4th International Conference on Itineraries in Translation History

December 13-15, 2018
at the University of Tartu, Estonia
 

Translation and Performative Practices: Itineraries in Translation History

In cooperation with Tallinn University
 

Translation and interpreting history includes various periods, practices and genres. Some are more stable and thus more visible and obvious than others, some are more hidden, less distinct and harder to study. One of the most complex areas in the history of translation is the translation of texts that are meant to be performed: such translations are rarely systematically studied and are bypassed in most translation histories. Consequently, there is hardly any established methodology in historical research on the translations of performance arts and the question still stands: how can we best describe translations of complicated polycoded texts? How can we include in the history of translation those texts that enter the target audience not only verbally but as dramatized and/or musical performances?  

The 4th conference of the Itineraries in Translation History series will focus on the elusive translation and interpreting practices related to texts that are in constant change and movement from a historical perspective. Special attention will be paid to translations of theatrical texts and audiovisual translation in film and television, but we also welcome papers dedicated to various problems related to translating other verbal and nonverbal sign systems and to the issues of inter- and intrasemiotic translation.
 

The themes addressed in the conference may include, but are not restricted to, the following:

• The transfer of theatrical texts across linguistic and cultural borders
• New translations for new audiences: interpretations spurred by changes in socio-cultural context and agency (gender, ethnicity, age, expectation, experience)
• Translations to be performed vs translations to be read in theatre, cinema and television 
• Reader-oriented translations and the openness of theatre translation
• The role of the new media in translation for theatre, cinema and television
• The musical performance of translation
• Functional and ideological aspects of translation for theatre, cinema and television
• Research methods in translation for theatre, cinema and television
• Keeping to the text: precision and performance
• Theatre translation and emerging national identities
• Theatre research and translation studies
• Universal texts: Erasing cultural markers
• The Other in theatre translation
• Translation and the history of the Opera
• Issues of accessibility in theatre, film and television from a historical perspective: subtitling for the deaf and hard of hearing, audio description, sign language interpreting, etc.