Carla Dalbeck, Research Area 4: "Literary Currencies"
Doctoral Research Project

In her research project Translating National Writers: Transtemporal and Transcultural Dimensions of Symbolic Figures in National Literatures, Carla Dalbeck aims to comprehend the value of national writers in a transcultural and trans-temporal perspective. Taking the examples of Victor Hugo and Alessandro Manzoni, both considered national writers in their respective nations, she aims to dissect the complex interconnections between source texts and translations that cause a (de)valorisation of the writer and their work as literary currencies.

By focusing on processes of literary value formation and translation in France and Italy respectively, the project focuses on three aspects. Firstly, the temporal construction of the national writer is captured in the long term, insofar as synchronous and asynchronous processes of reception from the 19th century to the present are equally taken into account. Secondly, culture- and language-related spatial (a)symmetries of reception are revealed. Thirdly, it tracks actor-network relations – such as translators, editors, publishing houses and journals – questioning their role in the construction, transmission and valorisation of the national writer in a transcultural space. The focus is thus placed equally on questions of translation practice and literary aesthetics as well as on the sociocultural linkages that determine the literary value of national writers and their literary work in a transnational context.