Postcolonial Literature in Polish Translation (1970–2010): Difference, Similarity and Solidarity
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Postcolonial Literature in Polish Translation (1970–2010): Difference, Similarity and Solidarity Dorota Goluch UCL PhD in Translation Studies 1 Acknowledgments I want to thank my supervisors, Professor Theo Hermans and Dr Katarzyna Zechenter, for all the stimulating conversations and invaluable support at each and every stage of the project. I am also grateful for the assistance of the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the UCL Old Students‘ Association. 3 Postcolonial Literature in Polish Translation (1970–2010): Difference, Similarity and Solidarity The thesis examines the Polish translation and reception of postcolonial literature between 1970 and 2010. It investigates the perceptions of postcolonial peoples and Polish self-perceptions in the context of timely debates about East European postcoloniality and, generally, contemporary global synergies and solidarities. The Introduction presents contemporary conceptualizations of solidarity. Chapter One provides a historical background and discusses the scholarship on Polish postcoloniality, while Chapter Two explains the methodological approach – analysing relevant discourses in nearly one thousand reviews of postcolonial prose – and characterizes the Polish translations of postcolonial literature (1945–2010). Chapters Three and Four explore the discourses on translation and knowledge: they demonstrate that translation is expected to facilitate understanding of foreign cultures through linguistic clarity and informative material, and that postcolonial texts are read as sources of knowledge (especially before 1989) and as valid, if competing, representations of socio-cultural realities. Chapter Five investigates Eurocentric discourses of difference, which stigmatize postcolonial irrationality (mostly pre-1989), barbarity (mostly post-1989) and exoticism. Discourses of universalism are featured in Chapter Six, which documents continuing references to similarity – common humanity, communist future, global modernity – and shows them to be compromised by the perceptions of others as less developed. Finally, Chapter Seven traces references to shared historical experiences, e.g. of independence struggle (pre-1989) and displacement (post-1989). The Conclusion suggests that the perceptions of similarity signify potential for solidarity; besides, it recommends that investigation of Polish perceptions of non-European postcolonials be incorporated into debates about Poland‘s postcoloniality. Overall, the thesis demonstrates that postcolonial literature and its translation were consistently – post-1989 discursive shifts notwithstanding – viewed by Polish reviewers as vital to developing knowledge of postcolonial peoples. Moreover, while the perceptions of civilizational difference remained salient, statements of Polish- postcolonial similarity were gaining currency. Enabled by the perceptions of similarity, solidarity could be forged between nationally, socially, politically and culturally delineated Polish and postcolonial constituencies. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION: SOLIDARITY HAS MANY NAMES ............................................................................ 9 CHAPTER 1: REPRESENTATIONS OF POSTCOLONIAL PEOPLES IN POLAND AND POLAND’S POSTCOLONIALITY ..........................................................................................................................26 HISTORICAL OUTLINE ............................................................................................................................. 27 From the Baptism to the Partitions (966–1772) .......................................................................... 28 Renaissance and Baroque Representations of Non-Europeans ................................................... 32 From the Partitions to the Interwar Period (1772–1939) ............................................................ 34 Enlightenment, Romantic and Modernist Representations of Non-Europeans ........................... 38 From World War Two to the End of Communism (1945–1989) ................................................... 48 Communist Period Representations of Non-Europeans ............................................................... 53 From 1989 to 2010 ....................................................................................................................... 59 Recent Representations of Non-Europeans ................................................................................. 60 SCHOLARSHIP ON POLAND’S POSTCOLONIALITY ........................................................................................... 61 Poland as the Colonized ............................................................................................................... 66 Poland as the Colonizer ................................................................................................................ 71 DISCIPLINARY META-COMMENTARY ......................................................................................................... 76 NON-EUROPEAN POSTCOLONIALS AND POSTCOLONIAL POLAND .................................................................... 78 CHAPTER TWO: POLISH REVIEWS OF POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE (1970–2010) .............................80 SCOPE OF ‘POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE’ ..................................................................................................... 81 CORPUS OF REVIEWS AND ARTICLES .......................................................................................................... 84 Polish Press (1945–2010) ............................................................................................................. 85 Censorship .................................................................................................................................... 87 POLISH TRANSLATIONS OF POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE (1945–2010) ............................................................ 91 MERITS AND LIMITS OF THE METHOD ....................................................................................................... 98 CHAPTER THREE: DISCOURSE ON TRANSLATION ........................................................................... 101 DISCOURSE ON TRANSLATION: CLOSE READINGS ....................................................................................... 108 Text Selection and Ideological Patronage .................................................................................. 108 Translation Clarity and Documentary Value .............................................................................. 111 Untranslated Words and Bicultural Reader ............................................................................... 114 Internet Research, Fluency Norm ............................................................................................... 116 DISCOURSE ON TRANSLATION: DEVELOPMENTS (1970–2010) ................................................................... 119 1970–1979 ................................................................................................................................. 122 1980–1989 ................................................................................................................................. 127 1990–1999 ................................................................................................................................. 129 5 2000–2010 ................................................................................................................................. 129 CONCLUDING REMARKS ........................................................................................................................ 131 CHAPTER FOUR: DISCOURSE ON KNOWLEDGE.............................................................................. 134 KNOWLEDGE, LITERATURE AND ORIENTALISM ........................................................................................... 135 DISCOURSE ON KNOWLEDGE: CLOSE READINGS ........................................................................................ 143 Credentials to Represent ............................................................................................................ 143 Orientalist Expertise ................................................................................................................... 146 The Illuminating Power of Literature ......................................................................................... 148 Literature, Reference Book and Travel ....................................................................................... 150 Changing Stereotypes ................................................................................................................ 151 DISCOURSE ON KNOWLEDGE: DEVELOPMENTS (1970–2010) ..................................................................... 154 1970–1979 ................................................................................................................................. 154 1980–1989 ................................................................................................................................. 156 1990–1999 ................................................................................................................................. 157 2000–2010 ................................................................................................................................. 159 CONCLUDING REMARKS 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