Translation as a Political Act: The Case of Translated Stories of Ketab-e Hafteh in the early 1960s

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Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of English Translation Studies, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Department of English Translation Studies, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran

10.30465/scs.2024.49164.2864

Abstract

Translation is a social activity that empowers individuals engaged in the process, granting them agency through their roles in selecting, producing, and disseminating translated works. However, at specific historical periods, these agents may assume the role of activists. The present study, from the perspective of the sociology of translation, investigates the translation choices made by the editors of Ketab-e Hafteh to determine whether the politically sensitive climate of the early 1960s transformed these individuals from translation agents into activists. Ketab-e Hafteh, regarded as one of the most influential periodicals of the second Pahlavi era, was published in 104 issues from October 1961 to November 1963 under the editorship of Shamlou, Hajseyedjavadi and Beh-Azin. Analysis of 397 translated stories of this periodical indicates a significant preference among its editors for works by Marxist and socialist authors. Findings of the study suggest that the editors of Ketab-e Hafteh used the relative political openness of the early 1960s to promote leftist ideals in Iran. In doing so, they acted as activists, transforming translation into a political tool used to oppose the Pahlavi regime.

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Sociological Cultural Studies

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 21 October 2024

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