Kobus Marais, Reine Meylaerts and Maud Gonne are organisng a conference on ‘The Complexity of Social-Cultural Emergence: Biosemiotics, Semiotics and Translation Studies’, to be celebrated on 26-28 August 2021 at the KU Leuven.

The call for papers can be found here

Deadline for abstracts: 1 December 2020

BNU-HKBU United International College (UIC) is located in Zhuhai, one of the most environmental-friendly cities in China, with Hong Kong to the east and Macao to the south. UIC, jointly founded by Beijing Normal University (BNU) and Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), is the first full-scale collaboration between academic institutions from mainland China and Hong Kong. As a liberal arts college, UIC aims to produce graduates with an international perspective, fluent in both English and Chinese, with knowledge and experience of China, Hong Kong and the world at large. UIC offers undergraduate courses with English as the medium of instruction from four academic Divisions: Business & Management, Humanities & Social Sciences, Science & Technology and Culture & Creativity. UIC established the Graduate School in 2017 and started to offer Postgraduate Programmes, including Taught Master's Programmes in addition to Research Postgraduate Programmes that lead to MPhil or PhD degrees.  

UIC now invites candidates for this position which is expected to be filled in February/September 2021: 

Professor/Associate Professor/Assistant Professor in Applied Translation Studies (Ref: DHSS201002)  

Candidates with expertise in one or more of the following areas: Translation Technology, Computer-aided Translation, Putonghua-English Interpreting, Chinese-English Practical Translation and Translation Theory. 

Job Requirement  

Candidates should have a PhD degree or a Master degree with extensive working experience in a related discipline. The successful candidate is expected to be committed to excellence in undergraduate or postgraduate teaching and research. Preference will be given to candidates who can undertake independent research leading to outstanding outcomes, including publications in high quality international-refereed journals. Candidates who have teaching and industrial experience in Interpreting are to be favorably considered, so are those who are knowledgeable in Computer-Assisted Translation and proficient in relevant software application.   

Appointment Terms 

Appointment to this position will initially be made on a fixed-term contract of two years. Commencing salaries will be commensurate with qualifications and relevant experience. Fringe benefits include housing allowance (applicable to Assistant Professor and above), leave and medical insurance. Continuation of appointment beyond the initial term will be subject to mutual agreement. 

Application Procedures 

* Please complete the job application form and upload the requested documents online: https://hrapp.uic.edu.cn/recruit/job/vacancy/JobDetail/69 . 
 
*If you failed to submit your application online, please send your application by emailing to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Applications should include a curriculum vitae and a completed "Job Application Form" which can be downloaded from http://web.uic.edu.cn/en/hr/job-opportunities/application-procedure. Please indicate the position being applied for, including the field of expertise, level and reference number. 

The College reserves the right not to fill this position, or to extend the search until suitable candidates are identified or to make an appointment by invitation. 

Deadline for applications: 16 December 2020

For more information, click here 

About University of Electronic Science and Technology of China 

University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC) is a national key university directly under the Ministry of Education of China. UESTC was included as one of the first universities into "Project 211" in 1997, and then the nation's “Project 985” in 2001. In 2017, UESTC was included in Category A of the “World-class University” project. After more than sixty years of development, UESTC now has evolved into a key multidisciplinary university covering all-around programs in electronic disciplines with electronic science and technology as its nucleus, engineering as its major field and a harmonious integration of science, engineering, management, liberal arts and medical science. 

School of Foreign Languages 

Based on the Teaching and Research Office for Foreign Languages founded in 1956, School of Foreign Languages (SFL) was established in 2001. SFL offers a first level master’s degree in Foreign Languages and Literature and a master’s degree in Interpreting and Translation. Under the first level of Foreign Languages and Literature, areas of study include: Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Cognitive Neurolinguistics, Translation, Foreign Literature (including English, French, Japanese and Russian), Comparative Literature and Intercultural Studies, Country and Regional Studies, and other research areas. In addition, we also offer a Master program for a professional degree, i.e., Master of Translation and Interpreting (MTI). There are now 107 faculty members and more than 700 students with a 10% annual growth rate.  

