Translating and Interpreting in Times of Conflict and Crisis
In our April 2019 seminar, 8-10 scholars who were present at our 2017 and/or 2018 seminar will be joined by 8-10 additional scholars whose research interests lie at multiple intersections of media and technologies in translation and performance. And while much research in translation and media is still largely informed by mainstream media research, this seminar particularly welcomes current studies in the materiality of media. This “material turn” privileges research that increasingly focuses on the effects of the matter of media on performed behavior and translational action, and vice versa.
The material turn in translation studies, like the performance turn, draws from a broad range of divergent fields of humanistic research and practice. Indeed, according to Littau (2016), “In a multimedia world where it increasingly makes little sense to treat media, art forms and disciplines in isolation from each other, a reassessment is needed of the traditional disciplinary boundaries, including those of translation studies and comparative literature.” To advance our interdisciplinary understanding of the interrelations of translation, performance and the materiality and mediality of a host of different technologies and media cultures, the 2019 seminar in Misano will bring a critical performance studies approach to the five areas Buzelin (2018) suggests for the material turn in translation studies:
Since its first session was convened in 2007, the Nida School of Translation Studies has sought to advance research in translation through active collaboration with scholars from around the globe, bringing together varying perspectives and methodologies, challenging traditional disciplinary boundaries, and encouraging original thinking about what translation is and where it takes place in a globalized world. As part of this effort, each fall since 2011, NSTS has held a high-level research symposium in New York City, a creative event that brings into dialogue varied perspectives on an established theme. Since 2015, the Center for Applied Liberal Arts at NYU’s School of Professional Studies has joined forces with NSTS and the San Pellegrino Foundation (Italy) to carry forward this tradition of a one-day translation-oriented research event. This year’s symposium will engage ongoing discussions around translation, materiality and publishing, drawing together theoretical and practical perspectives on both print and digital formats and the many movements in between.
The theme of our 2018 session, Translating Pedagogies, invites participants to enter with us into an exploration of the range and variety of approaches to teaching and learning that have shaped training programmes for translation and interpretation in contexts and cultures around the globe. Join us for a stimulating time of discussion and discovery, led by our two distinguished Nida Professors and a diverse roster of additional faculty lecturers.
Nida Professors: Dorothy Kelly (Granada) and Brian Baer (Kent State)
To be considered for participation in this year's Nida School of Translation Studies, please complete a NSTS 2018 application. Applications will be accepted until January 31, 2018. A fee of €1700 provides for tuition, housing, and meals. A limited number of partial bursaries will be made available to applicants who demonstrate need and merit. For more information about the NSTS community, see our listing of past NSTS sessions or visit our NSTS Facebook page. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Deborah Shadd at dshadd@nidaschool.org.
James Maxey participating as a panelist for THE MAGIC OF ‘CLASSICAL’ LANGUAGES: SCRIPT, SOUND AND SENSE IN THE TRANSLATION OF SACRED CONCEPTS panel, convened by Nida School faculty member Hephzibah Israel.
Since its first session was convened in 2007, the Nida School of Translation Studies has sought to advance research in translation through active collaboration with scholars from around the globe, bringing together diverse perspectives and methodologies, challenging traditional disciplinary boundaries, and encouraging original thinking about what translation is and where it takes place in a globalized world. As part of this effort, each fall since 2011, NSTS has held a high-level research symposium in New York City, a creative event that brings into dialogue varied perspectives on an established theme. Since 2015, the Center for Applied Liberal Arts at NYU’s School of Professional Studies has joined forces with NSTS and the San Pellegrino University Foundation (Italy) to carry forward this tradition of a one-day translation-oriented research event. This year’s symposium will focus on the theory of complexity, as we explore together the lessons and implications for Translation Studies that can be drawn from this dynamic field.
The theme of our 2017 session, Translation and Cultural Conversions, invites creative, generative explorations of the many powerful and ethically-charged sites of change and exchange that characterize translational contexts, from traditional notions of religious conversion to contemporary concepts of digital and media conversion, from transformative processes of identity to transformational rewritings of literary texts and the evolution of cultural canons.
Rooted as much in the theory of action as in a theory of language, what could be called “the performance turn” draws from two general directions. One is performance studies with its connection to both theatre and anthropology. The other is the notion of performativity as seen in, for instance, Austin and Butler. It addresses on the one hand the role of performance in translation and on the other translation as performance. We view this as a transdisciplinary endeavor that covers language, literature, the visual and performing arts, social sciences, cultural studies, religion, communications, and digital and internet technologies, etc.. Another component of the diversity anticipated in this seminar series is the opportunity to explore our seminars’ theme within the translation and performance practices of sacred text traditions.
