Tem Mirkazemiyan

Tem Mirkazemiyan is a doctoral candidate in literary studies at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. She holds a BA in English Language and Literature from the University of Tehran, and an MA in Western Literature from KU Leuven, for which she received the VLUHR Master Mind Scholarship. Her research, under the supervision of Professor. Inge Arteel, focuses on translations of absurdist theatre in Iran, both the so-called adaptations on the stage and translations on paper.

Zooming in on her interest in the capacity of Western absurdist drama to evoke several meanings and realities, she proposes to take a look at these pieces from a different angle. In Iran, distanced geographically and culturally from their roots, these plays are alive but potentially as entirely different entities, taking on a variety of roles and allegories. Through the medium of their “original” counterparts, and amidst the multiplicity of meaning that arises, absurdist translations afford a sort of leeway, one which may allow them to navigate politics and evaluate hope.