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This presentation is a case study of the seven English language translators of contemporary French philosopher Catherine Malabou. It examines the ways in which Malabou’s English translators are positioned vis à vis her books (shorter articles and texts are excluded from the study). I consider paratextual aspects including cover art and text, translator forewords (or the absence thereof), and multiple editions, as well as the presence of translators in footnotes and references. As one of these translators, I am particularly interested in looking at the way philosophical ideas circulate via translation. Moreover, ultimately, I propose that Malabou’s signature philosophical contribution of “plasticity” is particularly apt as a new tool for translation theory, and I suggest that textual plasticity is an effective means of understanding translation, an idiom that speaks to our era.

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