Interdisciplinarity and Translation Studies
Translation Studies was established from the beginning in dialogue with adjacent fields such as Comparative Literature, Philosophy and Linguistics and it has always been conceived as an open scientific field in which the openness of the concept of translation itself is taken for granted (Tymozcko 1998, 2006). The increasing number of disciplines with which translation studies interrelate, apart from literary and linguistic ones (Political Science, Sociology, Cultural Studies, Communication Studies, Semiotics, Film studies, Neurosciences, Computational Linguistics etc.), has led to the contribution of concepts and taxonomies to the field by different scholars. These concepts are gradually entering its research nucleus as shown in the relevant international literature (Snell-Hornby, Pöchhacker & Kaindl 1994; Wills 1999; Chesterman 2002; Floros 2005; Gambier 2006; Lambert 2012; Gentzler 2014; Abend-David 2014; Ehrensberger-Dow, Göpferich & O’Brien 2015; Gambier & van Doorslaer 2016; Rojo López & Campos Plaza 2016).
Following the trends in interdisciplinary academic research (Klein 1990 and 1996; Hübenthal 1994; Salter & Hearn 1996; Boden 1999; Bal 2002), Translation Studies move in-between interdisciplinarity, which derives from concept and tool borrowing and an arborescent perception of knowledge (Blumczynski 2016, 28-31), and transdisciplinarity, a form of interdisciplinary synergy which views knowledge in a rhizomatic way (Blumczynski 2016, 28-31). In this sense, transdisciplinarity is realized when two or more fields of knowledge mutually open up to each other broadening their research perspective (Gambier & van Doorslaer 2016; Yasici 2016; Odacıoğlu 2015). Such perceptions tend to bring about major changes even to the perception of Translation Studies as an interdisciplinary field and to such a degree that reference is now being made to a post-discipline (Gentzler, 2014) and to post-Translation Studies: “We imagine a sort of new era that could be termed post-translation studies, where translation is viewed as fundamentally transdisciplinary, mobile, and open ended” (Nergaard and Arduini 2011, 8).
The present volume of the journal Syn-Thèses aspires to contribute to the study of both translation studies’ multiple relationship with other disciplines and the challenges that this relationship might bring about, as well as to the study of potential changes in the nature of the field itself. In this context, the contributions could discuss theoretical models and approaches, case studies, methods, practices and specific applications related to the whole range of Translation Studies when in contact with other scientific fields.
More specifically, but not exclusively, the papers may address:
Research models in translation and interpreting
The dialogue of translation studies with specific scientific fields ranging from Communication Studies and Sociology to the exact sciences and neurosciences
The integration of translation theory and practice into other epistemological fields
The ethics of translation
Mappings of translation communities
Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary methods and practices in translation research
Epistemological models of Translation Studies
Approaches to translation and interpreting related to globalization and current digital realities
Technological approaches
References
Abend-David, D. (ed.) (2014). Media and Translation: An Interdisciplinary Approach. New York, NY: Bloomsbury.
Arduini, S. & Nergaard, S. (2011). “Translation: A New Paradigm”. Translation, inaugural issue, 8-17.
Bal, M. (2002). Traveling Concepts in the Humanities. A Rough Guide. Toronto / Buffalo / London: University of Toronto Press.
Blumczynski, P. (2016). Ubiquitous Translation. London / New York: Routledge.
Boden, M. A. (1999). “What is interdisciplinarity?” In R. Cunningham (eds), Interdisciplinarity and the organization of knowledge in Europe, 13-24. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.
Chesterman , Α. (2002) “On the Interdisciplinarity of Translation Studies”. Logos and Language 3, 1, 1-9.
Floros, G. (2005). “Translation Typology and the Interdisciplinarity of Translatology”. Meta, 50(4). doi:10.7202/019837ar
Gambier, Y. & van Doorslaer, L. (eds) (2016). Border Crossings: Translation Studies and other disciplines. Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Gambier, Υ. (2006). “Pour une socio-traduction”. In Ferreira Duarte, J., Assis Rosa, A. & Seruya, T. (eds), Translation Studies at the Interface of Disciplines. Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 29-42.
