We are delighted to host the 4th annual conference of the Translation Studies Network of Ireland at the University of Galway, on April 25-26, 2024. This year, the theme of the conference is “Translation and Creativity,” which mirrors our city’s proud tradition of combining grass roots creativity with the delivery of sophisticated arts and creative spectacles. 

The way in which translation has intersected with creativity ranges from the Romantic stereotype of the creator as individual genius to the ultimate frontier of deep learning and machine translation. In this conference we wish to explore linguistic, cultural, modal, disciplinary, multimedia and performative creativity as it translates between forms, languages, people, approaches and media.

If just before the turn of the millennium translation was seen as mainly dependent on the distance from the original, as well as on print as the medium of choice, it has steadily acquired a more dialogic and re-creational dimension, becoming an integral part of the creative writing process to the point to which it can even create new literature in computer-mediated environments. With more attention paid to re-writing processes and sociolinguistic factors, the “creative wave” in translation studies has encompassed processes such as self-translation, re-translation, multimodality, hybridity and artistic expression. Finally, and without exhausting the wealth of areas in which translators’ creativity plays a seminal role, migration in the 21^st century and other significant population displacements have increased our awareness of the importance of translation for new community building and have drastically reshaped the dynamics between norms and creativity.

In this conference we welcome any contributions introducing interdisciplinary approaches or mixed methods to study translation and creativity, and we also welcome presentations which showcase creative practice in translation. A non-exhaustive list of possible topics for presentations includes:

• Translation and/as creative writing
• Translation, creative media and multimodality
• Creativity in translation processes/workflows
• Machine translation and creativity
• Interdisciplinarity as creative approach
• Creativity and interpreting
• Translation as an art form
• Translation, creativity and environment
• Minority approaches to translation as creativity
• Beyond (in)visibility: claiming translators’ identity as creative individuals
• Playfulness in translation
• Translation, transcreation and adaptation in multimodal contexts
• Translation, adaptation and subversion across different art forms
• Creative approaches to translation research methodology
• Translation as creative approach in resilient community building
• Creativity in volunteer or professional settings
• Creativity and translation shift: novelty, acceptability, fluency and flexibility
• Socio-political agendas promoted or challenged by creative translational acts

Deadline for abstracts: 20 Jan 2024

For more information, click here.

Publisher: Routledge

Series: Routledge Studies in Chinese Translation

Deadline for abstracts: 15 January 2024

Editors:

• Wenqian Zhang, University of Exeter, UK

• Sui He, Swansea University, UK

Chinese Internet literature (CIL), also known as Chinese online/web/network literature, refers to“Chinese-language writing, either in established literary genres or in innovative literary forms, writtenespecially for publication in an interactive online context and meant to be read on-screen” (Hockx 2015,4). While CIL is commonly equated with Chinese web-based genre fiction known for entertainmentvalue, it encompasses a broader range of genres such as poetry and comic strips, covering realisticthemes prevailing in serious literature (Inwood 2016; Feng 2021). CIL is born-digital, but it differsessentially from ‘electronic literature’ or ‘digital literature’ that originated in the West. While Westerne-literature is “more technology-oriented” (Duan 2018, 670) and usually involves “some sort ofcomputer programming or code” (Hockx 2015, 5–6), CIL is relatively less technologised andexperimental in format. In fact, what makes CIL stand out is its interactive features facilitated byprofessional literary platforms, its underlying profit motive, and mass participation in terms of literarywriting, reading and criticism (Hockx 2015).Over the past three decades, the proliferation of CIL has been fuelled by advancements in internettechnology and formulation of larger social media communities, alongside other key factors such aseconomic growth and the constantly changing ideological and political discourses in and outsidemainland China. One notable landmark in the trajectory of CIL is the implementation of a pay-per-readbusiness model by the literary website Qidian (起点 Starting Points) in 2003 – in this model, Qidiancharges readers for accessing serialised popular novels and their ‘VIP chapters’ (Hockx 2015, 110). Thisstep marks the beginning of the commodification of CIL. It reshapes the literary writing practices andauthor-reader/producer-consumer dynamics in Chinese cyberspace (Schleep 2015, Tian and Adorjan2016). Further developments along this line have enabled CIL to grow into a streamlined industry andmature ecosystem, with a vast number of popular titles being adapted into films, TV/web series, videogames and other types of media products, generating enormous economic value and revenue.

