Summer School on Translations
philip....@gmail.com
- with apologies for cross posting -
Dear colleagues,
I am happy to share an announcement for an upcoming interdisciplinary summer school on pre- and early modern translations at KU Leuven. The summer school is intended primarily for doctoral and post-doctoral researchers with a focus on translations.
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V LECTIO Interdisciplinary Summer School “Translations in the Premodern and Early Modern World”: Registration open until 30 June 2026
Kortenberg, 8–9 September 2026
Since 2022, the LECTIO Summer Schools have brought together early career researchers (PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers) and professors to explore a specific theme from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, drawing on materials from Antiquity, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the Early Modern Period. This year, the masterclasses will focus on the topic of translation.
Across many fields of research, one can observe a broad and growing interest in translations from the premodern and early modern world. Translations provide valuable insights into how historical actors understood, engaged with, and adapted texts as they sought to convey meaning from one cultural or linguistic context to another. They also allow us to tell more nuanced historical narratives that account for the interactions between multiple cultures. This summer school brings into dialogue research on translations from different historical periods.
The programme consists of 8 masterclasses, each of which will be combined with a slot for participants to pitch their research and receive feedback. The masterclasses will engage with one or more of the following three subtopics:
- the material dimensions of translation,
- translation techniques and methods,
- the role(s) of translators and interpreters within their societies.
The spirit of the summer school is to create a dialogue and allow the participants to learn about and compare approaches to the same subject across different disciplines. This interdisciplinary nature of the summer school brings everyone out of their immediate scholarly comfort zone and thus creates a space of mutual learning and opens up new perspectives.
The cost of participation is €80 and includes all meals and an overnight stay in Kortenberg.
Registration is open until 30 June 2026. Places are limited: if there are more applications than the school can accommodate, a selection will be made.
Learn more and register: https://www.kuleuven.be/lectio/events/summer-school/lectio-summer-school-2026-translations-in-the-premodern-and-early-modern-world
The Summer School is organised by LECTIO – KU Leuven Institute for the Study of the Transmission of Texts, Ideas and Images in Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance (https://www.kuleuven.be/lectio).
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With best wishes,
Phil