The 2019 Conference of the International Association for Languages and Intercultural Communication (IALIC) will be held at the Universitat de València (Spain), 20-22 November, 2019, with the aim of providing a forum for research in the field. The conference theme, Translating Cultures, Cultures in Translation, emerges principally from the idea that it is people who co-construct their culture(s) through intercultural communication and everyday encounters. Cultures are therefore not static, but are always on the move; nor are cultures homogenous, rather they are diverse and multifaceted. In other words, cultures are always ‘in translation’ or moving from one location to another; similarly, cultural frameworks are always permeable and subject to change under the mutual contact that takes place between individuals. This conference will therefore explore the relationship between cultures and translation understood not only as encounter, co-construction, negotiation change and movement, but also as a means of explicating and interpreting the world. Intercultural interactions take place both in ordinary circumstances such as school, the workplace or everyday life, and also in exceptional situations such as those brought about by forced or voluntary displacements. In these circumstances, cultural difference can be signified by the language used in relation to gender, sexuality, age, food, dress, social mores or other characteristics which become salient in these interactions. In this, structural agents of power and change, such as educational institutions, governmental and other administrative agencies, as well as political regimes and agendas – forces which can be both productive of and resistant to diversity, difference and individual agency – will also be subject to scrutiny. In these circumstances, the conflicting demands of intercultural exchange and intercultural difference can lead not only to the flaring up of clashes and misunderstandings, but also to the silencing of individuals’ voices and the denial of their identities. Thus intercultural communication, dialogue, negotiation and mediation are all necessary in order to overcome and resolve confrontational situations that might give rise to intolerance and injustice of all persuasions. The conference will also engage with the diversity of cultural narratives and texts – fictional and nonfictional, poetic and prosaic, imaginary and autobiographical, visual and performative – through which (inter)cultural encounters can be critically engaged with, reflected upon and interpreted. In so doing, we will explore the different formats and platforms which can be used for communication, including images, performance, media, film, performing arts and music. As people shape and reshape their own culture(s), novel theoretical, methodological and pedagogical approaches to intercultural communication arise. This forum, therefore, seeks to embrace not only the reassuringly conventional but also new forms of intercultural expression that are emerging.
Topics
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Cultural interactions worldwide relating (inter alia) to education, workplace, leisure and the arts.
• Hegemonic relations in cultures and languages.
• Cultural and linguistic impact of migration movements on both migrants and the host societies.
• Forced and voluntary displacements: multicultural and multilingual situations.
• Negotiating difference: tolerance and intolerance.
• Facing and overcoming cultural and linguistic clashes.
• Teaching to cope with cultural and linguistic differences.
• Culture and language in diasporic situations.
• Generation gap: changes in linguistic and social interactions.
• Cultural narratives: fictional and non-fictional, imaginary and autobiographical.
• Cultural representations: moods, modes and media.
Plenary Speakers
1. John Corbett – University of Sao Paulo (Brazil).
2. Sandra López Rocha – University of Waterloo (Canada).
3. Isabel Moreno López – Goucher College (USA).
4. Roberto Valdeón – Universidad de Oviedo (Spain).
Conference Presentation Types
• Paper presentations (20 minutes + 10 minutes for discussion).
• Roundtable sessions (90 minutes).
• PhD candidates’ presentations (15 minutes + 15 minutes for discussion).
Presentation of Abstracts
We invite submission of proposals by 28 February, 2019.
• For paper presentations: Abstract (300 words + five key references).
• For roundtable sessions: We welcome proposals for roundtables of three / four speakers. Panellists will give a short introductory statement of 10-15 minutes and the rest of the session will consist of discussion and debate. To submit a proposal for a roundtable, please send a 100-word abstract summarising the topic and its importance, together with a 100-word abstract of each speaker (including their names and affiliations), plus details of the roundtable organiser, chair (if different from the organiser), and participants.
• For PhD candidates’ presentations: Abstract (300 words + five key references); special sessions will be allocated for these presentations in which there will be two respondents assigned by the scientific committee. In all cases, please include names and institutional affiliations as you would like them to appear on the name badges and on the conference programme. The official language of the conference is English.
Abstracts should be submitted by email as an attached word document (a template can be found on our webpage) to maria.j.coperias@uv.es and juan.j.martinez@uv.es. Abstracts will be reviewed by the conference scientific committee.
Venue
Facultat de Filologia, Traducció i Comunicació Blasco Ibáñez, 32, 46010, Valencia (Spain).
Registration
The registration period to take part in the conference will run from 1st June to 12th November, 2019.
Scholarships
Three scholarships will be offered to ‘early career’ researchers or doctoral students, particularly those coming from the Global South, consisting of the conference fees and accommodation for maximum 4 days in budget hotel or university halls of residence. Please see relevant documents on the conference website.
Important Dates
• Presentation of abstracts: deadline 28th February.
• Notification of acceptance: 31st March.
• Registration: Early registration finishes 15th October; registrations will be accepted up to 12th November.
Steering Committee
María José Coperías-Aguilar (Universitat de València – IALIC).
Juan José Martínez-Sierra (Universitat de València – CiTrans).