EWCA 2016

In Text Matters no. 12 (2022): “The Butterfly Effect: Creating and Recreating the Story of Madame Butterfly, on Paper and on Stage” by Magdalena Szuster (University of Lodz).

“Miss Saigon premiered in Poland on 9 December 2000 in the Roma Musical Theatre in Warsaw. The revived version opened on 8 June 2019 at the Music Theatre of Łódź; it was the only revival of the mega-musical outside of the West End (2014–16) in Europe until its Austrian premiere in Vienna on 3 December 2021. The apparent lack of interest in the musical by other companies may be attributed to a myriad of factors: economic (e.g., a costly license agreement, a sizeable ensemble and orchestra), cultural (ethnicity, diversity), social (reliability), historical and contextual, among others. These considerations, however, did not deter the Music Theatre of Łódź from pursuing the title, despite a rather distant historical context and an unfamiliar subject matter. What is more, neither of the Polish adaptations sparked protests or outrage; on the contrary—both received rave reviews and public acclaim.
It seems, therefore, that the reception of Orientalist performances in a racially homogeneous society devoid of a racist colonial past and imperialist experience lacks postcolonial perspectives, such as those which resurfaced during Miss Saigon’s revivals in the US and England. Even at the marketing level, it is clear that the production was never a potential problem for the producers in Łódź. According to Anna Korzon-Wnukowska, the head of the theatre’s marketing department, ‘promoting Miss Saigon wasn’t problematic; Asians and their culture are perceived positively here, unlike, for example, Roma communities, people of Turkish origin or African-Americans.’ This not only shows that the issue of Orientalism or sexism was beyond the theatre’s considerations; it also indicates that the means of depicting different cultures is nowhere as important for the institution as the audience’s perception of a particular minority. The focus of potential concern is entirely on the white Polish audiences, who are not Othered by the Orientalist performance, and for whom ‘issues of religion or the approach to historical truth are much more important than racial issues,’ claims Korzon-Wnukowska.”

Read the article here:

The Butterfly Effect: Creating and Recreating the Story of Madame Butterfly, on Paper and on Stage | Text Matters: A Journal of Literature, Theory and Culture The Butterfly Effect: Creating and Recreating the Story of Madame Butterfly, on Paper and on Stage Authors Magdalena Szuster University of Lodz https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9648-1894 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18778/2083-2931.12.26 Keywords: Orientalism, post-colonialism, Madame Butterfly, Miss Saigon,....

We are very happy to announce a cfp for an issue of Text Matters: A Journal of Literature, Theory and Culture, co-edited by Professor Sherry Simon and Dr. Krzysztof Majer. https://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/textmatters/Current_CFP
Call for Papers: "Language Traffic in the City: Translating Urban Space" Text Matters: A Journal of Literature, Theory and Culture -- Issue 15, 2025 (University of Lodz, Poland)
Co-Editors of the issue:
Prof. Sherry Simon, PhD
Dr. Krzysztof Majer
With this volume, we aim to stimulate an interdisciplinary discussion of translation—its nature, processes, and capacities—in the context of urban space and various attendant modes of mobility. As Siri Nergaard reminds us, translation always implies a spatial dimension: inevitably “conditioned by space,” it can also “promote or provoke changes in the perception and the use of spaces and places” (9). This necessitates a different conceptualization of space as “a site where production and interpretation are intermingled, where translations occur and where identity is reinterpreted” (Simon, “Introduction” 11).
We are interested not only in how cultural transfer is enabled and negotiated, but also in actions that may limit or impede transmissibility. After all, the central figure invoked in Sherry Simon’s Cities in Translation is that of Hermes: “the god of both separation and connection [who] protects boundaries but through his magical powers also provides safe passage for travellers” (xv–xvii). This highly unstable entity—“messenger and trickster, trader and thief” (Simon, Cities xvii)—can also be seen as “a hermeneut: an inquiring mind, an interpreter of texts and a mediator across languages” (xvii–xviii).
The prospective volume is designed to continue, and expand on, various strands of scholarly discussion initiated by Sherry Simon’s publications (e.g., Translation Sites: A Field Guide, 2019; Cities in Translation: Intersections of Language and Memory, 2012; Translating Montreal: Episodes in the Life of a Divided City, 2006), The Routledge Handbook of Translation and the City (edited by Tong King Lee, 2021), the “Space” issue of Translation: A Transdisciplinary Journal (vol. 7, edited by Sherry Simon and Siri Nergaard, 2018), and the “The City as Translation Zone” issue of Translation Studies (vol. 7, no. 2, edited by Michael Cronin and Sherry Simon, 2014), among others.
We invite researchers in all fields related to translation to submit papers that will engage with the histories and contemporary lives of cities across the globe, not only Europe and North America, but also cities in Africa, Asia, Latin America. Former colonial cities are of particular interest as they develop new relationships across histories. Also of interest are symbolic sites in cities that bring together languages in specific ways: markets, hotels, bridges, opera houses. Translation and language relations can be approached through a great variety of methods—whether it be sociolinguistics, literature, communication theory, or artistic practices, including cinema.
Researchers are invited to engage with the following (the list is not exhaustive):
- relationships between language and urban space;
- translational/dual cities;
- urban zones of translational resistance;
- cultural meanings shaped through language interaction within the city;
- urban forces impeding the transfer of language and memory;
- dialogues between cities;
- the city as translational palimpsest;
- contested memories;
- postcoloniality and translation spaces;
- literary accounts of the multilingual city;
- symbolic sites of language encounter;
- artistic practices of language encounter, including avant-garde and experimental forms;
- translators as city dwellers and cultural agents;
- cities translated through violence, occupation, appropriation;
- neighbours, strangers, immigrants, foreigners: translating otherness in the city.
Submissions:
An abstract in English (max. 250 words) should be submitted as an email attachment to the issue editors:
[email protected] and [email protected]
In your email, please include your name, affiliation, email address, title of the proposal, abstract, five keywords and a brief bio.
Editors:
Prof. Sherry Simon, PhD
Distinguished Professor Emerita
Department of French Studies
Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
Dr. Krzysztof Majer
Department of North American Literature and Culture
Institute of English Studies
University of Lodz, Poland
Important deadlines:
Deadline for submission of article proposals (max. 250 words): 31 January 2024
Deadline for editors’ acceptance/rejection of proposals: 28 February 2024
Deadline for submission of full articles (max. 6000 words): 1 October 2024
Deadline for peer review and final acceptance/rejection of articles: 1 December 2024
Deadline for submission of final versions of articles: 1 February 2025
Bibliography:
Nergaard, Siri. “Presentation”. Translation: A Transdisciplinary Journal, vol. 7, 2018, pp. 9–10.
Simon, Sherry. Cities in Translation: Intersections of Language and Memory. Routledge, 2012.
Simon, Sherry. “Introduction.” Translation: A Transdisciplinary Journal, vol. 7, 2018, pp. 11–15.

