CULTURAL TRANSLATION AND FEMINIST AGENCY IN THE UKRAINIAN DIASPORA

Abstract

This article examines the intersection of cultural translation and feminist agency within the intellectual landscape of the Ukrainian diaspora. The study conceptualizes translation as a form of cultural mediation that facilitates the transnational circulation of Ukrainian literature, ideas, and historical narratives. The theoretical framework draws on feminist translation studies developed by Sherry Simon and Luise von Flotow, as well as the concept of “diaspora space” articulated by Avtar Brah. Within this perspective, translation is approached not merely as a linguistic practice but as a complex cultural process in which issues of gender, ethnic identity, and collective memory intersect. Particular attention is given to the role of women translators, editors, and scholars in shaping transnational intellectual networks within Ukrainian diasporic communities. The article argues that translation practices in the diaspora have served not only as mechanisms of cultural representation but also as tools for revising literary canon formation, especially through the recovery and promotion of women’s writing and the introduction of feminist theoretical perspectives into Ukrainian literary studies. In this context, translation emerges as a powerful instrument of cultural interpretation and symbolic representation of Ukrainian culture within global intellectual discourse. The analysis demonstrates that diasporic translation functions as an important mechanism for preserving cultural memory while simultaneously generating new interpretations of national identity. Ukrainian diasporic translation practices thus represent a dynamic process of cultural transmission in which gender perspectives play a crucial role in shaping contemporary understandings of Ukrainian literature and culture within transnational contexts.