Qualifications and Requirements 

Basic requirements: Have good morals and ethics, and abide by academic ethics. Ideally more than two –year teaching and research full-time working experience, able to meet the job requirements. ALL nationalities are eligible. 

Qualifications 

• Possess a PHD degree granted by prestigious overseas universities 
• He/She has rich teaching and research experience and good academic development potential 
• Be able to work full time in China.  

Preferential Policies and Treatments 

• Annual salary: on a case-by-case negotiation round 
• Settling-in and housing subsidies and reasonable start-up funds will be provided according to different positions. 

Application 

• Personal Curriculum Vitae with the list of academic achievements and representative achievements  
• A photocopy of the PHD degree certificate, and the current professional and technical position/rank certificate, and award certificate, etc. 
• Valid all the year round 

Contact Information 

Shirley SU, Tel:61831162, 

E-Mail：This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Add.: University of Electronic Science and technology, No. 2006, Xiyuan Avenue, WestHi-tech Zone, Chengdu 611731, Sichuan, China 

Application deadline: 9 December 2020

For more information, click here

Laboratorio Permanente di Media and Humour Studies presents New research in media paratexts

Catherine Johnson – University of Huddersfield “The appisation of TV:Apps, devices, platforms and discoverability”

Kathryn Batchelor – University College London “Paratexts in audiovisual translation research”

Paul Grainge – University of Nottingham “Paratexts as social media entertainment”

email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

17th NOVEMBER 202011am-1pm (Rome time)

Join us on MS Teams:https://bit.ly/3jBKnM4

Laboratorio Permanente di Media and Humour Studies presents Translation and invisibility in the media:

Susan Bassnett – University of Warwick “Considering visibility”

Federico M. Federici – University College London “Make your metaphor into a wall: Migrants, crises, and media”

Michael Cronin – Trinity College Dublin “Translation in the public square”

email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 9th NOVEMBER 2020 3-5pm (Rome time)

Join us on MS Teams:https://bit.ly/3ebXkez

Our knowledge of the Holocaust has been shaped by texts that come to the English-and French-language worlds largely through translation. The crucial work of translation is rarely acknowledged, and yet the way the collective past is experienced and remembered is dependent on this process of linguistic and cultural transfer. Translation is much more than the mechanical substitution of one language for another: it involves a process of reframing as texts move from their original contexts to new ecologies of reception. Choices of style and tone, terms for historical references — these influence the effectiveness and readability of testimony and involve historical and ethical issues.

Translation is invoked broadly as a reflection on practices of transmission across distances of history, culture and gender and linked to imperatives of contemporary Holocaust education.

The conference is presented by the Azrieli Foundation, in partnership with Concordia University.

Registration: To register, click here.

Please view the pre-conference materials below in advance of the virtual conference. The relevant pre-conference materials will also be streamed via Zoom directly before each session.

Program

9:00AM. Optional screening of pre-conference materials

10:30AM. Memory Across Languages

• Peter Davies University of Edinburgh
• Hannah Pollin-Galay Tel Aviv University
• Naomi Seidman University of Toronto
• Irene Kacandes Dartmouth College
• Sherry Simon Concordia University

11:45AM. Optional screening of pre-conference materials

1:00PM. Claude Lanzmann’s Shoah and the Mise-en-scène of Translation

• Dorota Glowacka University of King’s College
• Francine Kaufmann Bar-Ilan University
• Rémy Besson Université de Montréal
• Catherine Person Azrieli Foundation

Organization: Sherry Simon (Concordia University) and Catherine Person (Azrieli Foundation)

For more information, click here

The Graduate Program in Translation and Interpretation (GPTI) at National Taiwan University (NTU) announces one full-time faculty position.