Each year, the Nida Institute, in cooperation with the Pontificia Università Urbaniana and the Bible Society of Italy, offers an annual seminar which aims to engage students in an exploration of the contemporary theory and practice of Bible translation, through focus on a particular topic or problematic within the field. The thematic focus of this year’s seminar will be “Translating the Bible as Literature.”
Throughout history, countless scholars and writers have recognized the literary richness of the biblical text, replete with vivid passages in a full range of genres, styles and poetic forms. In the course of their work, translators of the Bible need also strive to produce translations that reflect this richness and variety in the voices and cadences of the receptor language. This seminar is designed to help students explore the richness of ancient biblical discourse and consider how this knowledge can be practically applied to a translation process that aims to produce translated texts that are both aesthetically expressive and communicatively natural, effecting a clearer, richer understanding of the Biblical message.
In celebration of International Translation Day (the Feast of Saint Jerome) and the 5th year of the NYU Master’s in Translation program, SPS Center for Applied Liberal Arts will hold a 1st NYU Translation Day Symposium as part of a twin conference with the Nida School of Translation Studies, Sep 30-Oct 1st 2016. This event to be held at on NYU Campus at the Woolworth Building (15 Barclay St.) will mark the birth of an annual ‘touch down’ tradition for the New York and NYU translation community – an opportunity for scholars and practitioners to converge and bring into discourse a spectrum of academic knowledge and industry experience in the theory and practice of translation and interpreting. This annual symposium will feature the work of our faculty and outstanding alumni as well industry experts and scholars of the field.
Each fall since 2011, NSTS has held a high-level research symposium in New York City, a creative event that brings into dialogue varied perspectives on an established theme. At each gathering, two preeminent authorities in the field present their research and observations, and two equally distinguished scholars are invited to respond. Since 2015, the Center for Applied Liberal Arts at NYU’s School of Professional Studies has joined forces with NSTS and the San Pellegrino University Foundation (Italy) to carry forward this tradition of a one-day translation-oriented research event.
A collaborative initiative with ABS Nida Institute, UBS Translations and the Bible Society of India
This seminar will address translation issues related to literary genres (especially narrative and poetry), textual problems, diverse understandings of canon, language analysis and the translation of non-standardized languages, and issues in revising existing translations. These problems will be addressed in light of insights drawn from both biblical studies and translation studies, highlighting the understanding of translation as creation and mediation, and thus the importance of the agency of the translator. Practical exercises in translation will illustrate these ideas and encourage students to address translation problems in innovative ways.
EL INSTITUTO NIDA DE ESTUDIOS BÍBLICOS en colaboración con las SOCIEDADES BÍBLICAS DE MÉXICO Y GUATEMALA tienen el gusto de darles la bienvenida al taller de traducción que se hemos titulado “Estudios de género y traducción de la Biblia” y que estaremos llevando a cabo en forma presencial en Oaxaca, México, del 25 al 29 de julio 2016. El propósito de este taller es brindarles a ustedes, como traductores de la Biblia de la región México-Guatemala, una serie de herramientas teóricas y prácticas que puedan contribuir a un mejor entendimiento y desarrollo de su tarea como traductores de la Biblia.
This year’s session marks the Nida School’s tenth year of providing challenging, specialized training in translation studies to qualified professionals looking to expand their skills, engage with peers, and explore the interface of practice and cutting edge theory.
NSBT 2016 marks the fourth iteration of this new training initiative designed to help translators and consultants prepare to carry forward the multi-faceted work of Bible translation in diverse settings marked by social and religious complexity.
Our key themes for this year are:
The school will balance theoretical and practical elements, with group work and presentations playing an important part of the training experience. It will also include training in ParaTExt and other web-based tools for advancing the work of Bible translation.
A collaborative initiative with ABS Nida Institute, UBS Translations and the Bible Society of India
This seminar will address translation issues related to literary genres (especially narrative and poetry), textual problems, diverse understandings of canon, language analysis and the translation of non-standardized languages, and issues in revising existing translations. These problems will be addressed in light of insights drawn from both biblical studies and translation studies, highlighting the understanding of translation as creation and mediation, and thus the importance of the agency of the translator. Practical exercises in translation will illustrate these ideas and encourage students to address translation problems in innovative ways.
While a number of biblical texts will be considered along the way, we will come back as often as possible to considering how the various topics discussed might be applied to the translation of particular books of the Old and New Testaments. Our focus texts for this seminar will be the first chapter of the book of Jonah and the first chapter of the Gospel of John. We hope this attempt to dedicate much of our seminar to these few select texts will give it a helpful focus and keep the workload more manageable than it would be otherwise.