Gentzler, E. (2014). “Translation Studies: Pre-Discipline, Discipline, Interdiscipline, and Post-Discipline”. International Journal of Society, Culture and Language, 2 (2), 14-24.
Hübenthal, U. (1994). “Interdisciplinary thought”. Issues in integrative studies, 12, 55-75.
Klein J. T. (1990) Interdisciplinarity: History, Theory, and Practice. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.
Klein, J. T. (1996). Crossing boundaries: knowledge, disciplinarities, and interdisciplinarities. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia.
Lambert, J. (2012). “Interdisciplinarity in Translation Studies”. In Gambier, Y. & Doorslaer, L. van (eds), Handbook of Translation Studies, vol. 3. Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 81-88.
Odacıoğlu M. C. (2015). “From Interdisciplinarity to Transdisciplinarity in Translation Studies in the Context of Technological Tools & Localization Industry”. International Journal of Comparative Literature & Translation Studies, 3 (3), 14-19. doi:10.7575/aiac.ijclts.v.3n.3p.14.
Salter, L. & Hearn, A. (eds) (1996). Outside the lines: issues in interdisciplinary research. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press. Published for the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Snell-Hornby, M., Pöchhacker, F. & Kaindl, K. (eds) (1994). Translation Studies: An Interdiscipline. Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Tymoczko, M. (1998). “Computerized Corpora and the Future of Translation Studies”. Meta, 43(4), 652–660. doi:10.7202/004515ar
Tymoczko, M. (2005). “Trajectories of Research in Translation Studies”. Meta, 50(4), 1082–1097. doi:10.7202/012062ar
Wilss,W. (1999). “Interdisciplinarity in Translation Studies”. Target, 11(1), 131–144.
Yasici, M. (2016). “A Tentative Research Model of Transdisciplinarity”. In Akçeşme, B., Baktir H. & Steele E. (2016). Interdisciplinarity, Multidisciplinarity and Transdisciplinarity in Humanities. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 222-233.
Scientific Committee
Simos Grammenidis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Titika Dimitroulia, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Nicola Dusi, Università degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia
George Floros, University of Cyprus
Panayiotis Kelandrias, Ionian University
Evangelos Kourdis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Duncan Large, University of East Anglia
Anastasia Parianou, Ionian University
Susan Petrilli, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro
Clíona Ní Ríordáin, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle - Paris 3
Desirée Schyns, Ghent University
Peter Torop, University of Tartu
Federico Zanettin, Università degli Studi di Perugia
Deadlines:
Abstract submission deadline: 30.12.2018
Notification of acceptance:30.1.2019
Full-papers submission deadline: 30.5.2019
Publication of the volume: October 2019
Languages
English, French, Greek, Italian
Contact
For general inquiries and for article submission please contact the volume’s editors:
Titika Dimitroulia, tdimi@frl.auth.gr
Evangelos Kourdis, ekourdis@frl.auth.gr
Call for AbstractConference: the 19th International Postgraduate Conference in Translation and Interpreting (IPCITI)Venue: Dublin City UniversityDate: 3-4 December 2026Theme: Across Academia and Industry: (In)Visibility and Interdisciplinarity in Translation and InterpretingTopics include:Interdisciplinary engagement with translation and interpreting studies (e.g. Comparative Literature, Linguistics, Cultural Studies, Sociology and Anthropology)Interdisciplinarity and knowledge exchange in translation and interpreting studies (e.g. Communication Studies, Information Science, Higher Education Studies)Visibility and invisibility of translation and interpreting research (e.g. Sociology of Knowledge, Media Studies)Translation and interpreting across academia, institutions and industry (e.g. International Relations, Public Policy)Translation and interpreting technologies and digital practices (Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Natural Language Processing (NLP))Translator and interpreter training and pedagogy (e.g. Curriculum Design, Cognitive Psychology, Applied Linguistics)Community and public service interpreting (e.g. Medical Humanities, Social Work)Specialised translation (e.g. terminology, literary translation, audiovisual translation, localisation)Professional identities, ethics, and labour conditions (e.g. Professional Ethics, Labour Economics, Human Resource Management)Translation, migration, multilingualism, human