What is the Cambridge Conversations in Translation group about?
CCiT aims to provide a forum for anyone and everyone with an academic and/or practical interest in translation to come together and exchange ideas. Translation, by its very nature, is an activity that invites interdisciplinary approaches. Our speakers and workshop participants come from fields as diverse as literary studies, linguistics, philosophy, history, theology, anthropology and music. All these disciplines have something to say about translation and we are excited by the possibilities for dialogue that our series will offer. We are also particularly interested in getting academics and professional translators talking to one another. There is a lot of fascinating research on translation being carried out in the different Faculties in a more or less isolated fashion, but there is currently no institutional structure within the University to bring colleagues and students together. Our group comes to fill this gap.
What are the big themes you are dealing with?
We will be addressing six areas in the course of the year: Translation and Poetry, Translation and the Sacred Text (Michaelmas term), Translation and Philosophy, Translation and the Periphery (Lent term), Translation and Children’s Literature and Translation and Music (Easter term). For each of these topics we will be holding one panel discussion and, two weeks later, a thematically-related workshop that will give participants the opportunity to engage with translation at a more practical level. The combination of more speculative approaches and the actual practice of translation is a core feature of the CCiT series.
Who will your group be of interest to?
Anyone with an interest in translation, whether from a more theoretical or practical perspective. Primarily we envisage an audience of academics, translators, writers and graduate and undergraduate students, but everyone is welcome.
Tell us about the seminars and events you have planned.
A series of panel discussions and workshops will bring together practitioners and scholars from fields as diverse as literary studies, linguistics, theology, history, music, philosophy, and anthropology. The resulting discussions will encourage an engagement with both practice and theory as they draw on the experiences of professional translators alongside more speculative theoretical frameworks and methodologies.
How can people find out more?
You can follow the group on Facebook or Twitter, plus we have a section on the CRASSH website and a dedicated mailing list.
Is there anything else you’d like people to know about your group?
- Do come along! This promises to be a really exciting and thought-provoking series.
- The Cambridge Conversations in Translation are holding seminars and workshops throughout the academic year. The events for the coming term are Translation and Philosophy (20 January) and Translation and the Periphery (17 February).
