Agenda UV

Translation and teaching in Spain (nineteenth century)

The technical and scientific translation from French into Spanish in Spain during the nineteenth century is an activity of social nature (i.e. with repercussions on society) and not only textual. Technical, scientific, historical, philosophical knowledge and so on are offered in the country because they are deemed necessary for their development, allowing or, at least favouring the modernisation of scientific, industrial, agriculture and institutional activities among others.

The education field in Spain, also of a social nature, is especially revealing of the demand for translations in this field: many of the translated didactic texts come from France, a country that, since the beginning of the century, was subject to notable changes from the point of view of both the organisation and content of teaching. In these sessions, the object of study will be the manual and didactic texts generally translated from French into Spanish in the nineteenth century.

It is intended to open some perspectives on the social and cultural role played by the translation of texts linked to teaching. It seems interesting also to try to relate the variations or adaptations suffered by the foreign originals and causes of them to finally proceed to an examination of this phenomenon of technical and scientific transfer, both from the demand and the reception of texts in the field of education in Spain in the nineteenth century.