Past events

Selected seminars, conferences, lectures, exhibitions, and workshops in Translation Studies (2015 -).

Translation Studies Seminar Series

Each semester, Translation Studies welcomes a fantastic range of guest speakers and colleagues to present a seminar on their research.

Our seminar programme is run collaboratively by staff and postgraduate students, enabling our early career researchers to build networks and experience.

Please note that speaker titles and universities, as listed, date from the time of the event and may have changed.

DateTitleSpeaker(s)
5 March 2025Self-Translation: Breaking the Traditional Axioms in a Tongue Not MineJosep Llobera Capllonch
12 February 2025Analysing the Role of Translations on Eco-Awareness and Eco-Anxiety Among ChildrenDr Harika Karavin Yüce (Trakya University, Türkiye)
5 February 2025

David Hayes - Performing the Catholic Church—Roman Missal Translations as Sites of Institutional Negotiation

Dongxuan Zhao - Transcultural, Transmedial Re-interpretation of ‘Strategy’ in Modern Contexts: Sunzi Bingfa 孙子兵法 (The Art of War) from Chinese Classic to Graphic Novels

David Hayes and Dongxuan Zhao (PhD candidates, University of Edinburgh)
22 January 2025A Glimpse into the Black Box: Applying Translation Studies Theory to Translations of Classical Chinese TextsProfessor Joachim Gentz (Asian Studies, University of Edinburgh)
16 October 2024Partial English Subtitling of Indigenous Languages in Multilingual Feature Fiction FilmsEmma Dussouchaud-Esclamadon (PhD candidate, University of Edinburgh)
2 October 2024Book launch: The Experience of Translation - Materiality and Play in Experiential TranslationDr Karen Bennett (Nova University, Lisbon), Dr Ludivine Bouton-Kelly (University of Angers), Dr Harriet Carter, Dr Riku Haapaniemi (Tampere University, Finland), Dr Madeleine Campbell (University of Edinburgh), and Dr Ricarda Vidal (King’s College, London)
20 March 2024Film screening: Louis and Languages ('Louis et les langues', dir. Aurélien Froment, 2023)Aurélien Froment (Edinburgh College of Art)
6 March 2024Multimodal translation and the remediation of oral history: Palestinian testimonies on the Nakba as a case studyDr Tamara Barakat (University of Strathclyde)
7 February 2024Manga and anime fan translation strategies and their influence on professional retranslationKatherine Heller (PhD candidate, University of Edinburgh)
24 January 2024Victorian World Literature: Asian Classics Translated for the Popular AudienceDr Alexander Bubb (University of Roehampton)
1 November 2023The Translation of Cantonese Opera Scripts – Performability RevisitedDr Kelly Chan (Hong Kong Metropolitan University)
4 October 2023

David Hayes - Ordinary Cup and Sacred Chalice—An Example of Institutional ‘Polyphony’ in English Retranslations of The Roman Missal

Elisabeth Goemans - Gender violence in translated paratexts: does feminism sell? The case of Eartheater by Dolores Reyes and Dead Girls by Selva Almada

Ahmed Alghamdi - Gender violence in translated paratexts: does feminism sell? The case of Eartheater by Dolores Reyes and Dead Girls by Selva Almada

David Hayes, Elisabeth Goemans and Ahmed Alghamdi (PhD candidates, University of Edinburgh)

DateTitleSpeaker(s)
3 April 2023Social media trends and the future(proofing) of translationDr Renée Desjardins (Université de Saint-Boniface)
27 March 2023

Emma Dussouchaud-Esclamadon - For an understanding of the representational dynamics of Indigenous languages in feature fiction films, in a globalised cinematographic landscape

Elisabeth Goemans - The transnational resonance of non-fiction novels: strategies for translating feminicide. The case of Chicas muertas (2014) and Dead Girls (2020)

Emma Dussouchaud-Esclamadon and Elisabeth Goemans (PhD candidates, University of Edinburgh)
8 March 2023

