A cross-cultural history of international relations: book translations in the twentieth century

Abstract

Cross-cultural history is concerned not so much with illuminating particular features that characterize a given culture, as with emphasizing reciprocal impacts and cross-fertilization among cultures. In the past, as in the present, translations have played an important cross cultural role in rendering intelligible the strange and the unknown. Every nation, region, or culture has played a dual role in this process, both as cultural producer and as recipient. My own research attempts to contribute to the history of translations during the twentieth century as a cross-cultural history of international relations. Cross-cultural historical investigation of translations has drawn attention to the changing features that both unite and differentiate cultural and scientific tastes of various peoples and nations. Common features include the striking growth in the total number of translations during the present century; the increasing interest in the cul tural achievements of the English-speaking world; the geographical extension of translations from and toward continents other than Europe; and changes in the subject matter of translations, with a shift to themes other than literature (such as sciences, arts, and sports). This study attempts to view the history of translations as a stellar constellation in which the creations of vanished worlds continue to sparkle, just as extinct stars go on casting their light on distant heavenly bodies in the universe. If we consider the development of civilizations in this fashion, we shall no longer think in terms of cultural dominance and subordination, or in terms of rising and falling civilizations; instead the longue duree of history will recall the movements of low tide and high tide.