The influence of CIL has travelled across geographical and linguistic borders. Platforms such asWuxiaworld, Webnovel, Chapters and TapRead have made significant contributions to the disseminationof CIL to the global audience. In addition to translations published on authorised literary platforms, fantranslations spread within fan communities form a grey zone for less-regulated consumption of CILaround the world. To lower the cost and shorten the turnaround time of translating CIL, literaryplatforms have shifted their attention to AI-powered translation. For example, Webnovel has integratedLingoCloud (an AI-powered translation extension) into its website. Other practitioners in the industry,such as Funstory.ai Ltd. (推文科技 tuiwen keji), provide the service of “AI-assisted multilingualtranslation and processing, front cover design, booklist creating, book review collecting, chapter-by-chapter performance analysis and localisation” in order to promote online literature overseas(funstory.ai).To date, there has been an extensive body of research on CIL in literary, gender, platform and culturalstudies in a monolingual stance (e.g., Feng 2013; Shao 2016; Ouyang 2018), but only a handful ofscholarly articles delve specifically into its interlingual, intersemiotic and intercultural disseminationon the global stage (e.g., Cao 2021; Chang and Gao 2022; Chen 2023; Li 2021). To bridge this gap, thisvolume will be the first book in English that offers a critical examination of the translation, adaptationand circulation of CIL. As a timely addition to the scholarship on this topic, we aim to provide acontextual background and a framework for navigating the emerging subfield in the literary landscape,approaching its translation and dissemination across national, cultural, medial and linguistic borders.We welcome contributions that explore topics including but not limited to:

o Interdisciplinary attempts for addressing the methodological and theoretical considerations oftranslating CIL (e.g., gender studies, fan studies, literary studies, media studies, cultural studies,marketing studies, digital humanities, human-machine interaction, etc.);

o Theoretical underpinnings in terms of translation studies (e.g., audiovisual translation,multimodality, user-centred translation, collaborative translation, localisation, literarytranslation, etc.);

o Exploring and (re-)defining the terminologies and characteristics associated with the(sub)genres of CIL in light of its interlingual, intersemotic and/or intercultural transmission;and what does CIL mean for how we understand literature and translation;

o Agents involved in the translation, adaptation and dissemination of CIL (e.g., translators,literary websites/platforms, readers, streaming services, governmental bodies, etc.) – either aspractical reflections or research observations;o Social, political and technical infrastructures related to the translation and dissemination of CIL(e.g., state censorship and policies, publishing patterns and models, marketing and promotionalactivities, AI-assisted/machine translation of CIL, etc.);

o The construction of transmedia universe and IPs (e.g., the adaptation of popular literary titlesinto web series, video games, films, manga, animation, etc.);

o Assessment, review and reception of CIL and their translations

To propose a chapter, please submit an abstract (500 words maximum, excluding references) and ashort bio (100 words maximum) to both This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 15January 2024. Please send your email with a subject line in the format of “TransCIL + Author name”.Ideally, abstracts should provide details about the research questions, methodologies, and, if possible,the results

(6) (PDF) Call for Papers | Edited Volume: Translating Chinese Internet Literature: Global Adaptation and Circulation (Routledge, 2025). Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/375598118_Call_for_Papers_Edited_Volume_Translating_Chinese_Internet_Literature_Global_Adaptation_and_Circulation_Routledge_2025 [accessed Dec 12 2023].

