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CFP: ‘Shelving Translation’: A one day conference on the role of contemporary
literature in English translation
Venue: University of Oxford
Date: 17th April 2004
*Closing date for submissions 01.02.04*
www.shelvingtranslation.com
The idea that the act of translation should be visible in the finished work has
come to dominate academic discussions of translated literature. This imperative
arises from largely ethical considerations: the English language should not
subsume the original, the reader should be made to confront the otherness of
the foreign culture. Consequently, the translated text is set apart and
expected to fulfil a role over and above that of literature in general. In
order to investigate this distinction, we are concentrating on the afterlife of
the translated text on the shelf.
The questions we are asking, therefore, pertain not to the process but to the
product of translation:
What is the role of the translated text in Britain today?
How does it differ from that of the English language text?
We are inviting publishers, translators, reviewers and academics to come and
help us explore these issues. We welcome papers that look at translated texts
by contemporary writers from any language. Your approach could be comparative -
for example, how the work has been received at home and abroad. You may want to
examine the way in which a particular foreign literature is represented in
Britain, or you might consider genre-specific reception: detective fiction,
children’s literature, autobiography etc. We want to know what is out there on
the shelves and what this means for the British reading public. What is the
true potential and purpose of contemporary literature available in English
translation?
Confirmed speakers include: Anthea Bell (Translator), Christopher MacLehose
(Publisher at Harvill Press / Random House)
Proposals should suit a 25 minute presentation. Abstracts of 250 words should
be sent to either Brenda Garvey or Rebecca Beard by 1st February 2004. If you
have any queries please do not hesitate to contact either of us.
Brenda Garvey, Christ Church, Oxford, OX1 1DP
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Rebecca Beard, New College, Oxford, OX1 3BN
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Rebecca Beard
College Lecturer in German
St. Edmund Hall, Oxford
OX1 4AR
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