Programme – Paratexts

Sameh Hanna

This introductory session will provide a detailed overview of the traditional model of paratexts as outlined in Gerard Genette’s Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation. It will introduce and critique the two types of paratextual devices he discussed: peritexts, which accompany the main text (introductions, title, cover image, footnotes, etc.), and epitexts, which are situated outside the text (reviews, interviews, correspondence, etc.). These concepts and their implications will be illustrated with examples drawn from studies of translation that have drawn on Genette’s work.

Paratexts and the Reconstruction of a Translation Field: A Case Study of Shakespeare in Arabic

Sameh Hanna

This session has a two-fold objective: first, to test the applicability of Genette’s theorization of paratexts to the study of a specific translation case; second, to explore the potential implications of paratextual analysis for the sociological study of translation. Focusing on the Arabic translations of Shakespeare’s dramatic work, the session will examine the different paratexts used with these translations and demonstrate how they can be used to reconstruct a translation field in the Bourdieusian sense.

Mona Baker

Publishing in peer-reviewed international journals is now key to progressing in an academic career anywhere in the world. This workshop will draw on the workshop leader’s extensive experience in editing the international journal The Translator, as well as refereeing submissions for a large number of high ranking periodicals. Illustrative, anonymized examples from various types of submission and referee feedback will be used to outline recurrent patterns of writing and structuring research articles that result in negative assessment and rejection. Guidance on avoiding such patterns and producing research articles that meet international standards of excellence will be provided.

Mona Baker

This session will move the discussion of paratexts beyond Genette’s traditional model in two main ways. First, it will exemplify and critique types of paratextual device that are not covered or anticipated by Genette, including translation itself as both the object of paratextual framing and a paratextual frame in its own right. Second, it will examine types of paratextual framing in different types of media and domains of translation, such as the Internet, audiovisual translation, comics, and drama translation. 

Paratexts and the Study of Hetero-doxic Translation Practices: A Case Study of the Bible in Arabic

Sameh Hanna

Building on the previous case study session on paratextual framing of Shakespeare’s translations, this workshop will investigate the implications of paratextual analysis for understanding translation practices that challenge established norms. The history of the Arabic translations of the Bible demonstrates the crucial role played by paratexts in questioning ortho-dox practices and institutionalizing hetero-dox ones. The links that can be established between paratextual analysis and such Bourdieusian concepts as capital, doxa and habitus will also be explored.

Mona Baker

Translation Studies is now a vast and growing area of scholarship and is recognized as such by major funding bodies in different parts of the world. At the same time, the success of translation scholars in competing for large grants has largely depended in recent years on their ability to address key priorities such as interdisciplinarity and collaborative research. This presentation will focus on a number of new and emerging themes that have successfully crossed the boundaries of translation studies proper to engage with scholars in other disciplines, highlighting in particular issues of methodology and impact. These include themes such as the role of translation in shaping intellectual history and mediating our understanding of key concepts in society; translation and digital culture; and translation in the context of global activism. The presentation will also offer some ideas for future directions, including further engagement with non-professional translation and the impact of new media cultures and technologies on our ability to formulate research questions in translation studies. It will further offer guidance on writing and structuring research proposals.