Dr Cristina Marinetti

(she/her)

Publication

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Research

My primary area of research is translation studies but I also have a strong interest in theatre and performance studies. Ultimately, my research sets out to understand the complexities of communication in our increasingly globalized world through two strands: a sociological one which explores the translational nature of contemporary society (with particular attention to multilingual, migrant and citizen performance) and a historical one which uses archival research to trace the different forms of agency involved in translation.

I am currently working on a monograph, under contract with Routledge 'Advances in Translation Studies' Series, entitled: 'Venice as a Translational City: Citizen Narratives, Performance and Global Tourism' which examines the impact of globalization and mass tourism on Venice's culture, language, and identity. Mobilizing recent debates on the concept of 'translational city' (Cronin and Simon, 2014; Simon, 2012; 2019), the book explores how global and local narratives about the world most visited city have been shaped through translational practices in writing, citizen performance, and digital spaces. The book uncovers the marginalization of Venetian language and culture operated by mass tourism, and the forced translation of the city into English for international consumption. Drawing on textual and performance analysis, ethnographic observation, and interviews with citizen activists and artists, the book aims to offer a critical reading of citizen performances and resident narratives. While being grounded in a study of citizen narratives that is specific to Venice (as a unique example of a globalized, disneyfied, ‘overwhelmed’ city), the book aims to make a broader contribution to a growing field of interdisciplinary studies exploring the cultural and linguistic dimension of contemporary cities, their complex relationship with tourism, its impact on linguistic and cultural diversity and the modes of performance, translation and self-narration at play in both the physical and the digital spaces of the city. This book project is funded by the Venetian Research Program — The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation. 

Alongside my work on contemporary Venice, recent publications include a special edition of the journal Translation Studies on Translation and Performance Cultures (2022) co-edited with Enza de Francisci. The special issue challenges the prevalent epistemological starting point of Western translation theory, known as the 'ideology of print,' and advocates for the development of performance-sensitive forms of knowledge to study translation in various performance contexts, such as music, opera, and theatre. Drawing on contributions from a range of languages including Welsh, Italian, German, French, Spanish, and Chinese, as well as historical periods spanning from the 18th century to the present day, the issue explores the explanatory potential of established sociological concepts such as habitus, capital, assemblage, network, and non-human agency, considering both the material contexts and the aesthetics of performance. The diverse case studies featured shed light on the often unseen human and non-human agents that have shaped performance cultures throughout time and space. In doing so, they uncover the origins and processes that contribute to the creation and dissemination of theatrical, musical, and operatic texts across linguistic borders. Collectively, the contributions offer new perspectives on the silenced, replaced, or negotiated aspects of performance cultures as they undergo the process of textualization through translation.Top of FormBottom of Form

Reading translation through the material conditions of eighteenth-century theatre, my historical work analyses theatre archives to uncover the labour of invisible agents in translation history shaping translation in contexts of performance. Unlike other fields, theatre, in eighteenth-century England, was subject to a system of state censorship  that shaped translation practices in ways that have not been fully accounted for by translation historiography. This article (2021) reveals the intervention of censors and actors in shaping translated plays, making visible for the first time, the central role they played as ‘rewriters’ in English theatrical culture. Further, this article  (2022) contributes to a rethinking of our understanding of censorship in translation by uncovering the work of invisible female censors. Questioning the applicability of Bourdieu’s influential notion of ‘structural censorship’ (Bourdieu, 1991:10) as the dominant frame for explaining censoring practices in translation history, the article introduces the notion of ‘domestic censorship’ as a way of giving visibility to the labour and agency of women as invisible censors. Drawing on a careful analysis of the manuscript of eighteenth-century diarist Anna Larpent, the article explores the complex and often contradictory role played by Larpent as a ‘domestic censor’ and an ‘agent of translation’ selecting, licensing and censoring European plays for over 30 years. In doing so, it highlights the value of archives of life writing in providing empirical evidence of the wide range of agents involved in shaping the translation and circulation of performance cultures.

