Transcultural Encounters: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Language, History, and Culture in a Global Society
PGR Student-led Conference – Call for Papers
Thursday 6th of June 2024, Cardiff University
Language, history, and culture are the markers that both bring together and divide people, societies, and the world. Following the success of last year’s event, we will be running another in-person, free-to-attend conference, hosted by Cardiff University’s School of Modern Languages and supported by the ESRC/Wales Doctoral Training Partnership. This conference aims to highlight and celebrate interdisciplinary research that explores how language, history, and culture define us, and how we define them, in an interconnected global society. Drawing from three research streams—history and heritage; translation and interpreting; and global language-based area studies—we are asking how postgraduate students from across the humanities and social sciences navigate these themes in their research.
The conference aims to further establish a communication platform between PGR students from different fields. Like last year, it covers a wide range of areas in the humanities and social sciences and provides participants with opportunities for sharing results, collaborating on research, and gaining new knowledge. Participants will receive feedback on their papers from their peers and from experts in a variety of disciplines. They will attend talks by keynote speakers, engage in networking, and benefit from the highly popular methods workshops and surgeries on research-related topics. For early-stage PGR students, the conference will offer valuable insights and guidance on starting a career in research.
We are looking for papers that cover (but are not limited to) the following subthemes:
Understanding how the past is represented and portrayed can reveal insights into our present. A multicultural, multilingual, and transnational approach to history, heritage, and culture—here in Wales, in the wider UK, and abroad—illustrates human connections made not just across space, but across time. Methodologies encompassing media sources—including photography, film, radio, and both literary and graphic novels—and investigating processes of musealisation and memorialisation, are testament to how everything from earth-shattering events to the mundane everyday all contribute to shaping contemporary understandings of the past. We welcome abstracts that examine the role of history and heritage in today’s increasingly globalised and interconnected world. Possible topics include:
The power of translation in connecting human beings can never be overstated, from political negotiations to daily conversations, from literary works to films and videogames, from preserving historical memories to pushing forward societal changes. Translation empowers and enables us to express ourselves, while demanding that we reflect in more depth on our relationship with “others”—be they other people, other cultures, or other ideologies. As professions and as subjects of research, however, translation and interpreting are in the midst of a paradigmatic shift, owing to evolving factors such as the prevalence of non-professional practices and the rise of generative AI technologies. Research exploring the challenges and opportunities presented by these contemporary changes is more valuable than ever. We welcome abstracts that examine the role of translation and interpreting in today’s increasingly globalised and interconnected world. Possible topics include:
Global language-based area studies:
We are interested in the politics, society, languages, and cultures of the connected world, placing an emphasis on transnational phenomena, creative and critical thinking, and social science- and humanities-led methodologies in addressing the crises of our times. We place particular emphasis on rethinking area studies, breaking disciplinary boundaries, and using innovative research methods and theoretical perspectives. We welcome abstracts that examine the role of global language-based studies in today’s increasingly globalised and interconnected world. Possible topics include:
Individual and panel paper submissions are due by 5pm on the 9th of May 2024 and should include an abstract (maximum 250 words), three-five keywords, and a biographical note (maximum 150 words). Please submit a Word document to mlangconference@cardiff.ac.uk. We will let you know the outcome of your submission by the 16th of May 2024. We can also advise on accommodation arrangements, if required.
Venue:
Glamorgan Building, Cardiff University
King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3WT
Local Organising Committee:
Dr Andrew Dowling Zoey Morgan Emily Bush Jacob Lloyd Elise Unwin Shanshan Xie Chen Yang
If you have any questions, please get in touch with us at mlangconference@cardiff.ac.uk.
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
Call for Papers:The International Conference for Translation Researchers and Practitioners welcomes abstract submissions on one of the following topics:Translating neurodivergent voices and textsNeurodiversity and translation theoryNeurodiversity and translatorial identityTranslating for neurodiverse audiencesNeurodiversity in the translation industry and workplaceNeurodiversity in the translation classroomNeurodiversity in the translation facultyNeurodiversity and cognitive translation researchDate and venue: online, 18-19 March 2027Organisers: Dr. Carmen Reisinger, Université du Mons and KU LeuvenProf. Susan Pickford, Faculty of Translation and Interpreting, University of GenevaKeynote speakers: Dr. Anna Stenning, University of SouthamptonNaomi Cahen, author and autism advocate,Lynette Raven, translatorHiba Bayyat, translator and certified ADHD and AuDHD coachAbstracts should be sent to translationneurodiversity@gmail.com by 31 May 2026.
