Call for Papers
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE SELF-TRANSLATION: INCLUSION OF DIVERSITY
September 20-21, 2023
Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna
Department of Modern Languages, Literature and Cultures
Aula Convegni, via Cartoleria 5, Bologna
SCIENTIFIC COMMITEE
Andrea Ceccherelli (University of Bologna)
Anthony Cordingley (University Paris 8 and University of Sydney)
Rainier Grutman (University of Ottawa)
Magdalena Heydel (Jagiellonian University in Cracow)
Eugenio Maggi (University of Bologna)
Roberto Mulinacci (University of Bologna)
Alessandro Niero (University of Bologna)
Paola Puccini (University of Bologna)
Francesco Vitucci (University of Bologna)
Alessandro Zironi (University of Bologna)
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Nadzieja Bąkowska (University of Bologna)
Andrea Ceccherelli (University of Bologna)
Guglielmo Gabbiadini (University of Bologna)
Irina Marchesini (University of Bologna)
Nahid Norozi (University of Bologna)
Since the 2011 Bologna conference, the field of self-translation has received increasing attention, which resulted in the broadening of this research area. New approaches enriched what now has become an autonomous branch of Translation Studies, often referred to by scholars as Self-Translation Studies (Anselmi 2012, Lusetti 2018). This follow-up conference aims at approaching the phenomenon of self-translation from a fresh perspective, framing it in terms of the dynamics of diversity/identity and inclusion/exclusion. Indeed, as key aspects of translingualism, these sociocultural elements play a significant role for self-translation.
The conference will privilege case studies and texts from the 20th and 21st centuries, i.e. when the phenomenon of migration reached much greater dimensions than in the past. Particularly in this period, the practice of self-translation served as one of the primary means of identity reflection, giving voice to hybrid selves, both migrant or in exile. Self-translation thus represents a peculiar synthesis between exclusion and inclusion, between the self-alienation of those who do not assimilate and the self-amputation of others who abandon the language of origin by losing themselves in translation (Hoffman 1989).
Self-translation is also a way of overcoming socio-spatial inequities and a response to the challenges of migration, whether political or economic. In this respect, self-translations born in the context of “endogenous” bilingualism gain considerable significance too. “Migrant” and “sedentary” self-translators (as Grutman calls them, in Puccini 2015) experience different conditions, but are united by a common living in-between. This “in-betweenness” is expressed in self-translation as a way of crossing, renegotiating and reinventing linguistic and cultural boundaries. Another privileged line of inquiry includes groups that challenge the dynamics between center, periphery and power (Castro, Mainer, Page 2017), such as minorities, migrants/immigrants/exiles in the postcolonial sphere. Moreover, meaningful insights on the work
of the author-translator can be drawn from various forms of life narratives (Falceri, Gentes, Manterola 2017), such as diaries, letters, testimonies etc.
We welcome papers on general issues as well as specific case studies focusing on the process and/or products of self-translation, the figure of self-translator, etc., analyzed from the perspective of diversity and inclusion. Possible approaches include, but are not limited to, theoretical, linguistic and cultural frameworks.
The conference accepts submissions in English or Italian. Proposals for panels or twenty-minute papers should be sent via e-mail no later than December 31, 2022 to: selftranslation2023@unibo.it. The submissions must include an abstract (maximum 500 words), an essential bibliography, a brief bio note and institutional affiliation.
Notification of acceptance will be announced via e-mail no later than January 31st, 2023. We are exploring the possibility of using the conference as a springboard for a themed, peerreviewed volume, in which selected papers will be published as full-length articles.
Conference fee
100 € - tenured researchers and professors
50€ - non-tenured researchers and PhD students
Payment details will be notified on acceptance of the proposal. The registration fee includes catering and conference materials.
INDICATIVE (AND NON-EXHAUSTIVE) BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anselmi S. (2012). On Self-translation. An exploration in self-translators' teloi and strategies, Milano: LED Edizioni Universitarie
Besemeres M. (2002), Translating One’s Self: Language and Selfhood in Cross-Cultural Autobiography, Oxford/Bern: Peter Lang.
Castro O., Mainer S., Page S. (2017) (eds.), Self-Translation and Power: Negotiating Identities in Multilingual European Contexts, London: Palgrave MacMillan.
Ceccherelli A., Imposti G., Perotto M. (2013) (a cura di), Autotraduzione e riscrittura, Bologna: BUP.
Cordingley A. (2013) (ed.), Selftranslation: Brokering Originality in Hybrid Culture, London, Bloomsbury, 2013.
Falceri G., Gentes E., Manterola E. (2017) (eds.), Narrating the Self in Self-Translation, “Ticontre”, 7.
Ferraro A. (2011) (a cura di), L’autotraduzione nelle letterature migranti, “Oltreoceano”, 5.
Ferraro A., Grutman R. (2016) (éd.), L’autotraduction littéraire: perspectives théoriques, Paris: Garnier.
Hoffman E. (1989), Lost in Translation. A Life in a New Language, New York: Penguin Books.
Lusetti C. (2018), I self-translation studies: panorama di una disciplina, in: G. Cartago, J. Ferrari (a cura di), Momenti di storia dell’autotraduzione, Milano: LED.
Lushenkova Foscolo, A., Smorag-Goldberg M. (2019) (éd.), Plurilinguisme et autotraduction. Langue perdue, langue 'sauvée', Paris: Eur’Orbem.
Puccini P. (2015) (éd.), Regards croisés autour de l’autotraduction, “Interfrancophonies”, 6.