“Translations do not take place in a vacuum” (Blakesley 2018). They cannot be seen as isolated textual entities, detached from the field in which they are produced and that provides for their signification (Sapiro 2008). It is indeed important to investigate translated literature as “part and parcel of the target literature’s literary corpus” (Sisto 2019), by conceiving translations as the actual selections (position-takings) by literary producers and mediators among all the possibilities (positions) in a target literary field (Bourdieu 1996). Although the notion of translated literature dates back to Even-Zohar’s seminal work, this approach has only recently been adopted by scholars working on the Italian literary field (Billiani 2007; La Penna 2008; Milani 2017; Baldini et al. 2018) and the translation of Italian literature within specific target fields (Bokobza 2008; Schwartz 2018).

The aim of the conference is to foster critical discussion on translated literature as part of the target literature, by focusing on literary institutions (publishing houses, book series, journals) and agents (translators, literary agents, editors), and the composite sociocultural factors driving the selection, production, and publication of literary translations. “Calling into question the politics of canonisation and moving resolutely away from ideas of universal literary greatness”(Bassnett and Trivedi 1999), we are particularly interested in social categories of writers who have been dismissed by literary critics who insisted on “the autonomy of the aesthetic” (Bloom 1994); in other words, writers who challenge the ‘Western canon’.

The conference aims to explore the mechanisms of reception, dissemination, recognition and popularisation in the Italian literary system of foreign literature. This could include literature by women authors in translation, by feminist translators, authors from non-hegemonic/non-central languages, non-white, minoritarian and marginalised authors/groups and collectives. We are also interested in similar mechanisms by which Italian literature is translated and received beyond Italy.

Keynote speakers at the conference will be Prof Susan Bassnett (Professor Emerita of Comparative Literature at the University of Warwick and Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Glasgow; President of the British Comparative Literature Association), Dr Jacob Blakesley (Associate Professor in Comparative Literature and Literary Translation at the University of Leeds) and Dr Cecilia Schwartz (Associate Professor in Italian at Stockholm University).

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

• translation and reception of literature(s) in translation in Italy and of Italian literature abroad
• reception of literature by women in translation and feminist translation
• translation and reception of post-colonial literature and of authors from non-hegemonic/non-central languages, non-white, minoritarian and marginalised authors/groups and collectives in Italy/from Italy
• translation, reception and circulation of non-hegemonic literatures in Italy and Italian literature in non-hegemonic contexts
• microsociology and microhistory of cultural mediation
• socio-cultural constraints influencing modes of practice
• networks of intellectuals
• publishing houses
• book series and literary journals
• translators, editors, mediators and literary agents
• censorship and control

Deadline for submissions: 1 September 2020

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The envisaged book will describe, reflect on and evaluate the role of translation and interpreting (henceforth “T&I”) in crisis settings, including but not limited to pandemics, health emergencies, severe weather events, earthquakes, terrorist attacks, mass accidents etc. Empirical and theoretical contributions will be considered. We particularly want to encourage reflections on practice, implementation and recommendations for future action that would allow for more effective multilingual communication in the case of future crises across all stages - mitigation, preparation, response and recovery.

In addition to standard contributions from the academic community, shorter chapters from those operating in key international crisis response organisations will also be considered. Chapters written jointly by academic and response representatives are also encouraged.

Deadline for submission of abstracts: 13 July 2020

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Deadline for applications: 4 August 2020

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Deadline for applications: 4 August

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The Institute of Translation Studies is looking for a

Project assistant without doctorate

(30 hours a week; expected employment until Sept. 30, 2022; position to be filled as of August 1^st 2020 )

Your duties

• The holder of the post will be expected to: Pursue a doctoral degree at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities in the area: „Representation, relevance and contextual frame of translation in multilingual societies“
• Participate in conferences and contribute papers to journals and other channels of knowledge transfer
• Contribute to the development of and participate in a structured doctoral programme
• Conduct research in the Department's fields of specialisation "Translation, Migration and Minorities" and "Translation from a cultural and sociological perspective"
• Act as mentor for Master students providing support during MA thesis preparation

Deadline for applications: 17 June 2020

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In 2021 the 13th meeting of the international Symposium on (Im)Politeness and the 7th meeting of the biannual iMean  (interaction and meaning)  conference will be merged for a meeting on the “pragmatics of translation” on 24-26 June, 2021. We hope that you will hold the dates and be able to join us.

