Signified by an eye-catching wolfhound logo (the borzoi), the Alfred A. Knopf publishing company holds considerable prestige in the American book trade, having released works by twenty-one Nobel Prize winners, forty-nine Pulitzer Prize winners, and twenty-nine National Book Award winners to date. Founded in 1915, the firm developed a reputation for excellence in less than a decade, despite the fact that the husband-and-wife team at the helm—Alfred and Blanche Knopf—were young novices. At once a literary history and an analysis of a unique form of marketing rhetoric, Inventing the Borzoi traces the company’s status to the early acquisition of books written by noteworthy European authors, the use of distinctive design and production elements that gave Borzoi books an artisanal appearance, and marketing messages that touted Alfred Knopf himself as a new arbiter of literary standards for an audience that comprised not only consumers but also literary agents, authors, critics, booksellers, and other members of the trade. Synthesizing bibliographical research with Kenneth Burke’s theories of rhetoric and identity, this dissertation yields a multi-faceted account of the Knopf company’s first fourteen years, culminating at the cusp of the Great Depression. Burke’s notions of dramatism provide a useful means for exploring the Knopfs’ performance of a distinctive literary role. This study extends Burkean principles to a medium through which much complex language is transmitted—the book-publishing machine—uniting the philosophies of the father of modern rhetorical studies with the early history of a publishing firm whose success was largely built on the mastery of rhetorical strategies. Each chapter in this study concludes with an interpretation of Knopf history as illuminated by the pentad of Burkean dramatism: act, scene, agent, agency, and purpose. The first comprehensive examination of the company’s rapidly achieved stature, this study argues that the Borzoi identity was shaped not only by conventional marketing motivations but also became a consistent extension of the way Alfred and Blanche perceived themselves. / text

Gegenstand der Dissertation ist ein ehemals wichtiger Zweig der sächsischen Bekleidungs- und Textilwirtschaft - die Knopfherstellung. Dargestellt wird dabei aber nicht ausschließlich die kulturgeschichtliche Entwicklung des "Objektes Knopf", sondern vorrangig die Herausbildung der Knopfherstellung als eigenständiger Zweig der sächsischen Wirtschaft vom Zunfthandwerk über die Manufaktur bis hin zur Fabrikindustrie von nationaler und weltwirtschaftlicher Bedeutung. Die Herstellung von Knöpfen oblag nicht einem Handwerk allein. Entsprechend dem verwendeten Material gehörten die daraus gefertigten Knöpfe zum Produktionssortiment verschiedener Handwerker. Knöpfe aus Messing, Tombak, Zinn, Eisen oder Stahl gehörten hauptsächlich zum Arbeitsgebiet der Gürtler, Nadler und Zinnknopfmacher. Teilweise veredelten sie ihre Knöpfe durch vergolden oder versilbern. Knöpfe aus Holz, Bein, Elfenbein oder Perlmutt fertigten vorrangig die Drechsler. Gold- und Silberschmiede verarbeiteten die edlen Metalle Gold und Silber für ihre Knöpfe. Demgegenüber verwendeten Knopfmacher und Posamentierer zumeist Garn, Wolle, Seide oder Gold- und Silbergespinste für ihre Knöpfe. Die Innungen der Gürtler, Nadler, Knopfmacher, Posamentierer und Drechsler dominierten die Knopfherstellung in Sachsen bis ins 19. Jahrhundert. Angehörige dieser Innungen gründeten die ersten Manufakturen in der 2. Hälfte des 18. Jh. und richteten in der 1. Hälfte des 19. Jh. die ersten Knopffabriken ein. In der 2. Hälfte des 19. Jh. entwickelte sich die sächsische Knopfindustrie hinter der in Preußen zur zweitstärksten ihrer Art in Deutschland. Die Dissertation behandelt den Zeitraum von 1763 bis 1933 und berücksichtigt die jeweilige territoriale Ausdehnung Sachsens in der entsprechenden Zeit.

