Dear all,
as an amusing curiosity I can tell that also the Finnish (!) translation
gives some extra support for Han's translation: "a history of sexuality as
an experience". This might be something like corroboration, I guess :)
btw, I just realized that I have been participating in some of the
discussions here without introducing myself properly. Sorry about that, I'll
correct this now: I am mastering in philosophy at the University of
Helsinki, Finland. I did my bachelor's thesis on Canguilhem's Essai and I am
currently trying to find out what to do next. I am certainly not an expert
on Foucault but I have definitely enjoyed reading these mails!
best wishes,
Teemu
2008/7/18 Yoshie Furuhashi <critical.montages@xxxxxxxxx>:
> On Fri, Jul 18, 2008 at 6:38 AM, Kevin Turner <kevin.turner@xxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
> > I have a query concerning a translation in "The Use of Pleasure."
> >
> > In the English translation, Foucault states that what he planned was
> > 'a history of the experience of sexuality' (UP: 4).
> >
> > In Beatrice Han's discussion of this text in "Foucault's Critical
> Project,"
> > she modifies the translation so that it states that what Foucault
> > planned was 'a history of sexuality as an experience' (Han, 2002: 153).
> >
> > This may seem like a subtle difference but I think a lot hangs on
> > whether Foucault is understood to be doing "a history of the experience
> > of sexuality" or "a history of sexuality as an experience."
> >
> > Thoughts on which is the better translation, or whether both
> > translations are legitimate, or which translation best captures what
> > Foucault did, etc. would be most welcome.
>
> The most faithful translation (in the sense of following the structure
> of the original wording -- "une histoire de la sexualité comme
> expérience"* -- closely) may be "a history of sexuality as
> experience."
> Beatrice Han's way of putting it may help problematize the idea of
> "experience" as well as that of "sexuality" more sharply than Robert
> Hurley's.
>
> * "II s'agissait en somme de voir comment, dans les sociétés
> occidentales modernes, une « expérience » s'était constituée, telle
> que les individus ont eu à se reconnaître comme sujets d'une «
> sexualité », qui ouvre sur des domaines de connaissance très divers et
> qui s'articule sur un système de règles et de contraintes. Le projet
> était donc d'une histoire de la sexualité comme expérience - si on
> entend par expérience la corrélation, dans une culture, entre domaines
> de savoir, types de normativité et formes de subjectivité" (Le Souci
> de Soi, Gallimard, 1984, p. 10).
>
> Yoshie
>
> _______________________________________________
> Foucault-L mailing list
>
as an amusing curiosity I can tell that also the Finnish (!) translation
gives some extra support for Han's translation: "a history of sexuality as
an experience". This might be something like corroboration, I guess :)
btw, I just realized that I have been participating in some of the
discussions here without introducing myself properly. Sorry about that, I'll
correct this now: I am mastering in philosophy at the University of
Helsinki, Finland. I did my bachelor's thesis on Canguilhem's Essai and I am
currently trying to find out what to do next. I am certainly not an expert
on Foucault but I have definitely enjoyed reading these mails!
best wishes,
Teemu
2008/7/18 Yoshie Furuhashi <critical.montages@xxxxxxxxx>:
> On Fri, Jul 18, 2008 at 6:38 AM, Kevin Turner <kevin.turner@xxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
> > I have a query concerning a translation in "The Use of Pleasure."
> >
> > In the English translation, Foucault states that what he planned was
> > 'a history of the experience of sexuality' (UP: 4).
> >
> > In Beatrice Han's discussion of this text in "Foucault's Critical
> Project,"
> > she modifies the translation so that it states that what Foucault
> > planned was 'a history of sexuality as an experience' (Han, 2002: 153).
> >
> > This may seem like a subtle difference but I think a lot hangs on
> > whether Foucault is understood to be doing "a history of the experience
> > of sexuality" or "a history of sexuality as an experience."
> >
> > Thoughts on which is the better translation, or whether both
> > translations are legitimate, or which translation best captures what
> > Foucault did, etc. would be most welcome.
>
> The most faithful translation (in the sense of following the structure
> of the original wording -- "une histoire de la sexualité comme
> expérience"* -- closely) may be "a history of sexuality as
> experience."
> Beatrice Han's way of putting it may help problematize the idea of
> "experience" as well as that of "sexuality" more sharply than Robert
> Hurley's.
>
> * "II s'agissait en somme de voir comment, dans les sociétés
> occidentales modernes, une « expérience » s'était constituée, telle
> que les individus ont eu à se reconnaître comme sujets d'une «
> sexualité », qui ouvre sur des domaines de connaissance très divers et
> qui s'articule sur un système de règles et de contraintes. Le projet
> était donc d'une histoire de la sexualité comme expérience - si on
> entend par expérience la corrélation, dans une culture, entre domaines
> de savoir, types de normativité et formes de subjectivité" (Le Souci
> de Soi, Gallimard, 1984, p. 10).
>
> Yoshie
>
> _______________________________________________
> Foucault-L mailing list
>