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AbstractThis article analyzes evidence of interpreting activities in first-century China between the Latter Han (25–220 AD) Chinese administration and non-Han Chinese minority tribes along the then Southwestern frontier (modern Yunnan and the west of Sichuan basin). Besides confirming the existence of interpreting events and the subsequent Chinese translation of three tribal sung poems, a tribal tribute to Emperor Ming (r. 58–75) in a Qiang dialect (without a written language, apparently), this piece of evidence is also of interest to historians of interpreting in four aspects, namely, the nature of interpreting activities in China in antiquity; possible political rewards for the amateur interpreter who was a frontier clerk by profession because of possible translation manipulation; textual traces from the Chinese translation of the poems that suggests a possible manipulation in meaning and style; and the (interpreter's) superior's part in the manipulation of the translation, which eventually found its way into the standard history of the Latter Han dynasty. Considering the political needs of Latter Han China to promote the Sinicization cause among non-Han tribesmen in the empire, this article argues, based on analyses of the four factors above, that the interpreter, with his rare knowledge of the tribal tongue in the imperial court, might have consciously shaped the translation of the poems to pander to the liking of his superior and the emperor. This article further shows how and why the interpreter, in his official capacity as a frontier clerk, might have capitalized on his competence in a tribal language and manipulated, albeit mildly, the historical records on the Chinese translation of the poems.

Keywords: interpreting history, sung poems translation, manipulation, interpreting and translation records in first-century China, interpreters and historical records, histoire de l'interprétation, traduction de poèmes chantés, manipulation, archives de l'interprétation et de la traduction chinoises du premier siècle, interprètes et archives historiques

SummaryThis paper discusses various conceptual ways of linking gender, leisure and tastes and offers a cross-time analysis of gender differences in the time allocated to different leisure activities in Britain. We ask whether men and women have similar leisure participation patterns over time and whether we can identify changes in the relative distribution of leisure activities between men and women. We discuss Bourdieu's theory of distinction and Simmel's trickle down theory as possible additional contributions to the understanding of differences in gender trends over time. We find some trends in participation which may be described in terms of Simmel's trickle-down theory (for example, increasing participation in sports activities among women), some which support Bourdieu's theory of distinction (for example, men's participation in electronic media) and some which cannot adequately be described by either.

AbstractThis article discusses the relationship of writing and translation in Canadian feminist poetics, specifically experimental. As feminist poetics collapsing the boundaries between theory and creative act, “writing as translation” is a mode of articulation for female subjectivity and a strategy for oppositional poetics. The article engages with the practice of “writing as translation” in the works of two leading avant-garde artists, the francophone Nicole Brossard and the anglophone Daphne Marlatt, located respectively in Montreal and Vancouver. Building on the groundbreaking critical work of Barbara Godard, Kathy Mezei and Sherry Simon, it situates these practices in the socio-political and intellectual context of the 1970s and 1980s, which witnessed the emergence of women's movements, feminist communities and feminist criticism, and in relation to the politics of translation in Canada. This historicization is necessary not only to understand the innovative work of Canadian feminist poetics but also the political dissemination of a feminist culture bringing together English and French Canada.

Keywords: gender, writing, and translation, feminist theory, politics of translation in Canada, feminist communities, experimental writing, écriture, traduction au féminin, théorie féministe, politiques de la traduction au Canada, communautés féministes, écriture expérimentale

AbstractOne encounters in Slavic countries many movements that strive to resuscitate the traditions and beliefs of the pre-Christian epoch. This “pagan renaissance” poses the problem of the identification of the boundaries of the religious and the spiritual. More than an approach turned toward the past, these movements just as much illustrate certain forms of transgression of the social boundaries of common sense. In order to distinguish the forms taken by individual faith, we offer as inspiration the phenomenological approach of Alfred Schütz to examine the case of the figure of Žiarislav and the community of the Native Circle. We distinguish between ordinary faith, rooted in the common sense of collective intersubjectivity, and heroic faith, nourished in the romanticism of an imaginary and fantastic world.

