Translation Studies Research Seminar Series: Delphine Grass In brief Date - 11 March 2026Venue - Screening Room G.04, 50 George SquareSpeaker - Dr Delphine Grass (Lancaster University)Title - Translation as Creative-Critical Practice: A Counter-Mapping About the eventThe Holmes/Toury map of translation studies (1972/1995) draws a significant distinction between practice and theory in translation studies. This separation also structures our thinking and mapping of national languages and territories by positioning translation practice as a form of reproductive transfer, or bridge, between bounded cultural and linguistic units, thus perpetuating the invisibility of translators as thinkers with creative and critical agency.This talk will introduce creative-critical practices in translation and explore how these works counter-map both disciplinary and geographical borders by refusing translation's containment within the framework of homolingual communities, enacting it instead as an ongoing scene of bordering and relation. Drawing on examples from contemporary translation memoirs (Mireille Gansel), translational poetic works (Don Mee Chee), performative and multimodal translation practices (Slavs and Tatars, Arachnid Orchestras, Erin Moure), the talk will argue that the oppositional translation practices articulated or performed in these works operate their own investigation of dominant translation norms and ideologies.By representing and performing translation as an important form of world-making practice, we shall see that these works, whether they be memoirs, performative translations or visual artworks experimenting with translation, often inaugurate new forms of planetary social and political imaginaries.About the speakerDelphine Grass is Senior Lecturer in French and Comparative Literature at Lancaster University, where she serves as Principal Investigator on the AHRC/BRAID-funded project "Animals in Translation: AI, Ethics and the Future of Interspecies Dialogue." Her research explores the intersections between creative-critical translation practices, environmental humanities, and digital media. Her recent publications include Translation as Creative-Critical Practice (Cambridge UP, 2023) and, with Lily Robert-Folley, she co-edited a special issue on ‘The Translation Memoir’ (2024).How to attendThis event is open to all and free to attend. No registration is required - just come along!About the seminar seriesEach semester, we welcome a fantastic range of guest speakers and colleagues to present a seminar on their work in translation.Our seminar series is run collaboratively by staff and postgraduate students, enabling our early career researchers to build networks and experience.Entry is free and no booking is required. Everyone is welcome.Are you interested in Translation Studies at Edinburgh?Providing excellent teaching and supervision, our postgraduate MSc and PhD programmes are among the UK's most comprehensive and flexible. Our expertise covers a wide range of research areas and many languages, of which you can choose to work with two. Find out more about postgraduate programmes in Translation Studies Tags Translation Studies Mar 11 2026 16.10 - 18.00 Translation Studies Research Seminar Series: Delphine Grass An in-person seminar by Dr Delphine Grass (Lancaster University) on the impact and challenges created from maps of translation studies such as the Holmes/Toury map. Screening Room G.04 50 George Square University of Edinburgh EH8 9LH Find the venue: 50 George Square
Translation Studies Research Seminar Series: Delphine Grass In brief Date - 11 March 2026Venue - Screening Room G.04, 50 George SquareSpeaker - Dr Delphine Grass (Lancaster University)Title - Translation as Creative-Critical Practice: A Counter-Mapping About the eventThe Holmes/Toury map of translation studies (1972/1995) draws a significant distinction between practice and theory in translation studies. This separation also structures our thinking and mapping of national languages and territories by positioning translation practice as a form of reproductive transfer, or bridge, between bounded cultural and linguistic units, thus perpetuating the invisibility of translators as thinkers with creative and critical agency.This talk will introduce creative-critical practices in translation and explore how these works counter-map both disciplinary and geographical borders by refusing translation's containment within the framework of homolingual communities, enacting it instead as an ongoing scene of bordering and relation. Drawing on examples from contemporary translation memoirs (Mireille Gansel), translational poetic works (Don Mee Chee), performative and multimodal translation practices (Slavs and Tatars, Arachnid Orchestras, Erin Moure), the talk will argue that the oppositional translation practices articulated or performed in these works operate their own investigation of dominant translation norms and ideologies.By representing and performing translation as an important form of world-making practice, we shall see that these works, whether they be memoirs, performative translations or visual artworks experimenting with translation, often inaugurate new forms of planetary social and political imaginaries.About the speakerDelphine Grass is Senior Lecturer in French and Comparative Literature at Lancaster University, where she serves as Principal Investigator on the AHRC/BRAID-funded project "Animals in Translation: AI, Ethics and the Future of Interspecies Dialogue." Her research explores the intersections between creative-critical translation practices, environmental humanities, and digital media. Her recent publications include Translation as Creative-Critical Practice (Cambridge UP, 2023) and, with Lily Robert-Folley, she co-edited a special issue on ‘The Translation Memoir’ (2024).How to attendThis event is open to all and free to attend. No registration is required - just come along!About the seminar seriesEach semester, we welcome a fantastic range of guest speakers and colleagues to present a seminar on their work in translation.Our seminar series is run collaboratively by staff and postgraduate students, enabling our early career researchers to build networks and experience.Entry is free and no booking is required. Everyone is welcome.Are you interested in Translation Studies at Edinburgh?Providing excellent teaching and supervision, our postgraduate MSc and PhD programmes are among the UK's most comprehensive and flexible. Our expertise covers a wide range of research areas and many languages, of which you can choose to work with two. Find out more about postgraduate programmes in Translation Studies Tags Translation Studies Mar 11 2026 16.10 - 18.00 Translation Studies Research Seminar Series: Delphine Grass An in-person seminar by Dr Delphine Grass (Lancaster University) on the impact and challenges created from maps of translation studies such as the Holmes/Toury map. Screening Room G.04 50 George Square University of Edinburgh EH8 9LH Find the venue: 50 George Square
Mar 11 2026 16.10 - 18.00 Translation Studies Research Seminar Series: Delphine Grass An in-person seminar by Dr Delphine Grass (Lancaster University) on the impact and challenges created from maps of translation studies such as the Holmes/Toury map.