Translation Studies scholars have shown a growing interest in the role affect and emotions play in the translation process. Research in this vein has explored links between affect and translation in various domains, including literature, business, governance, and translator/interpreter training (Kußmaul 1991, Jääskeläinen 1996, Ruokonen & Koskinen 2017, Shadman 2020). Various methodologies have been brought to bear, ranging from qualitative methods such as TAP (Jääskeläinen 1996), interviews (Risku & Meinx 2021), and narrative accounts (Ruokonen & Koskinen 2017). These tools have proven useful in identifying and investigating the parameters that affect translators’ and interpreters’ performance and how emotional intelligence informs the translation process (Shadman 2020, Hubscher-Davidson 2021, Rojo 2017). Despite the great interdisciplinary potential of interfacing insights from psychology and cognitive scienceswith Translation Studies, researchers have thus far primarily focused on emotions from a cognitive perspective only. One notable exception is Kaisa Koskinen’s Translation and Affect: Essays on Sticky Affects and Translational Affective (2020), which invites scholars to rethink the role of “affect” in translation by including cultural and sociological approaches that highlight the relevance of affect theory to Translation Studies. Building on Koskinen’s pioneering work, this volume seeks to advance our understanding of affect’s interplay in translational phenomena by contributing new methodological and conceptual insights and exploring new empirical domains.

One indication of the need for conceptual elaboration is the profusion of different definitions of affect. Koskinen understands affect as a “body-mind complex that directs a person towards a desired state of affairs through a process of change” (13). Under this framework, affect is “bodily grounded. We can only be affected by what our sensory systems register, and this is constrained by both our bodily capacities and our material location” (179). Translation can thus be viewed as an activity in which affect plays an important role. Following Koskinen’s approach, we are interested in exploring the links between the individual and the social by highlighting emotional and physiological aspects involved in translation. Our volume hopes to build on this conceptualisation of affect that privileges human experience in times when technological advances often take centre stage, without forgetting that translation technologies also affect the translator and other translation actors both cognitively and socially (Pym, 2011). For instance, the use of increasingly high-performance digital tools and machine translation transforms the translator’s tasks and raises new questions regarding dialogue (Pym, 2011), agency, creativity, or individual voices, all of which arguably fall into the realm of affect (Koskinen, 2020: 155). Taking this into consideration, the goal of this volume is twofold. Firstly, it pursues a “sociocultural theorization of the roles of affect in translatorial activities” (6). Secondly, it aims to connect affect to the subfield of translator studies, which covers “sociology, culture and cognition” (Chesterman 2009: 13), in order to articulate the need for research focused on the agents and actors involved in translation rather than solely on the translated text. Agent- and process-oriented research allows for an in-depth examination of the translator’s agency and the influence of culture and society on their choices. Similarly, widely discussed questions such as translator training, ethics, and the translator’s (in)visibility need revisiting in light of affect theory.

Since translation is a cultural rather than a solely linguistic act, and given that affect is embedded in culture and is context-dependent, the intersection of affect and translation is best studied not only from an interdisciplinary point of view, but also through an exploration of novel and combined methods that pertain to the realm of ethnographic, literary-artistic, philosophical, cultural studies. In line with the contributions of Goldfajn (2020) and Koskinen hailing from cultural studies, this volume seeks to highlight the centrality of affect and emotions in translation and to offer new avenues for exploring future directions in the discipline. We welcome diverse perspectives, methodologies, and case studies that explore the cultural and social nature of both affect and translation, such as – but not exclusive to – cognitive, gendered, embodied, postcolonial, psychological and historical approaches that address one or more of the following questions: 

– What is the role of affect on and between the different agents/actors in the translation field? 

– How does translation shape affect in specific contexts or in relation to certain social phenomena? This question could be linked to climate change narratives, heritage, politics, journalism, current events, science, literature, national/cultural identity, censorship, etc. 

– How are translators and interpreters affected by technology (e.g., CAT tools, translation memories, AI)? What could be the possible impacts on the future development of the profession? 

– To what extent do sociocultural and economic factors such as gender, education, linguistic policies, and cultural politics influence affect, particularly in translation situations? What can this teach us about translators and the translation process? 

