Transcribing the "Ocean of Story": Rewriting C. H. Tawney's translation of the "Katha Sarit Sagara", a medieval Sanskrit text by Somadeva Bhatta

The thesis project began with an exploration of two fundamental issues in translation: can a literary work from one culture and language be transmitted into another; and if so, how? An 11th century Sanskrit composition, the Katha Sarit Sagara, was selected as the subject because the text originated in a culture and time very different from 20th century America, and because the work is available in an English translation which, although scholarly and faithful, is nonetheless nearly unknown to modern American readers. An analysis of the text, drawing heavily on Michel Foucault's theory of discursive formations, revealed "what" occurred there through statements (including concepts, strategies, and expressions of speech), articulations, and patterns of relationship present in the text. An attempt was made to rewrite or "transcribe" these statements, articulations, and patterns in such a way that "what" occurred in the text was recreated for a new, 20th century American audience.