What is it about?
The editors of Translation Studies initiated two rounds of responses to Andrew Chesterman's position piece on Eurocentrism in Translation Studies, in which he basically claims that accusations of Eurocentrism are misguided in the light of scientific universalism. Like the other respondents, I argue that Chesterman is misguided; unlike the others, I try to set up a research phenomenology that reflects how we come into contact with other cultures, and how we learn to open our minds.
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Why is it important?
I think the phenomenological approach, by grounding the argument in how it feels to be alive in the body, avoids a lot of the dogmatism of universalizing claims.
Perspectives
It was telling that, in his response to my response, Chesterman didn't get what I was trying to do. Because I wasn't making universalizing claims, I wasn't engaging him at all. Maybe I'm just obtuse, or a terrible writer--but that response seemed like the perfect illustration of Chesterman's Eurocentric limitations.
Professor Douglas J. Robinson
Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen
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This page is a summary of: Response, Translation Studies, April 2014, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/14781700.2013.877209.
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