[News] SISU Translation Research Summer School 2022
Held online 27 June – 9 July 2022
Report by the SISU Baker Centre for Translation & Intercultural Studies
The SISU Translation Research Summer School, which takes place on alternate years, was held online by the Baker Centre for Translation & Intercultural Studies, Shanghai International Studies University, in June-July 2022. Due to the continued disruption caused by COVID-19, the School had to run totally in virtual mode. SISU’s online learning platform Moodle enabled a smooth delivery of the full programme, and, like last year’s Media School (International Research School for Media Translation and Digital Culture), the one-week School period had to be extended to two weeks to facilitate participation in what ended up being a fully virtual event involving participants spread across different time zones. Due to the high number of registrations and the diverse geographical spaces in which participants were located, attendees were split into two groups based on time zones and each session was delivered twice (morning and afternoon).
Renowned scholars with expertise in the area of translation studies gave lectures and tutorials to 46 home and international students and scholars from four continents. This year, the Korean Association for Translation Studies (KATS) sponsored six Korean participants. The teaching staff included Prof. Mona Baker (Director of the SISU Baker Centre, which hosted the event), University of Oslo, Norway; Dr. Kyung Hye Kim (Co-Director of the School), Shanghai International Studies University; Dr. Jan Buts, Boğaziçi University, Turkey; Prof. Sue-Ann Harding, Queen’s University Belfast, UK; Dr. Cristina Marinetti, Cardiff University, UK; and Dr. Maialen Marin-Lacarta, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain. Detailed information about the School, the 2022 programme, university library access, Moodle access and reading materials were all provided to participants in advance, allowing them enough time to familiarize themselves with relevant concepts and theories beforehand.
The 2-week long Translation Research Summer School consisted of 15 hours of lectures spread across ten modules, in addition to group tutorials, two one-hour long social events and a whole day of presentations on 9th July. The modules included lectures on theoretical approaches to translation and interpreting research, research methods in translation studies, research design and dynamics, academic career development, and this year’s featured theme of ‘Context and Contextualization’. The lectures dealt with both general theoretical considerations and specific case studies, enabling students to engage with theory as well as gain insight into its actual application in the analysis of texts, practices and communities.
Group tutorials encouraged students to share their work and engage in in-depth discussions with their tutors and peers, an experience considered by many to be one of the highlights of the School. At the end of the two weeks, participants presented their research projects, on which they received feedback from tutors and peers; these presentations and the submission of a detailed research proposal are required for participants to receive a completion certificate. Both offer students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in applying concepts and exploring issues discussed during the School in their own research, and a chance to receive constructive feedback from teaching staff.
The SISU Baker Centre for Translation and Intercultural Studies is committed to fostering a vibrant research culture and supporting early career researchers through various academic activities and publications, including the Martha Cheung Award for Best English Article in Translation Studies (https://www.sisubakercentre.org/the-martha-cheung-award/), the upcoming 2023 International Research School for Media Translation and Digital Culture (https://www.sisubakercentre.org/media-school/), and other activities to be announced during the academic year 2022/2023.
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