Bienvenue au colloque international « Putting Translators on the Map » ces 4 et 5 novembre 2025, coorganisé par le CIRTI. Vous pourrez y entendre des communications de Clémence Belleflamme, Valérie Bada, Elies Smeyers, Céline Letawe et Maud Gonne. Letizia Imola et Delphine Coppin, deux doctorantes (ULiège-CIRTI), participeront, quant à elles, au preconference workshop.

In recent years, a multitude of initiatives to increase translator recognition have been launched across Europe. Examples include the online campaign #noemdevertaler in the Dutch-speaking region; Raus aus der Unsichtbarkeit! in Germany; and the Translators on the cover report (EU Work Plan for Culture 2019-2022). These calls to action stem from tangible commitments within the literary field itself and are rarely framed within the context of literary or translation scholarship. This is despite the increasing prominence of the translator’s agency in recent research, both as an individual (e.g. Kaindl et al 2021; Bergantino 2023) and in relation to other agents (e.g. Jansen & Wegener 2013; Brown 2018; Freeth 2024). The increasing focus on translator studies is invariably linked to broader historical (Belle & Hosington 1998), sociological (Freeth 2024), poetical (Hermans 1996, Munday 2012) and ethical (Venuti 1995, 2019) questions. Indeed, as Hermans already argued in 1996, the translator’s presence in a text extends far beyond the “names on the title page” and should thus be studied within a wider framework, analyzing, for instance, the power dynamics between the translator and other agents, or the strategic use of specific media. In this regard, one must also consider the considerable impact of technological developments. While these advances offer new opportunities for translators to gain visibility (e.g., via personal websites, promotional videos, online testimonials – see also Freeth 2024; Kotze 2024), the evolving interplay between technology and literary translation also brings pressure to bear on the visibility of translators.

Keynote speakers 
Marie-Alice Belle (Université de Montréal)
Patrick Hersant (Université Paris 8)

This event is organized in collaboration by the research groups French literature (Leuven), TRACE-CLIV (Ghent) and CIRTI (Liège). The event will be hosted at Ghent University, in the Faculty Library of Arts and Philosophy (Rozier 44, Ghent). By bringing together three leading Belgian Universities, the conference seeks to foster scholarly exchange and encourage dialogue accross institutes and disciplines, in Belgium and abroad.

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