THE 3RD ID-TS GRADUATE EVENT FOR DOCTORAL STUDENTS
(Hi)stories of Translation and Translators: Past, Present and Future
Department of Translation and Interpreting Studies
Boğaziçi University, Istanbul
(The conference will be held online via Zoom Video Conferencing)
12-13 NOVEMBER 2020
CALL FOR PAPERS
Anthony Pym has suggested that translation history has three main arteries: “translation archeology” (discourses on the questions of who translated what, how, where, when, for whom and with what effect?); “historical criticism” (discourses assessing the ways translations help or hinder progress); and “explanation” (tackling the question “why?”) (1998, 5-6). Pym’s conception of translation history undoubtedly opens up a systematic method of dealing with extensive and detailed data from either a macro- or micro-historical perspective. The invaluable findings of traditional macro-historical studies have certainly triggered new approaches, such as the focus on agents of translation and the examination of extratextual sources that help us (re)construct the history of translation and translators.
There is no doubt that the past two decades have marked a substantial shift of focus in the field of Translation Studies from the translated text to the actors involved in the translation process, leading to the birth of the new branch of (what Andrew Chesterman calls) “Translator Studies” (2009). In line with this shift of focus, historical research investigating the role and position of translational and cultural agents has gained increasing attention. As a result, the method of micro-history has become instrumental in uncovering the voices of these agents in social and cultural history, thereby enriching the literature on translation history, which previously tended to concentrate on macro dimensions of translation. The micro-historical approach has motivated researchers to examine primary sources such as personal papers, manuscripts, post-hoc accounts and interviews. By looking into these previously neglected archival documents, researchers aim to shed light on “the translator’s decision-making process” (Munday, 2013), on “the collaboration in the production of translations” (Paloposki, 2017) and on “the place of literary translators and their social situatedness and agency” (Constanza Guzmán, 2013). In doing so, they have initiated new discussions, which promise to broaden the horizons of Translation Studies as a discipline.
Lieven D’hulst and Yves Gambier argue that “histories of translation knowledge may be written about all periods, all areas and all domains of translational communication” (2018, 10). In that spirit, we, as Ph.D. candidates in the Department of Translation and Interpreting Studies, Boğaziçi University, plan to organize a conference that takes a look at the past, present and future of macro- and micro-histories of translation. In collaboration with the ID-TS, we invite doctoral students to present their research at this graduate event, which will be held online due to the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The book of abstracts will be published on the conference website (www.transint.boun.edu.tr/id-ts-2020) following abstract acceptance notification. We also hope to include the papers presented in a special journal issue dedicated to the event.
Topics to be addressed in the conference include, but are not limited to, the following:
Submission of Abstracts
Participants are invited to submit proposals for 15-minute presentations. Abstracts of maximum 300 words should be submitted by the deadline indicated below, including the participant’s name, affiliation and contact information.
For the submission of abstracts and all general enquiries, please contact: idts.gradevent2020@boun.edu.tr
IMPORTANT DATES
Closing date for abstract submissions: 09.10.2020
Abstract acceptance notification: 23.10.2020
Deadline for presenter confirmations: 30.10.2020
Registration period: 24.10.2020 – 11.11.2020
Organizing Committee
Deniz Malaymar, Ph.D. Candidate & Research Assistant, Boğaziçi University, Istanbul
Erdem Hürer, Ph.D. Student & Research Assistant, Boğaziçi University, Istanbul
Nesrin Conker, Ph.D. Candidate & Research Assistant, Boğaziçi University, Istanbul
N. Zeynep Kürük-Erçetin, Ph.D. Candidate & Research Assistant, Boğaziçi University, Istanbul
References
Chesterman, A. (2009). The name and nature of translator studies. Journal of language and communication studies. 42. 13-22.
D’hulst, L. & Yves Gambier. (2018) A History of Modern Translation Knowledge: Sources, concepts, effects. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Guzmán, M. C. (2013). Translation North and South: Composing the Translator’s Archive. TTR, 26 (2). 171–191. Available at <https://doi.org/10.7202/1037136ar> [consulted July 1, 2020].
Munday, J. (2013). The role of archival and manuscript research in the investigation of translator decision-making. Target, 25(1). 125-139.
