Translation in Fascist Systems: Italy, Germany, Spain A Colloquium

The one-day conference was planned as a forum for the analysis and comparison of translation publishing policies and practices in the fascist eras in Germany, Italy and Spain. The aim was to contribute to the historical study of fascism; to contribute to descriptive Translation Studies by providing concrete and detailed accounts of translation policy and practice in a very particular historical context; and to engage in interdisciplinary discussion between historically oriented Translation Studies and culturally oriented historical studies. Around thirty to forty people attended the colloquium over the course of the day, around twenty of them participating in the afternoon round table. The day was divided into empirical presentations in the morning and interdisciplinary discussion in the afternoon. The morning presentations outlined the institutional context and publishing practice of the respective regimes, as follows: - Chris Rundle (University of Bologna) on translation in Fascist Italy - Kate Sturge (Aston University, UK) on translation in Nazi Germany - Jeroen Vandaele (KU Leuven, Belgium) on translation in Franco's Spain - Rafael Lozano Miralles (University of Bologna) on the literary relations of Spain and Italy in the Fascist regime The afternoon was introduced by Professor Patrizia Dogliani (University of Bologna), who set out the parallels and divergences she saw arising from the three country studies. She put forward a comparative perspective and opened up a range of questions which were then taken up by the presenters and members of the audience. A wide range of issues were discussed and there was strong participation from the audience, including a scholar from Portugal who provided a useful complement to the Spanish case.