Alexis likes the idea of moire' becoming a central concept within the project. He agrees that it fits very well - even the history of the word moire' is itself a moire'!
What Alexis likes about the idea more than anything is its relevance to translation studies. Translation, according to Alexis, has not really been theorised. The study of translation, like many other disciplines in the West, is still dominated by "the limited lexicon of the Middle Ages". When asked to expand upon this he explains that, essentially, a binary system of rhetoric continues to dominate Western thinking. This "binary system" originated within ancient Greek philosophy (Plato's "ideal" versus "reality"), later it was developed within Christian philosophy (Heaven vs. Earth, Angels vs. the Devil, etc.). This pattern is replicated within the context of translation: Text A is translated into Text B, one is the original and another a copy, the first is pure and the second is impure.
Using the concept of moire', however, within the context of translation studies, represents a new rhetoric. Grid A is placed on top of Grid B, but because of cultural differences, they are not perfectly aligned. As a result a moire' pattern is created. The cultural interference is made manifest, it can be perceived, discussed and analysed. The two grids are in both a symbiotic and a dynamic relationship to each other; what is created goes beyond the sum of its parts. One cannot be "reduced" to the other, their relationship has been made complex. The moire' concept thus offers a model of irreducibility.
Our discussion lead naturally to metaphor. Glenn's notes used the word unproblematic-ally, but for Alexis the term is problematic. Metaphor, in common parlance, continues to be imbedded within a binary system of rhetoric. Reality vs. an image of reality. Alexis prefers the term user language, a term borrowed from cybernetics, which we used within the Paperwork articles. A user language does not claim to be anything more than a useful term within a particular context, at a particular moment of time. It does not claim to have a directly equated with reality. The term metaphor can be seen to be imposed from above (meta), whereas user language comes from below, it can be said to emerge organically from conversation. However, Glenn claims that metaphor, as used with cybernetics, is different, is more complex, but needs to expand upon this.
The concept of moire' introduces tapestry as a key concept of understanding and analysis. Rather than using metaphor or an image to describe phenomenon, we can use tapestry. The fact that moire' patters are sometimes experienced as moving, also captures the dynamic-ness of cultural changes. We begin to move away from fixed images and embrace the ever-changing-ness of life. In speaking form the tapestry, one could say, the project will be engaged with inventing a new rhetoric. (We are aware that when writing the AHRC application, it will be necessary to tone down our grandiose claims!)
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