataba'i University, Iran)
8. Volodymyr Derzhavyn: An Erased Translation Scholar of the Late 1920s-Early 1930s, Oleksandr Kalnychenko (Kharkiv University, Ukraine)
Part III: Positionalities as a Methodological Challenge
9. Managing Positionality: Reflexivity as a Key to Robust Research in Translation Studies, Sari Hokkanen and Kaisa Koskinen (Tampere University, Finland)
10. Necessity / Validity / Viability / Positionality: A Comprehensive Survey of Literary Translation in Uruguay within a Transnational Framework, Lucía Campanella, Rosario Lázaro Igoa, Cecilia Torres Rippa and Leticia Hornos Weisz
Part IV: Research for the Earth
11. A Conversation, Sebnem Susam-Saraeva (University of Edinburgh, UK), Garda Elsherif (University of Mainz, Germany) and Joanna Sobesto (Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland)
Index

Product details

Published	Jun 12 2025
Format	Hardback
Edition	1st
Extent	272
ISBN	9781350447868
Imprint	Bloomsbury Academic
Illustrations	10 bw illus
Dimensions	9 x 6 inches
Series	Bloomsbury Advances in Translation
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing

This innovative work maps the two levels at which the linguistic, spatial, temporal, and social conditions of translation studies operate: the individual researcher and the discipline as a whole. It makes an outstanding contribution to the self-reflexivity of translation studies, a crucial and even indispensable perspective for a field undergoing today a set of profound transformations.

Lieven D'hulst, Professor Emeritus, KU Leuven, Belgium
As Translation Studies broadens its reach, the positionality and situatedness of authors, translators, publishers, viewers and readers as well as scholars and critics becomes ever more important. This volume emphasizes and explores this theoretical premise. Its contribution to the field is invaluable, and interesting to read.

Luise von Flotow, Professor Emerita, University of Ottawa, Canada
Positionalities of Translation Studies introduces a critical and multifarious perspective to the question of individual and disciplinary self-reflexivity and the situated nature of translation research. By engaging leading scholars and fresh approaches from traditions beyond the Anglophone sphere in a strong dialogue, the volume brings conceptual depth to translation research. The concluding conversation brings forth essential and topical issues facing translation research today, such as transdisciplinarity, ethical repercussions of anthropocentrism and the challenges of non-human communication or research as a tool for decolonization.

Sehnaz Tahir-Gurcaglar, Professor of Translation Studies, Bogazici University, Turkey and York University, Canada