rights, and social justice (e.g. Human Rights Law, Migration Studies, Political Philosophy)Critical approaches to translation studies (e.g. Decolonisation of Translation and Interpreting Studies, Postcolonial Theory, Gender Studies, Critical Discourse Analysis, Deconstruction)Innovative, creative and interdisciplinary research methodologies in translation and interpreting studies (e.g. Digital Humanities, Corpus Linguistics, Ethnography, Mixed Methods Research)Translation and interpreting in crisis and conflict settings (e.g. Peace and Conflict Studies, Disaster Management, Risk and Crisis Communication)Deadline for abstract submission: 31 August 2026More details: https://www.dcu.ie/ctts/ipciti-2026
Call for Papers:Journal: Special Issue of Translation and Interpreting Studies (John Benjamins).The journal is inviting submissions for extended abstracts for a special issue of Translation and Interpreting Studies (John Benjamins) on the topic of 'Knowledge Construction in Multilingual Research: Research Ethics Meets Translation Theory' Editors: Robert Gibb, Nadja Grbić, and Rafael Schögler.Submissions of extended abstracts (300-500 words) can be sent to the guest editors until 15 September 2026.More details: https://static.uni-graz.at/fileadmin/gewi-institute/Translationswissenschaft/Bilder/2026/Special-issue_TiS_2029_gibb_grbic_schoegler.pdf
Call for Papers: Journal: BRIDGE: TRENDS AND TRADITIONS IN TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETING STUDIESThemes: Audiovisual Translation at the Crossroads: Special Issue: Bridging Media Accessibility, AI, and EFL Education. Special Issue, Vol. 7(2), 2026.Editor: Angela SileoCovered Topics:AVT and Artificial Intelligence (AI), the technological dimension;AVT and Media Accessibility (MA), the social dimension; andAVT in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) education, the didactic dimension.Deadline for submission: 23 November 2026More details: https://www.bridge.ff.ukf.sk/index.php/bridge/callforpapers
International Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies9th International ConferenceUniversity of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o WaitahaChristchurch, New Zealand7-10 December Interculturality and Hospitality in Times of Crisis Conference Theme Language, hospitality, and crisis are, and always have been, historically and globally intertwined concepts. The notion of hospitality is deeply rooted in complex and long-standing histories of encounters; of conflict and persecution; but also of travel and adventure. The specular relationship between alterity and subjectivity is at its core, and so too is the very fabric of sociability. The closest Te Reo Māori equivalent to hospitality, manaakitanga, echoes this dynamic, as it implies the collective nurturing of relationships in which the mana (dignity, prestige, and spiritual power) of all those involved is upheld and elevated. From these histories and terms, we are confronted with the (unwritten) rules, obligations, and laws related to hospitality which encapsulate examples on a micro- and macrostructural level: from welcoming guests into a nation—as immigrants or refugees—to providing shelter and support in the community in times of crisis, right down to individual acts of kindness and aid, such as welcoming a friend, family-member or stranger into one’s home. However, not all guests and hosts are created equal, and hospitality is not always synonymous with kindness and welcoming. The (de)colonial perspectives evident from Latin America to Oceania and beyond, where indigenous peoples were constructed as ‘unwelcome guests’ in their own land, offer fruitful examples of how historically, as well as in contemporary contexts, hospitality has often functioned as a lens through which asymmetrical power relations can be understood. Several linguists and philosophers have scrutinized the ambivalence inherent to hospitality, elucidating its semantic and pragmatic conceptions, as well as its etymological misunderstandings and polysemy. Paola Zaccaria summarizes this dynamic as follows: “In Latin, the guest, being a stranger, was called both hospes (whence the etymological root of hospitality) and hostis, which means “enemy.” [Émile] Benveniste argued that the notion of favorable stranger evolved into guest, while a hostile stranger was considered an enemy" (Zaccaria, 2022, p. 182). Such etymological linkage led Jacques Derrida to coin the neologism “hostipitality” (Derrida & Dufourmantelle, 2000), suggesting that welcoming the