ABSTRACT
This chapter theorises a concept of activist translation, understood as a political, and often oppositional, act, capable of producing social transformation. It takes inspiration from the reception of the translation into Italian by Federico Zappino of Judith Butler’s Notes Toward a Performative Theory of Assembly (2015), translated as L’alleanza dei corpi (2017) (The Alliance of Bodies), a book that places particular emphasis on public protests. Firstly, by drawing on the idea of the performativity of bodies gathered in public demonstrations, I look at this translation’s performative aspect. Secondly, this chapter considers the extent to which we can theorise translation in activist scenarios as an ‘alliance,’ borrowing the term, which features in the title of the translation of Butler’s book. Concepts like ‘alliance’ and ‘solidarity,’ as in the use made by Butler, were, at times, criticised by the translator of L’alleanza dei corpi (2017), and by the Italian queer transfeminist groups and individuals who attended the presentations of the translation. This chapter uses this criticism to explore its applications for current understandings of activist translation, warning against ideas of solidarity and horizontality (Baker 2016a) which might not take sufficiently into account the power differentials among oppressed groups and countries.
