Professor Sue-Ann Harding is the outgoing President of the International Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies and Professor of Translation Studies at Queen’s University Belfast, UK. Her scholarship addresses translation, cultural memory and representation. On the occasion of the 8th IATIS Conference, hosted for the first time in the Arab world at SQU, she reflects on the association’s journey and the evolving role of intercultural studies.
During your tenure as President of IATIS, how did you see the field of translation and intercultural studies change in response to global, political and technological shifts?
Translation Studies continues to be a highly agile, dynamic and responsive field. Scholars are increasingly willing to step beyond their disciplinary comfort zones and explore new areas in collaboration with others. Over the past few years, we have seen Translation Studies scholars investigating translation and translators in relation to the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis; environmental and political activism, protest and resistance; public health and the medical humanities; disasters and humanitarian aid; informal economies; museums, heritage sites and collective memory; global news; social media and citizen media; the visual and performing arts; multimodal communication; environmental ecologies, animal rights and the Rights of Nature; interspecies communication; biosemiotics; history and archives; literary systems; minority, vulnerable and endangered languages; Indigenous and First Nations relational research; knowledge systems and worldviews, including experiential and embodied experience; emotions; changing pedagogies; and new technologies.
I am always amazed by the diversity of topics and approaches evident in our field, with scholars bringing the focus and expertise of local concerns, specialisms and case studies to broader transnational issues.
The 8th IATIS Conference marks the association’s first presence in the Arab world. From your perspective, what does hosting this conference in Oman signify for the global landscape of translation studies?
IATIS works very deliberately and closely with local organising committees to hold its conferences in different parts of the world. This mobility reshapes distances and perspectives, opening the conference to regional scholars who may not otherwise be able to attend. Holding the conference in Oman represented not only a very visible recognition of the contributions of Arab scholars and Arabic speakers to our field, but also an opportunity to share and showcase the region’s rich and diverse linguistic and cultural heritages and histories.
Seeing students and scholars from Oman and the wider Arab world engage in vibrant conversations and develop friendships with colleagues from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australasia and Europe was truly exhilarating. I felt the conference brought the vibrancy of Translation Studies into the heart of Oman, and brought Oman into Translation Studies. Many international scholars had never been here before, and their perspectives were undoubtedly broadened by the experience.
The conference theme centres on sustainable translation in an era of knowledge extraction and re-creation. How do intercultural studies help address ethical concerns surrounding knowledge production and circulation today?
Translation Studies scholars are particularly adept at asking difficult questions about what we know, how we know it, who is speaking, who is not speaking, who is speaking for whom, and who is heard and listened to. We understand that meanings, perspectives and stories shift as they circulate across languages, cultures, geographies and historical contexts. This leads us to question who benefits from particular narratives and whose voices are missing, manipulated or marginalised.
We also recognise that neutrality does not exist; rather, claims of neutrality are often used to protect power and preserve the status quo. Importantly, we work to hold one another to account through listening, dialogue and peer review.
In a world marked by conflict, polarisation and contested narratives, what responsibilities do translators and scholars carry in fostering dialogue and preserving cultural memory?
Many of us are drawn to translation as an academic field because of a genuine interest in other languages, cultures and perspectives. We are curious about alternative ways of saying, seeing and doing things. We enter this field with a desire to share the stories, languages and cultures we value, and with an openness to learning from others.
It is this attitude of openness and respect that we have a responsibility to practise and model. We must also advocate for these values when we see them being eroded, underfunded or dismissed by governments that favour exclusion over inclusion.
As digital technologies and AI increasingly mediate translation, what principles should guide scholars and institutions to ensure that intercultural sensitivity and ethical accountability remain central?
Key principles include transparency, diversity, inclusion, equality and justice. We must continually ask: what are the environmental and human costs of these technologies? Who benefits from them, and how? Are they extractivist practices that take without giving back, or are they relational, participatory and egalitarian? What — and who — is being valued and prioritised through these technologies? Whom do we value, and what do we prioritise, in our teaching and scholarship? And what alternative futures can we imagine?
Looking back on your leadership of IATIS, what hopes do you hold for the association’s future, particularly in supporting early-career researchers and strengthening engagement beyond academia?
My hopes for the future are many. In Oman, I saw that IATIS is made up of curious, creative and courageous scholars and students from all over the world, many working under very challenging circumstances, not least our Palestinian sisters and brothers, who continue, with great dignity, to bear far more than their fair share of the world’s brutality, hatred and injustice.
Many individuals gave freely of their time and resources to ensure the success and generosity of the conference, and many continue to volunteer between conferences. They organise regional workshops, develop training opportunities, commission and edit the IATIS Yearbook, offer mentoring and editorial support through New Voices in Translation Studies, share information via the bulletin and online platforms, and contribute to decisions about funding and expenditure.
Goodwill and a shared political commitment to making a difference go a long way. IATIS always welcomes new members. Whether you are an MA or PhD student, an early-career researcher, a teacher, practitioner or established academic, there are always opportunities to become involved and to bring your skills, experiences and passions to the work. IATIS owns no property, has no headquarters and pays no salaries. Our strength lies in our members, and our transformative power lies in collaboration.