Current CFP | Text Matters: A Journal of Literature, Theory and Culture With this volume, we aim to stimulate an interdisciplinary discussion of translation—its nature, processes, and capacities—in the context of urban space and various attendant modes of mobility. As Siri Nergaard reminds us, translation always implies a spatial dimension: inevitably “conditioned...

Read Monika Kocot’s (University of Lodz) article “’The Only Way Out Is In’: Transcending Modernity and Embracing Interconnectedness in Gary Snyder and Kenneth White” in Text Matters no.12 (2022).

“The need to raise awareness about our unity with nature is of crucial importance, especially in the West. As Brother Phap Huu puts it in the aforementioned podcast, “there is no separation between us and the environment; we are the environment. How we live, how we act, how we are is already a contribution.” That is the essence of deep ecology. “We should fall in love with the Earth,” Sister True Dedication adds in the same podcast, then new possibilities of non-reductive action emerge. Looking deeply means continuous training in being rooted and grounded in the present moment. Thich Nhat Hanh stresses that our attitude of “interbeing” and reclaimed agency in the here-and-now form sustainable ways to save the planet. Strikingly similar views have been shared by Gary Snyder and Kenneth White since the 1960s. Their insights as poets and environmental activists can be appreciated for their innovative and often radical take on the issue of saving our planet. It could be argued that Snyder, as an engaged Buddhist, and White as an educator and creator of groups (clearly disassociated from any religious practice), have been laying down a strong foundation for the peaceful and sustainable existence of future generations for half a century.”

Read here:

“The Only Way Out Is In”: Transcending Modernity and Embracing Interconnectedness in Gary Snyder and Kenneth White | Text Matters: A Journal of Literature, Theory and Culture “The Only Way Out Is In”: Transcending Modernity and Embracing Interconnectedness in Gary Snyder and Kenneth White Authors Monika Kocot University of Lodz https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8111-4998 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18778/2083-2931.12.15 Keywords: transmodernity, Gary Snyder, Kenneth White, int...

Thank you all for the wonderful conference!

All the best from the EWCA 2016 organizers and our keynote speaker Barbara Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk

It has been our pleasure to have you in Łódź as our plenary speaker!

Joshua M. Paiz 庞书华 on Twitter “Last day of . What a fantastic conference. The organizers have been SUPERB!”

The opening!

Our registration is blooming ;)

Some creative writing, anyone?

The registration is on! ;)

Peer Tutor in full bloom ;)

Peer Tutor Day :)

... and we are just getting started!