– How can a more explicit focus on affect advance the state of the art in other areas of interest in TS, such as self-translation, retranslation, and untranslatability? 

Deadline for abstracts: 15 December 2023

For more information, click here.

Over the centuries, Slavic countries’ history and culture have been marked by countless attempts at revolution, rebellion, and transgression from the imposed norm, paired with a strong desire to adhere to forms of tradition, ideology, or even political regimes. Examples of such behaviour in the context of historical events are the various protests and riots that have spanned the last century in the Slavic area, beginning from the October Revolution in 1917, moving towards Color Revolutions in the early 2000s and the events surrounding Ukrainian Euromajdan in 2014 and Belarusian protest movements in 2020. As for artistic and literary environments, equally frequent have been attempts to deviate from the imposed norm to rework tradition or propose new aesthetic schemes, which have resulted, for instance, in numerous alternations between «archaists» and «innovators» (Yu. Tynyanov, 1929, Arkhaisty i novatory). At the same time, cultures belonging to the Slavic area have often engaged in dialogue with European tradition, which was perceived as more prestigious. Such dialogue with the close Western counterpart has been engaged either in the attempt to pursue integration with its consolidated aesthetic tradition or, at times, in the desire to differentiate themselves and assert their own specificity. 

Suggesting a theoretical frame, one can observe similarities between the Slavic area’s cultural interactions and the semiosphere model theorised by Jurij Lotman (Yu. Lotman, 1984, On the semiosphere). Slavic cultures would live, accordingly, in a dual «semiotic space»: an internal space and an external one, closer to European standards. As the semiosphere itself, these two spaces are heterogeneous and asymmetrical. Such asymmetry between the codified languages placed at the centre of the system, and the less structured ones placed at its periphery, makes possible a continuous flow of creation and destruction of ‘norms’, in which elements take on meaning as a result of previously developed and shared codes, subject to constant renewal.

The adherence to which norms has marked the development of Slavic cultures? Which phenomena have given rise to processes of deviation and change? How have these opposing tendencies contributed to the development of literary tradition, to the normalisation of language, to the imposition or subversion of social and political order?

The conference intends to discuss the various possible ways of approaching the topic. Proposals may explore - without being limited to - the following research areas related to  Slavic cultures: languages and linguistics; literature, art and cultural studies; cinema and theatre; language teaching; translatology and translation studies; historical, political and socio-cultural studies.

Deadline for abstracts: 20 November 2023

For more information, click here.

The Département d’études françaises in the Faculty of Arts and Science at Concordia University invites applications for a tenure-track position in Translation and Translation Studies from French to English at the rank of Assistant Professor. We are seeking candidates with expertise in digital studies, applied AI, or applied translation technologies in relation to translation (general, specialized, or literary), terminology, localization, audiovisual translation, post-editing or related practices. The successful candidate will be able to contribute to the pedagogical integration of technologies in both the translation programs and the language and literature programs offered by the Department. Duties include research, teaching at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, and service to the institution. 

Deadline for applications: 1 December 2023

For more information, click here.

The School of Arts, English and Languages (AEL) at Queen’s University Belfast, is currently seeking to appoint an exceptional candidate to the post of Lecturer (Education) in French Studies. You will teach at undergraduate level in the Subject Area of French and contribute to School administration /outreach /student engagement activity.

The successful candidate must have, and your application should clearly demonstrate that you meet the following criteria:

• Hold or about to complete a PhD in an area of French Studies.
• Native or near native fluency in French (Native speakers of French should have near native fluency in English).
• Evidence of language teaching experience at tertiary level.
• Ability to design course materials and to plan and organise the delivery and assessment of taught courses in French Studies.
• Ability to contribute fully to the French Studies Curriculum at UG level.

Please note the above are not an exhaustive list.  For further information about the role including the essential and desirable criteria, please click on the Candidate Information link below.

