Book Publication and Translation Policy Making in Iran: The Role of Franklin Publishing House

Authors

  • Farzaneh Farahzad Professor, Department of English Translation Studies, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Language, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
  • abolfazl sanjarani 📧 Ph.D. Candidate, Department of English Translation Studies, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Language, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The current article is an archival microhistorical study of Franklin Publishing House's translation activities from 1954, its establishment, to 1976, the end of its activities. Examining the archives, the aim of this study was to illustrate a detailed picture of FPH translation activities in Iran. To this end, first, four sets of archival materials concerning the FPH were thoroughly investigated. Then the basic information relating to the study was extracted. A non-automated corpus of FPH translated books in literature and other fields was compiled. Consequently, bibliographical information, including the title of the book, genre, publishers who worked with Franklin, and name of the translator in each translated volume, was listed, classified, and inserted into separate tables based on text typology and date of publication. Finally, the frequency of each type was calculated. FPH was affiliated with 49 publishers in Tehran, 20 in Tabriz, and one in Isfahān. It published 790 translated books and 60 authored books written in Persian. With 175 books, the majority of the books published by and in FPH were historical books. The literary genre was in second place with a second rate of 167 books. 395 men and women translators worked with FPH. 90.88% of the translators were men, and 9.11% of the translators were women. Also, 719books (91.01%) were translated by male translators, and 71 books (8.98%) were translated by female translators, which shows the low participation of women.

Keywords:

Archives, Franklin Publishing House, Microhistory, Translation activities, Translators

References

Alinezhad, S. (2016). “Az Franklin ta Lalehzar.” (‘From Franklin to Lalehzar’). Tehran: Qoqnoos Publication.

Atefmehr, Z., & Farahzad, F. (2021). Microhistorical research in translator studies: an archival methodology, The Translator, 28(3), 251–262. https://doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2021.1944022

Azarang, A. (2017). Tarikh va Tahavol Nashr (‘History of Publication Development’), Tehran: Khaneh Ketab Publication.

Bayat, K. (1995). Tajrubah Firānklīn (‘Franklin Experience’). Guftugū, 7, 57–64.

Booth, D. (2007). The Field. London: Routledge.

Dehbashi, A. (2018). “Yadnameh-ye Homayoun Sanatizadeh.” (‘Memoirs of Homayoun Sanatizadeh’). Tehran: Ameh book publication.

Emami, K. (1997). Editing. Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved from www.iranicaonline.org/articles/editing- (accessed on January 10, 2022).

Emami, G. (2020, January 27). Franklin Legacy in Publication and Edition [Speech audio recording]. Anjomanvirastar. https://anjomanvirastar.ir/%D9%85%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AB%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%DA%A9%D9%84%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D9%86%D8%B4%D8%B1-%D9%88-%D9%88%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B4-2/

Facts about Franklin Publications. 1 November 1956. Box 70, Folder 3. FBPR.

Farahzad, F. (2013). Editing (Virayesh) as a Movement of Resistance During the Iran-Iraq War. Journal of Research in Applied Linguistics, 4(1), 132–141.

Franklin Annual Report for the Year Ending 30 June. 1955. FBPR

Franklin Annual Report for the Year Ending 30 June. 1964. FBPR

Franklin Annual Report for the Year Ending 30 June. 1965. FBPR

Franklin Annual Report for the Year Ending 30 June. 1975. FBPR

Ginzburg, C., & Poni, C. (1991). “The Name and the Game: Unequal Exchange and the Historiographic Marketplace,” In Microhistory and the Lost People of Europe, Edward Muir and Guido Ruggiero (eds.). Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

Laugesen, A., & Rahimi-Moghaddam, M. (2022). Franklin Book Programs in Iran (ca 1953–1978) and the politics of translation during the Cold War, Translation Studies, 15(2), 155–172. https://doi.org/10.1080/14781700.2021.2020685

Mollanazar, H. (2013). رگ فرهنگ زير تيغ مترجم. Retrieved November 14, 2022, from https://tarjomeh.blogfa.com/post/184

Mostaghasi, S. (2017). Franklin in Tehran. Tehran: Keyhan Publication.

Mwmbe, A. (2002). ‘The Power of the Archive and Its Limits’, In Hamilton, C., Harris, V., Taylor, J., Pickover, M., & Saleh, R. (Eds.), Refiguring the Archive, (pp. 19–26). London: Kluwer.

Pearce-Moses, R. (2005). A Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology. (Vol. 2013). Chicago, IL: Society of American Archivists. https://doi.org/10.1604/9781931666145

Qafuriyan, M. (2021). “Guftugû bā Goli Emāmī”. (‘Interview with Goli Emami’) in Ketab Emruz quarterly, pp. 155–168.

Rundle, C. (2022). “Translation as an Approach to History.” Translation Studies, 5 (2), 232–40.

Smith, D. (1995) Annual Report and Summary of Operations.” Box 5, Folder 6. FBPR.

Smith, D. (1963). Ten years of Franklin Publications, ALA Bulletin, 57(6), 507–12.

Smith, D. (1975). The bright promise of publishing in developing countries. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 421(1), 130–136.

Smith, D. (2000). Franklin Book Program, Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved November 14, 2022, from https://iranicaonline.org

Downloads

Published

2023-09-11

How to Cite

Farahzad, F., & sanjarani, abolfazl. (2023). Book Publication and Translation Policy Making in Iran: The Role of Franklin Publishing House. Iranian Journal of Translation Studies, 21(82). Retrieved from https://journal.translationstudies.ir/ts/article/view/1073

Issue

Section

Academic Research Paper

DOR

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 3 4 > >>