Thesis (M.A.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Arts - Department of English

This study examines a key moment in the history of the modern Nahdah translation movement, the end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, a moment of conflicting ideologies, modernization, reform projects and nation-building; a period characterized by dramatic political, economic, social and cultural transformation. The aim of the study is to trace the impact of western ideologies via translation, as a key force driving indigenous modernization projects. The dissertation presents a case study of Salama Moussa, a radical Nahdah intellectual, by focusing on his role as a translator and a historical figure initiating social change through his translation project that aimed to modernize Egypt by advocating for a close imitation of the west and its simulation as a scientific industrialized society. The research critically analyzes the paratexts of Moussa{u2018}s concealed translation{u2018} of Nazariyyat al-tatawwur wa-asl al-insan (theory of evolution and the origin of Man) published in 1928. Critical analysis of the paratexts demand an approach in favor of contextualization, which descriptive translation studies provides the necessary tools for. The study employs gideon toury{u2018}s Norms theory, which addresses the processes of social selectivity of translations, the non-literary elements that govern them and the translation policy at a given socio-historical moment. The study attempts to highlight the role of paratexts in revealing translation Norms and the purpose behind creating a highly popular{u2018} modernizing translation depicting the translator{u2018}s agenda for reform in the age of decolonization

Issued also as CD