Abstract: What is the relationship between decolonization and translation in processes of knowledge and cultural production? This paper addresses this question through the work of Frantz Fanon with a view to illuminating the relevance of a complex understanding of translation to broad processes of decolonization. Proceeding through a critical-theoretical analysis of Fanon's psychiatric writings, the paper suggests that his work opens up the space for thinking of translation ("transmutation" as he terms it) as an analytical and transformative praxis through which to reclaim the epistemic and political value of cultural sources and experiences oppressed by colonial forces. On the one hand, Fanon illuminates the epistemological significance of attending to psychic life for mobilizing a critical function of translation beyond models of colonial assimilation. On the other hand, he points to the healing possibilities that translation offers when viewed as a creative process involved in the reconstitution of personality and the restoration of agency in the production of social and cultural life.
Andrea Cassatella (Thu,) studied this question.
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