Dr Sarah Maitland

Department of English and Comparative Literature
Goldsmiths, University of London
London
SE14 6NW
United Kingdom

Email: s[dot]maitland[at]gold[dot]ac[dot]uk

Current employment

Professional Theatre Translator, December 2004-present.
Senior Lecturer in Translation Studies, Goldsmiths, University of London, December 2015-present.

Previous employment

Lecturer in Translation Studies, University of Hull, May 2012-December 2015;
Lecturer in Translation Studies with Spanish, Swansea University, September 2011-May 2012;
Teaching Assistant in Translation, Queen’s University Belfast, 2008-2011;
Project Manager, Global Peacebuilders, Springboard Opportunities Limited, 2006-2008.

Education

PhD in Translation, December 2011, Queen’s University Belfast;
MSc in Translation and Technology (French and Spanish), December 2004, Heriot-Watt University;
BA (Joint Honours) French and Spanish, July 2003, Queen’s University Belfast.

Translation Professional Affiliations and Certifications

Member of the United Kingdom Emerging Translators Network, April 2018-present;
Corporate Member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting, January 2018-present;
Memsource Certified Trainer, June 2017-present;
Member of the International Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies, January 2016-present;
Member of the United Kingdom Society of Authors Translators’ Association, November 2013-present.

Research Statement

My research focuses on translation as a form of cultural production, a metaphor for cultural encounter and a means for understanding the world. I am interested in questioning how translation can be thematised along philosophical and political lines, enabling exchange and debate across rival positions and addressing problems that go beyond interlingual conceptualisations. I conceive of translation as a practice located at the nexus of cultures, ideas, history and politics, requiring multiple negotiations with and across difference. The subjective work these negotiations require offers a powerful lens through which to examine the creation and representation of knowledge. By exploring the territory between translation and a range of cognate frameworks drawn from literary and cultural theory, political philosophy and philosophical hermeneutics, my research is concerned with advancing approaches rooted in the understanding of issues of ethics, justice, identity development, community relations and political recognition at the heart of intercultural practice. I am interested, above all, in exploring how the scrutiny of translation as a creative practice can enable us to theorise alternative ways in which we might construct and enhance equitable exchange in multicultural society.

Research outputs

Research Portfolio/Cartera de proyectos de investigación

Monograph: What is Cultural Translation? (2017, Bloomsbury Academic)

The concept of ‘cultural translation’ is one of the most alluring yet elusive concepts in the contemporary humanities. Since its introduction in cultural anthropology, the concept has been deployed across the social disciplines to challenge binary views of cultural identity, to reinforce ideas of communication based on the principle of exchange between the peoples of the world and to theorize the ethical, political and cultural challenges posed by the increasingly interconnected nature of our communities. But despite its de rigueur status and promise of a new paradigm for understanding the problematics of cultural difference, the presence of cultural translation is often taken as a self-evident and accounts have tended towards the diffuse. By providing the first book-length study of cultural translation based on an in-depth engagement with both the dominant theoretical dialogues on the subject and their realization in a real-world context, the book advances the first critically grounded definition and is shaped as an extended critical response to the dizzying array of contributions on the subject from translation studies and beyond. I draw on diverse case studies from across the cultural domain, including works of theatre, film, television and literature, the built environment, current affairs, international relations and online media, to uncover processes of negotiation and adaptation most closely associated with the translation of texts behind the production and contestation of everyday cultural phenomena. I urge readers towards a view of translation in its broadest understanding, both as a means for understanding how we shape the cultural realms in which we live and as a touchstone for what we see, do and say in public life.

Creative practice as research outputs

Creative Translation Portfolio / Cartera de traducción creativa

Conferences and invited speaker engagements

Maitland, S., and Heath, D. (Forthcoming 2022) Putting the ‘Pop’ into J-Pop: Promoting Japanese Popular Music Internationally by Harnessing Creative Approaches to Translation On-Screen. Forthcoming conference paper. 10^th Congress of the European Society for Translation Studies, University of Oslo, 22-24 June;

Maitland, S. (Forthcoming 2022) Cultural Translation in Restorative Justice Contexts. Invited speaker paper. Annual Conference 2022: Promoting Equality in Restorative Justice. Why me? London, 25 May.

