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From Binarity to Complexity: A Latourian Perspective on Cultural Mediators the Case of Georges Eekhoud’s Intra-National Activities

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Literary Translation and Cultural Mediators in 'Peripheral' Cultures

Part of the book series: New Comparisons in World Literature ((NCWL))

Abstract

This chapter aims to describe and theorize the concrete modalities of cultural mediation through a case study on the transfer activities of Belgian writer Georges Eekhoud with special reference to the collective production process of a patriotic bilingual novel (1897–1899). Three levels of mediation between French-Belgian and Flemish languages and identities are explored, with each level modifying the significance of the transfer operation. The chapter suggests that Latour’s Actor-Network theory, which has already proven to be a source of innovation for Translation Studies, is especially relevant for the study of mediators and their sometimes paradoxical multidirectional discursive activities.

Translated from French by Noémi Tousignant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. FNRS, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium

    Maud Gonne

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  1. Maud Gonne
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Correspondence to Maud Gonne .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

    Diana Roig-Sanz

  2. KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Reine Meylaerts

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Gonne, M. (2018). From Binarity to Complexity: A Latourian Perspective on Cultural Mediators the Case of Georges Eekhoud’s Intra-National Activities. In: Roig-Sanz, D., Meylaerts, R. (eds) Literary Translation and Cultural Mediators in 'Peripheral' Cultures. New Comparisons in World Literature. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78114-3_10

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