In Between Stereotypes and Authentic Identity: Translation Issues in 21st Century Jewish-American Literature

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to explore – and possibly offer solutions to – the translation issues caused by the inseparable workings of identity, stereotypes and irony, when translating 21st century Jewish-American literature into Dutch for a general literary readership. Central to that aim, is the answering of the following questions: - What are the main characteristics of 21st century Jewish-American literature? How does the triangle of identity, stereotyping and irony interact in contemporary Jewish-American works? - How does identity in the form of CSI's complicate the translation process? How does the ironic intention of those stereotypes complicate the translation progress? How can theories on both issues be combined in the approach to the translation of 21st century Jewish-American literature? - Which concrete translation issues occur due to the ironic use of stereotypes when translating three fragments from three miscellaneous contemporary writers – Aaron Hamburger’s “The End of Anti-Semitism”, Binnie Kirshenbaum’s An Almost Perfect Moment and Adam Wilson’s Flatscreen – into Dutch? How can they be solved?