This paper presents the results of a study on the social representation of academic success in a developing country. A case study was conducted in Gabon with high school students, teachers and parents living in urban and rural areas. The conceptual framework is based on Moscovici's theory of social representations as well as on Rivière, Sauvé and Jacques's (1997, 2002) typology. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 students, 19 teachers and 19 parents. Data was analysed using Alceste software. Results highlight the diverse social representations of academic success in Gabon according to social status (student, teacher, and parent), gender, geographical environment, and school results. Results also brought to light a confrontation between these social representations according to a vision of academic success as a prerequisite for financial, professional, social or personal success.

Keywords: réussite scolaire, représentation sociale, Gabon, enseignement secondaire, élèves, Academic achievement, social representation, Gabon, secondary education, students, Éxito escolar, representación social, Gabón, enseñanza secundaria, alumnos

SummaryThrough a detailed inter-textual reading of Durkheim and Mauss's works, primarily on magic and religion, this essay offers a re-evaluation and reinterpretation of Mauss's essay on magic. It argues that given the semantico-referential bias implicit in both his and his uncle's theorizing, Mauss sought a referential basis for the pragmatic (i.e. indexical) force of magical and ritual practices and the discourse that supports them. It argues further that, whether articulated by the native or the anthropologist, mana (in magic) and hau (in exchange) are attempts to give stabilizing referential value to this essentially unstable contextualizing force. Durkheim — more insistently than Mauss — found it in social effervescence, ultimately in society. Despite, both writers manifest commitment to socialism, as Mauss seems to have recognized at the end of his life, their readings of magic, ritual, and religion ironically shared many of the same epistemic presuppositions as fascism.

In the context of the Marian effervescence of the 1950s, Adèle Levasseur, a grey nun of Regina, proposes a new devotion dedicated to Mary, Queen of Nurses. The emotional communities associated with the network of institutions of the congregation have allowed a rapid dissemination of the devotion through different communication strategies, the development of a devout iconography and the promotion of a precise vocabulary of emotions. Nevertheless, the changing context of the time and the premature death of sister Levasseur will limit the effects.

This paper focuses on the translation of Nigerian literature into French from the perspective of cultural diplomacy and as a cultural product (Flotow, 2007; Córdoba Serrano, 2013). It reviews Nigerian cultural diplomacy initiatives to determine if translation is highlighted as part of cultural export and as a means through which the Nigerian image and culture are promoted. Even though translation exchanges are not promoted by the Nigerian government, there is a field of translation of Nigerian texts into French. Data from a list of Nigerian novels translated into French between 1953 and 2017 provide contextual and historical information on the circulation of translations as well as on the works that are selected for translation into French.

Keywords: Nigerian literature, cultural diplomacy, translation, circulation, French language, littérature nigériane, diplomatie culturelle, traduction, diffusion, langue française

SummaryThis article proposes an analysis of the teaching-learning processes presented in three textbooks published in accordance with the new Quebec social sciences program. The results are compared to the teaching-learning-processes conveyed by the preceding program in order to bring to light elements of both continuity and change. The results show that the passage from a program based on objectives to a program based on the competency approach has generated little change. The textbooks remain attached to a model of presentation and transmission of knowledge, offering little for the student to develop a system for interpreting different realities and their socio-spatial dynamics.

Keywords: manuel scolaire, sciences humaines, enseignement primaire, démarche d'enseignement-apprentissage, approche par compétences, textbooks, social sciences, teaching-learning process, competency approach, primary education, libro de texto, ciencias humanas, educación primaria, proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje, enfoque por competencias

Western sociological literature on contemporary intimacies and dominating love ideals can be divided in three main approaches: the first defines detraditionalization and individualization as emancipation, the second regards the dissolution of traditional references as a source of disengagement, the third highlights the coexistence between modernity and tradition in intimate practices and discourses. By drawing on the results of a case study on the Quebec TV show La Galère (2007-2013), this paper presents a fourth approach, one which is able to overcome the theoretical and empirical limits of the three above mentioned stances. Our approach champions the idea of an “integrated semantics” in order to describe semantic elements circulating in Western contemporary cultural productions, as well as the terms and the features of the coexistence between traditional and modern semantic themes. In addition, our approach provides the conceptual tools to support hypotheses regarding the link between observed semantic elements and contemporary social transformations impacting the intimate sphere.

Keywords: Sémantique intégrée, intimité, amour, couple, inégalités de genre, téléséries, Integrated semantics, intimacy, love, couple, gender inequalities, TV shows, Semántica integrada, intimidad, amor, pareja, desigualdades de género, teleseries