ALCS – Association for Low Countries Studies

Programme Announcement 2nd Postgraduate Colloquium in Low Countries Studies (London, 6th-7th July 2017)

26 June 201726 June 2017 Jenny Watson

In just under two weeks postgraduate students of Dutch and Flemish history, literature, translation studies and sociology will come together for the second edition of the ALCS Postgraduate Colloquium. This international meeting is designed to foster links between British and Irish Low Countries Studies and scholars from other countries, and to support the next generation of researchers in our field. The conference will take place in the medium of English and we welcome anyone with a curiosity about the Netherlands and Flanders or any of the topics up for discussion. This year’s papers are particularly exciting, with strong themes of identity, ideology and transnationality emerging. The keynote will be given by our chair, Henriette Louwerse (University of Sheffield).

The conference fee of £15 is payable by those receiving research funding or in full-time work, all students and unwaged researchers are welcome to join free of charge. If you would like to attend, please email pglowcountriesstudies@gmail.com so that we can factor you into our catering arrangements. Details of excursions and dinner plans to follow.

Thursday 6th July
09.30-10.00 Arrival and Registration
DrHLstory 10.00 – 11.00 Keynote Henriette Louwerse: Multicultural Present and Colonial Past: The Case of the Netherlands
11.00 – 11.30 COFFEE
11.30 – 13.00 Panel 1 Chair: Nick Piercey (University of Manchester)
Rianti D. Manullang (University of Leiden): ‘The Stories of Indigenous Bataks in Sumatra through the “Imperial Eyes“ of the Colonial Travelers’
Paola Gentile (KU Leuven): ‘The Image of the Netherlands in Italian Literary Translation – A Socio-imagological Approach’
13.00 – 14.00 LUNCH

14.00 – 15.00 Panel 2 Chair: Marja Kingma (British Library)

Zsuzsa Toth (University of Debrecen): ‘The Reception of Jo van Ammers-Küller by the Hungarian Press in the First Half of the 20th Century’
Cristina Peligra (Newcastle University): ‘Re-presenting Identity and Colonial Legacy. Comparing English and Italian translations of Hella Haasse’s “Indische Romans”’
marja 15.00 – 15.30 Research Training and Q&A Introduction to the British Library Dutch Collections by Marja Kingma
15.30-15.45 COFFEE
15.45 – 16.45 Panel 3 Chair: tbc

Cyd Sturgess (University of Sheffield): ‘Fashioning queer femininities in Josine Reulin’s Terug naar het eiland (1937)’
Joske van de Vis (University of Leiden): ‘The Bakhtian Analysis of Tonnus Oosterhoff’s Digital Poems’
17.00 – 19.00 Free Excursion (details to follow)

19.00 DINNER (Optional, self-funded)

senate_house Friday 7th July
09.30 – 10.00 COFFEE
10.00 – 11.30 Panel 4 Chair: tbc

Carmen Verhoeven (Utrecht University): ‘Divided by Mars, united by Rhetorica: Concord and discord on the Mechelen rhetorician contest of 1620’
Marion Prinse: ‘Processes of Radicalisation in pre-WWI Flemish Nationalist Literature’
11.30-12.30 Activity (tbc)
12.30 – 13.30 LUNCH
13.30 – 14.30 Panel 6 Chair: Cyd Sturgess (University of Sheffield)

Karen van Hove (KU Leuven): ‘Pornography, yes or no? – Literary and pornographic interactions’
Jenny Watson (University of Sheffield): ‘Father literature – a transnational trend, a trans-temporal phenomenon?’

14.30 – 16.00 Workshop/postgrad training Questioning the Canon, Building the Discipline.
16.00 -18.00 CLOSE AND DRINKS (Optional, self-funded)

imlr

10th ALCS Student Days 2017: An Impression

24 March 201725 March 2017 Henriette Louwerse

On 23 and 24 March 2017 over seventy students and staff from Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield and UCL flocked to London for the 10th edition of the ALCS Student Days.

Christine Sas (UCL) put together an informative, inspiring and fun programme for all students of Dutch in the UK and Ireland. Both mood and content of this edition of the Student Days underlined that Dutch Studies is an exciting study option and that our students become part of a community that offers plenty of (career) opportunities.

