Constructing cultures : essays on literary translation

Translation Studies is currently one of the fastest growing interdisciplinary subjects in the world. Constructing Cultures brings together for the first time the work of the two translator/scholars who are regarded as founders of this major field of study. This collection of essays continues to develop some of the principal research lines that both have been pursuing in recent years, most specifically the cultural turn in Translation Studies. Among topics discussed are Chinese and Western theories of translation, the limits of translatability, when is a translation not a translation, why cultures develop certain genres at certain times, what is the relationship between Translation Studies and Cultural Studies. Some essays are genre specific, focusing on theatre translation or the translating of poetry, others are devoted to specific case studies, and consider the fortunes of such major writers as Virgil or Brecht in English. Written in the accessible, jargon-free style that characterises the work of Bassnett and Lefevere, this collection of essays will be invaluable to anyone interested in translation and comparative cultural studies.

Susan Bassnett: Preface Edwin Gentzler: Foreword Andre Lefevere and Susan Bassnett: Introduction: Where are we in Translation Studies? 1. Andre Lefevere: Chinese and Western Thinking on Translation 2. Susan Bassnett: When is a Translation not a Translation? 3. Andre Lefevere: Translation Practice(s) and the Circulation of Cultural Capital Some Aeneids in English 4. Susan Bassnett: Transplanting the Seed: Poetry and Translation 5. Andre Lefevere: The Gates of Analogy: the Kalevala in English 6. Susan Bassnett: Still Trapped in the Labyrinth: Further Reflections on Translation and Theatre 7. Andre Lefevere: Acculturating Bertolt Brecht 8. Susan Bassnett: The Translation Turn in Cultural Studies