Call for Papers
In 1921, Walter Benjamin wrote the essay “Die Aufgabe des Übersetzers” as an introduction to his translation of Tableaux parisiens by Charles Baudelaire. Published in 1923 and translated by Harry Zohn in 1968 as “The Task of the Translator,” it has since been widely circulated among scholars and become one of the most frequently cited works in the fields of translation, literature and cultural studies. The reading and interpretation made by Paul de Man and Jacques Derrida further ushered in “the cultural turn” of translation studies in the 1980s and 1990s, a theoretical and methodological shift in translation studies from more rigid equivalence-oriented theories to cross-discipline explorations. Translation studies has subsequently drawn upon and contributed to the fields of cultural studies, gender studies, post-colonial discourse, and so forth, yielding fruitful research results.
The year of 2021 marks not only the centennial celebration of Benjamin’s essay on the translator’s task, but also the 25th anniversary of the International Symposium on Translation and Interpretation. Therefore, the conference theme is “the task of the translator,” on the one hand dedicated to salute and honor Walter Benjamin and on the other hand taken as an opportunity to encourage broader discussions on current translation and interpretation praxis, researches and teaching in a post-modern, post-colonial, post-global, post-humanist context today.
Over the past hundred years we have witnessed some of the most profound changes in human history. For instance, one hundred years ago, the term “computer” means a person performing the task of mathematical calculations, rather than a machine. Will one day the so-called “translator” no longer primarily mean “human translators or interpreters” but “machine translator,” as today’s translators are working in an era of the rapidly developing AI technology. What are their tasks or vocational callings? Technological impact also has a direct impact on the training of a translator and interpreter. Perhaps there is no better time than now for us to engage in a “kairotic” dialogue with Walter Benjamin about language, translation, interpretation and technology. We welcome any papers related to the conference theme. Possible topics of investigation may include, but are not limited to, the following:
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l Translation/Interpreting History |
l Translation/Interpreting and Technology |
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l Literature & Revolution |
l Translation/Interpreting and Memory |
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l Genre and Translation |
l Translation/Interpreting and Teaching |
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l Translatability and untranslatability |
l Translation/Interpreting and Media |
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l Non-professional Translation/ Interpreting |
l Translation/Interpreting and Theology |
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l Translation/Interpreting from A Glocalization Perspective |
l Translation/Interpreting and Gender Studies |
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l Translation Studies from a Posthuman Perspective |
l Translation/Interpreting and Philosophy of Language |
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l Postcolonialism and Power Relation |
l Translation and Comparative/World Literature |
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l Poets, Writers and Translators |
l Comparative Analysis of Different Translations |
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l Cross-cultural Translation |
l Agency of A Translator/Interpreter |
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l Linguistic Hybridity and Translation |
l Manipulation of A Translator/Interpreter |
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l Audio-visual Translation |
l Training of A Translator/Interpreter |
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l Machine Translation |
If you are interested in presenting your work in this conference, please submit an abstract (about 500 words) in Chinese and/or English with a filled Paper Submission Application Form (downloadable at http://english.scu.edu.tw/?p=3349&lang=en) to liaowei@scu.edu.tw by March 1st, 2021. Click here to download the application form.
Please note: This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures, a pre-recorded presentation will be provided by authors with accepted papers who are unable to attend the conference due to travel bans, home quarantine (either government-enforced or locally monitored), and self-health monitoring.
Important Dates
Abstract submission deadline: March 1st, 2021
Abstract acceptance notification: March 15th, 2021
Full paper submission deadline: May 1st, 2021
Conference date: June 5th, 2021
Contact Information
Willis Liao
Department of English Language and Literature
Address: No. 70, Linxi Rd., Shilin Dist., Taipei City 111, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
Phone: +886-2-28819471 extension 6486
Fax: +886-2-28817609
The international conference Translation Beyond Human Languages and Cultures in Times of Ecological Crises welcomes abstract submissions for the event taking place on 12–13 November 2026 at Yıldız Technical University in Istanbul, Türkiye. Researchers are invited to submit their proposals to beyondhumanconf@gmail.com. SUBMISSIONSEach paper presentation will be allotted 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes for discussion.Submissions for individual presentations should include:- An abstract of no more than 300 words,- A short bionote including name, affiliation, and email address,- Up to five keywords indicating the subject, methodology, and theoretical framework(s).Submissions are open until 01 April 2026.WORKING LANGUAGESAll proposals must be submitted in French or English for peer review by the Scientific Committee. Interpreting between French and English may be offered depending on available resources. Questions and discussions during the conference may take place in both languages.KEYNOTE SPEAKERSMichael Cronin (Trinity College, Dublin) Kobus Marais (University of the Free State, Bloemfontein) Şebnem Susam-Saraeva (University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh)CONFERENCE FEESConference fees will be split into two categories: € 120 regular fee € 90 reduced fee for postgraduate studentsDetails regarding the conference will be shared in due course via the following link: https://avesis.yildiz.edu.tr/researchteamsite/biodemocraticpractices
The Department of Translation, Terminology and Interpreting Studies of the University of Malta, the Graduate Institute of Interpreting and Translation of Shanghai International Studies University and the Department of Theory of Translation and Comparative Linguistics of the National University of Uzbekistan are organizing an international conference in ‘Indirect Translation: A Two-Arched Bridge Between Cultures’ in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on 15-17 April 2026. For further information see the call for papers at https://www.um.edu.mt/media/um/docs/faculties/arts/translation/CallforPapersTashkent2026_FinalUM.pdf
Association of Programmes in Translation and Interpreting UK and IrelandWe are delighted to announce that the 2026 APTIS conference will take place in Wales for the first time, being jointly hosted by Cardiff University and Swansea University. The conference will take place from 15-17 April 2026 in Cardiff, with an optional ‘cultural’ day in Swansea on Saturday 18 April. We welcome abstract submissions for traditional papers, book launches, workshops, and students’ flash talks. Please note that the deadline for proposal is 15th December 2025. For more information and to submit an abstract proposal, please go to our website: https://www.aptis-translation-interpreting.com/aptis-2026
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
