Translation and the Implosion of National Literatures

As the instrument that facilitates the circulation of texts, translation is often hailed for its role in the globalization of culture, but also ignored in the study of individual literatures. And yet, while translation breaks down national boundaries, it also localizes the global, and thus it does not necessarily make national literatures obsolete, but rather complicates them. This presentation will focus on the multilingualism of the Spanish literary system as a fertile ground for the exploration of the impact of translation in the configuration of national literatures.