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Call for Papers: Refract Journal
Type: Calls For Papers [View all]
Posted by: University of California Santa Cruz
Deadline: Mon, February 25th, 2019
Refract: An Open Access Visual Studies Journal
“Translation”
Call for Papers
This issue of Refract treats translation as a process by which a set of information is manipulated, altered, transferred, or rendered into another form. How do moments of transformation affect the outcome? What could be gained by focusing more on transformation rather than a fixed set of ideas that are absolute, objective, or universal? How does the intended audience shape the translation and the acts of the translators? And what is the relationship between the original and the translation? Moreover, what is lost, added, and gained in the act of translation?
Selected contributions will interrogate the mechanisms of translation, its various outcomes and its role in visual culture or other forms of creative, social, or political production and representation. These concerns inevitably lead us to think about power. What does the translator add or leave out to make language, ideas, and worldviews more accessible? Accessible to whom? And for what purposes? Refract seeks submissions that examine the power dynamics that undergird such decisions. Unequal distributions of power require that we delve further into what ’translation’ can implicate, what it can or cannot do, what it promises or retracts. Can we still say today that we are able to ’translate’ across cultural, historical, geographical, and epistemological divides?
Refract invites new approaches to visual, sensorial, and material cultures from diverse histories and geographies. Contributions from graduate students, artists, faculty, and independent scholars across the humanities, including visual studies, art history, translation studies, anthropology, literature, and history are welcome. Although Refract primarily publishes in English, we invite submissions in other languages and we encourage submissions that are themselves translations. In addition, we encourage alternative media submissions and collaborations that address the theme. See below for submission guidelines.
Topics may include, but are not limited to:
Translations of primary texts; (mis)interpretations; captions, subtitles, and dubbing
Visualizations of translation; materiality and the senses; objects, images, and installations
Data visualizations; blueprints, charts, graphs, infographics, maps
Algorithmic translations: Google translate, quantification and automation of language
Museum labels and didactics, object collections, curation
Storytelling, oral histories, fiction, myths, and narratives
Translation of archives; revisionist histories, impermanent or temporal translation
Translating from one bodily sensation to another; body language, gestures, performance, genders and sexualities
Translating across disciplines; pedagogy, institutional critique
Translating across/between different ontologies and epistemologies
Disability and issues of accessibility
Submission Guidelines
Please send full-length submissions to refractjournal@ucsc.edu by Monday, February 25, 2019 with the subject heading “Refract Journal Submission.” Please note, only one submission per person will be considered.
Papers should range from 6,000-10,000 words in length.
Written submissions should follow Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition guidelines for Humanities.
Submissions will be evaluated on relevance to themes, depth of research, completeness of work, and in accordance with Refract’s engagement with visual studies.
We reserve the right to edit submissions selected for publication. Late or incomplete submissions will not be considered.
For submissions in languages other than English, please also include a translation of the piece into English for review purposes.
Reviews and Interviews
Refract seeks reviews as another avenue for critical engagement that grapple with the topics and questions raised above.
Reviews on books, exhibitions, and films should not exceed 1,000 words in length.
Written submissions should follow Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition guidelines for Humanities.
Alternative Media
Refract encourages submissions in alternative media that address the themes described above.
Alternative media includes but is not limited to painting, photography, drawing, film, collaborative reviews, and digital projects.
Submissions should be accompanied by an artist statement no longer than 2 pages.
We encourage contributors to contact Refract before the submission deadline for customized instructions.
JPEG, PDF, and MP4 are preferred formats.
Inquiries should be sent to refractjournal@ucsc.edu
Posted on Tue, January 15th, 2019
Expires on Mon, February 25th, 2019
CAA is not responsible for the content of listings in the Opportunities section. All postings are subject to review; inappropriate submissions will not be published.