Traditionally, translation (including interpreting) has been understood as an act of overcoming pre-existing linguistic and cultural differences. More recently, however, this understanding has been contested in Translation Studies. The idea that translation produces the differences it claims to overcome and that such differences can be regarded as effects of translation rather than conditions preceding it has been theoretically addressed with concepts like bordering (Sakai 2018, cf. Dizdar 2019, 2021). By producing differences and creating borders, translation is also effective in the construction of “collectivities” (Dizdar/Rozmyslowicz 2023) in the social world. When it marks a difference between languages, it simultaneously differentiates between individual speakers of a given language and between communities – which may differ in size and kind: national communities (e.g. Cronin 1996; Kothari 2007; Dizdar/Gipper/Schreiber 2015), gender identities (Simon 1996; Baer/Kaindl 2018; Robinson 2019), deaf and hearing communities (Young/Napier/Oram 2020), humans and machines (Rozmyslowicz 2023) – in short: between all sorts of collectivities (Dizdar/Rozmyslowicz 2023).
The conference addresses the question of how translation participates in the construction and undoing of differences in the social world and how it sorts people into categories. Which categories become relevant in which situation and field (politics, science, law, religion, art etc.)? And how do they interact? Moreover: which categories and distinctions are inscribed in concepts and theories of translation? Which ‘centrisms’ (e.g. eurocentrism, anthropocentrism) or ‘biases’ can be identified?
These and other related questions concerning translation’s power to construct difference can be discussed with reference to various empirical contexts or on a general theoretical level. The conference welcomes contributions on its main topic in the context of all research fields and perspectives. It aims to foster and intensify dialogue on translation by bringing together researchers from various backgrounds.
Deadline for abstracts: 30 June 2024
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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.