Karin Bosshard - Translating heteroglossia in contemporary Scottish fiction into German – exploring the use of target language dialects as a translation strategy

Rachel Rankin - Literal versus Double Aim: Two Approaches to Poetry Translation

Karin Bosshard and Rachel Rankin (PhD candidates, University of Edinburgh)
8 February 2023“Forget about it, goombah!” Cultural and linguistic characterisation of Italian Americans in American cinema and in Italian dubbingDr Ilaria Parini (University of Turin)
16 November 2022

Aaliyah Charbenny - Interactive Game Sound in Translation: A Reflection on Localizing Game Accessibility into Arabic

Katherine Heller - Fan Culture and Retranslation: The Sailor Moon Franchise

Aaliyah Charbenny and Katherine Heller (PhD candidates, University of Edinburgh)
5 October 2022

David Hayes - Lessons from Uncharted Terrain – Retranslations into English of Catholic Liturgical Texts

Ahmed Alghamdi - The Christian Arab Religious Linguistic Identity: The Question of ‘Islamic-Sounding’ Arabic

David Hayes and Ahmed Alghamdi (PhD candidates, University of Edinburgh)
30 March 2022Wrestling with Words: Translating Chinese Martial Arts Fiction by Jin YongGigi Chang
9 March 2022

Yijia Dong - Reconstructing the Female Subject: the English Translation of Contemporary Chinese Women’s Writing

Dominique Mason - The modern prose translations of Eliza Haywood: Some insights from Eliza Haywood’s novel "Love in Excess" (1719-20) and its translation by Badouin Millet, "Les excès de l’amour" (2018)

Yijia Dong and Dominique Mason (PhD candidates, University of Edinburgh)
16 February 2022Liturgical Translation in the Latin Rite Catholic ChurchDavid Hayes (PhD candidate, University of Edinburgh)
2 February 2022Fan Culture and Retranslation: The Sailor Moon FranchiseKatherine Heller (PhD candidate, University of Edinburgh)
24 November 2021Queer(ing) Translation: Rationales, Theoretical Frames, and Methodological ApproachesProfessor Brian James Baer (Kent State University)
10 November 2021

Joe Wade - Making Old Norse new: What happens when translating from an ancestral language into its descendant language?

Karin Bosshard - Translating heteroglossia in contemporary Scottish fiction – exploring the use of target language dialects as a translation strategy using the case of Ian Stephen’s A Book of Death and Fish

Joe Wade and Karin Bosshard (PhD candidates, University of Edinburgh)
20 October 2021The (Un)Translatability of Poetry: Hermeneutics and HybriditRachel Rankin (PhD candidate, University of Edinburgh)
6 October 2021

Grey Micah - Marking Gender: The Translation of Gender Nonconformity in Shōjo

Wang Hanyu - Seeking the Other and the Self: The Translation and Reception of The L Word by Chinese Queer women

