Making Visible the Work of Translation in Transnational Feminist Research

Abstract

Transnational feminist work seeks to cross boundaries that are more than just state borders. These boundaries are marked by differences in language and culture, and enforced by varying encounters with militarization, colonialism, religion, and patriarchy. With a focus on women’s multiple experiences under the Khmer Rouge, this paper offers a cross-cultural feminist exploration of gender and genocide and the work of translation that is necessarily associated with it. This article explores some of the mechanisms and strategies, including translation, code-switching, creative interpretation through dance and a multi-layering of these interpretive efforts, that can be employed by researchers, their participants and collaborators working cross-culturally in order to bring visibility to gender(ed) representations and their mediation within and by a cross-cultural feminist research project.