A relative newcomer to the academic world and initially associated with vocational training, translation studies is now firmly established as a vibrant research field in many if not most universities around the world. Alongside the growth of interest in translation among scholars from various disciplines in the humanities and sciences, interdisciplinarity has become a key goal for academic institutions everywhere. But what does interdisciplinarity mean, generally as well as more specifically, in the context of translation studies? Does it mean borrowing methods and theoretical models from one or more other disciplines to address a research question that is specific to translation studies? Or does it mean addressing a question that is broader than the concerns of a single discipline such as translation studies by drawing on the knowledge and methodologies elaborated in several disciplines? And how does each type of encounter impact translation studies as a borrowing or collaborating discipline?
Organised to launch the Baker Centre for Translation and Intercultural Studies at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and as the first of a series of events and initiatives to be carried out under its aegis, this international conference will bring together established scholars as well as doctoral students and early career researchers to examine various facets and challenges of pursuing interdisciplinary research on translation and interpreting, and of defining translation studies as an ‘interdiscipline’. Contributions that focus on the negotiation of different epistemologies of knowledge, theoretical models and research methodologies are welcome, as are those that present case studies in which insights from other disciplines are operationalized, critiqued and adapted.
Potential themes of interest include but are not restricted to the following:
Interdisciplinary models for researching translation and interpreting in new settings, such as digital platforms, social media, asylum hearings, refugee camps;
The adaptation of theoretical insights and models from sociology, cultural theory, media studies, linguistics and other disciplines to address research questions in translation studies;
Models of collaboration across the human and natural sciences and the potential contribution of translation studies in this context;
The use of translation as a critical category to interrogate the tenets and long held assumptions of another discipline;
The application of specific methods of research, such as ethnography or genetic criticism, in the study of translation and interpreting;
Interdisciplinary models for theorizing and researching communities of translators and interpreters;
Interdisciplinary models for theorizing and researching cognitive aspects of translation and interpreting;
The ethics of interdisciplinary research.
Deadline for submissions: 20 April 2017
Full details: https://www.jiaotongbakercentre.org/activities/conferences/researching-translation-interpreting-i/
Call for PapersEvent: the 16th International Symposium on Bilingualism.Place and date: University of Saskatchewan, Canada, June 14-18, 2027. Thems and topics:Bi-multilingual speech and communicationCognitive, neuro- and psycholinguisticsChild and adolescent bi-multilingual developmentAdult bi-multilingual developmentEducation and pedagogy HJHeritage, immigrant, regional and other minority languagesIndigenous languagesTranslation and InterpretingSociolinguistics and Sociology of languageSpeech-language pathology; Health CommunicationAbstract submission deadline: 1 October 2026. More details: https://conferences.usask.ca/isb16/
Call for Abstracts This is a call for an edited volume on 'Translators at Work in Periodicals: Agency, Mediation, and Cultural Power'. Edited by Ivana Hostová and Eva SpišiakováSuggested topics:• periodicals as infrastructures of literary, cultural, and intellectual mediation• translators, editors, reviewers, and other mediators shaping periodical cultures• translators’ multiple roles, including editing, curating, annotating, and framing• distributed, relational, or contested agency in periodical cultures• translator agency, editorial strategy, and activism• translation in peripheral, semi-peripheral, or politically unstable ecologies• periodicals as spaces of cultural resistance, ideological struggle, or symbolic negotiation• paratextual framing, editorial positioning, and the politics of selection• material and medial conditions of translation, including format, layout, page space, seriality, and multimodality• circulation of minoritized, marginalized, or non-canonical literatures• periodicals and the transfer of theory, philosophy, science, or political ideas• translation in periodicals and the making of national, regional, or transnational cultures• microhistorical or biographical studies of translators and editors• actor-network, social-network, bibliographic, or database-driven approaches• methodological reflections on blending close reading with large-scale or digitally assisted analysisDeadline for abstracts: 31 December 2026Deadline for full chapters: 31 July 2028Expected publication: 2029Full info: https://ktr.ff.ukf.sk/en/research/call-for-abstracts-translators-at-work-in-periodicals-agency-mediation-and-cultural-power/
Call for Papers:Conference: Global North and Global South Perspectives on Literature, Linguistics, and Translation.Organised by the Research Centre for Irish Studies (RCIS).Date: 7-8 June 2026. Main themes: Literature;Irish Studies;Linguistics;Translation, Power and Knowledge Circulation. Submission deadline: 30 April 2026More info: https://old.bue.edu.eg/global-north-and-global-south-perspectives-on-literature-linguistics-and-translation-conference-7-8-june-2026/
Call for papers:Journal: Translation in Society.Special issue on 'Translation, Social Media, and the Creator Economy' (2028)Guest editors: Renée Desjardins & Émilie Gobeil-Roberge.Main themes: Translation strategies and practices among creators, influencers, and social media usersTranslation tools used by creators and influencers to expand their multilingual reachTranslation as a form of online compliance or resistanceTranslation and online misinformation, disinformation, and propagandaTranslation, social platforms, and societyTerminology related to the social internet and the creator economySocial platform translation and language policiesMultilingual influencers and creatorsMultilingual online activismMultilingual fandomsMultilingual and translation trends on social platformsDeadline for abstract submissions: July 1, 2026Full info: https://www.benjamins.com/series/tris/callforpapers.pdf
Call for PapersThis is a call to submit papers to the non-thematic issue of JosTrans, 48, to be published in July 2027. The journal welcomes submissions on:Theoretical, methodological and practical issues in specialised translation,Subject field translation/interpreting, i.e. medical, legal, financial, technical, localisation, etc.Media accessibility and audiovisual translationTranslation technologies, translation and AI (with human factors),Aspects of training and teaching specialised translation/interpreting.Submission deadline: June 30, 2026. More details: https://www.jostrans.org/about/cfp48
