The Relevance of Reading, Translating and Adapting

Boston College RLL Graduate Student Conference

March 22nd-23rd 2019

While modern society generally strives for progressivism in its approach to various domains of art and science it cannot be denied that it still heavily draws from pre-existing works. The process of renewing classics entails transformation, adaptation and translation in a bid to make the inaccessible accessible and thus relevant to current times and modern audiences.

A clear example of this is when publishing houses produce new versions of the canonic works translated into modern language (adapted versions of Don Quixote) or with a simplified structure (prose versions of Dante’s Comedy). Additionally, a possible study can encompass the transformation of books into movies and theatrical performances (for instance different versions of Les Misérables).Why is the adaptation of the classics ongoing today?

Of what importance is the use and reuse of classical plots in modern times?

What gets lost in this process of adaptation and how does art bridge the gap?

Fields of study include, but are not limited to:

Film studies

Linguistics and Translations studies

Tales and folklore

Religion

Theatre

Literature and Language studies

Music

Sociology….

The RLL Graduate Students at Boston College invite submissions to further explore this subject, The Relevance of Reading, Translating and Adapting, at our annual graduate student conference. We welcome interdisciplinary approaches to this theme and encourage submissions from other academic fields. Graduate students are invited to submit proposals for 20-minute presentations to bc.gradconference2019@gmail.com. Proposals should include a title, 250–300-word abstract, affiliated institution, and contact information. The deadline for your abstract submission is January 10, 2019. Proposals can be in French or in English.

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