Maitland, S. (Forthcoming 2022) What is Cultural Translation? Invited keynote speaker plenary. «A tradução na prática ∞ a prática da tradução». Universidade de Coimbra, 6-7 May;

Maitland, S. (2021) Coming to terms: Towards a hermeneutics of expectation in theatre surtitling. Invited speaker paper. Queen’s University Belfast, 13 December;

Maitland, S., and Heath, D. (2021) Putting the ‘Pop’ into J-Pop: Using Creative Subtitles to Promote Japanese Popular Music Globally. Conference paper. 9th International Conference Media for All, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 26-29 January;

Heath, D., and Maitland, S. (2021, postponed from 2020) Putting the ‘Pop’ into J-Pop: Promoting Japanese Popular Music Internationally by Harnessing Creative Subtitles. Conference paper. Languages & the Media 2020 – 13^th International Conference on Language Transfer in Audiovisual Media, Radisson Blu Hotel, Berlin, 7-10 June [Event cancelled and held online 20-24 June 2021];

Maitland, S. (2019) Power, Politics, and Positionality: Cultural Translation and the Multinational GEM&L. Conference paper. French Research Group on Management & Language) International Conference on Management and Language, Sheffield Hallam University, 2-5 June;

Maitland, S. (2019) Retranslation on the Surtitled Stage. Conference paper. International Conference on Retranslation in Context IV, Universidad Pontificia Comillas, 23 May;

Maitland, S. (2018) Theatre Translation, AVT, or a Combination of the Two? Training Theatre Surtitlers. Conference paper. Aston University, 24 November;

Maitland, S. (2018) Locating Cultural Translation: From the Interlingual to the ‘Cultural’. Invited speaker paper. Royal Holloway, 14 November;

Maitland, S. (2018) Distanciation and the Translator. Invited speaker paper. Queen’s University Belfast, 15 October;

Maitland, S. (2018) Introduction to Cultural Translation. Public address and introduction at book launch for authored monograph, What is Cultural Translation?. Out of the Wings Festival 2018, Cervantes Theatre, 5 July;

Maitland, S. (2018) Investigating Cultural Translation: A Researcher’s Guide. Invited keynote speaker plenary. Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research Symposium on Cultural Translation. Birmingham City University, 21 June;

Maitland, S. (2018) Dynamics of Translation and Collaboration in Action: A Case Study of Theatre Translation. Conference paper. Translaboration: Unleashing the Conceptual Potential of a New Investigative Category. University of Westminster, 18 May;

Maitland, S. (2018) Distanciation and the Translator. Invited speaker paper. University of Westminster, 31 January;

Maitland, S. (2017) Hermeneutics for Translators; Or, Cultural Translation In Action. Invited speaker paper. University of Leicester, 7 December;

Maitland, S. (2017) What Happens in Collaborative Translation When You Don’t Know Who You’re Collaborating With? A Case Study of Surtitling for the Theatre. Invited speaker paper. University of East Anglia, 30 November;

Maitland, S. (2017) Distanciation and the Translator. Invited speaker paper. University of Manchester, 16 November;

Maitland, S. (2017) Distanciation and the Translator. Invited speaker paper. University of Roehampton, 15 November;

Maitland, S. (2017) Surtitling for the Theatre. Invited speaker paper. Twyford School, 18 October;

Maitland, S. (2017) Distanciation and the Translator. Invited speaker paper. Queen’s University Belfast, 9 October;

Maitland, S. (2017) Performing Opposition: Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda and the Translator’s GPS. Conference paper. Association of Hispanists of Great Britain and Ireland (AHGBI) Annual Conference. 11 April;

Maitland, S. (2016) Translation and Social Media: What Do Memes Teach Us About Translation and Social Activism? Invited speaker paper. Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Spain, 2 November;

Maitland, S. (2016) Does Interpreting ‘Steal’ Conflict? The Balanced Model of Restorative Justice and the Challenges of Multilingual Youth Conferencing. Invited speaker paper. Queen’s University Belfast, 24 October;

Maitland, S. (2016) Creative Content That Finds An Audience And Has Something To Say: Cultural Translation As A Driver of Innovation Within the Creative Industries. Conference paper. Translation and the Creative Industries International Conference. University of Westminster, 7 October;

Maitland, S. (2016) Translation and Activism. Conference paper. Translab Workshop. University of Westminster, 12 September;

Maitland, S. (2016) A Definition of Cultural Translation. Conference paper. Cultural Translation: In Theory and as Practice. University of Nottingham, 18 May;

Maitland, S. (2015) The Case for ‘Cultural Translation’: A Response to Harish Trivedi. Conference paper. Atlantic Communities. Universidad de Vigo, Spain, 17 September;

Maitland, S. (2015) Digital Culture as ‘Cultural Translation’: Or, Interpreting the Internet as Meaningful Human Action. Conference paper. 5th Conference of the International Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil, 7 July;