Grey Micah and Wang Hanyu (PhD candidates, University of Edinburgh)
31 March 2021The controversial vernacular Bibles in British-occupied EgyptAhmed Al-Ghamdi (University of Edinburgh)
10 March 2021Literary dialect as a constraint and creative opportunity: thoughts on translating north-east Scots into GermanKarin Bosshard (University of Edinburgh)
3 March 2021A discursive study of interpreter-mediated closing statementsDr Jade Du (Newcastle University)
10 February 2021Beyond AVT: towards a critical re-evaluation of film translationDr Dionysios Kapsaskis (University of Roehampton)
3 February 2021Making Old Norse new: Nynorsk saga translations as a tool for corpus planningJoe Wade (University of Edinburgh)
27 January 2021Investigating translations of nonconforming gender and sexuality in shōjoGrey Micah (University of Edinburgh)
25 November 2020Cognitive Metaphor Theories in Translation Studies: Towards a dual-model parametric approachSui He (University of Edinburgh)
18 November 2020Game Sound in Translation: Reflection on Video Game Localisation for Arab Deaf and Hard of Hearing PlayersAaliyah Charbenny (University of Edinburgh)
11 November 2020Translation as an Ideological Apparatus: A Study of Ideology in English Translations of the Qur’anYazid Haroun (Durham University)
4 November 2020Fansubbing Queer Communities in China: The Translation and Reception of The L WordHanyu Wang (University of Edinburgh)
7 October 2020The endless translation of the SituationistsDr Jonathan Evans (University of Glasgow)
21 October 2020Transcreation in marketing texts: achieving persuasion in optional shiftsDr Mavis Ho (University of Edinburgh)
12 February 2020Japanese-English Translation of Gender Nonconformity in Manga and AnimeGrey Micah (University of Edinburgh)
10 February 2020Drama Translation as Retranslation: The Case of Bashir LazharDr Maria Laura Spaturno (Universidad Nacional de La Plata)
5 February 2020Translating heteroglossia in contemporary Scottish fiction – a Bakhtinian perspective'Karin Bosshard (University of Edinburgh)
29 January 2020Zhang Ailing, Self-translation and Re-translation: Characterisation in ContextWang Yi (University of Edinburgh)
22 January 2020(Dis)placing the Self: Translating Autofictional Women's WritingDr Pauline Henry-Tierney (Newcastle University)
15 January 2020Translation and Religion: Issues of Materiality from Book History to Digital DevotionDr Anne O'Connor (National University of Ireland Galway)
21 November 2019Translating Multimedia/Modal AdvertisingCristina Valdés (University of Oviedo)
20 November 2018Translating across Sensory and Linguistic Borders: Intersemiotic Journeys between MediaDr Madeleine Campbell (University of Edinburgh)
13 November 2019Making Old Norse New: Nynorsk Saga Translations as A Tool for Corpus Planning and Norwegian Nation Building From 1850 to 1945Joe Wade (University of Edinburgh)
30 October 2019Reaching for symbiosis: Anne Carson's Creative Approach to Translational WritingPauline Jaccon (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle)
16 October 2019What Can Memes Teach Us About Cultural Translation?Dr Sarah Maitland (Goldsmiths, University of London)
2 October 2019Translators and Interpreters as ActivistsTranslator's Day event jointly organised with Heriot-Watt University
3 April 2019Dehumanising Frankenstein's Monster: Heinz Widtmann's translation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1912)Dr Eleoma Bodammer (University of Edinburgh)
27 March 2019The Translation of Verbal and Culturally Specific Humour in SubtitlingXavier Bridault (University of Edinburgh)
20 March 2019"Language Difficulties": Translation, Interpreting and the Belsen Relief EffortDr Sharon Deane-Cox (University of Strathclyde)
13 March 2019On Language and Cognition: Linking Translation with Experimental PsycholinguisticsDr Anna Hatzidaki (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens)
27 February 2019Feminist Activism in TranslationDr Olga Castro (Aston University Birmingham)
13 February 2019The Construction of Ethos in Self-Translation PracticesDr Maria Laura Spoturno (Universidad Nacional de La Plata)
6 February 2019Zhang Ailing: Self-translation and Non-authorial RetranslationWang Yi (University of Edinburgh)
30 January 2019Multimodality and Translation: Reviewing fundamental Translation Studies Concepts through an AVT Lens’Dr Sara Ramos Pinto (University of Leeds)
