Commoning translation: an overview of theories, practices and intellectual works of the Brazilian Sycorax Collective

Sycorax is a collective of Brazilian women formed in 2016 and united by a common purpose: to engage in the translation of feminist and anti-capitalist works. Following their translation of Silvia Federici’s Re-enchanting the World: Feminism and the Politics of the Commons, a work published in 2018, the collective began to incorporate the notion of ‘the commons’ into their practice, terming it ‘commoning translation’. This descriptive article provides an overview of this process of incorporation carried out by the collective, as well as its political and intellectual implications within the group, highlighting the intersection between the commons, translation, and feminism. Additionally, the discussion expands the notion of Sycorax Collectives’s ‘commoning translation’ beyond an act of solidarity among women by adding a transnational dimension – that is, by understanding it as a practice of transnational feminist solidarity, since it concerns the movement of knowledge from outside its local borders. Based on this, the conclusion indicates that Sycorax Collective’s work not only constitutes a form of social cooperation, but their commitment to ‘commoning translation’ is also driven by the objective of sharing anti-capitalist feminist knowledge, which renders this transnational practice both a political act and a process of continuous intellectual formation for its members.