Renovation and revision: A case study of the translation-related actor network of the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum

Kaiyu Qin and Xin Li

Shanghai Jiao Tong University

The new millennium has witnessed a widening application of Actor-Network Theory (ANT) to the field of Translation Studies, but the interface of ANT and Museum Translation Studies has so far remained underexplored. This article focuses on the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum as a case study. It attempts to construct the translation-related actor network involved in the renovation of the museum in 2015 and the subsequent two rounds of revisions the bilingual guide scripts have undergone. It also explores the bi-directional agential relations enabling the role change of main actors and the general development of the network. This article argues that translation-related ANT analysis should deem translational relations as neither the center nor the end of an actor network, and highlights the significance of nonhuman and non-translational actors in explaining the process of translation production and revision in the context of Museum Studies.

Keywords:

Publication history

Date received: 5 August 2022

Date accepted: 18 November 2024

Published online: 17 December 2024

Table of contents

Abstract
Keywords
1.Introduction
2.An overview: Museums, ANT, and Translation Studies
3.The Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum and its renovation in 2015
4.Two rounds of revision and the role changes of actors
5.Conclusion: The complete actor network of SJRM
Acknowledgements
Conflict of interest statement
Funding
References
Address for correspondence

Museums have no borders; they have a network.

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