Laura Woolley-Núñez

About

I am a PhD student in Translation and Transcultural Studies funded by the Midlands4Cities Doctoral Training Partnership (2022—2026). My research is supervised by Dr Olga CastroLink opens in a new window from the School of Modern Languages and Cultures and Professor Maureen FreelyLink opens in a new window from the Warwick Writing Programme.

Research

My practice-based research investigates feminist translation approaches and strategies used to disentangle and counteract the interlocking systems of oppression and discrimination that have led to the limited visibility of women’s testimonies of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and the Republican exile during Franco’s dictatorship (1939-1975) in translation through my ongoing translation of Memoria de la melancolía (1970) [Memory of Melancholy] by María Teresa León (1903–1988). In response to the challenges that translating this memoir presents, I combine elements from practice-based research and autoethnography to address the overarching research question of which context-specific feminist translation strategies are best suited for the purposes of recovering Spanish Republican women’s testimonies of exile and presenting them to English-speaking audiences. My feminist translation practice draws on key foundational texts for the field of feminist translation studies (Flotow 1991; 1997; Massardier-Kenney 1997) as well as contemporary contributions to the field (Abou Rached 2017; Castro et al. 2020; Flotow 2019). The strategies I adopt aim to make visible the “consciously feminist principles” of the text (Massardier-Kenney 1997, 58), while also interpreting and rearticulating the traumatic memories it contains responsibly. 

This project responds to a growing feminist interest in women’s experiences of oppression, dictatorship and exile, transcending national and class boundaries. It seeks to bring more nuance to strategies traditionally used by feminist translators and to adapt new context-specific multidimensional solutions best suited for recovering "lost" anti-fascist Spanish women's voices, making visible the political and ethical dimensions of translation.

Research Interests

• Transnational feminist translation studies

• Feminist translation strategies

• Practice-based translation research

• Literary translation

• Writing and translating exile

• Memory and/in translation

• Autofiction and life writing

• Testimonies of violent pasts in translation

• Trauma-informed approaches to translation

Conferences

"Translating María Teresa León’s Memoria de la melancolía from a Feminist Perspective" — 6th European Colloquium on Gender and Translation, Encounters between Intersectional Feminisms and Translation & Interpreting, 8–10 July 2025 (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

"Embodied Autoethnography as a Feminist Translation Practice" — 11th EST CongressLink opens in a new window, The Changing Faces of Translation and Interpreting StudiesLink opens in a new window. 30 June – 4 July 2025 (University of Leeds)

Panellist in "Speaking the Dead: Reviving Voices from the Past" with Professor Bill Johnston and Dr Gary Racz, moderated by Dr Lisa Bradford — ALTA47: Voices in TranslationLink opens in a new window, 25–28 October 2024 (Milwaukee, WI, US)

Panellist in "What Makes a Feminist Translation? Feminist Translation Exchange"Link opens in a new window (Birmingham Literature Festival 2024) with Professor Marilyn Booth, Professor Catherine Boyle and Professor Thomas Glave, moderated by Dr Hilary Brown, organised by the Feminist Translation NetworkLink opens in a new window, 5 October 2024 (University of Birmingham)

“Exploring Memory, Exile and Trauma through the Translation of a Spanish Memoir (1970)” — II Lisbon Spring School of Translation StudiesLink opens in a new window, 3–8 June 2024 (Universidade Católica Portuguesa)

"Exploring feminist translation strategies in María Teresa León’s Memory of Melancholia" — International Postgraduate Conference in Translation and Interpreting 2023Link opens in a new window, 23–24 November 2023 (Heriot-Watt University)

"Translating testimonies of patriarchal violence: Memoria de la melancolía by María Teresa León" — WISPS XXIII Annual Conference Gender + ViolenceLink opens in a new window, 10–11 November 2023 (University of Warwick)

"Translating María Teresa León’s Memory of Melancholy" — Midlands4Cities Research Festival 2023Link opens in a new window, 4 October 2023 (Austin Court, Birmingham)

"Sites of Resistance in the Translation of Spanish Antifascist Autobiographical Writing" — When I Dare To Be Powerful International ConferenceLink opens in a new window, 21 June 2023 (Nottingham Trent University)

Events

Co-organiser of the 18th International Postgraduate Conference in Translation and Interpreting Link opens in a new window(IPCITI 2025), 13-14 November, University of Warwick

Organiser, Lit Translation Workshops which are open to research students and staff interested in literary translation practice (2022 – present). See the programme for 2023/24 here.Link opens in a new window

Attended Bristol TranslatesLink opens in a new window summer school, 3-7 July 2023 (University of Bristol)

Attended Warwick School of Feminist TranslationLink opens in a new window, 11-12 May 2023 (University of Warwick)

Chaired roundtable "Producing Totalitarism: Fascism in the Cultural Imaginary" — The Culture of Fascism SymposiumLink opens in a new window, 8 March 2023 (University of Warwick)

Teaching

​I have taught seminars and been a first marker for various undergraduate and postgraduate modules in Translation Studies.

Scholarships and Awards

October 2022 — March 2026: Midlands4CitiesLink opens in a new window DTP scholarship (AHRC)

Qualifications

• MA Literary Translation, 2021 (University of Warwick)
• BA Journalism with Education, 2019 (University of Ulster)

Memberships

• Feminist Translation Network
• Women in Spanish and Portuguese Studies (WISPS)
• Society of Authors and Translators' Association
• Emerging Translators Network
• Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI)
  
• Sensitive Research Group
• ROLES: Sexuality & Gender Studies Network