Translation and the Archive

Abstract

This essay explores different dimensions of the relation between Translation and the Archive—considered here as related concepts and forms of knowledge, as well as interconnected material practices, technologies, and traditions—and how this relation can be conceptualized as central to the production of transnational knowledge, both from a historical and contemporary perspective. Through a critical examination of the scholarly work of Jacques Derrida and Walter Benjamin, as well as of the creative work of Valeria Luiselli and Ocean Vuong, among other scholars and creative writers, the essay analyzes how the comparative analysis of Translation and the Archive can open up a series of important questions regarding the production, curation, and circulation of knowledge. Moreover, the article highlights how a critical examination of their relation and interconnection can generatively expand our understanding of both Translation and the Archive as related critical and material practices.