16 January 2019Applying Antoine Berman’s “Analytic of Translation” to Translating Linguistic Variation in Contemporary Scottish FictionKarin Bosshard (University of Edinburgh)
28 November 2018Audio Description and the Psychology of ImmersionDr Louise Fryer (University College London)
21 November 2018Machine Translation: Progress and ChallengesDr Barry Haddow (School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh)
7 November 2018Lunfardo and Gendered Discourse: Towards the Creation of a Tango Lyrics CorpusElaine Newton-Bruzza (University of Edinburgh)
31 October 2018Found in Translation: Exploring Translation Concerns and My Role as Translator - Engaging the French Scholarship of Ghanaian Theologian Kwame BediakoDr Sara Fretheim (University of Edinburgh)
17 October 2018Arts and Humanities Travel across Time and Space: On the (Un)Translatability of 'Coming to terms with the Past’Dr Eva Spišiaková (University of Liverpool)
10 October 2018Èric and the Order of the Phoenix: Subtitling Catalan ActivismAlice Kilpatrick
26 September 2018Translating for Promotion: the Civil Servant, the Missionary and the PunditDr Hephzibah Israel (University of Edinburgh)
28 March 2018Fansub translationsJan Pedersen (Stockholm University)
21 March 2018Ghosts of Ghosts: Pa negre and the Spanish Civil War GenreAlice Kilpatrick (University of Edinburgh)
14 March 2018Feminist Translation Studies in a transnational world: the joys and challenges of building alliances Olga Castro (Aston University Birmingham)
7 March 2018Translating linguistic variation in contemporary Scottish fictionKarin Bosshard (University of Edinburgh)
28 February 2018The endless translation of the SituationistsDr Jonathan Evans (University of Portsmouth)
21 February 2018Us vs. Them: Autonomous and heteronomous interpreting practices in the history of signed language interpretingNadja Grbic (Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz)
14 February 2018Prickly Puffins: Translating (pseudo-)profanities and other emotive language in Norwegian children’s literatureDr Guy Puzey (University of Edinburgh)
7 February 2018Translation and Transfeminist activism. Some Italian scenariosDr Michela Baldo (University of Hull)
31 January 2018Contemporary Russian literature in translation: Tatyana TolstayaMikhail Vodopyanov (University of Edinburgh)
24 January 2018A comparative study of styles of self-translators and standard translators working on the same source textsWang Xi (University of Edinburgh)
17 January 2018Translating cultures: variations on a themeProfessor Charles Forsdick (University of Liverpool)
22 November 2017The case of French dubbing: deconstructing and reconstructing Julianne MooreDr Charlotte Bosseaux (University of Edinburgh)
15 November 2017La mina del tangoElaine Newton-Bruzza (University of Edinburgh)
8 November 2017Translation in the public sphereDr Sergey Tyulenev (Durham University)
1 November 2017Language and Power in Irish courts in the Nineteenth CenturyDr Mary Phelan (Dublin City University)
25 October 2017Translating Fantastic FictionAnikó Sohár (Pázmány Péter Catholic University)
11 October 2017Temporalities of Translation in the May Fourth Discursive Sphere – On Wu Mi’s discussions about translation, imitation, and literary creationYumiao Bao (University of Edinburgh)
4 October 2017Translation and anarchism in Catalonia (1898-1910)Dr Sergi Mainer (University of Edinburgh)
27 September 2017Heteronormatising Shakespeare: Czech and Slovak sonnet translations in a changing socio-political landscape.Eva Spišiaková (University of Edinburgh)
23 March 2017Translating French Opera, the Story of a ModuleDr Julia Prest  (University of St Andrews)
22 March 2017Shifting viewpoints - from Cubist painting to Dialogue Interpreting researchRaffaela Merlini (University of Macerata)
15 March 2017Cultural Markers in Translation: The Case of Lunfardo in Tango LyricsElaine Newton-Bruzza (University of Edinburgh)
8 March 2017Decentering Art History: The Role of TranslationDr Claudia Hopkins (University of Edinburgh)
1 March 2017Visible theatre translation: subtitles, surtitles and supertitlesDr Geraldine Brodie (University of London)
22 February 2017On translating genre: The case of crime fictionDr Karen Seago (University of London)
15 February 2017Translating Linguistic Variation in Contemporary Scottish Fiction - a practice-based PhD projectKarin Bosshard (University of Edinburgh)