Other can lead to a host’s vulnerability, and that embedded within hospitality are the very seeds of its own potential destruction. Welcoming the guest—the Other, a frenemy, AI—can lead to the host’s sovereignty unravelling, where sovereignty can be understood in its broadest conceptual sense possible: one’s space (or home) as well as one’s identity and integrity. This intersubjective blending is even more apparent when we take into consideration that Derrida writes in French where the term hôte can denote, depending on the context, either guest or host. Interpretations and translations of hospitality continue today: whether it be as a pragmatic form or an abstract, philosophical construct, the concept will (and arguably should) never be laid to rest. While the very notion of hospitality, the givenness of its communal veracity is obviously enabling, we do not need to look too far in our current climate to witness how conceptually, at least, it has been called into crisis. ‘Crisis,’ at its very root, indicates a turning point and a decision. Not all crises are therefore inherently bad or negative, and yet the term is rarely shrouded in positivity. In a post-truth era; as we explore the use and limits of AI; as we further communicate through the semiotics of emojis; as teeter-tottering governments modify language policies, and as institutional settings regulate and enact the boundaries in which we work and live, we must ask: is language—and are languages—in crisis? And can the same be said of hospitality? Translation, Interpreting, and interculturality are at the very heart of both hospitality and crisis, as the latter inevitably creates contexts of language contact due to globalization, as well as chosen and forced migration. With this conference topic, there are two potential thematic avenues for presenters to explore in relation to Translation, Interpreting, as well as Intercultural Studies: one more aligned with the multifaceted notion and voices of ‘hospitality’ and the other with ‘crisis.’ This conference therefore calls on scholars, educators, and practitioners to reflect and present on these disciplines and their interaction with these themes as they play out in their professional, creative, and scholarly reflections and important work. Possible subthemes to explore include: · T&I and the guest-host dynamic· Violence in/and T&I· Language(s) in crisis· Hospitality and crisis· Regional and minority languages· Data Sovereignty and indigenous languages· AI and/in crisis – trust, machine translation, and language access in crisis situations· T&I in hospitality & tourism· T&I in regional conflicts· T&I in natural disasters· Hospitality and ethics in relation to volunteer translation, AI-assisted translation, and the sustainability of the profession· The translation/non-translation of literature as examples of hostipitality· Rethinking T&I and sovereignty through Indigenous Knowledges· The ethics and politics of translation and intercultural studies research, education, and practice: a turning point?· (Feminist) ethics of care· Disability Studies and the Politics of language(s) in translation and interpretation – who gets to speak?· Lost languages – linguistic preservation, hospitality, and ethics· Resisting the status quo – rethinking dissemination of translations as a question of the commonsLanguage Policy· All abstracts/proposals for individual papers (20 minutes each) and panels must be submitted in English or Te Reo Māori for peer-review by the Advisory Board, and all papers will be presented in English or Te Reo Māori. Interpreting will be provided contingent on available funds.· Workshop proposals must be submitted in English or Te Reo Māori for peer-review by the Scientific Committee; however, presentations during workshops in languages other than English or Te Reo Māori are welcome. A minimum of two presenters is required for workshops. Interpreting will be provided contingent on available funds.Key Deadlines· 5 November 2026: Deadline for potential convenors to submit panel, workshop, roundtable or artistic initiatives· 20 December 2026: Announcement of the accepted proposals (panels, workshops, roundtables and artistic initiatives) & call for papers and performances.· 20 March 2027: Individual abstract submission to accepted panels and general sessions· 5 June 2027: Notification of acceptance of proposals (all formats).