Humanities and Communication

From transregional to transnational: The circulation of Georgian literature in translation

Author: Ana Kvirikashvili
Programme: Doctoral Programme in Arts and Humanities
Language: Inglés
Supervision: Diana Roig Sanz, Harsha Ram
 
Faculty / Institute: Doctoral School UOC
Subjects: Literature
Key words: Georgian literature, Translation flows, World system of translations, Literary field, Peripheral literature
Area of knowledge: Arts and Humanities
 
 
Abstract:
 
This thesis investigates the circulation of Georgian literature in translation. The research examines translation flows and the agents involved over time. A picture of the contemporary Georgian literary field, in terms of Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory, is offered, the distribution of Georgian literature in translation is mapped geographically and linguistically, and various forms of internationalization of Georgian literature, including Georgia’s participation as the guest-of-honour at the 2018 Frankfurt Book Fair, are examined. Additionally, a long durée approach reveals that long-term cultural contacts play a significant role in current translation flows. The thesis demonstrates that interperipheral relations do not necessarily depend on mediation from the centers, contrary to what the theories have tended to assume, while also paying attention to “translation zones” distinct from the global centers of consecration and forms of cosmopolitanism alternative to the Western modern model. The research includes a case study of the novel Das achte Leben (for Brilka) (Frankfurter Verlagsanstalt, 2014) by the Georgian-born German author Nino Haratischwili.