The question of whether to disclose that a text is a translation and thereby give visibility to the translator has dominated discussions on translation throughout history. Despite becoming one of the most ubiquitous terms in translation studies, however, the concept of translator (in)visibility is often criticized for being vague, overly adaptable, and grounded in literary contexts. This interdisciplinary volume therefore draws on concepts from fields such as sociology, the digital humanities, and interpreting studies to develop and operationalize theoretical understandings of translator visibility beyond these existing criticisms and limitations. Through empirical case studies spanning areas including social media research, reception studies, institutional translation, and literary translation, this volume demonstrates the value of understanding the visibilities of translators and translation in the plural and adds much-needed nuance to one of translation studies’ most pervasive, polarizing, and imprecise concepts.

The Introduction from the volume is available open access and can be read via the Leuven University Press website.

For more information, see here.

Endorsements

For nearly thirty years, visibility has occupied an influential position in the theoretical framing of translation and translators’ work. This forward-looking volume breathes fresh life into this much-debated mainstay by reflecting the affordances of contemporary methodologies and praxis, with inspiring conceptual and empirical enquiries cutting across social media, professional practice, status, digital paratexts, reception, and translation in/for research. In pivoting away from Venuti’s narrow, literary-historical focus, Freeth and Treviño bring visibility firmly into the 21st century. - Callum Walker, University of Leeds
 

In this excellent collection, Freeth and Treviño offer a long overdue perspective on the in/visibilities (in plural) of translation and translators, challenging prevailing conceptions of visibility. The importance of this volume lies in its critical approach questioning the assumption of invisibility, as well as how desirable it is for translators to be visible. This book certainly has the potential of reshaping the discourse on a topic ubiquitous in Translation Studies. - Rafael Schögler, University of Graz
 

This highly interesting volume engages critically with the scope and limitations of the notions of visibility and invisibility in various translational practices. The chapters demonstrate the value of a more complex and diversified understanding of translator and translation (in)visibility and offer broader perspectives as well as innovative interdisciplinary ways of investigation. - Christina Schäffner, Aston University