Translating Resistance: Literary Activism in Conflict and Solidarity
Hosted by Binghamton University (SUNY), New York
October 3–4, 2026
Scholars, researchers, and practitioners are invited to submit papers for this two-day workshop, hosted by Binghamton University (SUNY), to be held in New York on October 3–4, 2026.
All submitted abstracts will undergo a peer-review process, and acceptance will be based on scholarly quality and relevance to the workshop theme.
We invite scholars, practitioners, and activists with experience in literary activism in contexts of conflict and solidarity to submit abstracts addressing one or more of the following themes:
▪ Literary translation in/around conflict zones (poetry, fiction, drama, life writing): political/material constraints; situated case studies (e.g., Palestine, Yemen, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Myanmar, Latin America).
▪ Solidarity-driven literary translation: poetry, fiction, and theatre; readings or performances; community-based and independent publishing practices.
▪ Translators as activists: agency, ethics, and risk, including questions of visibility and anonymity, security, censorship, and paratextual strategies.
▪ Retranslation as political intervention: feminist, gender-aware, and decolonial retranslations; reclaiming suppressed or marginalized meanings.
▪ Digital circulation and activist infrastructures: volunteer subtitling, social media dissemination, metadata and hashtag politics, and grassroots archiving.
▪ Form and political possibility: why certain literary forms—such as poetry, testimony, and experimental prose—travel as modes of resistance.
▪ Representation and voice: selection biases and gatekeeping practices, avoiding exoticization, and collaborative translation to mitigate appropriation.
Proposals should be submitted by April 30, 2026, via the Google Form
Abstract Submission Deadline: April 30, 2026
Important Dates:
Accepted abstracts will be confirmed by May 15, 2026
Registration opens May 15, 2026 and closes June 15, 2026
The draft program will be available from June 15, 2026
Registration Fees
(In-person attendance, including morning & afternoon sessions + coffee breaks):
▪ Full registration: $50 USD
▪ Discounted registration (student/unwaged): $20 USD
A limited number of micro‑grants are available for precarious or Global South presenters (for travel or registration support). Each grant is $100 per applicant. Details are provided in the Google Form.
Workshop Conveners:
▪ Ahmad Ayyad (Binghamton University)
▪ Abdel Wahab Khalifa (Queen’s University Belfast)
Visit this page for more information: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/iatis-org_cfp-translation-resistance-activity-7429668592796762112-yeHt?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAADAHFiwBi8jC4KbsaPPxHxBkCAx_UoukeoQ
