Sarah Goode

• BA (Hons) Modern Languages, Translating and Interpreting
• Mapping the Global Translations of Simone de Beauvoir’s Le Deuxième Sexe (1949)

Simone de Beauvoir’s Le Deuxième Sexe (1949) is a fundamental source of philosophical feminist knowledge, providing concrete evidence of women’s societal oppression and delineating the constructed nature of gender. Its translation into more than forty languages to date has contributed to shaping knowledge in discourses on gender and sexuality, and the centrality of Beauvoir’s text is testament to its continued relevancy for feminist thought and activism in a multitude of global contexts. To date, important scholarship on the translation of this cornerstone text into specific locales exists, yet, in isolated pockets. The aim of this study will be to map the transnational and transgenerational dissemination of Beauvoir’s Le Deuxième Sexe by locating details of all existing translations. Collating details such as translation dates, translator profiles, publishers, front cover images and whether a full or partial translation exists, this project will seek to map how Beauvoir’s text has travelled globally.

Funding Source: Newcastle University

Project supervisor: Dr Pauline Henry-Tierney