Cfp: Translation and the Production of Knowledge(s)

Abstract deadline: October 1, 2016

Article submission deadline: May 1, 2017

The point of departure for this special issue of Alif is that knowledge is ‘produced’ rather than ‘discovered’, and that translation is a core mechanism for the production and circulation of all forms of knowledge. This topic has received relatively limited attention in translation studies to date, and even less in related disciplines such as cultural studies and the history of ideas. The few, dispersed studies that have touched on the subject have so far failed to encourage sustained engagement with the role played by translation in the production of knowledge(s) across the entire spectrum of human activities.

This special issue aims to provide an opportunity for exploring various aspects of this important theme. Contributors might offer theoretical, empirical and/or historical accounts of the impact of translation on the production, renegotiation and reification of knowledge in relation to one or more themes or areas of human activity, including but not restricted to the following:

• Expert scientific discourse;
• Popular science;
• Literary and non-literary genres, motifs and metaphors that encode knowledge from specific perspectives;
• Canonical and sacred texts such as the Qur’an and the Bible – retranslation is of particular interest in this context;
• Cultural and historical narratives, which may be elaborated through a variety of media, genres and platforms;
• Political theorizing, both popular and expert;
• Knowledge produced by lobby groups that rely heavily on translation, such as the Zionist-led Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI);
• The production of gendered knowledge in the sciences and humanities, as well as lay discourses;
• World views, cultural information and identity roles produced by the gaming industry – one of the most influential means of communicating ‘knowledge’ to young minds;
• Reports produced by international and supranational organizations, such as the United Nations Human Development Reports;
• Various theories and scholarly accounts produced across the full spectrum of academic disciplines, including anthropology, area studies, gender studies, and the social and political sciences;
• Knowledge produced through citizen media activities and platforms, including street art, social media and documentary film;
• Knowledge produced in the context of new information and communication technologies that harness the potential of multi-modality in genres such as televised newscasts;
• The imbalance in patterns of translation flow between dominant and less dominant groups and languages, which impacts their ability to participate in the production of knowledge, locally and globally;
• Alternative knowledge produced – and shared globally through various forms of translation – by radical democratic initiatives, such as the World Social Forum, Indymedia, and Inter Press Service;
• Processes of canonization by certain institutions and communities of specific translations that produce and give currency to particular types of knowledge.

Key Dates

1 October 2016           Deadline for submission of abstracts (300 words)

1 November 2016       Selected contributors notified of acceptance of abstracts

1 May 2017                  Deadline for submission of full papers

1 September 2017      Confirmation of acceptance of papers

1 November 2017       Deadline for submission of final, revised versions of papers

Spring 2018                  Publication date

Alif is a refereed, annual, multi-lingual, and multi-disciplinary journal published by the Department of English and Comparative Literature at the American University in Cairo. Each issue revolves around a theme or a problematic, bringing together the views and approaches of scholars from all over the world.

Alif has been selected by MLA as a distinguished journal and has been made available electronically through JSTOR academic service (www.jstor.org).

Submission instructions:
An initial 300-word abstract should be submitted by 1 October 2016, accompanied by the author’s email address, telephone number and postal address. Articles based on accepted abstracts should be between 5000 and 10000 words and may be submitted in Arabic, English, or French by electronic mail to: mona@monabaker.com AND alifecl@aucegypt.edu, together with an abstract of 100 words and a 50-word biographical note on the contributor. Authors should consult the MLA Handbook for style in preparing their manuscript.

Only original articles that do not duplicate previously published work, including the author’s, and are not under review by another journal or collection will be considered.

Correspondence
Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics,
Dept. of English and Comparative Literature
American University in Cairo,
113 Kasr Al Aini Street,
PO Box 2511,
Cairo 11511,
Egypt
Fax: (+ 202) 2795-7565, Tel.: (+ 202) 2797-5107
E-mail: Alif: alifecl@aucegypt.edu
http://www.aucegypt.edu/huss/eclt/alif/Pages/default.aspx