Maitland, S. (2015) Saving Us From Ourselves? Translation, Hermeneutics and the Ethics of Multiculturalism. Invited speaker paper. Queen’s University Belfast, 23 February;

Maitland, S. (2013) Performing Recognition: El castigo sin venganza and the Politics of English Translation. Conference paper. 2013 AHCT/Out of the Wings Golden Age Theatre Symposium. Theatre Royal Bath, 26 November;

Maitland, S. (2013) Translation and the Politics of Recognition. Invited speaker paper. Recognition of Sign Languages in the British Isles. Queen’s University Belfast, 26 September;

Maitland, S. (2013) Haunted by the Look: Translation and the Myth of Eurydice. Conference paper. Translating Myth. University of Essex, 5 September;

Maitland, S. (2013) Translation and the Future of the Humanities. Introduction to conference panel. 7th Congress of the European Society of Translation Studies. Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Germany, 30 August;

Maitland, S. (2013) Cultural Translation ‘Gangnam style’: What Memes Can Tell Us About Cultural Translation. Conference paper. Cultural Translation in Popular Music. University of Central Lancashire, 12 April;

Maitland, S. (2012) The Politics of Recognition and the Ethics of the Intercultural Stage. Conference paper. 8th Annual Conference of the Theatre and Performance Research Association. University of Kent, 6 September;

Maitland, S. (2012) Theatre Translation. Conference paper. 4th Conference of the International Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies. Queen’s University Belfast, 24 July;

Maitland, S. (2011) The Ethics of Aesthetics: Translating Dialect in Paco Bezerra’s Dentro de la tierra. Conference paper. Invisible Presences: Translation, Dramaturgy and Performance. Queen’s University Belfast, 20 April;

Maitland, S. (2011) Interview and roundtable contribution on performance of translation by Sarah Maitland of Inside the Earth. The New Diorama Theatre, London, 3 June;

Maitland, S. (2011) Interview and roundtable contribution on performance of translation by Sarah Maitland of Inside the Earth. Rose Theatre, Sidcup, 31 May-2 June;

Maitland, S. (2010) Public address and introduction to performance of translation by Sarah Maitland of On the Rock. Brian Friel Theatre, Belfast, 26 November;

Maitland, S. (2010) La hospitalidad en la representación: la traducción y el escenario intercultural. Conference paper. Translation and the Scenic Arts: Opera and Theatre. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain, 15 April;

Maitland, S. (2009) First Do No Harm: Power, Agency and Cultural Translation in the Post-Colonial Context. Conference paper. Interdisciplinary Conference on Cultural Translation. University of Cardiff, 11 December;

Maitland, S. (2007) Interview and roundtable contribution on performance of translation by Sarah Maitland of Agrippina. Unicorn Theatre London, 16 October;

Maitland, S. (2007) Interview and roundtable contribution on performance of translation by Sarah Maitland of Agrippina. Rose Theatre, Sidcup, 13 October;

Maitland, S. (2008) Translation and the Cultural ‘Other’. Conference paper. International Research Symposium. Soka University, Japan, 1 May.

Maitland, S. (2007) Interview and roundtable contribution on performance of translation by Sarah Maitland of Mad King Ludwig. Rose Theatre, Sidcup, 26 October;

Maitland, S. (2005) Interview and roundtable contribution on performance of translation by Sarah Maitland of On the Rock. Rose Theatre Sidcup, 28 April;

Maitland, S. (2005) Press conference on performance of translation by Sarah Maitland of On the Rock. Instituto Cervantes, London, 26 April.

Doctoral research

Supervisors: Professor David Johnston and Dr Anthony Soares, Queen’s University Belfast;

External examiner: Professor Catherine Boyle, King’s College London;

Thesis title and summary: Cultural Translation and the Anxieties of Otherness

Since the cultural ‘turn’ in Translation Studies, the concept of ‘cultural translation’ has received considerable attention. Conceptualised in a diverse range of ways, its popularity has given rise to a proliferation of conflicting accounts. Scholars have signalled the lack of in-depth analysis to provide a fuller understanding of cultural translation, its limits, assumptions and opportunities. My thesis responds to this need by providing a study of cultural translation in its diverse emanations and discerns four broad themes arising from its multiple configurations: as an ethnographic ‘encounter’ with cultural difference; as a mobile practice that displays a ‘migrant’ doubleness of identity as a form of textual production that refuses to belong securely in its place of reception; as a mode that constructs a hybridised text that, in its refusal to be placed firmly within one ‘side’ or the other, occupies a space ‘in-between’ original and reproduction; and, in recognition of the appropriative forms of interpretation upon which translation is predicated, as a resistant practice that seeks ways to rectify translation’s limited appraisal of cultural difference. The thesis tests these theoretical possibilities within the practical context of literary translation and argues for a view of cultural translation as an encounter between the cultural world of the foreign text and the subjective world of a translator, in which the relationship between translator and text is never dissociated from broader matters of power, representation and positionality.