O primeiro livro de Jorge Amado traduzido para o idioma inglês foi publicado nos Estados Unidos em 1945, pela Alfred A. Knopf Publishers, por meio de patrocínio do Departamento de Estado americano, que mantinha um programa de intercâmbio cultural como parte da Política de Boa Vizinhança do presidente Roosevelt. A literatura traduzida era, então, vista como um caminho para compreender o outro. Criou-se, a partir daí, um padrão de comportamento que perdurou por décadas. Érico Veríssimo, Gilberto Freyre, Alfred e Blanche Knopf, Samuel Putnam e Harriet de Onís foram atores importantes nesse cenário. Apesar de seu contínuo posicionamento de esquerda, após desligar-se do Partido Comunista no final da década de 1950, Jorge Amado tornou-se um bestseller norteamericano, como resultado dessa vertente diplomática e do renovado projeto de tradução (e de amizade) de Alfred A. Knopf. Entretanto, outras redes de influência também atuavam sobre a recepção da obra do escritor, fazendo com que ela fosse assimilada de forma própria, metonímica, diferente da que ocorreu em países do leste europeu, por exemplo. Esta pesquisa investigou a relação entre os atores mencionados, tais redes de influência e a representação cultural do Brasil na literatura traduzida de Jorge Amado nos Estados Unidos. / The first book by Jorge Amado in English translation was published in the United States in 1945 by Alfred A. Knopf Publishers, under the auspices of the U.S. State Department, who sponsored a cultural interchange program as part of president Roosevelts the Good Neighbor Policy. Translated literature was seen, at the time, as a way of understanding the other. Érico Veríssimo, Gilberto Freyre, Alfred and Blanche Knopf, Samuel Putnam and Harriet de Onís were actors in this scenario. In spite of his support of the tenets of the political left, after leaving the Communist Party in the late 1950s Jorge Amado became an American bestseller, a result of such diplomatic movement as well as Alfred A. Knops translation project. Nevertheless, other influence networks also affected the authors reception in the United States, which turned out to be quite different from that in the Eastern Europe, for instance. This research investigates the relation between the aforementioned actors, such influence network and Brazils cultural representation in Jorge Amados translated literature in the United States.

O primeiro livro de Jorge Amado traduzido para o idioma inglês foi publicado nos Estados Unidos em 1945, pela Alfred A. Knopf Publishers, por meio de patrocínio do Departamento de Estado americano, que mantinha um programa de intercâmbio cultural como parte da Política de Boa Vizinhança do presidente Roosevelt. A literatura traduzida era, então, vista como um caminho para compreender o outro. Criou-se, a partir daí, um padrão de comportamento que perdurou por décadas. Érico Veríssimo, Gilberto Freyre, Alfred e Blanche Knopf, Samuel Putnam e Harriet de Onís foram atores importantes nesse cenário. Apesar de seu contínuo posicionamento de esquerda, após desligar-se do Partido Comunista no final da década de 1950, Jorge Amado tornou-se um bestseller norteamericano, como resultado dessa vertente diplomática e do renovado projeto de tradução (e de amizade) de Alfred A. Knopf. Entretanto, outras redes de influência também atuavam sobre a recepção da obra do escritor, fazendo com que ela fosse assimilada de forma própria, metonímica, diferente da que ocorreu em países do leste europeu, por exemplo. Esta pesquisa investigou a relação entre os atores mencionados, tais redes de influência e a representação cultural do Brasil na literatura traduzida de Jorge Amado nos Estados Unidos. / The first book by Jorge Amado in English translation was published in the United States in 1945 by Alfred A. Knopf Publishers, under the auspices of the U.S. State Department, who sponsored a cultural interchange program as part of president Roosevelts the Good Neighbor Policy. Translated literature was seen, at the time, as a way of understanding the other. Érico Veríssimo, Gilberto Freyre, Alfred and Blanche Knopf, Samuel Putnam and Harriet de Onís were actors in this scenario. In spite of his support of the tenets of the political left, after leaving the Communist Party in the late 1950s Jorge Amado became an American bestseller, a result of such diplomatic movement as well as Alfred A. Knops translation project. Nevertheless, other influence networks also affected the authors reception in the United States, which turned out to be quite different from that in the Eastern Europe, for instance. This research investigates the relation between the aforementioned actors, such influence network and Brazils cultural representation in Jorge Amados translated literature in the United States.

