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Exploring Sherry Simon’s views on translation through a postmodern lens

ORCID logo | Allameh Tabataba’i University
The present study takes a postmodern approach to Sherry Simon’s views on translation, aiming to uncover the extent to which her ideas in translation studies align with postmodern thought. To this end, the works of prominent postmodern thinkers including Lyotard, Baudrillard, Derrida, Cixous, Deleuze, Guattari, and Irigaray are examined. Their postmodern claims are listed and described as scenarios. Then, Simon’s views are compared with these scenarios in quest of commonalities. The results indicate that Simon’s views on gender are indeed postmodern. Her rejection of the conventional definition of fidelity reflects a postmodern stance as it rejects rigid binary opposites. Similarly, her rejection of hierarchical structures aligns with postmodern principles. Furthermore, her advocacy for dismantling absolutes in polarity can also be considered postmodern. Finally, her view on handling texts in translation to foreground female subjectivity qualifies as a postmodern approach.
Keywords: Sherry Simon, postmodernism, feminism, fidelity, multilingual cities
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Postmodernism
  • Translation and postmodernism
  • Methodology
  • Simon’s views through the postmodern lens
    • Gender in translation
      • Analysis
    • Inferior position of women and translation
      • Analysis
    • Why women choose to translate
      • Analysis
    • Sexist language
      • Analysis
    • Fidelity
      • Analysis
    • Agency
      • Analysis
    • Translation and postcolonialism
      • Analysis
    • Translation in Dual Cities
      • Analysis
  • Conclusion
  • References
Published online: 17 December 2024
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https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.24111.par
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