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Literary Translation and Cultural Mediators in 'Peripheral' Cultures pp 183–208Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Politics of Translation: How States Shape Cultural Transfers

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

Abstract

Aside from economic and cultural factors, processes of translation and cultural transfer depend on state policies. Examining the cases of two smaller countries: the Netherlands and Israel, state policies for cultural export are shown to have had considerable impact on translations from Dutch and Hebrew. Through multiple actors and a variety of institutional channels, translation policy not only contributed to growing numbers of translated books, but also shaped the representation of the literature in these languages on the global level. In both cases, the institutions charged with promoting and representing national literature abroad have evolved from a more diplomatic role in international cultural affairs toward the role of literary agent to publishers, providing subsidies and other forms of support.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CNRS, Centre Européen de Sociologie et de Science Politique, Paris, France

    Johan Heilbron & Gisèle Sapiro

  2. Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Johan Heilbron

  3. École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris, France

    Gisèle Sapiro

Authors
  1. Johan Heilbron
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  2. Gisèle Sapiro
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Correspondence to Johan Heilbron .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

    Diana Roig-Sanz

  2. KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Reine Meylaerts

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Heilbron, J., Sapiro, G. (2018). Politics of Translation: How States Shape Cultural Transfers. 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_7

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