Critical archival research in Translation Studies: when a translation scholar becomes an archivist-researcher
Abstract
In Translation Studies, we are increasingly seeing the use of archival materials that allow translation scholars to find out more about the working conditions of translators, their motivations and relationships with authors, editors or publishers, all of whom have always influenced their work to some extent. This paper builds on the knowledge of working with archival materials and other primary sources already described in Translation Studies, and is complemented by still-useful methods of source criticism and current topics that are addressed by historians dealing with archival research.
Particular emphasis is placed on the critical approach of historians specializing in composition and rhetoric who are reassessing methods of archival research and ways of writing about it, and who are encouraging scholars to adopt the stance of archivist-researcher. The paper shows and further discusses the importance of their knowledge and possible application in Translation Studies.