This is a fixed term post for 6 months.  Fixed term contract posts are available for the stated period in the first instance but in particular circumstances may be renewed or made permanent subject to availability of funding.

Deadline for applications: 20 November 2023

For more information, click here.

It is anticipated that a hybrid working pattern can be adopted for this role, where the successful candidate can work from home and the office. However, as this role is contractually aligned to our Milton Keynes office it is expected that some attendance in the office will be required when necessary and in response to business needs.

Change your career, change lives

The Open University is the UK’s largest university, a world leader in flexible part-time education combining a mission to widen access to higher education with research excellence, transforming lives through education.

The Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies works across a range of disciplines including education, childhood and youth, health and social care, youth work, social work, languages and applied linguistics, nursing, and sport and fitness; organised as three schools. We work proactively, taking an innovative approach to teaching and learning; develop collaborative and effective partnerships with employers and other institutions; and engage in cutting edge, action oriented and internationally recognised research.

The role

The postholder will contribute to the production and delivery of French Language and Culture modules at Undergraduate Level, and of Translation Studies at Postgraduate level. They will be research active and contribute to the management, administration, and coordination of part of the teaching programme.

Skills and experience

• A PhD in the area of French Studies, Translation Studies or other relevant discipline
• Higher Education knowledge and experience necessary to contribute to the development, production, and presentation of modules in French Language and Culture, and Translation Studies
• A strong record of research that is commensurate to the position.
• Excellent command of spoken and written English and French (level of proficiency equivalent to CEFR C2 (mastery)

Deadline for applications: 11 December 2023

For more information, click here.

To complement existing excellence in CTS in researching the integration of technologies in translation and interpreting, applications are invited for the position of Lecturer in Translation Studies with a specific focus on research in interpreting. The post holder will make a strong contribution to achieving the strategic goals of CTS’s expanding research programme. She/he will also contribute to PhD supervision and to postgraduate teaching on CTS’s interpreting-related programmes and will develop updates of our teaching portfolio to ensure it embraces emerging industry and research trends.

Deadline for applications: 20 November

For more information, click here.

We welcome proposals for conceptual papers as well as case studies and empirical research contributions that address the labour and work of translation and interpreting in both theory and practice. Please send your extended abstract (700-800 words, excluding references) to both editors Cornelia Zwischenberger (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and Alexa Alfer (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) by 15 January 2023.

Further Information: https://transcultcom.univie.ac.at/news-and-events/news-detail/news/call-for-papers-special-issue-of-traget/

The conference Legal Translation & Interpreting on the move is the closing event of the 2022-2023 edition of the 1st-Level Master programme in Legal Translation offered by the Department of Legal, Language, Interpreting and Translation Studies of the University of Trieste.

The conference is also part of the events organised on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting (SSLMIT) as well as the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the University of Trieste.

The conference aims to contribute to the discussion on the key role of legal translators and interpreters in a wide variety of areas, providing a forum in which academics and practitioners can benefit from the exchange of ideas based on research projects as well as professional experiences.

With a view to exploring the new opportunities and threats related to the fast-paced technological advancement and the rapidly changing professional landscape, in terms of both job profiles and market developments, the conference intends to encourage reflection on the various themes listed below and will address issues including, but not limited to, the following topics:

- Law, language, translation & interpreting and Artificial Intelligence

- Legal/community/court interpreting

- Training the legal translators and interpreters of the future

- Legal translation & interpreting competence: research and practice

- Legal institutional translation & interpreting

- Emerging demands and professional profiles

- Law, literature and translation

- Law on the screen: legal translation & audiovisual translation

- Legal translation, clear writing and language simplification

- Legal translation and transcreation

- Legal translation and legal design

- Legal translation & interpreting and crisis/risk communication

- Legal translation & interpreting and migration

- Legal translation & interpreting and human rights

- Ideology in legal translation & interpreting research and practice

- Gender, law, translation & interpreting

Deadline for abstracts: 30 November 2023

For more information, click here.