Introduction: Expertise in Translation

Abstract

Translation is an epistemic practice. Accordingly, and in the wake of the seminal work on the cultural history of translation initiated by Peter Burke, the field of the history of science and medicine has shifted towards discussing practices of translation. Instead of asking about the “fidelity” or “faithfulness” of a translation (previously thought of as a copy or replica of an original), the focus on translation has allowed historians of science and medicine to scrutinize the changes and transformations of knowledge in motion. We no longer look at these forms of translation as betrayals of the original, but as processes productive of knowledge. Paying attention to their ethics and politics highlights that translation is a process of inclusion and exclusion. The contributors to this section scrutinize the conditions under which premodern translators became visible or remain invisible. What, the papers ask, is epistemic translation? What does it encompass, and what are its limits?