8 February 2017‘I will try to speak in German’: Filip Müller’s Auschwitz testimonies and the (non-)problem of translationPeter Davies (University of Edinburgh)
1 February 2017Subtitling Multilingualism: Strategies and ApproachesAlice Kilpatrick (University of Edinburgh)
18 January 2017Subjectivity, language and the neoliberal régimes of translationAlice Kilpatrick (University of Edinburgh)
30 November 2016Factors behind retranslations: What can we learn from the scholarly discourse on (filmic) remakes?Dr Jonathan Ross (Boğaziçi University)
23 November 2016Communication over Language Barriers in Childhood Cancer Care: Interpreters and other toolsDr Elisabet Tiselius (Stockholm University)
2 November 2016Media Power and Activist Disruption: The 'Arabian Street Artists,' Homeland, and transdiegetic translational activist narrativeDr Anna Strowe (University of Manchester)
26 October 2016Gesture, speech and sign: new perspectives on multimodal communication (and their relevance for interpreting)Professor Adam Schembri (University of Birmingham)
12 October 2016Translation and Totalitarianism: The Case of Soviet EstoniaDr Anne Lange (Tallinn University)
5 October 2016Finnish Subtitlers and Their Virtual Professional ProjectDr Tiina Tuominen (University of Glasgow)
18 September 2016Shakespeare’s Fair Youth behind the Iron Curtain: Queer theory and Czechoslovak sonnet translationsEva Spišiaková (University of Edinburgh)
2 September 2016Complicating Contact Zones: Translation as Practice of Creating Concepts and Self-DifferentiationDr Arvind Pal Mandair (University of Michigan)
1 September 2016From Oceanography to Fillet-O-Fish®: The Spectrum of Translation of the Poetry of RumiProfessor Alan WIlliams (University of Manchester)
23 March 2016Literary translation and Contemporary Sino-African RelationsProfessor Kathryn Batchelor (The University of Nottingham)
16 March 2016Navigating the Garden of Forking Paths: Translation and Digital LiteratureIraklis Pantopoulos (University of Edinburgh)
9 March 2016There and Not There: Translating Gender and Sex from Hindi/Urdu to EnglishDr Ruth Vanita (University of Montana)
2 March 2016Enriching our Understanding of Interpreter-mediated Interaction: A Look through Multimodal LensesDr Elena Davitti (University of Surrey)
24 February 2016The strategies of humour transfer in subtitling and their effects on humour responseXavier Bridault (University of Edinburgh)
10 February 2016Healthcare Interpreting in Turkey: Needs, Provision and PoliticsDr Jonathan Ross (Boğaziçi University)
3 February 2016Behaving Multilingually: Polyglot Film Production and TranslationElena Sanz Ortega, University of Edinburgh,
27 January 2016Translating Antoine Berman, reading Walter Benjamin: L’Âge de la traduction in EnglishDr Chantal Wright (University of Warwick)
20 January 2016Unraveling the Discursive Space around fanyi: What Does it Mean to be a Translator in Late-Qing China?Yumiao Bao (University of Edinburgh)
13 January 2016Shakespeare's Young Man Behind the Iron Curtain: Censorship of Same-sex Affection in Czech and Slovak Sonnet TranslationsEva Spišiaková (University of Edinburgh)
9 December 2015Subtitling in 2day’s Digital SocietyJorge Días-Cintas (University College London)
2 December 2015Ghosts and Monsters: a Case Study of Language in Agustí Villaronga's Pa NegreAlice Kilpatrick (University of Edinburgh)
25 November 2015Lengthening Shadows: Translating between Languages and Times in Goa, IndiaPaul Melo e Castro (University of Leeds)
18 November 2015Anarcha-feminist Translation as Activism: Rote Zora in SpanishDr Sergi Mainer (University of Edinburgh)
11 November 2015Professional Translation, Gender and the Risks of a TheoryDr Fruela Fernandez (Newcastle University)
4 November 2015A Translation-Commentary Thesis: Some ReflectionsJames Kelly (University of Edinburgh)
21 October 2015Songs Without Borders? The Case of Translating Foreign Songs into the Chinese ContextLingli Xie (University of Edinburgh)
14 October 2015Investigating Pragmatic Phenomena Across Cultures using Corpus Linguistic TechniquesProfessor Dawn Archer (Manchester Metropolitan University)
7 October 2015One Translation Fits All? Redefining Translation Types and Target Cultures in American and British TranslationElizabeth Goodwin-Anderson (University of Edinburgh)
23 September 2015Engaging Audioguides? Translation in the Memorial MuseumDr Sharon Deane-Cox (University of Edinburgh)