I. General requirements: Except as otherwise specified, minimum requirements include a Ph.D. and a strong publication record in a relevant field. All full-time faculty members are required to teach courses in both the graduate and undergraduate Translation and Interpretation programs and are obliged to direct theses, mentor students, and serve on various university and program committees.

II. Openings: Track 1— Chinese-English Translation: Additional requirements:  Research expertise and teaching experience in translation  Proof of professional translation experience  A variety of specializations preferred

Track 2— Chinese-English Interpreting:

Additional requirements:

 Research expertise and teaching experience in interpreting

 A minimum of 5 years of professional practice in Chinese-English/English-Chinese interpreting

III. Salary and Rank: Commensurate with qualifications, initial salaries plus bonus range approximately from 955,530 NTD per annum for assistant professors to 1,352,227 NTD per annum for full professors with a regular teaching load (9 hours per week for assistant and associate professors, 8 for full professors). Other benefits include family health insurance, research grants and awards (on a competitive basis), and university housing (subject to availability).

IV. Application Materials: 1. A curriculum vitae (including list of publications) 2. A photocopy of Ph.D. diploma; those who have not received their Ph.D. degree at the time of application must provide a formal statement from the doctoral institution indicating that the degree will be obtained by the time of the appointment 3. Proof of past/current employment (if applicable) 4. Proof of relevant professional experience 5. Statement of research interests 6. Syllabi of courses taught 7. Official transcripts or academic reports from the highest academic institution 8. Two letters of recommendation 9. Publications (Ph.D. dissertation included) within the past 7 years

V. Application Deadline and General Information: Appointment begins on August 1, 2021. All applicants must e-mail a completed application form to Ms. Vicky Li (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and send hard copies of the application materials by December 25, 2020 to: No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei 10617, Taiwan Graduate Program in Translation and Interpretation College of Liberal Arts, National Taiwan University Short-listed candidates will be interviewed. All information provided will be treated with strict confidentiality. National Taiwan University appointments are made on a non-discriminatory basis. International applicants must comply with labor laws and meet immigration requirements. Other NTU regulations may apply. Please direct inquiries to Ms. Vicky Li (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). This announcement and other information about GPTI are also available at http://gpti.ntu.edu.tw/.

Date: Thursday 12th November

Time: 09.45-13.00 (GMT)

Venue: Blackboard Collaborate Ultra

Despite longstanding interest in the study of concepts across many disciplines and the phenomenal growth in corpus-based studies since the late 1980s, very little has been published on the intersection of these two, broad areas of scholarship. Much recent work in conceptual history continues to rely on the close textual analysis of a relatively limited set of mainly print resources, for instance to chart the evolution of genius in eighteenth-century Britain (Townsend 2019), or the process by which Persian jins/genus came to mean ‘sex’ (Najmabadi 2013). Such work could greatly benefit from the application of corpus techniques, if resources for the analysis of concepts were easily accessible. However, the construction of most available corpora in fields as varied as linguistics, translation studies and public health has been based on criteria such as genre, register variation or medium (mainly spoken vs written). Other popular compilation criteria include setting (e.g. ECPC corpus of European Chambers texts; Calzada Pérez 2017), authorship, gender (e.g. the Women Writers Online corpus), or broad areas of practice such as medicine or law. The problem with using such resources for conceptual analysis is that the key concepts that shape and frame human experience travel across registers, media, settings and genres. In addition, most diachronic and historical corpora compiled to date, like the Corpus of Early Modern English Medical Texts and the Old Bailey Corpus, tend not to incorporate the multilingual and translational perspective necessary to capture processes of language contact and change. Thus, while offering valuable resources within specific disciplinary perspectives, most existing corpora do not readily support studies on the evolution or contestation of key concepts in social and political life, which require access to corpora designed primarily with thematic criteria in mind.

