Transtrad Editorial Project

I- Background

1) Presentation

Volunteer work without commitment is something that is hard for us to imagine: now, the Transtrad editorial project will add another dimension to our activities.
This project will be centred round themes that are relevant to us all, and relate to globalisation issues. We would like to achieve the following:
–  Collection of relevant texts concerning a relevant issue;
–  Translation of these texts into different languages;
–  Distribution of the text collections.

2) Selection of issues and texts

The issues chosen will deal with global questions that have been focused upon in the social forums. The selected texts should discuss issues in an original and relevant way; the distribution of the texts will contribute to a more pluralistic way of thinking, in contrast to the ideas disseminated in the media, whose viewpoint is one-sided to the degree of proto-totalitarianism.
The final selection of texts will be made by the project managers.

3) Translations

These reflective texts will be translated by the Transtrad volunteer network, in adherence to current work principles. The name of the author, as well as those of the translator and proofreader, will always be given in the final collection.

4) Distribution

The distribution of the collection, which will take place solely in the non-profit arena, means that:
–  the texts will be circulated freely (no copyright) ;
–  it will be necessary to monitor the texts to ensure that they not altered in any way by other persons;
–  the issue of translation quality must be considered.

The collections of texts could be distributed, as and when possible, by the following: ourselves, sympathetic organisations, the social forums, the Internet, and as hard copy.

II- First project: Dossier on Work

We propose that the first collection be dedicated to the issue of work. It will contain around ten articles, from several countries and cultures, and will be translated into five languages: German, English, Spanish, Italian and French.

Given that the range of this subject is particularly vast, we have selected some general categories ˆ history of work; work and society; first-hand accounts of work; and literary representations of work ˆ and we have developed an initial structural outline as a rough guideline. Therefore, the project could be organised as follows:
Text 1: Theoretical article (What is work?)
Text 2: Work in past or present societies
Text 3: Slavery
Text 4: Changes to work and their influence on social relations (Does what takes place in the workplace foreshadows changes in the rest of society? The issue of identity and work; sexual division of labour and so on.)
Text 5: Child labour
Text 6: An account given by a worker
Text 7: Work experienced as suffering
Text 8: Work experienced as pleasure
Text 9: Extract from a novel
Text 10: Controversial or provocative text (for example, the work of a torturer, etc).

This framework can be further developed, of course, depending on the contributions received.

III Call for participants

We would like to involve all interested Transtrad volunteers, and invite you to send us texts of your choice (those which have aroused your curiosity, made you think or have moved you), according to these guidelines:
– please select articles or extracts, in their original language, that are between one and ten pages in length.
– if the texts are not written in one of the five languages of publication (German, English, Spanish, Italian, French), please attach a brief summary in one of these languages.
– please send an attachment, preferably in .doc or .rtf format, to the five project managers (see list below)
– or send a photocopy to the following address:
Babel ˆProjet éditorial Transtrad
7-9 rue des Petites Ecuries
75010 Paris
France

We look forward to reading your texts.
Many thanks in advance.

Best regards,

The project team:

Jean-Marie Kneib: jean-marie.kneib@worldonline.fr
Hernando Franco: hfranco@wanadoo.fr
Laurent Jesover: jeso2@ras.eu.org
Amélie Fourcade: afourcade@yahoo.com
Marie-Claude Lecuyer: marieclaude_lecuyer@yahoo.fr