Ruins as Translation Sites

Expanding on the growing body of work that approaches translation beyond language from an interdisciplinary perspective, this innovative book explores ruins as sites of translation. In Ruins as Translation Sites: Sensing Portions of Past Futures, Mª Carmen África Vidal Claramonte examines ruins as portions of past futures—changeable, always in motion, telling stories without words.

The book begins by looking at ruins as spatially embodied fragments of the past and future, using examples such as Detroit’s industrial ruins, before moving into a discussion of ruins as temporal spaces that convey stories beyond the linguistic, as seen in such cases as the ruins of Belchite. Building on these ideas, Vidal argues for approaching ruins as translation sites, as established by Sherry Simon, with varied examples demonstrating ruination and translating as processes that communicate with our infinite senses. The volume concludes by examining how contemporary art and literature, specifically the works of Anne Carson and Doris Salcedo, serve as material translations of ruins in the contemporary world.

This volume will appeal to scholars in translation studies and related disciplines, including anthropology, philosophy, and contemporary art.