37.886, Confs: IATIS Regional Workshop: Translating Resistance: Literary Activism in Conflict and Solidarity (USA)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-37-886. Wed Mar 04 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.886, Confs: IATIS Regional Workshop: Translating Resistance: Literary Activism in Conflict and Solidarity (USA)

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Date: 02-Mar-2026
From: Erin Riddle [eriddle at binghamton.edu]
Subject: IATIS Regional Workshop: Translating Resistance: Literary Activism in Conflict and Solidarity


IATIS Regional Workshop: Translating Resistance: Literary Activism in
Conflict and Solidarity
Short Title: IATIS

Date: 03-Oct-2026 - 04-Oct-2026
Location: Binghamton, USA
Contact: Ahmad Ayyad
Contact Email: aayyad at binghamton.edu
Meeting URL:
https://www.binghamton.edu/comparative-literature/trip/events/translating-resistance.html

Linguistic Field(s): Ling & Literature; Translation

Submission Deadline: 30-Apr-2026

Hosted by The Translation Research & Instruction Program (TRIP) at
Binghamton University
Funded in part by The International Association for Translation and
Intercultural Studies (IATIS) Regional Workshop Fund
Confirmed Plenary Speakers:
Professor Samah Selim (Rutgers University, USA)
Dr. Ruth Abou Rached (University of Manchester, UK)
Scholars, researchers, and practitioners are invited to submit papers
for this two-day workshop, hosted by Binghamton University (SUNY), to
be held in New York on October 3–4, 2026.
All submitted abstracts will undergo a peer-review process, and
acceptance will be based on scholarly quality and relevance to the
workshop theme.
Abstract Submission Deadline: April 30, 2026
Translation is never neutral; it frames, amplifies, and contests
narratives, particularly in contexts of conflict and solidarity
(Baker, 2006; Venuti, 2013). While a substantial body of work has
examined translation and interpreting in war, crisis, and diplomacy
(Salama‑Carr, 2007; Inghilleri & Harding, 2010; Pérez‑González, 2012;
Ayyad, 2025; Todorova & Ruiz Rosendo, 2025), the activist functions of
literary translation remain comparatively under-examined. Recent
scholarship argues for clarifying the contours of literary translation
activism (LTA) and mapping its practices and ethics (Washbourne,
2024).
In activist settings, literary translation can document testimony,
reframe public discourse and enable transnational solidarities.
Solidarity itself is forged in struggle and actively connects places
and communities (Featherstone, 2012). Volunteer subtitling and
grassroots circulation illustrate how digital infrastructures mediate
activist texts (Díaz Cintas & Muñoz Sánchez, 2006; Pérez‑González,
2014).
This workshop addresses this gap by bringing scholars, practitioners,
and activists together to theorize and exemplify literary translation
as a form of activism and solidarity—both within conflict zones and
through acts of transnational solidarity from afar. While the workshop
is anchored in the Middle East, with particular attention to
conflict-affected contexts such as Palestine, Yemen, Sudan, and Syria,
it also welcomes contributions that enable comparative reflection
across other regions, including Ukraine, Myanmar, and Latin America.
Key sessions will examine the socio-political and material conditions
shaping literary translation in contexts of conflict, including
questions of visibility, ideological contestation, publishing
infrastructures, and solidarity networks.
We invite scholars, practitioners, and activists with experience in
literary activism in contexts of conflict and solidarity to submit
abstracts addressing one or more of the following themes:
- Literary translation in/around conflict zones (poetry, fiction,
drama, life writing): political/material constraints; situated case
studies (e.g., Palestine, Yemen, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Myanmar, Latin
America).
- Solidarity-driven literary translation: poetry, fiction, and
theatre; readings or performances; community-based and independent
publishing practices.
- Translators as activists: agency, ethics, and risk, including
questions of visibility and anonymity, security, censorship, and
paratextual strategies.
- Retranslation as political intervention: feminist, gender-aware, and
decolonial retranslations; reclaiming suppressed or marginalized
meanings.
- Digital circulation and activist infrastructures: volunteer
subtitling, social media dissemination, metadata and hashtag politics,
and grassroots archiving.
- Form and political possibility: why certain literary forms—such as
poetry, testimony, and experimental prose—travel as modes of
resistance.
- Representation and voice: selection biases and gatekeeping
practices, avoiding exoticization, and collaborative translation to
mitigate appropriation.
Proposals should be submitted by April 30, 2026
Further information about the workshop, including registration and the
workshop website, will be shared soon.
Important Dates:
- Accepted abstracts will be confirmed by May 15, 2026
- Registration opens May 15, 2026 and closes June 15, 2026
- The draft program will be available from June 15, 2026
Registration Fees:
(In-person attendance, including morning & afternoon sessions + coffee
breaks):
- Full registration: $50 USD
- Discounted registration (student/unwaged): $20 USD
A limited number of micro‑grants are available for precarious or
Global South presenters (for travel or registration support). Each
grant is $100 per applicant. Details are provided in the Google Form.
Workshop Conveners:
Ahmad Ayyad (Binghamton University)
Abdel Wahab Khalifa (Queen’s University Belfast)



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