Szczeliny dla wolnomyślnych powiewów
Cracks to Let in the Winds of Free Thought

Polish Translation Tactics of the Works of John William Draper

Summary/Abstract: The article outlines the process of translating John William Draper’s historical works into Polish and shows how these translations were evaluated against the background of the reception of the American scientist’s ideas. The author describes the historical conditions for the transfer of Draperism, identifies the translation tactics of Polish translators, and traces how critics with different worldviews reacted to the results of their work. Using this example, he tries to show that in the second half of the 19th century, the Polish (counter) discourse of secularization developed under extremely difficult conditions related to censorship and morality, so the translation tactics of Draper’s historiography can be considered an emancipatory gesture.

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