Cultural Mis/Myth/Translation
Panel proposal for ACLA conference (April 15-18, 2004 at the University of Michigan)
This panel explores the paradigm of cultural translation and the problems inherent in translating values, languages and/or cultures, focusing especially on the role of cultural myths, misunderstandings, mistranslations and/or omissions. Strictly speaking, all comparative scholarship across cultures can do nothing but translate. Similarly, the historical past, socio-cultural politics and national or ethnic identity are all in the translation.
What are implications of specific cultural misunderstandings? How have cultural myths and mistranslations shaped history, societies and politics? How do politics, power relations and/or the market economy influence cultural mis/myth/translations? How do cultural mis/myth/translations create the image of writers, texts and/or literary canons? What is the role of emotion, affectivity and/or creativity for the cross-cultural subject, writer or interpreter? How to characterize the methodology and/or ethics of cultural translation? Can cultural misreadings be constructive? How can cultural myths be resisted, re-appropriated and/ or re-turned? These are but some of the questions that we hope to address in this panel.
Topics to consider (other suggestions welcome):
- transmitting/transforming cultural myths, stereotypes & misunderstandings
- cultural (myth)misconceptions in history and politics
- cultural (myth)misunderstandings in the Bible, ancient texts or oral texts
- cultural (mis)interpretations of visual and musical texts.
- cultural translation in the legal forum, religion, science and technology
- feeling culture: cultural translation and the (missing) role of affect, emotion, trauma or pain
- the culturally untranslatable, ineffable, omissions and/or mistakes
- cultural politics, cultural capital and/or cultural censorship
- ethnocentrism, logocentrism, linguistic imperialism, and/or the literary canon
- mimicry, hybridity, syncretism and/or métissage
- creoles, pidigins and/or multilingualism
- translation in indigenous, multicultural and global contexts
Papers on lesser-known languages and cultures and pre-modern topics are particularly encouraged.
All participants must become ACLA members to attend conference. (conference Web-site http://www.umich.edu/~acla/)
To be considered for this panel, please Email a 300 word abstract to Madelaine HRON, at mhron@umich.edu, no later than August 15th, 2003.
Madelaine HRON,
Dept of Comparative Literature
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
mhron@umich.edu