ABSTRACT
Translation is a social phenomenon, and no social phenomenon is ahistoric. As such, translation must be contextualized in its historical environment. This entails the need on the part of translation scholars to be aware of the possible overlap or discrepancy of the methodologies they may share with historians. The chapter will focus on those approaches within translation studies that have explicitly thematized the theoretical, methodological, and empirical issues of historical research on translation. Treating translation as an interlingual and intercultural event with consequences that are vital in the construction of cultures of a nation or people, the chapter gives a survey of the pathbreaking theoretical and empirical studies on the history of translation that have attempted to turn translation from a mere service activity into an active agent of culture and an explanation of its configurations. On the example of existing translation histories, the chapter shows different possibilities in the study and systematization of historical data on translation, focusing on general patterns as well as limits of different methodologies.
