Political Discourse, Media and Translation

Aston University, Birmingham on 17 February 2007

This event is organised in the context of the AHRC funded project on The Cultural Politics and Economics of Language and Translation in Global Media. The research for the project “Translation in Global News” has brought significant insights into the production of global news, into the actual practices in news agencies, television and newspapers, and into the role of translation in these contexts. As has become evident, politics in the widest sense is one of the most prominent topic areas for the production of news and their distribution world-wide. The purpose of this symposium is to explore the role of translation in the mediation processes originating in political institutions. Key questions we want to explore are: • How do political institutions (national governments, parliaments, political parties, focus groups, etc) present their own political aims and practices to the public beyond the boundaries of their own countries? • To what extent has technology (ITC) changed the way these political institutions communicate (websites, blogs, etc.)? • Who produces translations of political speeches, political documents, press briefings? • Where and for whom are translations of such texts made available (e.g. on websites of political institutions, in the mass media)? • How are these translations (and/or original texts) transformed in recontextualisation processes from their original to publication in the media? • How do political institutions react do discourse produced in other countries and languages about the way their own policies are represented by others? This interdisciplinary conference, funded by the AHRC, seeks to provide an arena in which to discuss theoretical issues related to the role of translation in political institutions and the media. Among the speakers are Emily Apter (Professor of French and Comparative Literature at New York University), Yves Gambier (Head of the Centre for Translation and Interpreting at Turku University), and Edwin Gentzler (Director of the Translation Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst). We invite proposals for presentations. Please send a title and an abstract of approximately 500 words by 20 January 2007 to Christina Schaeffner at Aston University (C.Schaeffner@aston.ac.uk). If you wish to attend the symposium, please complete the registration form and send it to: Dr. Christina Schäffner, Institute for the Study of Language and Society, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK. Email: c.schaeffner@aston.ac.uk For more information on the project, [url=http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/ctccs/research/tgn/]please visit our website[/url]