Translation and Transcultural Studies Events

Research Events for the Academic Year 2025/2026

Photo credit: “Textures” by Marco Beltrametti is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Research Seminars by Guest Speakers

Irene Hermosa-Ramírez (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)

'A media accessibility update: Current trends in the cultural industries and in research'

Abstract:

Media accessibility, a field that has focused on providing services such as subtitling, audio description, and sign language interpreting, among others, has undergone and continues to undergo a transformation. This shift moves from a particularist to a universalist approach, from a "specialist-centric" to a user-centric approach, and from a reactive to a proactive approach (Greco, 2018); from a "standard" understanding of accessibility to a creative one (Romero-Fresco & Brown, 2023); and from a detached, post-hoc process to an integrated one (Fryer and Cavallo, 2021). This presentation will examine the main developments in media accessibility over the last 30 years and will conclude with a proposal and a discussion on new possible directions.

Bio:

Irene Hermosa-Ramírez, PhD in Translation and Intercultural Studies (Autonomous University of Barcelona), is a postdoctoral researcher at Pompeu Fabra University, where she collaborates on the UNIVAC project (Sensory accessibility at the Spanish university: current needs and prospective solutions). She is a member of the TraDiLex research group from Pompeu Fabra University. Irene specialises in Media Accessibility, having participated in the RAD project (Researching Audio Description: Translation, Delivery and New Scenarios) and the Erasmus+ project ATHENA (Bringing Accessibility and Design for All into Higher Education Curricula) at the Transmedia Catalonia research group.

Wednesday 22 October, 2.00-3.00pm
Room FAB 3.31 and on Teams
Followed by light refreshments

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Prof Ning Wang (Shanghai Jiao Tong University & Tsinghua University)

'Contemporary Chinese Fiction in the Context of World Literature'

Abstract:

As we know that modern Chinese fiction formed its unique tradition largely under the Western influence or inspired by world literary masters. In this sense, we should say that Chinese literature is part of world literature. But unfortunately, largely for lack of excellent translation and critical discussion and promotion overseas, modern Chinese fiction is not so well known outside of China. Actually there have appeared quite a few excellent Chinese novelists in the contemporary era. Apart from the Nobel laureate Mo Yan, Jia Pingwa, Yan Lianke, Liu Zhenyun, Yu Hua and Ge Fei are the best of these contemporary authors. Their excellent works should be viewed as part of world literature, which should not be neglected by either comparatists or by those engaged in the studies of world literature. Even in the face of the challenge of high technology and internet, fiction still exists and is appreciated by quite a few readers and scholars.

Bio:

WANG Ning is Distinguished University Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Changjiang Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Tsinghua University in China. He was elected to the Academy of Latinity in 2010, and to Academia Europaea in 2013. Among his numerous books and articles in Chinese, he has authored four books in English: Globalization and Cultural Translation (2004), Translated Modernities: Literary and Cultural Perspectives on Globalization and China (2010), After Postmodernism (2023), and The Cultural Turn in Translation Studies (2024). He has also published extensively in English in many international prestigious journals like New Literary History, Critical Inquiry, boundary 2, Babel: International Journal of Translation, Philosophy and Literature, Modern Language Quarterly, Modern Fiction Studies, ARIEL, ISLE, European Review, Literature Compass, Comparative Literature Studies, Neohelicon, Narrative, Semiotica, Journal of Chinese Philosophy, Journal of Contemporary China, Telos, Journal of Modern Literature, Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice, etc.

Thursday 30 October, 1.00-2.00pm
Room S 0.09 and on Teams
Followed by light refreshments

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Dr Ye Tian (University of Leeds)

'Wandering as a Translator: A Chinese City Translated'

Abstract:

This talk derives from a translational exhibition I organized for a group of BA students in China. The exhibition aims at exposing how urban landscapes can be translated by individuals’ experiences, as a way of revealing “the decorative display of what-goes-without-saying” (Barthes 2009, 10). To translate a city with bodily experience can mean that city becomes a text, and it means a breaking-through from the linguistic-bias of translation that has haunted the discipline of Translation Studies for so long (Marais 2018). However, this process should be seen differently from Duncan (2004)’s development in The City as Text of a hermeneutic perspective on landscape interpretation. Instead, just like a constructive reading is different from the hermeneutic model (McGann 1990), translating city focuses on how the urban-as-text is experienced whole-bodily. To do so, translation becomes the process of how one “walks through” or “wanders in” the materiality of the urban spaces – referring to walking as a method (Vergunsst and Ingold 2016) and the translator as Flâneur/Flâneuse (Benjamin 1999). To walk in a city as a translator, our everyday experience becomes multiplied. The exhibition demonstrates how different materials in a city become the focus of the translators as they live through it, and how intertextuality and intersubjectivity constantly help to generate the meaning of the city to individuals, when the city becomes unique sights, sounds, touches, smells, tastes, and even obstacles.

