CFP : Translation and the Caribbean (special issue of Sargasso)

Translation and the Caribbean: Tensions & Transformations

Deadline: September 30, 2014

The journal SARGASSO, edited and published at the University of Puerto Rico’s Río Piedras campus, invites submissions for the issue “Translating the Caribbean: Tensions & Transformations.” The issue seeks to explore the art and craft of the translator as indispensable resources for scholarly inquiry, interdisciplinary collaborations, and artistic endeavors in the Humanities.  The editors hope to receive critical essays that address the aesthetics, politics, ethics, and history of translation, as well as works that focus on specific initiatives, authors, literary movements, or theoretical proposals.  Previously unpublished translations will be included in the volume.

Practitioners and theorists alike have recognized translation as having an important role in the region since Caribbean Studies emerged as a discrete field of scholarly inquiry.  Some have described it as a lens that brings into relief tensions associated with the processes of conquest, naming, colonization, and resistance that inform the history of the region.  Translation has also been upheld as a necessary response to divergent colonial histories and political and linguistic fragmentation, one that can transform the lives and ideologies of people both within and outside the Caribbean.  What is the significance of these ideas today?  How do they relate to the view of translation as a cultural dynamic? How can translation contribute to the growth and sustainability of Caribbean communities and institutions as well as interregional and international networks?  What types of partnerships involving translators and the Humanities are needed in the future?  What challenges do they face?

Possible topics for essays include, but are not limited to:

Translation as a necessary task

Hybrid writing as a process of translation

Translation & literary criticism

Translation, language policy, & linguistic rights

Translation and Creole languages

Translation & Caribbean Studies

Translation & coloniality

Translating multilingualism & code-switching in literature

Translation & pedagogy

Translation & technological innovation

Translation and publishing

Essays should be 10-15 pages, double-spaced, and adhere to APA guidelines.  They should also conform to Sargasso’s style guide and include an abstract of 120 words or less.  B & W photos and illustrations may be included.  The editors welcome the submission of visual art and creative work, including new translations of poetry and short fiction.  Contributions may be submitted in English, Spanish, French, or Creole languages of the region.  Submissions should be sent to sargassojournal at gmail.com by September 30, 2014.  Visit http://humanidades.uprrp.edu/ingles/pubs/sargasso.htm for details about the journal.