The (in)humanity of translation

ABSTRACT

Human-induced climate change will be a crucial determinant of future conditions on the planet. In this essay, we explore how translation can offer a way of thinking about new forms of subjectivity in the age of the Anthropocene. In order to do this, we argue that it is necessary to challenge a deeply rooted ontological prejudice in Western culture and take seriously the demands for new forms of knowledge organisation to deal with the ecological crisis. The indigenisation of knowledge, projective citizenship and the notion of translation kinetics will be advanced as important contexts for the re-evaluation of translation in radically changing circumstances.

KEYWORDS:

• Ecology
• philosophy
• education
• endangered languages
• political science

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Michael Cronin

Michael Cronin is 1776 Professor of French at Trinity College Dublin and is Director of the Trinity Centre for Literary and Cultural Translation. He is an elected Member of the Royal Irish Academy, the Academia Europeae/Academy of Europe and an Honorary Member of the Irish Translators and Interpreters Association. His most recent work is Eco-Translation: Translation and Ecology in the Age of the Anthropocene (Routledge, 2017). He is editor of the series New Perspectives in Translation and Interpreting Studies and is Editor-in-Chief of the journal MTM.