Persian Translations of Resistance Literature during the Iran-Iraq War

Authors

  • Leila Alinoori 📧 Allameh Tabataba’i University
  • Farzaneh Farahzad Allameh Tabataba’i University

Abstract

The present study aimed to identify Persian translations of English novels of resistance and examine their relation to the socio-historical conditions of Iran during the Iran-Iraq War, known in the national discourse as “the Sacred Defense period” (see Farahzad, 2011). For this purpose, the website of Khaneh-ye Ketab was consulted and 867 translations, embracing first translations, retranslations and reprints, were identified as Persian translations of English novels published during the period in Iran. Based on Harlow (1987) and DeShazer (1994), the themes of resistance literature were classified as race discrimination, class conflict, war, colonialism, post-colonialism, and totalitarianism. All translated novels of the period were examined to see which ones covered the above themes. The results indicated that 19% of all the 867 translations dealt with the themes of resistance, of which only 4% covered the theme of war, and about 80% concerned other themes. It can be concluded that translation of resistance novels was marginalized, the theme of war was not focal in such translations, and that translation of novels of resistance had little say in the discourse of the time.

Keywords:

Iran-Iraq War, Literary Translation, Resistance Literature, Sacred Defense, Translation History

Author Biographies

Leila Alinoori, Allameh Tabataba’i University

Ph.D. Candidate in Translation Studies, School of Graduate Studies, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran;

Farzaneh Farahzad, Allameh Tabataba’i University

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

References

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DeShazer, M. K. (1994). A poetics of resistance: Women writing in El Salvador, South Africa, and the United States. University of Michigan Press.

Harlow, B. (1987). Resistance Literature. New York: Methuen.

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بازخوانی رمان هاوارد فاست که رهبر معظم انقلاب توصیه کردند. (1396، 25 مهر). خبرگزاری دانشجویان ایران. برگرفته از https://www.isna.ir/news/96072514176/

فرحزاد، ف. (2011). ترجمه در دوران دفاع مقدّس. مطالعات زبان و ترجمه،.44(1) https://doi.org/10.22067/lts.v44i1.19032

کمری، ع. (2001). نگاهی دیگر پیرامون ادبیات دفاع مقدّس و جنگ (نام آورد: دفتر اول، چاپ اول). تهران: نشر ادبیات مقاومت.

Published

2021-03-11

How to Cite

Alinoori, L., & Farahzad, F. (2021). Persian Translations of Resistance Literature during the Iran-Iraq War. Iranian Journal of Translation Studies, 18(72), 7–25. Retrieved from https://journal.translationstudies.ir/ts/article/view/863

Issue

Section

Academic Research Paper

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