Friday 7 September 2012

The geographies of Translation Studies in Europe

A forthcoming conference asking some intriguing questions: 

A NORTH-SOUTH ENCOUNTER OR DIVIDE?
Different Forms of Translation Scholarship in Europe
One-day Symposium at Lessius Antwerp, Wed 10 Oct 2012
Organisers: Luc van Doorslaer & Peter Flynn (CETRA & Lessius)
There are various traditions in translation scholarship and research which are less well known, often paradoxically, because they have not been translated into the dominant language(s) of scholarship: among such traditions are those in the German-speaking countries and Eastern-Europe (viz. important work by scholars like Jírí Levý, which dates back to the 1960’s and 1970’s, and has only recently been made available in English). On the other hand, new geographical and cultural encounters and/or borderlines are being constructed, explored and deconstructed – viz. the conference called ‘Translating from the South’. In this respect, conference participants often encounter different paradigms and traditions in Translation Studies or in translation scholarship under whatever name, depending on the session they are attending. Broadly speaking, these differences are stereotypically explained in terms of a seeming ‘divide’ between Germanic (and later Anglophone) and Romance scholarly traditions in Europe. This can give rise to such surprised questions as ‘Toury, c’est qui?’ or ‘Ladmiral, who the hell is he?’ Yet the seminal work of these and other scholars has helped form these different traditions and as the saying goes: “the past is a foreign country”. We can wonder then to what extent scholarly language use and methods stem from different more local, situated or historical approaches to and views on the object of study. To what extent did these various objects and concerns shape subsequent methodologies and theorizing in general? Did encounters take place or were lines of division drawn during these developments and if so which? This symposium will address these and other questions in an attempt to gain insight into how language and culture might determine translation scholarship and its various methodological traditions and concerns.
See symposium website https://www.lessius.eu/northsouth

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