The subject of this book consists primarily of an approach to translation which has become known under various names: Descriptive Translation Studies, the Polysystems appraoch, the Manipulation school, the Tel-Aviv – Leuven axis, the Low Countries group, and even, incongruously, Translation Studies. It has become widely recognized that the emergence of this descriptive and systemic model marked one of the paradigmatic sea changes in the study of translation. The aim of this book is threefold: to explain the descriptive and systemic approach to the study of translation; to engage critically with some of the key ideas; and to suggest possible directions for further theoretical and methodological reflection.