The History and Translation Network (HTN) was established in 2021 in response to the increasing significance of and interest in translation and interpreting history, both in translation and interpreting studies and historical studies (cf. “Manifesto”). The network has since connected a global community of scholars and practitioners from diverse disciplinary backgrounds who share the belief that acts of translation and interpreting are pivotal in the making of history and that considering their historical context is essential in comprehending said activities. One of its main objectives is to foster inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration and facilitate dialogue on the methodological and conceptual aspects of our research endeavors through conferences and other events. This vision was affirmed through the inaugural HTN conference held in Tallinn, Estonia, in May 2022 and the subsequent online follow-up event in May 2023, both of which highlighted the evident demand for such collaborative platforms.
The HTN 2024 Graz sets out to continue the exchange started in these two events. Embracing the thematic focus of “History – Translation – Politics,” this conference foregrounds the understanding of translation and interpreting as historically and politically contextualized activities that can potentially bring about cultural and social transfer and transformation. It probes the influence of politics on these activities while also exploring how translation politics can act as a catalyst for change within specific settings. Building upon the premise that translation is not only an essential element of historical analysis but also a historically situated practice, we welcome submissions that delve into the roles of translators, interpreters, and other pertinent institutions as agents or subjects of transformation. Additionally, we invite contributions that investigate instances of translation and interpreting that both instigate modifications within prevailing economic, political, religious, or social power dynamics and face constraints imposed by them, as well as contributions discussing the methodological added value of translation/interpreting as a lens into history.
Time and Place
The conference will take place on 11-14 September 2024 at the University of Graz, Austria.
Invited speakers:
Carla Mereu Keating (University of Bristol)
E. Natalie Rothman (University of Toronto Scarborough)
Vicente Rafael (University of Washington)
Submissions:
We accept individual papers as well as panel proposals.
Individual paper proposals should be approx. 300 words long.
If you are interested in organising a thematic panel involving 3-4 papers, please submit a preliminary panel proposal with the topic of the panel and a brief description (ca 100 words). If the preliminary proposal is accepted, we will ask a full panel proposal with title, panel description (ca 200 words), panelists and their paper’s proposal (approx. 300 words each).
Individual paper proposals and full panel proposals should be accompanied by short bios (ca 100 words) of the presenters.
Please send all proposals to the email address HTN2024@uni-graz.at, with the keyword “HTN-abstract” or “HTN-panels” on the subject line.
Deadlines:
Preliminary panel proposals: 1 December 2023
Acceptance of preliminary panel proposal: 15 January 2024
Full panel proposal (incl. abstracts for all papers): 1 February 2024
Individual paper proposal: 1 February 2024
Acceptance of individual paper proposals and full panel proposals: 31 March 2024
Registration: 15 May – 15 July 2024
Organizers:
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The conference is organized by the History and Translation Network and the Department of Translation Studies of the University of Graz. Organizing committee: |
Scientific committee: |
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Pekka Kujamäki Hanna Blum Nadja Grbic Gernot Hebenstreit Rafael Schögler Daniele Monticelli Christopher Rundle |
Anne Lange (Tallinn) Chris Rundle (Bologna) Daniele Monticelli (Tallinn) Hephzibah Israel (Edinburgh) Hilary Footitt (Reading) Ine Van linthout (Brussels) Iryna Odrekhivska (Lviv) Larisa Schippel (Vienna) Lieven D’hulst (Leuven) Magda Heydel (Kraków) Michael Schreiber (Mainz) Michele Troy (Hartford) Michele Sisto (Pescara) Outi Paloposki (Turku) Paul Cohen (Toronto) Pekka Kujamäki (Graz) Sanja Perovic (Kings College) Vicente Rafael (Washington) |
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
Call for Papers:Journal: Translation Studies, Special Issue, 21(2), 2028.Theme: "Translation as Post-Occupational Practice? How Non-Professional (Human and Algorithmic) Translators are Driving the New Value Economy".Guest-editors: Lynne Bowker and Luis Perez-Gonzalez.Key dates:31 October 2026: Submission of Abstracts15 December 2026: Decision on Abstracts30 April 2027: Submission Paper for Peer Review30 November 2027: Submission Final ManuscriptMay 2028: Publication DateMore info: https://cfp-translationstudies.my.canva.site/
Call for Papers:Conference: The International Conference Translating and Interpreting in the Era of Algorithms (TIERA).Date: October 9th-11th, 2026Organised by the Department of Foreign Languages, Translation and Interpreting and the MA Science of Translation of the Ionian University.Themes:Translation Technologies and Human AgencyThe Creative Translator and the Algorithmic TurnEthics, Justice, and Responsibility in the Age of AutomationInterpreting FuturesAudiovisual Translation and AccessibilityPedagogical Shifts in Translator and Interpreter EducationCultural Mediation and Posthuman TranslationLegal, Institutional, and Policy PerspectivesIntralingual TranslationTranslation CriticismSubmission Deadline: 20 June 2026.Read more: https://conferences.ionio.gr/tiera/en/about/
Call for Papers:Symposium: Multilingual Archives, New Perspectives: China and the Sinophone World at the End of the Cold WarOrganiser: ALTER research groupLocation: Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), BarcelonaDate: Mid-May 2027Abstract Submission Deadline: 30 June 2026Limited travel subsidies may be available, with priority given to early-career participants with limited access to funding.More info: https://blogs.uoc.edu/alter/symposium-multilingual-archives-new-perspectives/
