Naoko Okamoto

Research Fellow, Center for Innovative Research, National Institutes for the Humanities *Profile is at the time of the award.

2024Inamori Research GrantsHumanities & Sociology

Research topics
Study of Joseph-Charles Mardrus, Translator of "One Thousand and One Nights": Toward a Clarification of the Realities of Literary Space in the Mediterranean Region
Keyword
Summary
J.-C. Mardrus (1868-1949), who was born in Egypt and expanded his activities in Paris, translated the « Thousand and One Nights » into French, it is read the world over as global literature. On the other hand, researchers underestimate him because the original text is not recognised. I intend to re-evaluate his work in the context of the cultural mechanism of Paris in the Belle Époque and his passage from the Mediterranean to the world via Paris, by investigation of the newly discovered personal archives of Mardrus (Mardrus Collection Bequest), and by interviewing his descendants. My aim is to shed light on the reality of the Mediterranean literary space and to establish a new theory of area studies from a literary perspective.

Message

By capturing the reality of the Egyptian-born Mardrus' activities in Paris and his inner life through his newly discovered personal archives, I hope to provide a perspective on issues that are relevant today, such as immigration.

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Humanities & Sociology