‘Expanded translation’ and the construction of meaning: A case study from political activism

Abstract

Echoing the classical debate on the nature of anthropology as a process of cultural translation, Lydia Liu has claimed that ‘strictly speaking, comparative scholarship that aims to cross cultures can do nothing but translate’. From this perspective, therefore, for an academic working across cultures, research becomes similar to an act of translation. How relevant is this for a contemporary understanding of research within the humanities and the social sciences, but also for social activity at large? Reflecting on the writing process for my recent monograph Translating the Crisis. Politics and Culture in Spain after the 15M (2020), this article will advance the concept of ‘expanded translation’ and its potential usefulness for a more nuanced and complex approach to these issues. By ‘expanded translation’, I understand a process of meaning formation that decisively involves translation but is not limited to it. As the article claims, it has become increasingly unfeasible to chart the circulation of a concept, an idea, or an author exclusively through a predefined set of translated texts in the traditional sense. As such, the construction of meaning and the use of translated concepts, authors, and models implies a collective process, which is non-centralized (multiple agents can join it without previous requirements) yet also unequal (as certain agents enjoy more power and visibility than others). Furthermore, these processes are not only limited to textual exchanges, but do also frequently involve a performative component, as new concepts and ideas are put into practice, which in turn influences their meaning. This process will be exemplified in the article through a sustained reflection on how the concept of the ‘commons’ has been adopted, modified, and used in Spanish politics after the 15-M or ‘indignados’ movement of 2011.