Responding to recent debates about the circulation of literary texts in the global market, this dissertation examines various literary and socio-political factors that shaped the translation and reception of Latin American literature in the U.S. between 1930-1969. This study seeks to fill a critical gap in the history of translated Latin American literature, focusing on the editorial project of Alfred A. Knopf, the most influential publisher of Latin American literature in the U.S. during these years, and Harriet de Onís, Knopf’s principal translator from Spanish and Portuguese into English. Drawing on archival research, each chapter traces the publication history, and follows with a close reading, of a different text translated and sometimes edited, by de Onís. The three case studies from both Spanish and Portuguese source texts and from geographically diverse regions (Mexico, Brazil, and Cuba) examine specific problems of translation. Chapter One addresses the ways in which explicitly political texts are transformed in translation and are shaped by readers’ cultural expectations. It analyzes de Onís’s translation of Martín Luis Guzmán’s semifictional memoir of the Mexican Revolution, El águila y la serpiente (1928), The Eagle and the Serpent (abridged version in English published in 1930 and complete version in 1965). Chapter Two studies the movement of scholarly texts from peripheral to central markets through an analysis of Fernando Ortiz’s Contrapunteo cubano del tabaco y el azúcar (1940), translated in 1947 as Cuban Counterpoint: Tobacco and Sugar. Chapter Three studies the difficulties of reproducing experimental language in translation through close readings of de Onís’s translations of João Guimarães Rosa’s Sagarana (1946, title unchanged in the 1966 English translation) and Grande Sertão: Veredas (1956, translated in collaboration with James L. Taylor in 1963 as The Devil to Pay in the Backlands). These case studies suggest that current models of the global circulation of literature should acknowledge more fully the active editorial role of the translator and other agents in shaping source texts and in seeking out the cultural analogies that make those texts more readily understandable to foreign readers.

This thesis is applying the neglected concept of assurance on assuring efforts of NATO towards Estonia. This small Baltic republic lives in a fear of conflict with its Russian neighbour which would be impossible to win without help from abroad. The author asks, whether the effort to assure Estonians, that NATO would come to help in case of conflict is successful and what can be improved. To reveal, whether Estonia is assured, the author conducted research interviews in Tallinn with Estonians from the state administration, military, academics, experts from think-tanks and journalist. To get a full picture, the author also used public opinion polls. The thesis uses the concept of assurance as it was defined by Jeffrey W. Knopf. The concept is understudied and almost not used for empirical research. Importance of assuring allies is rising in contemporary's world and this thesis is trying to fill the research gap and show a possible direction for further research on the assurance of allies. Last but not least, the author is contributing to the debate about the defence of the Baltics.

Gegenstand der Dissertation ist ein ehemals wichtiger Zweig der sächsischen Bekleidungs- und Textilwirtschaft - die Knopfherstellung. Dargestellt wird dabei aber nicht ausschließlich die kulturgeschichtliche Entwicklung des "Objektes Knopf", sondern vorrangig die Herausbildung der Knopfherstellung als eigenständiger Zweig der sächsischen Wirtschaft vom Zunfthandwerk über die Manufaktur bis hin zur Fabrikindustrie von nationaler und weltwirtschaftlicher Bedeutung. Die Herstellung von Knöpfen oblag nicht einem Handwerk allein. Entsprechend dem verwendeten Material gehörten die daraus gefertigten Knöpfe zum Produktionssortiment verschiedener Handwerker. Knöpfe aus Messing, Tombak, Zinn, Eisen oder Stahl gehörten hauptsächlich zum Arbeitsgebiet der Gürtler, Nadler und Zinnknopfmacher. Teilweise veredelten sie ihre Knöpfe durch vergolden oder versilbern. Knöpfe aus Holz, Bein, Elfenbein oder Perlmutt fertigten vorrangig die Drechsler. Gold- und Silberschmiede verarbeiteten die edlen Metalle Gold und Silber für ihre Knöpfe. Demgegenüber verwendeten Knopfmacher und Posamentierer zumeist Garn, Wolle, Seide oder Gold- und Silbergespinste für ihre Knöpfe. Die Innungen der Gürtler, Nadler, Knopfmacher, Posamentierer und Drechsler dominierten die Knopfherstellung in Sachsen bis ins 19. Jahrhundert. Angehörige dieser Innungen gründeten die ersten Manufakturen in der 2. Hälfte des 18. Jh. und richteten in der 1. Hälfte des 19. Jh. die ersten Knopffabriken ein. In der 2. Hälfte des 19. Jh. entwickelte sich die sächsische Knopfindustrie hinter der in Preußen zur zweitstärksten ihrer Art in Deutschland. Die Dissertation behandelt den Zeitraum von 1763 bis 1933 und berücksichtigt die jeweilige territoriale Ausdehnung Sachsens in der entsprechenden Zeit.