When considered from a political and sociological perspective, the question: what languages get translated the most or receive most translations will receive an obvious answer that shows the hierarchy that reigns between languages, and in particular the relationship of domination between imperial languages and colonized or minorized languages. On the other hand, from a philosophical and ethical standpoint, translation establishes equality and reciprocity between the languages that are thus “put in touch” (Antoine Berman), as well as a sense of our shared humanity beyond cultural differences. The lecture will examine the opposition between the two perspectives and contend that translation is a humanism.

Moderation: Prof. Dr. Sabine Broeck | U Bremen

Prof. Dr. Souleymane Bachir Diagne is currently U Bremen WoC International Guest Professor. He received his academic training in France. An alumnus of the École Normale Supérieure, he holds an agrégation in Philosophy (1978) and he took his Doctorat d’État in philosophy at the Sorbonne (1988) where he also took his BA (1977). Before joining Columbia University in 2008 he taught philosophy for many years at Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar (Senegal) and at Northwestern University. His field of research includes history of logic, history of philosophy, Islamic philosophy, African philosophy and literature. He is the author of African Art as Philosophy: Senghor, Bergson, and the Idea of Negritude (Seagull Books, 2011), The Ink of the Scholars: Reflections on Philosophy in Africa, (Dakar, Codesria, 2016), Open to Reason: Muslim Philosophers in Conversation with Western Tradition, (New York, Columbia University Press, 2018).

For online participation register at shkwoc@uni-bremen.de

www.woc.uni-bremen.de/events/