translating medical information
Deborah Taylor-Pearce <[email protected]>
| Newsgroups | gmane.comp.infodesign.general |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
Cafe -- I thought some of you might be interested in Linda Gordon's short essay for _The Nation_ describing an alternative (feminist) modeling of medical translation: Gordon, Linda. "Translating _Our Bodies, Ourselves_." _The Nation_ 286.23 (16 June 2008): 36-8. Download PDF at: < http://www.thenation.com/archive/detail/32202248 >. _Our Bodies, Ourselves_ (1st published in 1970 by the Boston Women's Health Book Collective) was, from its inception, a remarkable experiment in the feminist-inspired move towards "a democratic politics of knowledge and expertise." This radical experiment in medical communication carried forward with the book's recent translation into _Nuestros Cuerpos, Nuestras Vidas_: "As their global sophistication increased, the Boston group came to a new understanding of what 'translation' requires: Words, sentences, images and anecdotes have different meanings in different contexts. What was oppositional and radical for the Boston authors, such as challenging mainstream medicine, made no sense to women who lacked access to medical care. "The authors realized that you could not just hire a translator, or allow publishers in other countries to hire translators. The non-English versions of _Our Bodies, Ourselves_ were adaptations, and they could emerge only from protracted discussion. The authors work closely with 'translators,' discussing how to present controversial material and providing help with publishing arrangements, information resources, graphics, fundraising and connections with activists worldwide." Gordon here tells some of the story behind the book's translation/adaptation from English into Spanish (the longer narrative is given by Kathy Davis in _The Making of Our Bodies, Ourselves: How Feminism Travels Across Borders_). It's an interesting story ... especially for me, as I ponder new ways & means of developing polyglot physician podcasts. (And yes, I am a proud owner of a dog-eared copy of _Our Bodies, Ourselves_ ... and of _Ourselves, Growing Older_, too. ;-) Deborah _____ Deborah Taylor-Pearce [email protected] ___________________________________________________________________ Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: [email protected] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe For all Information Design matters: http://InformationDesign.org Problems? Write to: [email protected] ___________________________________________________________________