For real

The two-day event kicked off with a workshop subtitling. Prior to the Student Days, all participants from Beginner to Advanced levels were asked to pick their favourite Flemish or Dutch short film. Cinema Bioscoop and UCL’s Centre for Translation Studies first presented the basics of screen translation and then the students were invited to get stuck in. In small groups they tackled no less than nine short films: eight were given English subtitles, one was translated into Dutch.
The subtitling was not just practice but the real thing: the newly subtitled short films were shown to the students and the general public in the trendy RADA Studios that very evening. How fabulous to see the students applying their Dutch linguistic and cultural knowledge to unlock the work of young Dutch and Flemish filmmakers for an international audience.

Stand out

On the Friday morning our Careers Panel of alumni agreed: they had not anticipated that choosing to study Dutch would prove so crucial to their career path. From the freelance translators –Tom Warne, Mark Potter, Scott Emblen-Jarrett – to Debbie Iles (Staffing and Recruitment for Benelux), Aimée Hardy (London Regional manager Anne Frank Trust), Lauren Harris (spokesperson and Senior Communications Advisor Dutch Embassy) and Christina Barningham (Foreign and Common Wealth Office, Brussels), they all confirmed that having Dutch on their CV made them stand out when applying for jobs. Their tips for the students in a nutshell: be bold; be aware how special your language and cultural skills are; and don’t miss out on networking opportunities.

The final slot was for NOS correspondent Tim de Wit. Before shooting off to put together an item for the Dutch main evening news, De Wit shared his experience of his first two years as a correspondent in the UK and Ireland. His anecdotes struck a cord with anybody who works in UK-VL/NL circles, but there was a serious message too: he stressed the importance of ethical journalism, of the continued necessity to tell the full story of the UK to a Dutch audience, in particular in the light of Brexit.

Thank you and sponsors

The ALCS expresses their gratitude first and foremost to UCL and Christine Sas for organising such a top event, to UCL for their hospitality, Cinema Bioscoop and Centre of Translation Studies at UCL for their inspiring workshop.

We could not showcase the wealth and opportunities of Dutch and Flemish Studies without the support of The Netherlands Embassy and Flanders House and of course, as always, the Dutch Language Union.

Call for Papers: Postgraduate Colloquium in Low Countries Studies (London, 6th-7th July 2017)

2 March 201724 March 2017 Jenny Watson

TELLING STORIES: CHANGING NARRATIVES IN LOW COUNTRIES HISTORY, CULTURE, AND SOCIETY
Thursday 6th and Friday 7th July 2017
Institute for Modern Languages Research, Senate House, London

Organised in association with the IMLR, ALCS, the University of Sheffield and University College London

Deadline for submission: 31 March 2017

Following the success of the inaugural postgraduate colloquium ‘Drawing a Map’ in 2015, the Association of Low Countries Studies and its partners are pleased to announce our second biennial colloquium: ‘Telling Stories: Changing Narratives in Low Countries History, Culture, and Society’.

The study of the language and cultures of the Netherlands and Flanders continues to flourish in the British academy and this colloquium has been designed to foster closer ties within the next generation of scholars across all branches of our field. Recognising that the interwoven histories of the British Isles and the Low Countries mean there is a long tradition of cultural exchange and academic cooperation between both sides of the North Sea, the colloquium also seeks to forge closer links with young researchers from Belgium and The Netherlands, and from the field of international Dutch Studies worldwide. With this Colloquium we wish to promote the interdisciplinary study of the Netherlands and Belgium in its broadest definition.

Focusing on narratives that have defined Dutch and Flemish culture, as well as the ways these cultural imaginings have shaped a range of transnational and international concepts, ‘Telling Stories’ aims to bring together scholars of Low Countries Studies across disciplines, institutions and national boundaries to consider the future role of Anglophone Dutch Studies within and beyond the academic institutions.

Entering uncertain political, cultural, and economic times, we must look beyond the remit of the traditional field of Neerlandistiek to consider our work in a global context, responding to the current challenges of the academic climate by bringing to light new perspectives on contemporary and historical issues in the field of Low Countries Studies.