What are thematic corpora? How should they be built, and what kind of research do they facilitate? In line with the remit of the Genealogies of Knowledge (GoK) Project and Research Network, this event aims to stimulate interest in corpus-based conceptual analysis, particularly in relation to translation and other forms of mediation. The GoK corpora are being compiled with the specific aim of capturing the evolution and contestation of keywords pertaining to the body politic and to the domain of scientific expertise. They are designed to be used across the humanities, and to inspire complementary efforts involving other languages and knowledge domains. This webinar will feature contributions by Felix Berenskoetter (SOAS University of London) and Alison Sealey (University of Lancaster) to the theoretical or methodological dimensions of this research agenda, complemented with case studies by Henry Jones (Aston University), Jan Buts (Trinity College Dublin) and Luis Pérez-González (University of Manchester) that demonstrate the theory and methodology in action.

Venue

The keynote and case study presentations will be hosted using the video conferencing software Blackboard Collaborate Ultra and each talk will be followed by a Q&A session to which registered participants are warmly invited to contribute.

All presentations will be recorded and made available for viewing at a later date via the Genealogies of Knowledge website.

For more information, visit http://genealogiesofknowledge.net/2020/09/15/free-webinar-event-conceptual-analysis-and-thematic-corpora/

Guest editor: Prof. Federico M. Federici

Interpreters and translators regularly work communicating hazards so that the recipients of information can take informed decisions on what risks they are prepared to take. Anthropological, cultural, and ethnographic studies have considered the influence of culture and ethnic backgrounds in the field of disaster risk reduction, but the impact of translation in all its modes and formats has been studied much less (see O’Brien and Federici 2019; Federici 2020). This is paradoxical as perception of risk is conditioned by emotive and cognitive responses (Ponari et al., 2015); humans avoid taking risks or engage with risks because of our evolutionary adaptive abilities (we adapt to the environment and adapt the environment to us). “People judge a risk not only by what they think about it but also by how they feel about it” (Slovic & Peters, 2006, p. 323), and we interact with risks in culture-specific ways (Appleby-Arnold et al. 2018; Cornia, Dressel, & Pfeil, 2014; Douglas & Wildavsky, 1983). Within social groups, humans frequently underestimate certain risks and over-estimate others.

Communicating risks to people, properties, and places is an act that relates to security and safety. In fact, the distinction between risks and hazards is crucial for translation and interpreting research: “The potential to harm a target such as human health or the environment is normally defined as a hazard, whereas risk also encompasses the probability of exposure and the extent of damage” (Scheer et al. 2014).

To secure the health of intercultural and multilingual populations, imminent risks, when hazards disrupt ordinary routines and a crisis erupts, must be communicated clearly. To ensure safety, information must also be trusted (Cadwell 2019). Additionally, the impact of any risk is closely linked to the vulnerability of the local populations, which is exacerbated by socio-economic and racial inequalities. Risk communication therefore is not only cultural, it is also a question of language clarity, language efficiency, and linguistic equality.

Translating hazards inherently refers to ecosystems and pertains to the increasingly devastating effects of climate change as much as to risk communication. Natural hazards are ever-changing in connection with humans’ abuse of our planet, but the risks that politicians and people are willing to take quickly alter our social, economic, and cultural vulnerabilities to such hazards and their cascading effects. Understanding risks and communicating them efficiently is crucial during the response to a disaster in a multilingual setting where interpreters are called to incredible efforts, as much as in scientific translation of papers enlarging our understanding of new phenomena that reveal the effects of climate change (Kelman 2020).

Recent publications have focused on aspects of language and culture mediation in emergency contexts (e.g. Alexander and Pescaroli 2019; Federici 2016; Federici and Declercq 2019; O’Brien and Federici 2019) and previously translation in conflict areas (e.g. Salama-Carr 2007; Tesseur 2019) and their narratives (Baker 2006). These works indicate that we have barely started investigating the relationships between risk perception and communication of hazards in superdiverse and linguistically complex societies. Interpreters and translators play significant roles that have remained under-researched. This special issue hopes to further the research agenda in connection with communicating risks and hazards and the centrality of culture, language, and society in individuals’ perception of them. The special issue invites contributions that explore translating, interpreting, and voicing risks and hazards in multimodal formats and with cross-disciplinary approaches.