Conferences and symposia

Whose Voice is it Anyway? is a series of annual events delving into translation practices organised by Dr Charlotte Bosseaux with guest academics and professional translators in collaboration with the European Commission. They reflect on a range of themes, all within a translation and interpreting context.

There have been four events so far, all held at the University of Edinburgh. They were attended by a mix of  professionals, academics, students and the general public.

Browse all events in the series

DateTitleVenueSpeakersCollaborators
23 February 2023Ethical challenges50 George SquareRebecca Tipton (University of Manchester); Charlotte Bosseaux (University of Edinburgh); Hephzibah Israel (University of Edinburgh); Kari Dickson (University of Edinburgh)The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
23 March 2018Reflecting on emotions in a translation and interpreting context50 George SquareAnneleen Spiessens (University of Ghent); Charlotte Bosseaux (University of Edinburgh); Sharon Deane-Cox (University of Strathclyde)The European Commission and the Institut Français
30 September 2016Reflecting on the voices of women in a translation and interpreting context50 George SquareŞebnem Susam-Saraeva (University of Edinburgh); Marion Winters (Heriot-Watt University); Hephzibah Israel (University of Edinburgh) 
15 May 2015Reflecting on voice in a translation and interpreting context50 George SquareRebecca Tipton (University of Manchester); Charlotte Bosseaux (University of Edinburgh); Theo Hermans (University College London)The European Commission and the Goethe-Institut

Date: 1 to 3 September 2016

Venue: 50 George Square

Keynote speakers: Professor Alan Williams (University of Manchester); Professor Arvind Pal Mandair (University of Michigan)

In brief: A three-day AHRC-funded conference brought together scholars from the two disciplines to investigate theories, concepts and methods with comparative and critical tools in order to evaluate areas of mutually creative overlap.

Professor Alan Williams from the University of Manchester gave a keynote lecture titled 'From Oceanography to Fillet-O-Fish®.  The Spectrum of Translation of the Poetry of Rumi', and Professor Arvind Pal Mandair from the University of Michigan gave a second keynote lecture titled 'Complicating Contact Zones: Translation as Practice of Creating Concepts and Self-Differentiation'.


Lectures, talks, discussions, exhibitions and readings

Dates: 24 June to 30 September 2023

Venue: Talbot Rice Gallery

Featured artist: Dr Hephzibah Israel (Translation Studies, University of Edinburgh)

In brief: A series of twenty individual text works by Hephzibah Israel, commissioned by Talbot Rice Gallery and produced in collaboration with Fraser Muggeridge studio. This exhibition ran in collaboration with the Edinburgh Art Festival during the month of August.


Date: 7 October 2022

Venue: Online (Teams)

Organisers: Dr Şebnem Susam-Saraeva (University of Edinburgh); Dr Jenny Patterson (Edinburgh Napier University)

In brief: An all-day event that aimed to understand informed consent from an interdisciplinary perspective of midwifery and translation and interpreting studies and to begin cross-professional conversations around these issues.


Date: 30 September 2015

Venue: 40 George Square

In brief: A seminar given by Ian Giles, PhD Candidate at the University of Edinburgh on the origin story of the literary and cultural phenomenon of Nordic Noir.


This article was published on