As ever, in the world of Miss Rachel E. M. Marsden, she is already thinking about where to and what’s next, never content with “the now”, she wants to know what country (or countries) she’ll be heading to in 2011. I am content with the here and now though…the Chinese adventures I’m experiencing every day I wouldn’t change at all…I’m just super organised and everyone knows that. I’m just trying to get a heads up on curatorial and funding opportunities, as well as conferences to apply to and attend. So this is what I found, and there’s an awful lot of information. 2011 is going to be busy. But we knew that already…right? No images in this post by the way…all theory for a change.
Firstly, there are a couple of conferences which I need to chase up which includes the ‘International Conference on Culture Interactions: Chinese Literature in English Translation’, 15-16 April 2010, jointly organized by the Department of Translation, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the Institute for Chinese Studies and the China Centre, University of Oxford, UK, and ‘Translating Asia: Past, Present and Future’, 22-24 October 2010, The Western Conference Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting, hosted and organised by the California State University. The latter I wish I could attend and probably would have if I wasn’t in China. I emailed them today to ask how they are documenting the conference and whether I can get copies of all relevant abstracts/papers or published material. They almost immediately replied to say nothing will be published but if I email which speakers I am interested in, they will forward on their papers and email addresses, which is extremely helpful.
Right at the end of my trip, before holiday-ing in Dubai, I hope to attend ‘The Fourth Asian Translation Traditions Conference: Appropriation and Transformation in Asian Translation Traditions’, which will take place from the 15-17 December 2010, organized by the Research Centre for Translation at The Chinese University, Hong Kong (they are also the host), and the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University. It aims to challenge the Eurocentric bias of Translation Studies by exploring the richness and diversity of non-Western discourses and practices of translation. The focus will be on translational exchanges among non-Western languages and change and continuity in Asian translation traditions looking at topics including translation in premodern times; translation and modernization; the theoretical foundations of Asian translation traditions; Asian approaches to translation historiography and the interaction between Asian and non-Asian approaches to and ideas on translation (which is what I’m interested in). I just wonder whether they are going to provide translators/interpreters though. I hope so.
Next year there are a couple of really good events…one of which I hope to submit a paper to called ‘World Literature/Comparative Literature’, 31 March – 3 April 2011, organised by the American Comparative Literature Association (ACLA) and hosted by the Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. This is quite a broad-based conference however there are some key seminars in relation to my research. I’m going to submit to the seminar ‘Chinese Art for Global Audiences’ organised by Rujie Wang from the College of Wooster. He explains his seminar by initially remarks critic Rey Chow saying,
“The production of images is the production not of things but of relations, not of one culture but of value between cultures; even as we see “Chinese” stories on the screen, we are still confronted with an exchange between “China” and the West in which these stories seek their market.”
Sounds perfect right? He even specifically asks for papers on the topics of how museums and communities for modern art like 798 are havens for cosmopolitanism, and how China displays and markets itself. I’m trying to think of what angle I’m going to go in at. Furthermore, there are a couple of other sessions including ‘Postcolonial Studies at the Crossroads’, ‘Modernist Mistranslations’ and ‘Traffic in Translation: The Task of Derrida and Deleuze’ that I would like to attend as part of it…all relevant to some degree. I wouldn’t mind a jaunt to Canada too. We’ll see what happens. It all depends on the conference or institutional funds available.
‘Research Models in Translation Studies II’ from the 29 April – 2 May 2011 at the Manchester Conference Centre, will be hosted jointly by Centre for Translation and Intercultural Studies at the University of Manchester, and the Centre for Intercultural Studies, University College London (UCL). It will offer a platform for focused debate about the nature and direction of translation research in a global context. Themes to addressed will include self-reflexiveness and the researcher’s subjectivity; research culture, research ethics, research practice; the globalisation of translation and interpreting studies: research and theory beyond the; traditional centres of academic work; the challenges of researching translation and interpreting in new settings: new media, journalism, fansubbing, remote interpreting, the asylum system, war contexts, etc.; interdisciplinarity, multidisciplinarity and interaction with neighbouring disciplines, whilst questioning what are the key challenges for research in translation and interpreting today? What concrete forms do cross-disciplinarity and self-reflexiveness take in research? From this conference they are also hoping to produce a publication. This might be too far down the theory and “literal” translation slant for me but still worth attending I think.
Moving away from conferences now…I have contacted the journal ‘China Perspectives’ (as part of the French Centre for Research on Contemporary China (CEFC)) who have become very interested in not only my PhD research but my past Masters research into the role of the artist-curator. When I return from my fieldwork trip, I will definitely submit a paper to them for review and hopefully it will be published. Fingers crossed anyway. As I said in the last post, it’s a hit and miss process. Let’s wait and see eh? Also I have a lunch meeting with Simon Kirby, Director of Chambers Fine Art to discuss my research on Wednesday which I’m looking forward to…I have a feeling this week is slowly going to fill up fast. RJW and I have a lot to do and see before we leave for Shanghai. I think I’ll make a list right now…black bic biro at the ready…
Rachel Marsden's Words 