Call for Papers: TRANSLATION IN ASIA: THEORIES, PRACTICES, HISTORIES

[A.M. Pinkney]

Dear Indology-members, 

 

Please note a call for papers below for an upcoming conference on
"Translation in Asia" in Singapore (March 2009). The focus of the
conference includes South Asian languages. 

 

http://www.ari.nus.edu.sg/events_categorydetails.asp?categoryid=6&eventi
d=851

 

With best wishes, 

Andrea

 

Dr. Andrea M. Pinkney 

Assistant Professor, South Asian Studies Programme

Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences

National University of Singapore

Shaw Foundation Building; AS7/04-03

5 Arts Link, Singapore 117570

Office (+65) 6516 7776 

Fax (+65) 6777 0616 

Email: sasamp at nus.edu.sg <mailto:sasamp at nus.edu.sg>  

 

 

Call for Papers (Deadline: 31 October 2008)

Translation in Asia: Theories, Practices, Histories

Date:              5 -6 March 2009

Venue:           ARI Seminar Room, Tower Block Level 10, National
University of Singapore @ BTC
Website:
http://www.ari.nus.edu.sg/events_categorydetails.asp?categoryid=6&eventi
d=851

 

Translation has, no doubt, been a powerful force throughout human
history for as long as it has been practiced. It has allowed scientific,
technological, linguistic and literary forms of knowledge to spread
across vast geographical and cultural distance. One of the realms in
which the force of translation is most evident historically is religion:
translations of scripture have initiated and sustained the spread of
religions far from their place of origin, in the process altering
societies' ways of life and understanding of the human and divine. 

For many years translation was relegated to the margins of academic
discourse just as translators' names were barely visible within the
pages of the books they translated. Translation was often viewed as a
technical act of transformation, a necessary step on a text's path to a
new language and a new market. Gradually, questioning such an approach
and perceiving translation as a site where issues of power, ideology,
poetics, creative expression and technique converged, scholars in the
fields of literary studies, history and religion, among others, began
examining more closely the ways in which translation has been
conceptualized and practiced throughout history.

What gets translated in a particular society, and why? Who decides, in
any given period and place, what translation entails and who carries out
those decisions? How do these parameters shift with the passage of time
within and across societies? What are the forces that encourage and
resist translation? The field of Translation Studies, which has emerged
in recent times, is an interdisciplinary field of inquiry that centers
on such questions, seeking to understand translation as it was
understood and practiced in diverse, yet particular historical
circumstances.

Much progress has been attained in this field, especially in reaching a
better understanding of translation histories in Europe and America.
However, the knowledge of the theory and practice of translation in
various periods and places remains, at best, fragmented.

The histories of translation into and from many Asian languages,
although long and complex, to a large extent remain obscure. Especially
lacking is theoretical conceptualization and analysis of what, in fact,
were the dominant ideas about translation in different Asian societies,
and how these ideas were articulated, implemented, resisted and
practiced. Exploring these elements  - and additional ones - will enrich
current discussions in the fields of Translation Studies, religion,
literary studies and history, enabling us to better understand
translation movements which had profound effects but have been largely
left on the sidelines of academic scholarship.


SUBMISSION DETAILS

Those wishing to present papers at the conference are invited to submit
a Paper Proposal which includes a title, a 250-word abstract, and a
short paragraph of personal self-description by 31 October 2008.

Click here for Paper Proposal Submission Form
<http://www.ari.nus.edu.sg/showfile.asp?eventfileid=423> . 

Please submit and address all applications to Miss Sharon Ong
(arios at nus.edu.sg) of the Asia Research Institute. Successful applicants
will be notified by 17 November 2008.


CONTACT DETAILS

Conference Convenors

Dr Ronit Riccit (arirr at nus.edu.sg)
Asia Research Institute, NUS

Dr Jan Van Der Putten (mlsjvdp at nus.edu.sg)
Malay Studies Department, NUS


Secretariat

Miss Sharon Ong
Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore
#10-01 Tower Block, 469A Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 259770
Email: arios at nus.edu.sg
Tel: (65) 6516 8784
Fax: (65) 6779 1428

 

 

 

Dr. Andrea M. Pinkney 

Assistant Professor, South Asian Studies Programme

Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences

National University of Singapore

Shaw Foundation Building; AS7/04-03

5 Arts Link, Singapore 117570

Office (+65) 6516 7776 

Fax (+65) 6777 0616 

Email: sasamp at nus.edu.sg <mailto:sasamp at nus.edu.sg>  

 

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