SdBS Featured Translation 2021
It is with great pleasure that the editors of Simone de Beauvoir Studies announce that the SdBS Featured Translation of 2021 has been awarded to Sylvie Chaperon for her path-breaking article “Outcry over The Second Sex.” The article, which was originally published in French in 1999, was translated into English by Sophia Millman and is now available to Anglophone readers for the first time as the lead text in Volume 32.1 of Simone de Beauvoir Studies. “Outcry over The Second Sex” is one of the first studies of the French reception of Beauvoir’s magnum opus in the years immediately following its publication (1949-1951). Chaperon’s historical analysis of more than thirty reviews of The Second Sex that appeared in French journals and newspapers not only gives insight into the complicated political landscape of post-World War II France, but also reveals social attitudes toward gender, sexuality, and feminism prevalent at the time. “Outcry over The Second Sex,” marked the beginning of a new era in Beauvoir studies when it was first published because it understands European history through Beauvoir’s oeuvre and illuminates Beauvoir’s oeuvre through the study of history. Revisiting Chaperon’s path-breaking article today in its English translation invites us to think comparatively, noting similarities and differences not only between Beauvoir’s time and our own, but also between the history of Francophone and Anglophone receptions of her work.
Sylvie Chaperon is professor of contemporary history of gender at the University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès. Her research focuses on Simone de Beauvoir, the history of women’s movements and feminism, and the history of sexology in France. She is the author of Les années Beauvoir (1945-1970) (Fayard, 2000) and Les origines de la sexologie (1850-1900) (Louis Audibert, 2008), as well as a number of articles on feminism, gender, and sexuality.
Please join us in congratulating Professor Chaperon on her outstanding article and her invaluable contributions to Beauvoir studies and global scholarship!
To nominate an article for the SdBS Featured Translation 2023 / 2023 Traduction annuelle, please see the nomination requirements at www.brill.com/sdbs.
Past Honorees of the SdBS Featured Translation / Traduction annuelle
2019: Emmanuel de Saint Aubert, “The Blood of Others: Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Simone de Beauvoir” (SdBS 30.1 and SdBS 30.2)
2020: Margaret A. Simons, “Richard Wright, Simone de Beauvoir et Le Deuxième Sexe” (SdBS 31.1)
2021: Sylvie Chaperon, “Outcry over The Second Sex” (SdBS 32.1)
2022 : TBA (SdBS 33.1, October 2022)
Order an institutional subscription to Simone de Beauvoir Studies (SdBS) and your campus will receive immediate access to more than 400 articles (Volumes 1-32, 1983-2022) that have never before been available digitally. Become a member of the International Simone de Beauvoir Society and receive a free individual subscription to SdBS.
Please contact Editor-in-Chief Jennifer McWeeny with any questions: jmcweeny@wpi.edu.
It is with great pleasure that the editors of Simone de Beauvoir Studies announce that the SdBS Featured Translation of 2021 has been awarded to Sylvie Chaperon for her path-breaking article “Outcry over The Second Sex.” The article, which was originally published in French in 1999, was translated into English by Sophia Millman and is now available to Anglophone readers for the first time as the lead text in Volume 32.1 of Simone de Beauvoir Studies. “Outcry over The Second Sex” is one of the first studies of the French reception of Beauvoir’s magnum opus in the years immediately following its publication (1949-1951). Chaperon’s historical analysis of more than thirty reviews of The Second Sex that appeared in French journals and newspapers not only gives insight into the complicated political landscape of post-World War II France, but also reveals social attitudes toward gender, sexuality, and feminism prevalent at the time. “Outcry over The Second Sex,” marked the beginning of a new era in Beauvoir studies when it was first published because it understands European history through Beauvoir’s oeuvre and illuminates Beauvoir’s oeuvre through the study of history. Revisiting Chaperon’s path-breaking article today in its English translation invites us to think comparatively, noting similarities and differences not only between Beauvoir’s time and our own, but also between the history of Francophone and Anglophone receptions of her work.
Sylvie Chaperon is professor of contemporary history of gender at the University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès. Her research focuses on Simone de Beauvoir, the history of women’s movements and feminism, and the history of sexology in France. She is the author of Les années Beauvoir (1945-1970) (Fayard, 2000) and Les origines de la sexologie (1850-1900) (Louis Audibert, 2008), as well as a number of articles on feminism, gender, and sexuality.
Please join us in congratulating Professor Chaperon on her outstanding article and her invaluable contributions to Beauvoir studies and global scholarship!
To nominate an article for the SdBS Featured Translation 2023 / 2023 Traduction annuelle, please see the nomination requirements at www.brill.com/sdbs.
Past Honorees of the SdBS Featured Translation / Traduction annuelle
2019: Emmanuel de Saint Aubert, “The Blood of Others: Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Simone de Beauvoir” (SdBS 30.1 and SdBS 30.2)
2020: Margaret A. Simons, “Richard Wright, Simone de Beauvoir et Le Deuxième Sexe” (SdBS 31.1)
2021: Sylvie Chaperon, “Outcry over The Second Sex” (SdBS 32.1)
2022 : TBA (SdBS 33.1, October 2022)
Order an institutional subscription to Simone de Beauvoir Studies (SdBS) and your campus will receive immediate access to more than 400 articles (Volumes 1-32, 1983-2022) that have never before been available digitally. Become a member of the International Simone de Beauvoir Society and receive a free individual subscription to SdBS.
Please contact Editor-in-Chief Jennifer McWeeny with any questions: jmcweeny@wpi.edu.