Paloposki, O. (2017). “In Search of an Ordinary Translator: Translator Histories, Working Practices and Translator-Publisher Relations in the light of Archival Documents.” The Translator, 23, 1. 31-48.
Pym, A. (1998). Method in Translation History. Manchester, UK: St. Jerome.
Further Readings
D’hulst, L. (2015) The Figure of the translator revisited: A theoretical overview and a case study. Convergences francophones. 2(2). 1-11.
Milton, J. & Paul Bandia. (2009). Introduction: Agents of translation and Translation Studies. Agents of Translation. Amsterdam: John Benjamin’s Publishing.
Rundle, C. (2012) Translation as an approach to history. Translation Studies. 5(2). 232-240.
Wakabayashi, J. (2012). Japanese translation historiography: Origins, strengths, weaknesses and lessons. Translation Studies. 5(2), 172-188.
Guest editors:Anna Strowe (University of Manchester)Richard Mansell (University of Exeter)Helle V. Dam (Aarhus University)This special issue focuses on the normative expectations around translators, including norms around translator identity, as well as around hiring or selection processes and understandings of competence or expertise. By applying the concept of norms to the area of translators and translatorship, we hope to connect conversations about the multiple intersecting systems of values that underpin those norms, often silently, ranging from beliefs about education, language skill, and qualification, to understandings of professionalism, economics, and translation itself, while continuing to explore the dimensions and qualities of translator identity and presentation. The norms themselves are at the centre of the topic, along with the values from which they emerge and with which they engage, but as with investigation of other types of norms, they must be extrapolated from available forms of data, for example texts by and about translators, or trends in hiring or training.As scholarship in translation studies has broadened, first from linguistic approaches to cultural and sociological approaches, and then to a focus on the translator, we have increasingly come to understand that we must view translation as a socially-situated practice or set of practices, carried out by agents whose behaviour and choices are influenced by a variety of external as well as internal factors. A large part of the focus has been on using this perspective to better understand the choices that are made in translating – that is, the specific textual decisions made by translators – but interest has also grown significantly in questions that move beyond textual choices and comparative textual analysis. There are significant threads of scholarship for example on the cultural or structural aspects of non-professional translation and interpreting (e.g. Antonini et al. 2017; Pérez-González and Susam-Saraeva 2012), the relationships between translation and activism (e.g. Boéri 2024; Gould and Tahmasebian 2020; Tymoczko 2010), and the impact of emerging technologies and digital spaces on perceptions of translatorship (e.g. Zhang et al. 2024), among many others.Norms have long been a productive tool for translation studies, but existing articulations and uses have focused on the translational norms that we understand as governing micro- and macro-level translation choices. Meylaerts (2008) discusses individual translators and their identities and profiles in relation to the norms of translation and the profession, following Simeoni (1998) in connecting these to Bourdieu’s notion of habitus. However, behaviour around translator identities and characteristics, such as hiring or self-presentation, can also be examined in terms of norms. In a recent article, Strowe (2024) suggests considering translator selection as norm-driven could help us better recognize the values and decisions around translator recruitment and deconstruct assumptions around translator choice and identity.These norms are reflected in patterns in hiring trends, the translation industry, job advertisements, and translators’ websites or blogs, for example, but they also inform a variety of aspects of how translatorship is constructed. The self-image and presentation or representation of translators is informed by beliefs about what responsibilities, tasks, and capacities are involved in being a translator, areas that intersect both with culturally constructed notions of what constitutes and delimits translation itself (see Tymoczko 2007) and with what forms of social, cultural, and legal understandings we have about various agents’ forms of responsibility for texts (see Bantinaki 2020; Pym 2011).The special issue will collect both empirical studies that explore areas related to translator norms, and articles exploring either the theorization of translator norms or the methodological possibilities of this kind of work. Potential questions to explore include (but are not limited to) the following:How might we theorize norms around translator identity, self-presentation, hiring etc.?What kinds of translator norms can be identified within the LSP industry or in other contexts in which translation is done?What differences are there in translator norms across different contexts or domains, and how do these differences affect practices of translation?How can we understand projections of translator image as a form of representation of translator norm? • How are translator norms changing in the face of developments in