Untranslatability and Cultural Complexity
Lydia H. Liu, Michael Wood, Mary Louise Pratt, and Philip E. Lewis
EL INSTITUTO NIDA DE ESTUDIOS BÍBLICOS en colaboración con las SOCIEDADES BÍBLICAS DE MÉXICO Y GUATEMALA tienen el gusto de darles la bienvenida al taller de traducción que se hemos titulado “Pueblos originarios, identidad cultural y traducción de la Biblia” y que estaremos llevando a cabo en forma presencial en Atitlán, Guatemala, del 10 al 14 de agosto 2015. El propósito de este taller es brindarles a ustedes, como traductores de la Biblia de la región México-Guatemala, una serie de herramientas teóricas y prácticas que puedan contribuir a un mejor entendimiento y desarrollo de su tarea como traductores de la Biblia.
Intended to equip consultants to carry forward the multifaceted work of Bible translation in diverse settings marked by social and religious complexity, NSBT presents an innovative approach to Bible translation training, situating the work within the broader framework of the academic discipline of Translation Studies. NSBT Chiang Mai, conducted in partnership with the Seed Company, will focus in particular on examining a range of contemporary translation theories and exploring their bearing and influence on the work of Bible translation. Participants will be guided into a critical examination of emerging issues and concerns that characterize the current global environment, and yet are played out in the specific localities where translation takes place.
This year’s session marks the Nida School’s ninth year of providing challenging, specialized training in translation studies to qualified professionals looking to expand their skills, engage with peers, and explore the interface of practice and cutting edge theory.
NSBT 2015 marks the third iteration of this new training initiative designed to help translators and consultants prepare to carry forward the multi-faceted work of Bible translation in diverse settings marked by social and religious complexity.
This year, we will spend our week together focusing on the theme of "Translation Beyond Print", as we seek to develop a clearer understanding of the similarities and differences between traditional print translation and new forms of digital and non-print presentations of the Bible. Examples and exercises will be drawn from a variety of different Biblical texts throughout the week, and we are looking forward to a rich time together.
Main themes: Translation and Intertextuality, Translating emotions in the bible, and Translation and Intersemiotics.
The primary purpose of this multi-agency event is to help participants deepen their understanding of various approaches to translation that have been developing and gaining currency in recent years, with direct implications for and impact on the work of Bible Translation.
During our week in Misano, we will spend our time exploring two broad topics together: the turn from linguistic to cultural approaches in translation, and translation beyond print.
This workshop deepens the students’ understanding of and capacity for translation, probing beyond traditional substitutionalist approaches that defined translation as largely or even only a philological, linguistic exchange between source and target texts. Among other outcomes, the workshop will sharpen the students’ ability to measure the success of a translation by expanding on classic measurements of faithfulness and fidelity to include the valuation of similarity and difference and the role of translation as a mediator between these two poles.
Translating Biblical Poetry & World Literatures
Robert Alter, David Damrosch, Adriane Leveen, Lydia Liu
EL INSTITUTO NIDA DE ESTUDIOS BÍBLICOSen colaboración con las SOCIEDADES BÍBLICAS DE MÉXICO Y GUATEMALA tienen el gusto de darles la bienvenida al taller de traducción que se hemos titulado “Nuevos enfoques en el trabajo de la traducción de la Biblia” y que estaremos llevando a cabo en forma presencial en la Ciudad de México del 28 de julio al 1 de agosto 2014. El propósito de este taller es brindarles a ustedes, como traductores de la Biblia de la región México-Guatemala, una serie de herramientas teóricas y prácticas que puedan contribuir a un mejor entendimiento y desarrollo de su tarea como traductores de la Biblia.
This year marks the Nida School’s eighth year of advancing research and providing specialized training in translation studies through a transdisciplinary approach that incorporates a focus on religious discourse. NSTS is seeking engaged scholars and qualified professionals looking to expand their skills, engage with peers, and explore the interface of practice and cutting edge theory.
NSBT 2014 marks the second iteration of this new training initiative designed to help translators and consultants prepare to carry forward the multi-faceted work of Bible translation in diverse settings marked by social and religious complexity.
This year, we will spend our week together exploring various aspects of translation studies in their specific application to Bible translation. Though examples and exercises will be drawn from a variety of different texts throughout the week, the Parables of Jesus will serve as a particular focus during our sessions, and we are looking forward to a rich time together.
Main Themes: Théorie du SKOPOS, Traduction pour l'oralité et la performance, MAP, Critique Textuelle, Analyse du Discours, and Exégèse et traduction interculturelles.
