Translated Nature: 19th Century American Literature and Natural History

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K00403
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 02030:English literature and literature in the English language-related
• Research Institution: Tokai Gakuen University
• Principal Investigator: Takeno Fumiko 東海学園大学, 教育学部, 准教授 (20751746)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: アメリカ文学 / 環境 / 翻訳 / 19世紀 / 自然史

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This project explored the relationship between translation and natural history in the works of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson and found that the act of translation was closely connected to these writers’ formation of the concept of nature. In Nature, Emerson considered nature itself "a language" and argued that the study of natural history is an attempt to translate that language. For Emerson, who believed that "nature" and "human mind" are in correspondence, the act of translating nature can be seen as a unique act that creates a "translation space" from the encounter between mind and nature. The results of this study were presented at four academic conferences (including an international conference) and published as articles in three journals and a book.

Free Research Field

アメリカ文学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の目的は、エマソンやソローの自然観を、19世紀の自然史をめぐる言説空間や北米における自然史研究の重層性に目を配りながら、エマソンやソローの自然観を「翻訳」を鍵概念として問い直すことにあった。本研究の学術的意義は、近年の米文学研究における問題意識を共有し、国際間の知的ネットワーク、国際政治的背景などに着目し、19世紀米文学を俯瞰的に把握しようと試みたこと、さらに自然史研究を自然の「翻訳」作業ととらえることで、エマソンやソローが実際に行った翻訳や、翻訳への考え方を、翻訳研究の成果をもとに分析しこれまでの研究では捉えられてこなかった、エマソンやソローの自然観に新たな考察を加えたことにある。