“Bodies in Motion” will take place at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver on 22-23 March 2013. The workshop uses a focused case (early modern science, with readings that emphasize translating the body in this context) to anchor a trans-disciplinary conversation and stimulate new directions for collaborative, interdisciplinary research. The workshop is generously funded by the Situating Science cluster of SSHRC, the History Department of UBC, and the STS Program of UBC.
This two-day workshop brings an international group of scholars together in a project that examines modes and media of translation in the early modern world. Focusing on collaborative learning, the workshop will feature a series of mini-seminars on work in progress by leading international scholars of the narratives and theories of translation in global scientific history, as well as master classes in translating early modern texts. Working across Eurasian contexts and into the Indian Ocean, participants will collectively explore the language-worlds of French, Chinese, Spanish, Persian, Manchu, Portuguese, Italian, and English as they have shaped the knowledge of bodies and their interactions. This workshop is designed to be the first step in what will hopefully become a much larger “Bodies in Motion” project devoted to translation and the sciences. In the near- and medium-terms, the project aims to establish an ongoing web archive of pedagogical materials on translation and the sciences, hopefully including short interviews with scholars working on texts in the field.
To register for the workshop, please contact organizer Carla Nappi at carla.nappi [at] ubc.ca. All registered participants will be invited to join the workshop notebook on Evernote, which includes access to a detailed guide to the workshop, all pre-circulated materials, and virtual discussion spaces.
“Bodies in Motion” Workshop Schedule
Buchanan Tower, 1873 East Mall, University of British Columbia
* “Seminars” are devoted to discussing pre-circulated papers. While they may focus on particular language contexts and may introduce participants to documents in particular foreign languages, they do not assume any language training or background and no special language skills are required to take part!
* “Master classes” are devoted to working closely with primary source texts in different languages, indicated below. It is assumed that participants will have some background in the language of the document to be treated.
* “Talks” and “Discussions” involve no preparation ahead of time: just come and listen and talk!
Thursday March 21
5.00 pm – 6.30 pm: Anthony Grafton public talk, “The Marriage of Divination and Philology: An Inquiry into the Terminology and Practice of Scholarship in the Early Modern Period (And Some Other Places)” Room 1197, Buchanan Tower, 1873 East Mall, UBC [Co-sponsored by the UBC Science and Technology Studies Program and Green College, and of likely interest to workshop participants!]
Carla Nappi 