Translation in Russian Contexts: Transcultural, Translingual and Transdisciplinary Points of Departure

Project leaders

Susanna Witt, Associate Professor
Julie Hansen, Associate Professor

Project period

01.01.2014-01.08.2014

Project description

The conference "Translation in Russian Contexts: Transcultural, Translingual and Transdisciplinary Points of Departure" was held on 3-7 June 2014 in Uppsala.

This conference explored the theory, practice and history of translation in various Russian contexts. By bringing together leading scholars within the fields of Slavic Studies and Translation Studies, the conference transcended traditional disciplinary boundaries and aimed to illuminate the many aspects of Russian translation from a variety of scholarly perspectives.  

The field of Translation Studies has recently seen a broadening of geographical frameworks. Attention has shifted from largely Eurocentric concerns to non-European areas and traditions. However, only recently have Russia and Eastern Europe – Europe’s ‘internal Other’ –  been recognized as a distinct ‘translation zone’ with complex historical and social contexts, transcultural and translingual mediations and formative processes. Much work remains to be done, particularly in relation to the vast space successively occupied by the Russian empire, the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation – a geographical area that has seen multifaceted, large-scale translation activities, as well as a long history of sophisticated theoretical reflection, both of which are little known outside its boundaries. This blind spot within Translation Studies has its counterpart within the field of Slavic Studies, where phenomena related to translation and their significance for cultural production remain understudied. This conference set out to fill this gap by focusing on translation in Russian contexts from a variety of theoretical perspectives.  

The conference also explored the phenomena of translingualism and transculturality in relation to various practices and theoretical conceptions of translation. This is of particular relevance due to the heterogeneous ethnic makeup of authors writing in Russian and to the successive waves of emigration to the West. On the basis of Russian-related material, the conference examined the implications of translingual literature and transculturality for the field of Translation Studies.      

Visit conference webpage for more details.

Publications

Special volume: Translation and Interpreting Studies. The Journal of the American Translation and Interpreting Studies Association, ed. S. Witt and J. Hansen, Volume 11, Issue 1, 2016, pp 1 –3. 

Funding

Riksbankens Jubileumsfond and Vetenskapsrådet.