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Call for papers: Graduate Student Conference on Translation Studies
“Reading Between the Lines: Interdisciplinary Dialogue in an Expanding Field.”
April 27-28, 2013
University of Massachusetts Amherst

The graduate students in the Comparative Literature program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are pleased to announce the first biennial Amherst Graduate Student Conference in Translation Studies, to be held on at UMass Amherst from April 27-28, 2013.

This year’s conference title is “Reading Between the Lines: Interdisciplinary Dialogue in an Expanding Field.” We invite submissions of 350-word abstracts addressing the evolution of Translation Studies as a scholarly discipline, taking into account the shift from text to context, from colonial to post-colonial and from language to culture. Our aim is to cross disciplinary lines and foster dialogue concerning the question of translation and its role in other fields, such as sociology, philosophy, communications and the natural sciences. Translation is a tool for exchanging ideas, whether they be artistic, linguistic, cultural, technical or theoretical. No discipline can escape the use of translation, and every discipline can benefit from it.

This conference aims to provide a forum for young researchers from diverse backgrounds and academic fields united by a common interest in translation and its broader applications.

Key questions we hope to address include:
1. What role does translation play in shaping different disciplines?
2. How does translation influence interdisciplinary discourse?
3. Should we consider Translation Studies a discipline in its own right?
4. To what extent do translators act as interdisciplinary migrants?
5. What can other disciplines offer us in the way of developing theories of translation?
6. How does our knowledge of other disciplines – such as politics, history, literature, etc. – influence how we translate?

Proposals are due January 15, 2012. Please include the title of your presentation, your name, affiliation, and contact information. Participants will be notified of their acceptance in February.

All applications are to be sent to umasstranslationconference2013@gmail.com.