Drawing on examples from modern Arabic literature, this dissertation project is concerned with the roll of self-translations from Arabic to English, and builds on the newest approaches from translation studies in which self-translation is understood as a cultural practice that takes place against the backdrop of specific political and social conditions. Engaging with literary self-translations calls into question binary categories of source and target language, of source culture and target culture, and of original and translation. Literary self-translation is imbedded in the context of the orientalism debate and is presented as a possibility for transcending the constructed dichotomy of “Orient” versus “Occident.” Instead, the focus should be shifted to the intersections between cultural spaces, and the third space created by authors in their works should be the center of observation.

Wolfgang Trimmel studied Arabic studies and history with a concentration on global history at the University of Vienna. In 2012-13 he spent an exchange year in Morocco and France. In summer 2015 he completed a Master’s degree in Arabic studies with a thesis on the reception of the Syrian crisis in contemporary Syrian literature. His thesis in global history focused on the topic of the Alawite state in Syria during the French mandate period. In the course of his research for that project, Wolfgang Trimmel researched at the French Diplomatic Archives in Nantes. In 2016 he began his doctoral studies at the University of Vienna Department of Oriental Studies, where he is also an instructor.