From “French feminism” to Norwegian Gender Studies. An Explorative Study of Text and Terminology in Translated Subject Oriented Prose Published by Pax forlag (1990-2000)

Abstract

The publishing house Pax Forlag was an important participant in the massive growth of the humanities in Norway in the 1990s through the translations of leading French thinkers such as Jacques Derrida, Julia Kristeva and Pierre Bourdieu. This article examines the influence of translations from French on the development of the terminology of gender studies in Norway, which is the result of a collaboration between the Language Council of Norway and researchers in gender studies. The article compares the term ‘gender’ (‘kjønn’) in the translations with the definition given by the Language Council’s terminology project. In addition, the article examines Delphy’s (1996) thesis that “French feminism” is an Anglo-American invention that gives an in-accurate representation of feminist theory and practice in France. The results indicate that the French translations have had limited influence on Norwegian terminology related to gender studies, and that although “French feminism” has been presented and debated in Norway, it does not seem to have had a lasting impact. This may suggest that the influence of French philosophy may be more limited than previously thought, and that Anglo-American theory has been a more important factor for term formation in Norwegian.