Researcher: Ester Torres-Simón (RG 6)
Project Designation: Digital translations and the production of knowledge about China: ethnography and action research
Funding Entity: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Spanish government)
Principal Researcher: Maialen Marín Lacarta
Research Unit:Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
Partners: Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Hong Kong Baptist University, Aston University, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Duration: 01/12/2021-30/11/2024 (36 months)
Funding: 181.500 euros
Website: https://blogs.uoc.edu/digitrans-china/
Overall description: The digitisation of culture and the production of knowledge through online media are transforming social and cultural realities. Activities and sectors such as the publishing industry, education resources and any kind of access to learning have experienced radical transformations. Translation plays an essential—albeit often invisible—role in this new production of knowledge. DIGITRANS studies how the combination of digital materiality and translation (new processes, new agencies and roles of translators and other actors, their interactions and negotiations) are changing the landscape of the production of knowledge. This strand of research opens up new possibilities for social impact in areas such as formal and informal education, and cultural literacy. To contribute to this pioneering field, DIGITRANS has studied a particular area of knowledge: digital resources about China. In particular, the team has studied and develop digital materials and initiatives on contemporary Chinese literature, as literature is a powerful tool to learn about other cultures. This has been done by looking at three connected case studies. These studies wereselected for their hybrid nature and profound social impact, will provide evidence from various types of knowledge production and dissemination: 1) Wikipedia (examining and creating entries on contemporary Chinese authors), 2) a cultural initiative that promotes Chinese literature in translation (examining their activities, translations, interactions) and 3) the online platform of an imprint participating in the translation of an ebook to document the process in vivo.