The
interdisciplinary turn in the field of Translation Studies has raised a number
of questions regarding the interweaving of theory and practice, the development
of hybrid approaches to the target text, the power of translation to shape
cultural relations, and the growing expectations of the reader for truth and
clarity. In this context, the role of the literary translator becomes ever-more
pertinent. His/her verbal dexterity as well as the ability to capture the
narratological complexity of the source text define the subtle border between
content and form and shape the identity of the translated work of art. Yet the
literary translator’s most challenging task is to decide whether the creative use
of language can be rendered possible without infringing the rules of linguistic acceptability. This
question constitutes the starting point of our inquiry and calls for further
research on both individual and collective variables that influence the
translation process. Given the translator’s ability to question the singularity of literary traditions and offer a better
understanding of the intrinsic pluralism of culture, this seminar seeks original approaches regarding the social utility and functions of
the translated text.
Theoretical considerations
and/or practical case studies can focus on either a descriptive,
target-oriented, functional, and systemic analysis of literary translation (Gideon
Toury 1985; Dilek Dizdar 2009) or towards a normative, source-text oriented,
linguistic, and atomistic standpoint (Heidrun Gerzymisch-Arbogast 2006). Other
possible approaches can examine the social constraints that condition the
reception of literary translation (Gisele Sapiro 2008), the enunciatory process
of cultural translation and its relation to the concept of hybridity (Homi
Bhabha 1994), the hermeneutic motion and the battle between literal and
symbolic meaning (George Steiner 1975), the element of resistance and the
irresolution of translation (Walter Benjamin 1921), the claim of aesthetic autonomy (Lawrence Venuti 2012), the ethical turn in translation studies (Mary Snell-Hornby
2006), and the place of translations both within a given literature
and in the intersection between literatures (Theo Hermans 1985). Reflections
on literary translation through the prism of philosophy, sociology, poetics,
studies on the imaginary or any other related field are also welcome.