International Conference
Translation and the “Third Reich” II
Historiographic Challenges and Approaches
Vienna, 28-30 September 2016 - Centre for Translation Studies, University of Vienna
Conference Languages: German, English, French
The ‘story’ of how to write history on translation and interpreting phenomena has mostly been approached (and written) from the angle of other fields and disciplines. This fact is clearly visible in classical and contemporary translation and interpreting historiography both in make-up and outlook. At the same time, these still dominant contributions also illustrate a lack of perspectives and understanding from within our own discipline. However, creating a historiography of translatorial and interpreting action requires addressing the specific issues we face. This is what our conference call aims at, with the „Third Reich“ serving as our common frame of reference.
This year‘s conference is a sequel and follow-up to Translation and the “Third Reich” I (Berlin, 2014). During the Berlin event one thought remained obvious throughout: Doing historiography of Translation and Interpreting phenomena in the reference frame of such a violent, existential and highly asymmetric context calls for constant sensitivity and critical reflection (sources?, methods?), with implicit flaws coming quickly to the fore. We concluded, then, that there are so many more stories yet to be told about how to write a history of translation and interpreting in the face of Nazi power. Moreover, we thought that because of the required academic rigor, awareness and clarity, the chosen approaches (and experience of met challenges) could also be applied to other translation and interpreting studies contexts when taking a historical angle. Thus, Translation and the “Third Reich” II.
Organization committee