External examiner appointments

External examiner appointments for taught programmes

(Appointment in process; start date TBA 2022) University of East Anglia School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing: MA in Literary Translation.

(2020-present) University of Manchester School of Arts, Languages and Cultures: MA in Translation Studies and Interpreting Studies and Related Units.

(2016-2020) Cardiff University School of Modern Languages: BA in Translation Studies and MA in Translation Studies.

Research visits overseas

(2016) Madrid, Spain.

(2015) Madrid, Spain.

Completed postgraduate research projects supervised and co-supervised

Joseph Lambert (2018), ‘From Theory to Practice – A New Perspective on the Ethics of Translation’;

Musa Igrek (2020) ‘Books as Cultural Diplomacy: A Case Study of The British Foreign Office’s Information Research Department (IRD), 1948–1956’.

Professional service, externally-funded research projects, and consultancy

Secured membership of the Association of Association of Programmes in Translation and Interpreting Studies of the UK and Ireland (APTIS), for the MA in Translation at Goldsmiths, University of London, 2018-present;

Managing Editor, Jostrans: The Journal of Specialised Translation, 2018-present;

Secured corporate membership of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting for the MA in Translation at Goldsmiths, University of London, 2018-present;

Co-investigator, ‘Translation and Interpretation Work in Multilingual Business Communities: Roles, Perspectives, Agency’, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, 2017-present;

Co-lead, project ‘Learn a Language’, Goldsmiths, University of London, 2016-present;

Elected member of the Executive Council of the International Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies, December 2015-present;

Project lead, ‘Transcast: Making Translation and Interpreting Research Public’, 2011-present;

External reviewer, Cambridge University Press, 2018;

Consultancy for Queen’s University Belfast, Business of translation training, including introduction to SDL Trados Studio computer-aided translation software training and personal branding and marketing for translators training. 13-14 October 2018;

Secured parallel degree agreement between Goldsmiths, University of London, University of London, and Moscow Pedagogical State University, July 2018;

Panel chair, Professionalising Theatre Translation Workshop: Commissioning and Working with Theatre Translators (with the Society of Authors and Out of the Wings). Worldmaking on Stage: Theatre Translation Research as Practice: A One-day Forum for Theatre Translation Practitioners and Researchers. 6 July 2018;

Co-organiser of conference Worldmaking on Stage: Theatre Translation Research as Practice: A One-day Forum for Theatre Translation Practitioners and Researchers. King’s College London, 6 July 2018;

Consultancy for private client, Memsource computer-aided translation software training, 19 March 2018;

Panel chair, Translation and the Trials of Advocacy. Association of Hispanists of Great Britain and Ireland (AHGBI) Annual Conference. 11 April 2017;

Consultancy for the Basque Government Dirección de Justicia, Servicio de Justicia de Adultos, Spanish interpreting and restorative justice training, October 2016;

Development of MA in Translation at Goldsmiths, University of London, January 2016;

Consultancy for the Catalan Government Generalitat de Catalunya, Centre d’Estudis Jurídics i Formació Especialitzada, Spanish interpreting and restorative justice training, March 2014;

Secured accreditation for the MA in Translation Studies at University of Hull with the European Commission European Masters in Translaton Network, June 2014;

Reviewer, Jostrans: The Journal of Specialised Translation, 2014;

Dramaturgical and subject area support, Theatre Royal Bath rehearsal process as part of 2013-2014 Spanish Golden Age Season, 2013;

Project lead, ‘European Commission Visiting Translator Scheme at University of Hull’, 2013;

Panel chair, Translation and the Future of the Humanities. 7th Congress of the European Society of Translation Studies, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Germany, 30 August 2013;

Panel chair, Making Classical Music Popular. Cultural Translation and Popular Music, University of Central Lancashire, 12 April 2013;

Panel chair, Theatre Translation. 4th Conference of the International Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies, Queen’s University Belfast, 24 July 2012;

Reviewer, submissions to 4th Conference of the International Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies, Queen’s University Belfast, 2012;

Associate Editor, International Journal of the Humanities, 2010.

