THE FIFTH ASIA-PACIFIC FORUM ON TRANSLATION AND INTERCULTURAL STUDIES
Date: October 28- 30, 2016
Venue: University of Hawai‘i, USA
Language: English

ORGANIZERS:  University of Hawai‘i, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Tsinghua University, China
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:  Lawrence Venuti, Temple University, USA; Weihe Zhong, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, China; Jeremy Munday, University of Leeds, UK; Michael James Puett, Harvard University, USA

AIMS & SCOPE:  After a series of turns in the past three decades, the scope of Translations Studies has been extraordinarily expanded. The edges of this discipline have also kept crossing. An increasing number of scholars in Translation Studies have come to realize that translation is a social activity which concerns the transfer of various types of signs (written, graphic, vocal, etc.), involved with different social factors (ideological, economic, cultural, etc.), and influenced by diverse human agents (translation initiators, translators, translation critics, patrons, readership, etc.). In an era of globalization, people have become more explicitly aware that a translational activity is not only a substantial part of human life but also a catalyst to the evolution of other social functional systems and a driving factor in inter-system communications. It should not come as a surprise then that studying translational activity in real social contexts and researching the interrelations among translation and other social systems is attracting more and more academic interests.

This conference aims to gather scholars in the fields of Translation Studies and Intercultural Studies to present their research results and exchange their views on the aforementioned trends. The goal is to create a third space other than “pure” translation studies and sociological studies by inviting scholars from various academic and cultural backgrounds to discuss translational activities with different approaches and academic narratives, in the hope that these discussions will inspire further interdisciplinary studies in the Asia-Pacific region as well as other parts of the world and help foreground the social functions of translation and translation studies. Themes of particular interest include, but are not limited to:
–Translation and social change
–Translation, cultural identity, and translated image
–Translation and circulation of knowledge
–Translation, language policy, and national security
–Translation and cultural memory
–Translation and education
–Human agents in translation
–Translation as a profession
— Translated literature and national literature

SCHEDULE:  MAY 25, 2016:  Deadline for submitting abstracts (approximately 300 words); JUNE 5, 2016:  Notification of acceptance
REGISTRATION FEE:    200 US Dollars
PAPER SUBMISSIONS: Authors are invited to submit abstracts to https://form.jotform.com/60590520824149 by 25 May 2016. Abstracts will be selected for presentation at the conference by the Committee and will be notified by 5 June 2016.  After the conference, a number of selected papers passing peer reviews will be included in Asia Pacific Translation and Intercultural Studies by Routledge/ Taylor & Francis Group and 《亚太跨学科翻译研究》(Asia-Pacific Interdisciplinary Translation Studies) published by Tsinghua University Press.
PAPER OF EXCELLENCE AWARD:  The academic committee will choose three papers of excellence submitted by young scholars (under the age of 40) and grant each of them with an award of 400 US dollars together with a certificate.

For questions, please contact either Dr. Xuanmin Luo luoxuanmin@126.com or Dr. Lucia Aranda laranda@hawaii.edu