糖心TV

Call for Registration

29-30 September 2023, University of 糖心TV

Organised by Dr Arianna Autieri (Goldsmiths, University of London), Dr Ian Ellison (University of Kent and Goethe-Universit盲t Frankfurt) and Dr Caroline Summers (University of 糖心TV)

Registration: 拢60 (standard) / 拢30 (postgraduate), via this form. Registration deadline: 14^th September 2023.

A limited number of bursaries are available to postgraduate / early career researchers attending the conference. If you would like to apply for one of these, please submit your application using by 5pm on 31^st August 2023.

Keynote speakers:

• Dr Julia Ng (Goldsmiths, University of London)
• Professor Douglas Robinson (Chinese University of Hong Kong)
• Professor Duncan Large (BCLT, University of East Anglia)
• Dr Chantal Wright (Zurich University of Applied Sciences)

2023 marks the publication centenary of Walter Benjamin鈥檚 seminal essay on translation, Die Aufgabe des 脺bersetzers [The Task of the Translator]. First appearing as a foreword to his translation of Baudelaire鈥檚 Tableaux Parisiens, the essay outlines Benjamin鈥檚 concept of the Fortleben [afterlife] of the literary text through translation. It has a central place in the canon of translation theory: it has been translated into many languages, is regularly included in Translation Studies readers and is core reading on taught courses in Translation Studies. Benjamin鈥檚 ideas about the relationship between a text and its translation, and about the inherent 鈥榯ranslatability鈥� of some texts, have been influential across Translation Studies and Comparative Literature, where the term 鈥榓fterlife鈥� is both widely used and much debated in relation to texts and their authors. Discussion of the essay continues, with recent responses to Benjamin including Chantal Wright鈥檚 translation of Antoine Berman鈥檚 The Age of Translation (2018), and Douglas Robinson鈥檚 Translation as a Form (2023), a book-length commentary that deconstructs Benjamin鈥檚 essay in detail.

Since Die Aufgabe was first published, however, there have been seismic changes in the theories and frameworks through which we understand translation. Translation Studies has been established as an academic discipline and has expanded far beyond a focus on literary or even verbal texts; advances in translation technology have questioned the philosophical and ethical stakes of the act of translation; and scholars of both translation and comparative literature have challenged the very principle of 鈥榯ranslatability鈥� (Apter 2013). There has also been criticism of the translation of Benjamin鈥檚 essay itself, calling into question the extent to which it should form a foundation for theoretical approaches in Translation Studies. In the centenary year of the essay鈥檚 publication, the scholarly discourses on Benjamin and translation are well positioned to look critically at this key text and re-evaluate its significance.

Responding both to the central position of Benjamin鈥檚 essay in the theoretical canon and to recent theoretical directions that encourage us to see it in a new light, this conference engages critically with The Task of the Translator in the context of contemporary theories of translation, philosophy and literature. Rather than enshrining the essay on the basis of its longevity, the conference brings together scholars from Translation Studies, Comparative Literature, Benjamin Studies and beyond, to create an interdisciplinary space for a reassessment of Benjamin鈥檚 ideas and their legacy (or afterlife).

Please direct any queries to caroline.summers@warwick.ac.uk.

Full programme:

Full programme and abstracts also available to download here.

Friday 29th September 2023 Due to the strike action called by the University and College Union (UCU), we will be unable to run the conference as planned. We have moved all sessions to Saturday 30th September. However, we will make arrangements for a social gathering on Friday 29th September. These will be entirely optional and will be independent of the conference programme. More details will follow in due course.
Saturday 30th September 2023 [Oculus 0.01] (Registration and coffee open from 8.00)
8.30-8.45	Welcome
8.45-10.15	Panel 1: Theoretical readings of Benjamin
	Kathryn Batchelor Benjamin Living On through Derrida: Translatability, Untranslatability, the Afterlife and the Secret		Sofia Cumming 鈥楳astering difference鈥�: Benjamin, Blanchot and the Limits of Translatability			Brian O鈥橩eeffe Theodor Adorno, reader of Benjamin鈥檚 鈥淭he Task of the Translator鈥�
10.15-10.25	Break
10.25-11.25	Keynote 1: Of Translational Justice Dr Julia Ng, Reader in Critical Theory and Co-Director, Centre for Philosophy and Critical Thought at Goldsmiths, University of London
11.25-11.35	Break
11.35-13.05	Panel 2: Contemporary perspectives
	Kasia Szymanska 鈥楴ot by a single one but only by the totality鈥�: Walter Benjamin and the question of multiple translation	Francesca Borgarello Displacing translation: from Benjamin to the postcolonial turning point						John Walker Translation as Dialogue: Benjamin and Interfaith Dialogue 100 years on
13.05-14.00	Lunch
14.00-15.30	Panel 3: 鈥楾he Task鈥� as a literary lens
	Edmund Chapman 鈥淣either first nor last nor only鈥�: 鈥楧ie Aufgabe des 脺bersetzers鈥�, Ulysses and potentiality			Ian Ellison Salvaging Afterlives: Fortleben, Rettung and the Centenary of Franz Kafka			Sare Rabia 脰zt眉rk The Afterlife of a Fictional List: Trajectories of Elif Shafak鈥檚 The Forty Rules of Love in the Arab Cultural Production
15.30-15.45	Break, coffee available
15.45-16.45	Keynote 2: Reading 鈥淭he Task of the Translator鈥� Today Duncan Large, Professor of European Literature and Translation and Executive Director of the British Centre for Literary Translation, University of East Anglia
16.45-17.00	Break
17.00-18.30	Panel 4: Reading 鈥楾he Task鈥� through Benjamin and his translators
	Louis Klee and Nicolas Lema Violence and Translatability: 鈥楾he Task of the Translator鈥� with 鈥楾owards the Critique of Violence鈥�			Valentina Tibaldo Walter Benjamin and the Task of the Critic			Mohammad Javanmard Translation as Allegory
18.30 onwards	Refreshments sponsored by Goldsmiths, University of London
18.45-20.00	In Conversation: Dr Chantal Wright, Co-Head of the Institute for Translation and Interpreting, Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) Douglas Robinson, Professor of Translating and Interpreting, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen Chair: Dr Arianna Autieri (Goldsmiths, University of London)
20.00-20.15	Concluding words

Travel and accommodation

Travel:

• The University of 糖心TV campus is on the outskirts of the city of Coventry, and the nearest major railway station is Coventry. The closest airport is Birmingham International Airport, or there are regular rail services to London for easy access to/from the London airports. You can find detailed information on travel to the University campus here.
• The conference is taking place in the Oculus Building, Room OC0.01. You can use this interactive campus map to orientate yourself before arrival.
• Rail strikes have been announced for Saturday 30th September: please check your travel arrangements.

Accommodation:

• Since we are a campus university, the most convenient accommodation option is the on-campus conference centre, . This can get booked up very quickly, so you are advised to book your accommodation as quickly as possible if you are hoping to stay on campus.
• Alternative accommodation options near to campus are listed here.

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Key dates

Deadline for proposals: 30 June

Bursary application deadline: 31 August

Registration deadline: 14 September

Conference dates: 29-30 September