Call for Papers - A New Babel: Multilingualism, Translingualism, and Translation in Contemporary Literature. Conference in Verona, 26-27 May 2025
Multilingualism and translingualism (acquired, learned, practiced, lost, abandoned) are an increasingly prominent phenomenon in contemporary literature, especially among authors who do not write in their first language but, rather, in the dominant language of the country where they have migrated either out of necessity or personal choice, or where they live, feeling in exile or at home. Over the last few years, research in this field has gained strength and significance, particularly in light of theories on cultural translation and of concepts developed in the field of postcolonial studies, such as hybridization, métissage, transculturation, or creolization of cultures/languages and identities.
Studies on the subiect are at present broad and diverse, still the topic cannot be considered exhausted. Moreover, the current historical-political context requires new readings and shifts in emphasis. While it is clear that the phenomenon cannot be confined to an exclusively linguistic or literary analysis, it seems necessary to move beyond the tendency, from various quarters, to celebrate and idealize self-translation and hybridity. The inherent risk here lies in overlooking the issue of cultural and linguistic alienation tied to self-translation. Far from representing a mere act of free border-crossing, multilingual and translingual literature invite reflection on power dynamics and relationships between dominant and marginalized languages. Furthermore, they explore the role played by factors such as linguistic culture as related to the mindset of the intended readers, the structure of public opinion, or the characteristics of the literary market.
The conference aims to investigate these phenomena with a focus on literary, as well as cross-genre, production from the early 2000s onward. Some possible themes to explore, without any claim to exhaustiveness, include:
- Inner dialogue with one’s mother tongue in the writing process: literary language and “subtext”; latent multilingualism vs. manifest multilingualism.
- “Self-translation” as the translation of one’s own text into another language vs. “translation of the self” as the transposition of one’s identity into another linguistic-cultural context, or into a self that inhabits another language.
- Language change as a prerequisite for literary writing tackling the urgency of testimony; language as a filter to communicate what was/is inexpressible.
- Tracing the individual past (family or generational novels) and returning to multilingualism; reconstructing lost worlds, “rescuing” languages and cultures on the brink of extinction.
- Multilingualism, translingualism, and literary genres: poetry, prose, essay-writing
- Multilingualism and translingualism between literature and other media (cinema, music, comics, graphic poetry, video installations, etc.).
- Multilingualism and translingualism among minorities, on the “margins” (the “ghetto” language, the language of the “Kanak”), in the context of new exiles and new diasporas.
- “National” revival and multilingualism, manifestation of “national identity” in the “national language.”
- Multilingualism in the Jewish-Yiddish context.
- Multilingualism and dialects/regional languages.
Organization: Paola Bellomi (University of Siena), Gabriella Pelloni (University of Verona), Marika Piva (University of Padua)
Scientific Committee: Edoardo Balletta (University of Bologna), Paola Bellomi (University of Siena), Manuel Boschiero (University of Verona), Ugo Fracassa (Roma Tre University), Gabriella Pelloni (University of Verona), Annalisa Pes (University of Verona), Marika Piva (University of Padua), Susanna Zinato (University of Verona)
Organizational Support: Elisa Destro (University of Verona), Lara Righi (University of Verona)
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Scholars and researchers interested in presenting contributions on one of the topics mentioned above are invited to participate. Please send an abstract (max. 300 words) and a short bio (max. 150 words) by January 28th to the email addresses: elisa.destro@univr.it , lara.righi@univr.it
Travel and accommodation expenses are the responsibility of the participants.
Conference Languages: English, Italian
Deadlines
- Submission of abstracts: January 28, 2025
- Notification of acceptance: February 25, 2025
- Conference dates: May 26–27, 2025
A publication of the contributions is planned in Issue 6 (2025) of the journal NuBE (Nuova Biblioteca Europea): https://rivistanube.dlls.univr.it/