Banca de DEFESA: Mariana Moraes Leite

Uma banca de DEFESA de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : Mariana Moraes Leite
DATE: 27/02/2025
TIME: 10:00
LOCAL: Plataforma Teams
TITLE:

FLESH OF THE GODS: Annotated Translation Project for the Preface and Chapters I and VIII of Les Champignons Hallucinogènes du Mexique

KEY WORDS:

translation; coloniality; sacred mushroom; criticism; annotated translation.

PAGES: 250
BIG AREA: Lingüística, Letras e Artes
AREA: Letras
SUMMARY:

 This study is part of the research line Theory, Criticism, and History of Translation, within the area of concentration Translation in Context. The research describes the translation project of the preface and Chapters I and VIII from the fascicle Les Champignons Hallucinogènes du Mexique: études ethnologiques, taxinomiques, biologiques, physiologiques et chimiques, by Roger Heim and Robert Gordon Wasson, published in France in 1958, about the sacred mushrooms of Mexico. The study aims to promote a critical reading that exposes the coloniality inherent in Western scientific discourse regarding these mushrooms. This research investigates translation as a crucial tool to unveil the coloniality present in historical texts on psychedelic science. The objective is to demonstrate how translation can reveal the colonial dynamics that permeate these texts, allowing a more critical reading that expands the understanding of the power relations that often shape scientific production. The premise of the study shows that, despite their importance to the history and studies of psychoactive mushrooms, these texts reflect a colonial logic. The European and American researchers who wrote them treated Indigenous peoples merely as informants, exoticized and decontextualized their knowledge and practices, and transformed them into commodities. This process involved biopiracy, appropriation, and the erasure of Indigenous narratives, converting traditional knowledge into patents, luxury products, and studies often conducted without consent to serve the interests of the pharmaceutical industry. The study is based on three main theoretical pillars: indirect translation, annotated translation, and translation as criticism of coloniality. Indirect translation is a key aspect, as one of the texts was first translated from English into French before being translated into Portuguese. The annotated translation in this study serves as an invitation to critical reflection, encouraging the reader not only to consume the translated material passively but also to recognize its contradictions, gaps, and impacts. Translation as criticism makes it possible to highlight the layers of coloniality embedded in these texts, revealing that the history of psychedelic science is neither neutral nor impartial. The methodology consists of an annotated translation, with the translator’s notes that highlight the lexical and discursive choices of the original authors that resulted in erasures, cultural appropriations, and the exoticization of Indigenous peoples and their practices.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Externa à Instituição - BHEATRIX BIENEMANN FAVERO - OUTROS
Interna - 1772567 - ALBA ELENA ESCALANTE ALVAREZ
Externo ao Programa - 1706706 - AUGUSTO RODRIGUES DA SILVA JUNIOR - nullPresidente - 1314281 - ECLAIR ANTONIO ALMEIDA FILHO