Migration of Theories: the Journey of Sartrean Existentialism into Turkey Through Translation

When a philosophical theory moves across cultural and linguistic boundaries, it makes a new place for itself in a new territory and language. In this cultural transfer, translation plays a crucial role, since it is by means of translation that a theory travels. Furthermore, translation, as a form of ?rewriting?, reflects the attitudes of the target culture towards the imported theory. However, the close relationship between the migration of intellectual movements and translation is often overlooked. This study presents an account of the reception of existentialism in Turkey from the late 1940s to the present. Referring particularly to J. Paul Sartre?s nonfiction works translated into Turkish and to the indigenous writings on Sartre and existentialism, and to extratextual material accompanying translations as well, the changing images of Sartre in Turkey are displayed. Issues of terminology and retranslation in the transfer of Sartre?s texts are also focused on. This book which aims at increasing our awareness of the translation?s role in the migration of theories is of particular interest to the scholars working in translation studies.