Bio:

Ye Tian is a scholar in translation studies. After graduating with a PhD from Queen’s University Belfast, he worked in different institutions in the UK and China, and is now a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Leeds. He is interested in theoretical perspectives on translation, including semiotics, non-representational methodology, and experiential translation. His first monograph, Translating Nations: Culture, Soft Power, and the Belt and Road Initiative was published by Routledge. He is currently the production editor for New Voices in Translation Studies.

Wednesday 5 November, 2.00-3.00pm
Room FAB 1.10 and on Teams
Followed by light refreshments

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Careers Events

"Translation as a profession" session

In cooperation with the West Midlands Network of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting.

Translators Sarah Letza, Phil Jackson and Jae Marple will be joining us. This will be a great opportunity for you to learn first-hand about the translation profession!

Thursday 4 December
TBC
Followed by light refreshments

"Adapting to Change: Commercial Languages in the Age of AI" session

Representatives from The Word Hub will give us an insight into translation as a profession, ways to get started as a translator, how translation companies work and the impact of AI. This session will be a great opportunity for you to learn first-hand about the translation profession.

TBC

"How to build sustainability and ethics into your freelance translation business"

Freelance sustainability translator and copywriter Rachel Baker (The Ethical CopywriterLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window) will discuss how to make a positive impact as a translator and small business owner. Rachel will talk about what to consider when finding and choosing clients, how to make your day-to-day operations more sustainable and tips for navigating complex sustainability communications.

TBC

Skill Development: Workshops and Masterclasses

Workshop "Translating Disney Songs"

Multilingual Workshop. Dr Mónica Martín CastañoLink opens in a new window (University of Warwick).

In this workshop, we will examine the constraints faced by translators whilst translating a Disney song. Students will have the opportunity to analyse the solutions offered in the official translations, and we will compare the different solutions offered in the languages spoken by our students.

Students will be encouraged to participate actively in the workshop. Students will need to bring a laptop or device where they can watch a videoclip with a Disney song, and earphones.

TBC
Workshop "Understanding and Implementing Feedback: Making the Most of Your Assignment Comments"

This workshop is designed to help you transform assignment feedback into concrete improvements in your academic work. The session will guide you through effective strategies for interpreting and implementing feedback to enhance your future assignments.

This practical workshop consists of two parts: First, you'll gain insights into different types of feedback, understanding common areas for improvement, and recognising strengths in academic writing. Then, you'll have the opportunity to participate in a feedback clinic where you can bring your specific questions and examples for discussion.

TBC
Academic Publishing Demystified: Insights from Book and Journal Editing

Dr David Orrego-CarmonaLink opens in a new window and Dr Sijing LuLink opens in a new window (University of Warwick).

In this talk, we are going to demystify academic publishing, offering insights from both book and journal editing. We will explore key aspects of the publication process — starting with how to pitch a book idea to a publisher, navigating peer review, and shaping a manuscript for publication. Alongside this, you’ll also hear firsthand experiences from the world of journal editing, learning more about what happens behind the scenes of academic publishing!

TBC

MA Writing Bootcamp

Good ideas are only half the challenge of the dissertation: you need to be able to communicate them well! This will be a relaxed, supportive and enjoyable session on academic writing, to help strengthen the skills you already have and try out new ways of approaching the task of writing an essay/dissertation.

TBC, followed by a staff-student Get Together

Workshop 'Enhancing Research Culture: SMLC PGs Social Reception'

This workshop is designed to help SMLC PG students to take a break from our individual work and connect with one another. We hope this informal gathering will foster a sense of community, spark new ideas, and boost the confidence in the research.

TBC with lunch and drinks served after the workshop

Reading Group

We organise Translation and Transcultural Studies online reading groups for MA and PhD students. The reading groups run twice per term:

Term 1

Week 5: Wednesday 5 November 2025 at 4pm in FAB 3.31

Zabalbeascoa, P. (2025). Intersemiotic translation: Another terminological problem within Translation Studies. Między Oryginałem a Przekładem 31(3/69), pp.101-119. https://doi.org/10.12797/MOaP.31.2025.69.06

Week 8: TBC time and location

Moorkens, J. (2025). The machine translator's visibility: a postphenomenological analysis analysis of machine translation. Translation Spaces. https://doi.org/10.1075/ts.23030.moo