Monday, February 25, 2013

autonomia alimentaria

autonomia alimentaria: food autonomy

As Arturo Escobar puts it "In Colombia for instance, movements prefer to use autonomia alimentaria (food autonomy) which is somewhat different to food sovereignty.  Food sovereignty tends to put the emphasis on the national level, so a county might say we basically produce food for the population blah blah blah, that’s not good enough. There has to be food autonomy locally, regionally, nationally." (from this great interview with Arturo about alternatives to development)

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

greenwashing (rightswashing, causewashing ...)

greenwashing: lavado verde (as in, forget the other horrible things we do, we just put a figleaf of environmentalism over it all by saying it´s printed on recycled paper)

pinkwashing: lavado rosa (gay rights figleaf - think Israel)

rightwashing: lavado con derechos (usually refers to human rights, less common)

causewashing: lavado con causa (as in the pampers campaign where you buy one pack of disposable diapers and pampers gives a tiny donation to UNICEF for a vaccine)

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

el aquelarre

aquelarre: coven

a term being reclaimed by feminists and used in Spanish to describe not just women who call themselves witches but more widely groups of women who get together to conspire for change.  in English listeneers might get the impression that it´s actually a group of neo-pagans who engage in rituals, but since it´s a term being reclaimed, it seems worth keeping the term and perhaps explaining that. or does any reader have a better suggestion?

the wikipedia entry in Spanish has a fascinating etymology - in spanish it can mean both the coven and where the coven meets, but it seems to be more widely just to describe the group. 

yet again thanks to my fabulous friend Andrea for this one.

Monday, February 4, 2013

book on activist translation

There is a book out about translation and social change, Translation, Resistance, Activism.  It came out in 2010 but I just discovered it, and haven't seen it yet, since I'm living in Bogotá at the moment.  I'm looking forward to it - particularly the last chapter, "the space and time of activist translation."  Has anyone out there read it? Any chance any of it is available digitally?

Here is the official blurb:

More than merely linguistic transposition, translation is a vector of power, resistance, rebellion, and even revolution. Exploring these facets of the ideology of translation, the contributors to this volume focus on the agency of translators and their activism. Spanning two centuries and reaching across the globe, the essays examine the varied activist strategies of key translators and translation movements. From silence to radical manipulation of texts, translation strategies are instrumental in significant historical interventions and cultural change. Translation plays a pivotal role in ideological dialogue and struggle, including resistance to oppression and cultural straitjackets of all types, from sexual puritanism to military dictatorships. Situated in their own space, time, history, and political contexts, translators promote ideological agendas by creating new cultural narratives, pragmatically adjusting tactics so as to maximize the social and political impact. The essays in this volume explore ways to read translations as records of cultural contestation and ideological struggle; as means of fighting censorship, physical coercion, cultural repression, and political dominance; and as texts that foster a wide variety of goals from cultural nationalism to armed confrontation. Translations are set in relief as central cultural documents rather than derivative, peripheral, or marginalized productions. They are seen as forms of ethical, political, and ideological activity rather than as mere communicative transactions or creative literary exercises. The contributors demonstrate that engaged and activist translations are performative acts within broader political and ideological contexts. The essays detail the initiative, resourcefulness, and courage of individual translators, whose willingness to put themselves on the line for social change can sometimes move the world. In addition to Maria Tymoczko, contributors include Pua'ala'okalani D. Aiu, Brian James Baer, Mona Baker, Paul F. Bandia, Georges L. Bastin, Nitsa Ben-Ari, angela Campo, Antonia Carcelen-Estrada, alvaro Echeverri, Denise Merkle, John Milton, and Else R.P. Vieira.