Teaching record

Postgraduate courses designed, taught, and led

Translation Theory and Practice/ Becoming a Translator/ Advanced English-Chinese Translation and Interpreting/ Translation for the Cultural Tourism, Hospitality and Cultural Heritage Sectors/ Translation Work Experience/ Dissertation/ MA in Translation/ and (forthcoming) PhD in Translation, at: Department of English and Comparative Literature, Goldsmiths, University of London, December 2015-present;

Specialist Translation Skills: Legal, Medical and Technical Translation/ Specialist Translation Skills: Translation for Stage and Screen/ Issues in Translation Studies/ Dissertation/ Language Transfer in Relation to Film, Television and Media/ Introduction to Literary Translation/ MA in Translation Studies and MA in Translation Studies with TESOL, at: School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures, University of Hull, May 2012-December 2015;

(Co-taught, team contribution) Language Technology and Advanced Translation Theory and Practice, at: Department of Languages, Translation and Communication, Swansea University, September 2011-May 2012;

Advanced Translation 3: The Knowledges of the Translator/ The Business of Translation/ Electronic Tools for Translators/ Legal Translation (workshop)/ Persuasive Discourse Translation (workshop)/ Performance Translation (workshop), at: School of Modern Languages, Queen’s University Belfast, September 2008-May 2011.

Undergraduate courses designed, taught, and led

How to Read in Translation, level 6, Department of English and Comparative Literature, Goldsmiths, University of London, December 2015-present;

(Co-taught, team contribution) Spanish Translation, level 6 Spanish, School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures, University of Hull, Spring 2014;

Spanish General Language 1, level 4 Spanish, Department of Languages, Translation and Communication, Swansea University, Spring 2012;

Spanish General Language 2, level 5 Spanish, Department of Languages, Translation and Communication, Swansea University, Spring 2012;

Spanish General Language 1, level 4 Spanish, Department of Languages, Translation and Communication, Swansea University, Autumn 2011;

Spanish General Language 2, level 5 Spanish, Department of Languages, Translation and Communication, Swansea University, Autumn 2011;

Theory and Practice of Literary Translation (workshop), level 6 Spanish, School of Modern Languages, Queen’s University Belfast, Spring 2010;

Theory and Practice of Audiovisual Translation (workshop), level 4 Spanish, School of Modern Languages, Queen’s University Belfast, Autumn 2009.

Previous employment

University of Hull, May 2012-December 2015

Lecturer in Translation Studies, Programme Leader MA in Translation Studies and MA in Translation Studies with TESOL;

Leadership, coordination, continuous improvement and delivery of the MA in Translation Studies and MA in Translation Studies with TESOL and all undergraduate courses in Translation Studies;

Implementation of a comprehensive curriculum redevelopment programme and continuous development and quality monitoring;

Recruitment and coordination of Translation Studies teaching staff;

Development and continuous monitoring of teaching and learning strategy across the MA in Translation Studies/MA in Translation Studies with TESOL and all undergraduate courses in Translation;

Module leadership, teaching and assessment across the MA in Translation Studies/MA in Translation Studies with TESOL and all undergraduate courses in Translation;

Development of assessment strategy across the MA in Translation Studies/MA in Translation Studies with TESOL and all undergraduate courses in Translation and coordination of assessment procedures, External Examiner liaison and quality assurance processes at School, Faculty and University level;

Supervision of student dissertations and postgraduate research supervision;

Development and delivery of a student recruitment and external marketing strategy for the MA in Translation Studies/MA in Translation Studies with TESOL;

Outreach activities with external partners across the translation industry to secure work experience opportunities for students and industry mentoring programme;

Student Welfare and Progress Officer on Undergraduate Committee, September 2014-June 2015;

Member of Postgraduate Studies Committee, May 2012-September 2014;

Member of Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Ethics Committee.

Swansea University, September 2011-May 2012

Lecturer in Translation Studies with Spanish;

Module leadership, teaching and assessment across the MA in Translation and Language Technology, MA in Literary Translation and undergraduate Spanish courses;

Exams Officer, Hispanic Studies;

Library Officer, Hispanic Studies.

Queen’s University Belfast, September 2008-May 2011

Teaching Assistant in Translation;

Module leadership and teaching across the MA in Translation;

Chair of Research Forum for Cultural Encounter September 2010-June 2011.

Project Manager, Global Peacebuilders, Springboard Opportunities Limited, Belfast, 2006-2008

Project and financial management, administration and delivery of £100,000 project funded by the European Union Peace and Reconciliation PEACE II Fund;

Planning, organisation and delivery of an international conference;

Publication of a project research report entitled International Approaches to Peacebuilding, and recruitment, development and line-management of a volunteer network.