Miaïna Razakamanantsoa’s doctoral research explores the different stakes at play when exoticism is mobilized in the publishing of translated literature. Defining exoticization as a publishing and marketing practice, this project analyzes the different shapes it may take in the paratexts of literary translations. With the aim of mapping how this practice evolves within the structures of the book industry, Razakamanantsoa’s research particularly focuses on how the social dynamics, economic imperatives, and legal framework of publishing delineate the use of exoticism. To this end, this project considers different laws that govern book publishing, like copyright and false advertising. It also considers economic factors, like rationalization, as well as social aspects, such as the publisher’s network and the center-periphery dynamics operating in the global circulation of translations. By considering these various elements, this project provides deeper insight into a publishing practice that is still understudied despite its significant impact on the way literature is produced and consumed.

This project considers the evolution of three literary works that, although originally published in different linguistic and geographic contexts (Germany, India, Turkey), were translated into English and published in the United States in 2018. The works considered are Hermann Hesse’s Singapore Dream and Other Adventures, Perumal Murugan’s One Part Woman, and Saygin Ersin’s Pasha of Cuisine. By examining the paratexts of their original and translated editions (e.g., cover, titles, blurb, forewords, reviews, and reader’s reports), Razakamanantsoa explores the trajectories of these works within the structures of global publishing. Besides the close reading and comparative analysis of paratexts, this project also includes archival research (e.g., at the New York Public Library) and interviews with actors involved in the publishing and design process of these books. At the crossroads between Book Studies, Translation Studies, and Postcolonial Studies, it discusses how the structures and dynamics of today’s book industries may influence how literary texts are culturally translated to local audiences. It is an invitation to further reflect on the power dynamics at play in the global circulation of literature.