digital technology?What kinds of research methods facilitate the exploration of translator norms?This is an open call, and the editors particularly welcome proposals from researchers whose workintersects with translator identity or self-presentation;looks at industry expectations around translators and hiring practices;seeks to describe and delimit the spaces of human agency and identity around translation amidst the growing presence of AI.Submission Abstracts of up to 300 words should be submitted by November 24 to Anna Strowe by email (anna.strowe@manchester.ac.uk). Once invited to do so by the editors, selected authors will be asked to submit an article of between 7000 and 8000 words, including references, through the journal’s online portal no later than May 30, 2026.A full schedule of dates plus the bibliography is available here: https://benjamins.com/series/ts/callforpapers.pdf
Life Writing and Translation Thursday 18 – Friday 19 June 2026 University of Geneva Abstract of no more than 250 words (bibliography excluded) in English or French are now invited and should be submitted to lifewritingtranslation@unige.ch by 16 November 2025. Notifications of acceptance will be distributed at the beginning of February 2026. Please find more information on abstracts on the Conference website: https://www.humanmovement.cam.ac.uk/events/translating-conflict-and-refuge-language-displacement-and-politics-representation
APTIS25 Online Conference at the UCL Centre for Translation Studies (3–4 November 2025) “Better together: how can industry and academia collaborate to empower future language professionals?” The UCL Centre for Translation Studies (CenTraS) is looking forward to hosting the APTIS25 online conference. The APTIS25 conference (“Better together: how can industry and academia collaborate to empower future language professionals?”) will take place on 3–4 November 2025 via Zoom Webinar. We encourage submissions from both academic and industry speakers. Please see our Call for Contributions as well as the Types of Contributions section to know more about the contributions that APTIS25 will be welcoming. If you would like to contribute to APTIS25 by presenting a talk or a roundtable, please visit the Submit a Proposal section, where you will find the link to send your abstract. Please kindly refer to the Key Dates to know more about submission and registration deadlines. https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/aptis25ucl
APTIS25 Online Conference at the UCL Centre for Translation Studies (3–4 November 2025)“Better together: how can industry and academia collaborate to empower future language professionals?”The UCL Centre for Translation Studies (CenTraS) is looking forward to hosting the APTIS25 online conference. The APTIS25 conference (“Better together: how can industry and academia collaborate to empower future language professionals?”) will take place on 3–4 November 2025 via Zoom Webinar.We encourage submissions from both academic and industry speakers. Please see our Call for Contributions as well as the Types of Contributions section to know more about the contributions that APTIS25 will be welcoming. If you would like to contribute to APTIS25 by presenting a talk or a roundtable, please visit the Submit a Proposal section, where you will find the link to send your abstract.Please kindly refer to the Key Dates to know more about submission and registration deadlines.https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/aptis25ucl
Hieronymus is the first Croatian journal dedicated exclusively to publishing research and professional articles in the field of translation studies and terminology. The journal has the following key goals: (1) to promote translation studies and terminology in Croatia and the broader region, where these two disciplines are not always recognized; and (2) to enhance local researchers’ visibility in the international translation studies community. For the Research Section of the journal, we welcome empirical studies with clear goals and well-defined methodology in any area of translation studies or terminology. In addition, papers presenting and discussing any area of professional translation or terminological practice are invited for the Professional section. Contributions by early career researchers (pre-Ph.D. or recently obtaining a Ph.D.) as well as young professionals are gladly accepted. In both sections of the journal, contributors from Croatia and the broader region are particularly welcome, in line with the journal’s mission outlined above. The preferred languages are English and Croatian. We accept submissions throughout the year, but for consideration in issue 12 (to be published in December 2025), submissions need to be sent by 30 March 2025 at the latest. Submissions will first be considered by the Editorial Team and, if they pass this initial screening, they will be forwarded for a double-blind peer review. Authors whose papers are accepted for publication must certify that their work has not been previously published. All papers are published in Open Access under the Creative Commons 4.0 open license. For information on citation style and formatting, please consult our Contributors page and Submission Guidelines. Please send your contributions to the following addresses: knikoli@ffzg.unizg.hr sveselic@ffzg.unizg.hr If you have any queries regarding this call, please do not hesitate to contact us
