Description
At the turn of the millennium, translation studies scholars contributed to the discipline by reminding researchers that translation is a somatic practice (Robinson 1991) and that translators are (and consequently should be understood as) “people with flesh and blood bodies” (Pym 1998). In 2007, Karen Bennet challenged the rationalistic paradigm of English academic discourse, making the case for subjective, interpersonal modes and standpoints in translation and translation studies research. In 2024, with the unprecedented advancement of AI bots in both the practice of translation and the production of research, using the body as a writing and research tool has perhaps become a radical alternative to virtual intelligence.With this workshop, in an attempt to counter the fact that, historically, translators have remained “incorporeal [and] disembodied” (Hermans 2000) and both translation and research run the risk of also becoming dehumanized, we aim at fostering a reflection on and via the body in translation practice and research. The session will consist of two moments: firstly, selected excerpts from translation memoirs (Jhumpa Lahiri’s Translation Myself and Others; Kate Briggs’s This Little Art; Daniel Hahn’s Catching Fire, among others) will be discussed in terms of senses, sensations and emotions; secondly, through collaborative, phenomenological (Clive Scott) hands-on (re)writing exercises, participants will engage in an auto-theory of embodied translation research. We also hope to create a space for participants to share their experiences in bodily-informed practices, including challenges and opportunities in their research and academic writing. Upon enrollment, an optional reading list comprising a selection of texts that discuss tentative methodologies for embracing the body in translation studies research will be made available to all participants.
| Period | 5 Jun 2024 |
|---|---|
| Event title | II Lisbon Spring School in Translation Studies: the translator, the author, the editor, the client & their others |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Lisboa, PortugalShow on map |