Iaclals Annual Conference 2009

Theme: Translation and Postcolonialities
16-18 February 2009
Dharwad

We often talk of (post)colonialism in the singular, as if the experience everywhere was the same, and also as if there was only one colonizer in the world. We tend to forget that India itself experienced in the very same period the presence of other European powers, other colonizers - Portugal and France; the discourses of the empires being formed, among other things, by translation and by the relationships of power between the European and the Indian languages and different cultural practices. Translation had an enabling effect for the colonized as well, forging relationships between languages indigenous and foreign, helping in the development of languages, and in the deepening of relationships within and between languages - both national and transnational. Translations thus helped both in the rise of and the challenges to the nation state. What was the impact of translation in India/Europe during the years of colonialism? What is the role of translation in the postcolonial phase today? How do translation theories and practices help to shape the power relations between languages and cultures? In what ways can we theorize and understand the translational effects of various postcolonialities? Can translation affect equality and ethicality, and how? In the Indian situation specifically, what are the ideological and political differences between translating from English and translating into English?

Proposals are invited for papers on the above theme, looking at different kinds of translations. The last date for submission of proposals is October 20, 2008. Please email them to iaclalsdelhi@yahoo.com. As before, entries are invited for the CDN Prize for the Best Paper Presented at the Conference , for which completed papers have to be submitted by December 7th, 2008.

The conference will be co-ordinated by Dr Vijaya Guttal, Dept. of English, Karnataka University, Dharwad, Karnataka -580003. Email: vijayaguttal@gmail.com (Dharwad is four hours' drive from Goa, and is connected by rail as well as by air. Trains from/to Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru etc. pass through it , and the nearest airport is Hubli, about 25 kms from Dharwad.)