The role of translation in the building of national identities: The case of colonial Mexico (1521--1821)

Abstract

The purpose of this doctoral research is to demonstrate that translation, as a form of representation, is present in the elaboration of a discourse on the nation in colonial Mexico, or New Spain. To this end, a catalogue of 712 translational products is explored by means of a classification based on a conceptual framework provided by nationalism studies. This approach leads to see how, individually and collectively, one group of translations weave the canvass of an "imagined community" of faithful, on which three other groups intertwine narratives of foundational myths, instill a sense of belonging to a continuum of classical civilizations, and, lastly, incorporate New Spain to the concert of modern nations. Historiography is part of this evolution, and the presence of translation and subsequent rewritings are traced in the fixing of a national history.