In recent years, I have also researched translation as a participatory practice and collaborated with community groups, the theatre and the arts world. Through the EU-funded WISE Project (2013-15), my research on translation as participatory practice enabled the sharing of intergenerational memories of 60 participants across linguistic and cultural borders whilst shaping the working practices of 5 established theatre companies (http://www.babelia.org, http://www.maltezoo.eu/, http://www.brandschrift.de/brand/, http://www.nur.com/; http://www.august012.co.uk/). As a result of their interaction with my work, these companies have begun to use translations and translators as part of their creative process, increasing the number of foreign plays in their repertoire and fostering links with translation professional and volunteer associations in their respective countries. Through the AHRC ‘Book Kernel: Dylan Thomas in Translation’ project (2013-14) I contributed to the development of the Book Kernel technology, which transformed performance events into print publication in real time. The technology has been praised as an example of innovation in performance-based publishing.

Overall, my research seeks to advance the discipline of Translation Studies by offering fresh perspectives, challenging existing paradigms, and bridging contemporary and historical contexts. It also demonstrates a commitment to practical applications and community engagement, seeking to develop meaningful impact beyond academia.

Teaching

I currently teach translation theory and practice in Year 2 and 3 (Principles of Translation Theory, Translating Cultures) and convene our successful MA in Translation Studies, leading and contributing to a number of modules (Theories of Translation, Translation as Creative Practice, Translation and Cultures, Translation History)

I have extensive and proven experience in the supervision of MA dissertations in translation studies and in the joint supervision of PhD research. A significant feature of my teaching and supervision experience has been working with students from very different cultural backgrounds. I would welcome applications from doctoral candidates working in several areas within translation studies but especially:

• cultural approaches to translation
• theatre translation and adaptation
• translation sociology
• historical and archival research on translation
• translation and minority languages
• translation and censorship
• translation and tourism
• translation and children literature

Biography

I graduated with a BA in Modern Languages from the University of Venice (Ca’ Foscari) in 2001. In 2002 I moved to Warwick where I completed an MA in Translation Studies (2003) and then a PhD on translation and theatre history (2008) with Prof. Susan Bassnett. I lectured at Warwick until September 2012 when I moved to Cardiff to take up my current post as a Lecturer in and then Senior Lecturer (2018) in Translation Studies.

Before embarking on an academic career, I worked as a freelance technical translator (chemistry, automotive, mental health, infertility), as translator and location researcher for BBC Education (Italy Inside Out, Talk Italian), as an interpreter and guide for Venice city council and as a public service interpreter for Warwickshire county council.

Honours and awards

• 2023 Nominated for the TAPRA Prize for the categories of Best edited collection for Translation and performance cultures: Translation Studies: Vol 15, No 3 (tandfonline.com).
• 2022 Delmas Foundation Venetian Research Grant (£4,800) for 'Resisting Translation: citizen theatre, overtourism and language relations in contemporary Venice'.
• 2021 Appointed Chair of the Executive Committee of the International Association of Translation and Intercultural Studies (IATIS) International Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies (iatis.org)
• 2021-23 Supervisor for two EU MSCA Individual Fellowships [Trans in Translation: Multilingual practices and local/global gender and sexuality discourses in Polish transition narratives - CONVERIS Research Information System by Thomson Reuters: - Converis Standard Config (clarivate.com) and When Accessibility Becomes Performance: Sign Language Interpreting in Music and Live Concerts as Performative Rewriting | WABP | Project | Fact sheet | H2020 | CORDIS | European Commission (europa.eu)]
• 2013-15 EU Grundvick Funding (Euros 80,000) Wise: A Story about Europe (Welcome to WISE (wisecampus.eu)
• 2012 AHRC REACT Funding (50,000): Book Kernel Project, co-investigator with Prof Alexis Nouss and Dr Bambo Soyinka)
• 2010 Warwick University Roberts Fund
• 2007 British Academy conference grant 
• 2005 Department of Education and Skills (DfES) Enhancing curriculum grant
• 2003 University of Warwick Postgraduate Research Fellowship
• 2003 Arts and Humanities Research Board Doctoral Fellowship

Professional memberships

• Member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists (MCIL)
• Member of the European Society for Translation Studies (EST)
• Member of the International sociation of Translation and Intercultural Studies (IATIS)

Supervisions

I am interested in supervising PhD stuents in the areas of:

• Translation and Society
• Translation and Performance
• Translation and Theatre History
• Multilingualism and translation

Current supervision

Qipeng Gao

Albandari Alhajeri

Jasmine Ye