We congratulate our member Şebnem Susam-Saraeva on her appointment as Personal Chair of Translation Studies at the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures.
Şebnem will deliver her inaugural lecture on 25 June.
All are welcome.
Translation rights of the more-than-human – thoughts on whale bioacoustics
Wednesday, June 25 · 5:15 – 6:30pm
50 George Square Lecture Theatre (G.03)
Eco-translation has opened up translation studies to multiple forms of communication that take place in the more-than-human world, challenging the barriers that persist between humanities and life sciences.
This lecture will discuss issues of translation, representation and ethics in relation to the communication systems of cetaceans (dolphins, whales and porpoises). It will explore ‘language’, ‘translation’ and ‘(un)translatability’ in the context of whales, then focus on why the colonial and patriarchal-capitalist heritage is relevant to the bioacoustics research carried out on whale vocalisations. It will then turn to the thorny question of ‘who has the right to translate/represent’ the whales and to issues of ‘translation rights’ of the more-than-human.
The objective is to expand our understanding of what translation entails, while offering some insights from humanities for research on marine bioacoustics.
The lecture will be followed by a canapés and drinks reception, at which all are welcome.
Please reserve a ticket here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/inaugural-lecture-sebnem-susam-saraeva-tickets-1343758992319?aff=oddtdtcreator
About the speaker
Şebnem Susam-Saraeva holds a Personal Chair of Translation Studies at the University of Edinburgh.
Her past research focused on translation of literary theories, retranslation, research methodology in translation studies, internationalisation of the discipline, non-professionals translating/interpreting, translation and gender, translation and popular music, and ethical & representational issues in translation.
Her more recent work focuses on translation/interpreting in (maternal) health and on eco-translation, especially interspecies communication.
Professor Susam-Saraeva led the RSE-funded project ‘Translating Informed Consent in Scottish Maternity Services’ in 2022, bringing together the expertise of midwifery and translation & interpreting studies. She is currently running a new RSE-funded project ‘The beginnings: Factoring in interpreting at antenatal care and midwifery education’.
She has published on translation and ecofeminism, as well as (knowledge) translation in climate crisis discourse. She held a visiting fellowship at Trinity Long Room Hub, Trinity College Dublin (2023), for her work on the representation of cetacean communication in arts and music, and a Leverhulme International Fellowship for her project ‘’Translation and cetacean communication systems: interactions and synergies’ (2024), hosted by marine mammal research centres in Canada and the US.
