Policies and Perceptions Around Censorship in Literary Translation in Iran
Subject Areas : Journal of Language, Culture, and Translation
1 -
Keywords: Censorship, Literary works, Perceptions, Policies ,
Abstract :
The present study was conducted to explore the current policies on screening and censorship in Iran with a special focus on literary works. In addition, the publicized perceptions regarding screening and censorship were also in focus. The material of the study included the officially published documents by the Cabinet and Parliament in addition to the councils responsible for cultural policy making. Further material for the study of the public perceptions encompassed the published interviews, editorials, and reports on official websites or media. The method of the study was mainly content analysis. Through the process of directed coding, the researcher identified the relevant codes in sentences which were the units of analysis. Then they were grouped under relevant themes. The results of the study showed that the major criteria for censorship were religious-related, moral, and political ones. Moreover, the major types of censorship were pre-publication, self-censorship, and post-publication. Among these types and criteria, the political considerations and pre-publication were the most dominant ones. The findings were discussed from a socio-cultural perspective and the implications were elaborated on with regard to translation training requirements.
Al Tayyeb, N. (2018, April 3). Passing through seven audit readers. Etemad. Etemad Newspaper: Passing the Seven Audit Readers
Allan, K., & Burridge, K. (2006). Forbidden words: Taboo and the censoring of language. Cambridge University Press.
Appignanesi, L. (2010). Words without borders. Index on Censorship, 39(4), 66-71.
Baker, M., & Saldanha, G. (2009). Censorship. In Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies (pp. 48-50). Routledge.
Bates, J. M. (2004). From state monopoly to a free market of ideas? Censorship in Poland, 1976–1989. In Censorship & cultural regulation in the modern age (pp. 137-163). Brill.
Billiani, F. (2014). Modes of censorship: National contexts and diverse media. Routledge.
Çiçek, B. (2022). Politics of resistance in modern Iranian Literature: Trauma, memory, and the limits of subjectivities (Doctoral dissertation).
Dines G., Humez J.M. (2018). Gender race and class in media: A critical reader. Sage Publications Inc.
Ebrahimi, M., Salman, G. S., & Mahadi, T. S. T. (2023). Cultural and Ideological Considerations in the Persian Translation of American Novels. IUP Journal of English Studies, 18(4).
Escolar, M. A. (2011). Contaminating conversions: narrating censorship, translation, fascism. University of California, Berkeley.
Fairclough N. (2015). Critical discourse analysis: The critical study of language. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Freshwater, H. (2004). Towards a redefinition of censorship. In Censorship & Cultural Regulation in the Modern Age (pp. 217-237). Brill.
Hall S. (2021). Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices. Sage Publications Ltd.;
Hassani, A. (2016). Censorship of poetry in post-revolutionary Iran (1979 to 2014), growing up with censorship (a memoir), and the kindly interrogator (a collection of poetry) (Doctoral dissertation, Newcastle University).
Hosnieh, E. (2021). Religion as Politics, Religion as Culture: Ideologization and De-Ideologization of the Literature Field after the 1979 Revolution in Iran. Politics, religion & ideology, 22(3-4), 372-391.
If the audit was the main problem of publishing, why did the circulation of books fall? 15,000 fake publishers, the product of incalculable subsidies. (2020, June 22). Tasnim. Roundtable If the problem was the main problem with publishing, why did the circulation of books collapse? (tasnimnews.com)
Jansen, S. C., & Martin, B. (2003). Making censorship backfire. Counterpoise, 7(3), 5-15.
Karoubi, B. (2023). Ideological and legal foundations of translation censorship in Iran. Perspectives, 1-13.
Khosravi, F. (1999). Censorship: An analysis of book censorship during the Pahlavi. Tehran. Cheshmeh.
Kuhiwczak, P. (2011). Translation studies forum translation and censorship. Translation Studies, 4(3) 358-373.
Lathey, G. (2019). Censorship. In Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies (pp. 56-60). Routledge.
Mir-abedini, H. (1998). A hundred years of Iranian fiction writing. Tehran: Cheshmeh.
Mollanazar, H. (2011). Text screening (censorship) in Iran: A historical perspective. Iranian Journal of Applied Language Studies, 3(2) 159-186.
Monitoring of Publishing Becomes Real? (2010, June 23). Khabar Online. Monitoring of publishing becomes real? - Akhbaran Online (khabaronline.ir)
Müller, B. (2004). Censorship and cultural regulation: Mapping the territory. In Censorship & cultural regulation in the modern age (pp. 1-31). Brill.
Nowruzy, A., & Hashemi, M. (2023). Publishers and Translators’ Perspectives on Book Publishing Regulations and Censorship and their Consequences in Post-Revolutionary Iran. Language and Translation Studies (LTS), 56(1), 141-166.
Rajabzadeh, A. (1996). Screening Books: A research on the 1400 screening documents in the year 1996. Tehran: Kavir Publications, 2001.
Resolutions of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution. (2010). Approvals of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution. Research Center - Amendment to the Goals, Policies, and Regulations of Book Publishing (majlis.ir)
Roshan, F. (2022, July, 12). Why Iran's Contemporary Literature is Not Globalized: From Self-Censorship to Lack of Creativity. Jahan San’at. From self-censorship to lack of creativity - Jahan Sanat Newspaper (jahanesanat.ir)
Sariz, I. (2017). Censorships in translation constraints and creativity. Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy, 2(3-4), 3-6.
Shahsavari, M. (2019, May 12). Auditing and publishing economy are barriers to the best generation of storytelling. Ana. Auditing and publishing economy are barriers to the best generation of storytelling - Anna News Agency (ana.ir)
Thomson-Wohlgemuth, G. (2011). Translation under state control: Books for young people in the German Democratic Republic. Routledge.
World Book, Inc. (2007). The World Book Encyclopedia: Research Guide-Index (Vol. 22). World Book.
