Embodying Translation

Patricia Sauthoff*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to conferenceConference abstractpeer-review

Abstract

The language of physical activities, especially when unaccompanied by images, can be oblique. This leaves the translator with the task of using cultural and physical knowledge to fill in the blanks. In the last five years, Sanskrit scholars of yoga and alchemy have used the methods of “embodied philology” to recreate the activities described in the texts. In this talk I will demonstrate how medieval yoga postures go from the page to the person by engaging scholars and non-scholar practitioners alike. I will also demonstrate how alchemical recreations using a 10th century text turned into a public-facing video series that allows the audience to get up close and personal with materials such as mercury that they would not normally have access to due to its extreme toxicity. Though not focused directly on Sinosphere languages, this approach can help us make connections between Chinese and Indian practices in clearly expressed and easily understandable ways that do not require multiple language proficiency.

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Embodying Translation'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this