In the Face of a Translation: Power, Pedagogy, and Transformation

Abstract

This article examines the scholarship of Chelva Kanaganayakam, especially his work on translation and postcolonial studies, and considers introducing – as the face of the other – India’s first travelogue, The Varthamanappusthakam, to the Western and Westernized classroom.  The article considers a Levinasean encounter of the other in the medium of the translation.   It studies the power politics around translations, the onus of pedagogy with regard to translations, and how translations can effect positive change in the academy.