Rousseau in Arabic: Between Clarity and Opacity in Text

Volume 2|Issue 7| Autumn 2012 |Articles

Abstract

Through an examination of the translation of Rousseau into Arabic, this study addresses the question of translation in its entirety. The importance of this study lies in its focus on the translation of French works, particularly since the French language was among the first European languages to be encountered by the pioneers of the linguistic, literary, and intellectual renaissance in Arab countries. Moreover, Rousseau was among the first Western figures to be widely read in the Arab world, which led his language to be adapted to Arabic, his symbolisms to Arab symbolisms, and his thought to Arab thought and culture. The study primarily focuses on Rousseau’s The Social Contract, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, and The Confessions. 

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Professor of Philosophy at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, he works on Modern Philosophy, Enlightenment Philosophy and the intellectual movements in “revolt” against it, utopia and the receptions of modernity by Arab thinkers. His work has been translated into Spanish, German, and English. He also translated The Social Contract by Jean Jacques Rousseau into Arabic. 

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Arab Center
Harvard
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