Translating with a speculum: ‘womanhandling’ and resistance in francophone feminist literature

Le Bervet, Charlotte Marie-Claude Jacqueline (2025) Translating with a speculum: ‘womanhandling’ and resistance in francophone feminist literature. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

The plurality of feminist movements today (Polla 2019) seems to have resulted in a plurality of feminist translation practices (see Castro, Ergun, von Flotow, Spoturno 2020), which makes it somewhat difficult to define what feminising a translation may imply today (Le Bervet 2019). Whilst the first wave of feminist translation, ‘the Canadian School’, had a clearly defined purpose, to challenge phallocentric discourse by making women and translators visible in language and posited ethics as fidelity towards their ‘writing project’ (reconstructing the difference of the subject in language), the subsequent waves appear somewhat divided (Castro 2009). This thesis thus explores the evolution of feminist translation studies and practice (FTSP). From outlining the influences of the ‘Canadian School’ (Chapters 1 and 2) to contemporary developments (Chapters 3 and 4), this research project aims to retrace FTSP’s history, expand its theoretical framework, and analyse recent applications in French. It specifically focuses on translators and translations in Canada and France (Chapter 4) who, through a shared language, have mutually and reciprocally influenced each other (Bessaïh 2020, Grunenwald 2021). The comparative analysis will contribute to an improved understanding of this transnational flow of thought by yielding two case studies and one-on-one online interviews with local scholars, translators, and publishers that have played or have been playing a crucial role in developing this political approach to translation.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Additional Information: Due to copyright issues this thesis is not available for viewing.
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics; P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General); P Language and Literature > PQ Romance literatures
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Modern Languages and Cultures > Comparative Literature
• Supervisor's Name: Syrotinski, Professor Michael and Bassnet, Professor Susan
• Date of Award: 2025
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2025-85390
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 14 Aug 2025 15:45
• Last Modified: 14 Aug 2025 15:45
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.85390
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/85390