We will invite papers on translation outcomes and processes which highlight a pragmatic angle of understanding the transfer of language phenomena across cultures and intra-culturally. We approach translation from a broad perspective, including written textual translation from source to target language as well as other modalities such as signing, simultaneous translation or audiovisual translation by professional and lay people. We also include topics such as explaining meaning to each other or translating sensual experience into language.

We hope that many people will address both (im)politeness/delicacy as well as translation issues within an interactional/pragmatics frame. However, in the tradition of both the symposium of politeness and i-mean, we also welcome papers on (im)politeness and interactional meaning more generally.

Deadline for abstracts: 1 October 2020

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Providing efficient and safe healthcare services is tenuous even at the best of times. Hospital staff who must also circumnavigate language barriers are placed in problematic, perhaps disastrous, situations if they have not received the proper training.

The Handbook of Research on Medical Interpreting is a compendium of essential reference material discussing the educational, ethical, pedagogical, and specialized aspects of medical interpreting. Featuring research on topics such as patient care, competent healthcare, and specialized training, this book is ideally designed for hospital staff, healthcare administrators, medical specialists, professional interpreters, industry professionals, academicians, researchers, and students seeking coverage on a new, international perspective to the medical sciences.

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The Centre for Translation Studies (CTS) is an internationally recognised centre for research, scholarship and teaching in translation and interpreting, and has been awarded funding from Research England’s new Expanding Excellence in England (E3) fund to launch an ambitious new research programme. This programme brings together human-based research practices with cutting-edge advances in machine learning and AI,focusing on the convergence of human and automated approaches to different modalities of translation and interpreting in order to initiate a step-change in the broader translation research agenda. The ‘technological turn’ in translation/interpreting creates exciting opportunities, but it also requires fresh approaches in order to understand all the dimensions of its impact, to mitigate drawbacks and to derive truly innovative solutions.

To support the expansion programme, we seek to appoint a Research Fellow with expertise in at least one of the research areas of CTS and with a special interest in translation/interpreting technologies. The successful candidate will undertake research relevant to current and future projects in CTS, contribute to and lead on the development of external funding bids, develop interdisciplinary collaborative networks with academic and non-academic partners, and produce high-quality outputs.

We are looking for a candidate with a PhD in translation/interpreting studies or a closely related field. Research experience that is compatible with the strategic direction of CTS’s research, demonstrated by a track record of high-quality publications, is essential, as is the proven ability to secure external funding. The success of the research programme requires multidisciplinary collaborations. Experience in working with external partners would therefore be a plus.

This is a fixed-term contract until 31 August 2022 but there is a possibility to extend the post if external research funding can be secured.

Deadline for applications: 17 June 2020

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Series: New Trends in Translation Studies

Edited By Ali Almanna and Juan José Martínez Sierra

This volume affords an opportunity to reconsider international connections and conflicts from the specific standpoint of translation as a dynamic, sociocultural activity, carried out and influenced by numerous stakeholders. The various chapters contained in this volume survey a wide range of languages and cultures, and they all pivot around the relationships that can be established between translation and ideology, re-narration, identity, cultural representation and knowledge reproduction. The ultimate aim is to shed light on the actual act of translating in which the self is well-presented and beautified and the other is deformed and made ugly. In this volume, due consideration is given to the main frames (be they characterization, interpretive or identity frames) as well as to the nonverbal factors that play a fundamental role in forming the final shape of the translated product. 

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Special issue of Babel

Editors

Frans De Laet

Reiner Heard

Miodrag Vukčević

Übersetzen und Dolmetschen im juristischen Bereich / Traduction et interprétation juridiques / Legal Translation and Interpreting

Technologie – Outsourcing – Veränderungen / Technologie – externalisation – transformations / Technology – Outsourcing – Shifts

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