Themes and topics focusing on translation, interpreting, and cross-cultural communication in relation to hazards may include but are not limited to:

• Environmental hazards: climate change, changes to places, changes to populations, changes to cultures
• Technological hazards: from communicating cybersecurity and attacks to telecommunications to risk perception in remote interpreting
• Communicating health risks: local, cross-border, and global challenges
• Financial and economic risks
• Hazards and risks affecting professional translators and interpreters’ activities as well as those of ‘fixers’
• Terminological challenges of translating ‘hazard’, ‘risk’, ‘security’, and ‘safety’ across distant and different legal and cultural systems
• Accessibility, language equality, linguistic diversity, and risks
• Infrastructural hazards and risks related to designing, devising, and deploying sophisticated translation technologies (e.g. server space, electrical consumption, HPC requirements)
• Deontology and ethics of communicating hazards to multilingual audiences
• Experimental research on risk perception in relation to first, second, third language and translation activity
• Policy implications of communicating risks and hazards in multilingual contexts

Deadline for submission of abstracts: 30 October 2020

For more information, click here

Guest Editors: Dr Hannah Silvester, University College Cork & Dr Tiina Tuominen, YLE.

In the past two decades, we have seen a huge growth in research on audiovisual translation and accessibility. However, the findings of these research projects are often published in academic journals and books that are not always easily accessible to practitioners, or are not designed to address the practical implications of the research. With this special issue, we would like to offer an opportunity for practitioners to benefit from the flourishing research in the field, and for researchers to make their cutting edge AVT and accessibility research available and accessible to practitioners. The open-access Journal of Audiovisual Translation presents the perfect forum for this exchange. As Jorge Díaz-Cintas (2020: 216) has pointed out, “Striking a happy balance between [the industry and academia] is of paramount importance to safeguard the well-being of the discipline and the profession.” Indeed, Díaz-Cintas (2020: 216-217) mentions that a great deal of AVT research is informed by the industry, but there has been less activity in the opposite direction. We propose to address that shortcoming in this special issue. We invite audiovisual translation and accessibility researchers to highlight the practical significance of their work by publishing pieces that seek to answer crucial questions related to the work of audiovisual translation and accessibility professionals. We envision this special issue to demonstrate how research is useful to practitioners, how it can improve working practices and stakeholders’ experiences in the industry, and what the academic community can do to better communicate their discoveries to the professional audience. Our goal is to facilitate a dialogue between researchers and practitioners that will enrich the industry and academia alike. Through this dialogue, we hope that further avenues for collaboration and community-building can be explored. Authors should consider AVT and accessibility practitioners as their primary audience when writing their article. This will be an academic, peer-reviewed publication, but we would like the texts to be accessible to non-academics and applicable to their professional experience. We welcome contributions from all areas of AVT and accessibility studies, including, but not limited to, interlingual translation (subtitling, dubbing, surtitling, interpreting, voice over, video game localisation) and media accessibility (SDH, audio description, respeaking). The range of potentially relevant themes is broad, and could include, for example:

 the reception and use/usability of audiovisual translations and access services.;

 translation and production processes;

 the potential value of other disciplines (e.g. media studies, psychology, sociology, ethnography) in AVT and accessibility;

 AVT and accessibility policy;

 technological tools, including machine translation;

 AVT and accessibility professionals’ workflow, working contexts and conditions;

 analyses of different textual, cultural, linguistic and communicative aspects of audiovisual translations and access services;

 collaborative practices;

 studies of norms and guidelines;

 quality in AVT and accessibility.

Deadline for abstracts: 16 November 2020

For more information, click here