· 5 June 2027: Registration opens · 1 August 2027: Closing date for early registrationRegistration· 5 June 2027: Registration opens· 1 August 2027: Early-bird registration closesLink to registration: to be provided soon. Solidarity Fund and Bursaries for Band 3 & 4 CountriesMore information to be provided soon. CALL FOR PANELSPanelsPanels will serve as the cornerstone for structuring the conference programme. Panels are thematic, integrated discussions for 6 to 12 sessions on a clearly identified theme or topic within the larger theme of the conference (“Interculturality and Hospitality in Times of Crisis”). They should provide attendees with an opportunity to hear presenters engage in dialogue amongst themselves as well as with attendees about cutting-edge research, practice, theory building, and/or policy development.Important: at this stage, you do not need to have a list of speakers or abstracts. Your panel proposal will be assessed by the Scientific Committee. If accepted, your panel will then be posted on the IATIS website and turned into a thematic call for papers open for anyone to submit. Panel convenors will be in charge of reviewing all abstracts submitted to their panel. The members of the scientific committee will review panel convenors’ selection before a notification of acceptance of abstracts can be issued. Timeline for Panels· Submission of panel proposals: 5 November 2026· Announcement of accepted panel proposals: 20 December 2026· Submission to accepted panels: 20 March 2027· Acceptance notification: 1 June 2027 Link to the submission platform: to be provided soon. The following information will be required:· Details about the convenor(s): name, surname, affiliation, bionote (approx..100 words) and contact address· Details about the proposal: abstract (approx. 500 words)· Optional: Tentative list of speakers and subtopics covered, if any. Please note that even if you have a list of possible speakers, all accepted panels remain open to submissions by interested IATIS delegates See examples of IATIS panels in previous conferences:· Oman Panels 2025· Barcelona Panels 2021· Hong Kong Panels 2018 CALL FOR WORKSHOPS Pre-conference workshops run for a day or half a day on Dec 6 (or Dec 7, subject to enrolment numbers). These workshops are designed to be training sessions on a topic of interest to conference attendees, such as teaching and professional development, with a special emphasis on learning or developing new skills.Timeline for Workshops· Submission of workshop proposals: 5 November 2026· Announcement of acceptance: 20 December 2026· Workshop Registration: 5 June 2027 CALL FOR ARTISTIC INITIATIVES These initiatives will reflect the cultures of the world. Artistic initiatives come from conference delegates and can be about or across cultures. They should address the topic of the conference (“Interculturality and Hospitality in Times of Crisis”). Timeline for Artistic Initiatives · Submission of artistic initiative proposals: 5 November 2026· Announcement of acceptance: 20 December 2026 CALL FOR PAPERS These are individual presentations that form the backbone of the conference's parallel sessions. Researchers can send abstracts to be presented as papers in thematic panels (accepted panels, see above) or independent of any panel in the conference. Papers are given the same amount of time given to panel session papers, and they may be added by the conference scientific committee to an established conference panel, if relevant, and in consultation with the convenor. Timeline for Papers· Call for individual papers: 20 December 2026· Deadline for potential presenters to submit abstracts for papers in and beyond thematic panels: 20 March 2027· Announcement of accepted papers: 1 June 2026 Link to the submission platform: to be provided soon. The following information will be required:· Details about the presenter(s): name, surname, affiliation, bionote (100 words approx.) and contact address· Abstract (250 words approx.) See examples of IATIS papers in previous conferences· Oman Papers 2025· Barcelona Papers 2021· Hong Kong Papers 2018
Call for Papers:Conference: Breaking Barriers in Creative Translation (BBCT).Venue: Mons, Belgium.Date: 18-20 Nov 2026.Themes and topics: Exploring fictional worldsApplication of new technologies to creative textsTransmedia analysesStylistic analysesAssessment of creativity in translation contextsRendering of humourRetranslationEthics and professional deontologyTranslation under constraintsCreativity and didacticsCognitive issues in creative translationKey dates: Submission: 07/09/2026Notification: 09/10/2026Registration: 01/11/2026Conference: 18-20/11/2026More details: https://bbct.sciencesconf.org/?lang=en
