Vat. copt. 57: A Codicological, Literary, and Paratextual Analysis

MS Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana Vat. copt. 57, a collection of homi- lies attributed to John Chrysostom in Bohairic Coptic, poses a number of challenges to scholars. Questions such as, Can we identify the texts, and what is their rela- tionship to their Greek models? Can we know who the copyist(s) was or were? are approached by a team of scholars in a collaborative stud

The Secret Lives of Ebooks: A Paratextual Analysis Illuminates a Veil of Usage Statistics

This study applies the method of paratextual analysis to six electronic books, or ebooks, in an academic library collection at a small liberal arts college. Two books are selected from each of three platforms: ebrary, EBSCO, and SpringerLink. The characteristics of each book are described, including design and readership, as well as 2 years of usage statistics from the specific library, and altmetrics where available. The paratextual study leads to a closer investigation of the usage statistics themselves and concludes that despite industry standards, they are not calculated consistently across vendor platforms and that while these data are invisible to researchers outside of the library, there are also essential elements that librarians mistakenly take at face value when comparing ebook usage from multiple vendors

Ancillary academia: video shorts and the production of university paratexts

This article considers the production of media paratexts beyond the bounds of the entertainment industry. Specifically, it examines the development of video content strategy by universities, and the paratextual function that video shorts serve in the construction of institutional identity. Taking a production studies approach, the article expands the scope of paratextual analysis by exploring the development of video content by university marketers, and the role of promotional intermediaries in selling video expertise to the education market

Literacy Sponsorship and Official Paratexts: Promoting Character Literacy through the For the Strength of Youth Booklets (1965-2011)

Literacy sponsors continue to play a dynamic and integral role in acquiring and learning literacy knowledge and skills (fluency) within discourse communities. This thesis examines how a religious literacy sponsor, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, utilizes the For the Strength of Youth (FSOY) publications and official paratexts to actively promote religious literacy and character development in the lives of adolescents. This thesis focuses specifically on the 2011 edition of the FSOY to explore the impact that recent advancements in digital technology have had on the evolution of the main-body text and official paratexts. A textual and paratextual analysis serves to illustrate how the Church promotes literacy acquisition and learning within the religious discourse community

Pronouns and patriarchy : discursive shifts in the English translations of Assia Djebar’s Algerian Quartet

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Translation Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017In this study, I set out to determine whether translation shifts can bring about significant changes in the discursive representation of male characters in English translations of two novels by the Algerian feminist writer Assia Djebar. The novels which I consider under this study are the first two volumes of Djebar’s Algerian Quartet, entitled L’Amour, la fantasia and Ombre sultane, along with their English translations, Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade and A Sister to Scheherazade. In this study, I focus primarily on one form of translation shift, the destruction of linguistic patterning, which results from the addition of possessive pronouns in references to male characters in translation. Through close textual analysis, I find that the addition of possessive pronouns results in significant changes in discursive representation, further resulting in the collapse of networks of overdetermination which are central to Djebar’s application of symbolic violence in writing. Similarly, I find that the destruction of linguistic patterning brings about a loss of polyphonic discourse in Djebar’s translated novels. I therefore conclude that the translator responsible for producing Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade and A Sister to Scheherazade, adopted a domesticating translation approach. In order to support my conclusion that the translator did indeed follow a domesticating translation approach, I draw on paratextual and close textual analysis to provide evidence. Theo Van Leeuwen’s Critical discourse analysis is the primary analytical tool employed in the close textual analysis sections of this study. Similarly, clear identification of translation shifts is rendered possible by Antoine Berman’s negative analytic. I also draw on Christopher Fotheringham’s conception of translation as symbolic violence, because symbolic violence is an important feature of Djebar’s writing, and because this is a translation-based study.XL201

When a Translator Joins the Revolution: A Paratextual Analysis of Manuel García de Sena’s La independencia

During the complex period of Latin American independence, new states began to emerge and new ideas were implemented. Some of these ideas were made available in part due to the efforts of translators in the United States. Among them was Manuel García de Sena, a Venezuelan translator who published translations of North American texts. His translations enjoyed a prompt distribution. One of them became a vehicle that facilitated legal transplants from the United States to the new republics. While much has been lost to history regarding the details of the printing of this translation, its paratextual apparatus provides insights that help modern readers understand some things regarding the people involved, their ideas, and the times they lived in. By analyzing the title, the dedications, and the notes, we can see the translation’s intended function in changing the culture repertoire. In essence, the paratext allows us to see what this translator did as he joined the revolution

When a Translator Joins the Revolution: A Paratextual Analysis of Manuel García de Sena’s La independencia

During the complex period of Latin American independence, new states began to emerge and new ideas were implemented. Some of these ideas were made available in part due to the efforts of translators in the United States. Among them was Manuel García de Sena, a Venezuelan translator who published translations of North American texts. His translations enjoyed a prompt distribution. One of them became a vehicle that facilitated legal transplants from the United States to the new republics. While much has been lost to history regarding the details of the printing of this translation, its paratextual apparatus provides insights that help modern readers understand some things regarding the people involved, their ideas, and the times they lived in. By analyzing the title, the dedications, and the notes, we can see the translation’s intended function in changing the culture repertoire. In essence, the paratext allows us to see what this translator did as he joined the revolution

The Paratext/Metatext Continuum: Walter Benjamin’s “The Translator’s Task” As a Paratext That Is Also a Metatext Within a Network of Nested Textual Manifestations

Paratexts have been defined as liminal devices that mediate a text to readers, such as titles, forewords, prefaces, etc. However, there’s an inherent open-endedness to their role since they often act as important commentaries on the text, and influence its reception in fundamental ways, thus blurring the distinction between paratexts and critical essays, what Gérard Genette terms “metatexts” (2001: 270). Accordingly, Walter Benjamin’s iconic “The Translator’s Task” is analyzed as a paratext that is also a metatext, along with an essay by Steven Rendall, his most authoritative contemporary translator into English, to show how the interplay between source texts, translated texts, paratexts, and metatexts produces a phenomenological network of nested textual layers, and that absolutist boundaries between paratexts and metatexts create various ambiguities and contradictions that obscure the fact that there is a continuum between these important manifestations of textuality

The Criterion of Quality: A Paratextual Analysis of the Criterion Collection in the Age of Digital Distribution

In 2011, home-video distribution company, The Criterion Collection, teamed up with streaming-content provider Hulu, extending their business model to include online streaming to subscribers through Hulu Plus. With the rise of Over-The-Top (OTT) media distribution services into the at-home market, the question that Criterion now faces is: how will the company survive as the market shifts away from Criterion’s established values? And, more pertinently, how does Criterion, by rebranding their image to compete in the streaming market, hope to attract new users without alienating their established fan base or sacrificing their brand identity? This thesis examines the Criterion Collection’s brand identity, business model, and history, focusing on its packaging and promotion, distribution channels (physical and streaming), and the formation of a self-established cinephile community through their website, Criterion.com. In my examination of Criterion’s attempts to branch out into new markets and adapt to alternative modes of media consumption, I argue that Criterion is taking strides to attract new audiences and build a tightly knit online fan community around their brand