‘Telling Stories’ is open to postgraduate students and early career researchers working on any aspect of Low Countries Studies. The colloquium will function to create a point of contact for researchers to engage in an inclusive mutual exchange of knowledge. We welcome applicants from any country and extend a warm invitation to those who wish to participate as observers.

We welcome proposals for papers of up to 20 minutes, panels of up to three papers and presentations in non-traditional formats (e.g. presentation of translations, posters) in English from MA and PhD students, and Early Career Researchers covering any area relating to Low Countries Studies. Topics may include, but are by no means limited to:

• Historical Narratives of the Low Countries in a European and Global Context
• Master Narratives of Netherlandic Culture
• Cultural and Identitarian Imaginings in Dutch and Flemish Literature
• Colonial and Postcolonial Narratives
• Storytelling through Dutch-Language Theatre, Performance, and Film
• Dutch/ Flemish Herstories
• Stories of the Self: Queer and Gender Studies in Dutch/Flemish Contexts
• Art History (Artistic Challenges to Popular Narratives, for example)
• Storying Anglo-Dutch/Belgian Relations
• The Low Countries in the European Narrative
• Contemporary Dutch/Flemish-speaking culture and politics
• Translating to/from Dutch and English
• The history and future of Low Countries Studies as a discipline

If you would like to participate, please send a proposal of no more than 300 words to the organising committee, c/o pglowcountriesstudies@gmail.com. Your proposal should contain the following information in one document:

• Your name, postal address, telephone number, and email address
• The name of the institution at which you are registered
• The media required for your presentation (e.g. data projector/laptop
[PowerPoint], VHS/DVD player, OHP, cd/cassette player, slide projector etc.)

Offers of papers/presentations must be made by Monday 31 March 2017

Organising Committee: Jenny Watson (Swansea), Cyd Sturgess (Sheffield)
A conference fee of £15 for administrative costs and refreshments will be charged (committee and speakers included) but this will be waived for postgraduate students without funding support (including MA and final year PhD students). Bursaries for travel costs and accommodation are available.

BeLgoLAb2

27 February 2017 Jenny Watson

An exciting event next week at the British Library for translators and those interested in translation from a theoretical point of view. A mixture of practical workshops, academic papers and interdisciplinary discussion taking place over two days, BeLgoLAb2 is set to be a treat. The Dutch text that will be discussed in the translation workshop is Paul Ostaijen’s Bezette Stad, the recent translation of which by David Colmer was the subject of a recent ALCS blog. See below for further information on the events and the full programme.

BeLgoLab 2017 Belgian Translations

Translation plays a major role in Belgian culture, both domestically – by enabling readers to access work produced in a different language community – and internationally, by disseminating work to wider audiences. Accordingly, BeLgoLab 2017 is devoted to translations of different kinds. It combines formal papers and discussions with practical workshops, where published English translations are compared with the originals (guidance materials supplied for non-specialists). The event is aimed at researchers and postgraduates in Comparative Literature and Translation Studies, as well as those in French and Dutch studies.

Monday 6 March 2017: British Library, Knowledge Centre, Eliot RoomBookings for this session via dutch-enquiries@bl.uk

1330-1400 Registration

1400-1410 Welcome Adrian Armstrong (Queen Mary University of London), Marja Kingma (British Library)

1410-1525 Workshop on translation: Amélie Nothomb, ‘Fear and Trembling’ (‘Stupeur et tremblements’) Adrian Armstrong. Materials (from the published translation and the original) will be distributed on the day.

1525-1545 Tea/coffee
1545-1700 Workshop on translation: Paul van Ostaijen, ‘Occupied City’ (‘Bezette Stad’) Jane Fenoulhet (University College London). Materials (from the published translation and the original) will be distributed on the day.

1700-1800 Reception, kindly supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium in London.

Tuesday 7 March 2017: Institute of Modern Languages Research (Senate House G35)
Bookings for this session via http://www.sas.ac.uk/events/event/7189

0900-0915 Welcome Adrian Armstrong, Marja Kingma

0915-0945 Translator’s choices in the literary field: Alex Brotherton’s translation of Gerard Walschap’s ‘Marriage/Ordeal’ (‘Trouwen’, ‘Celibaat’) Irving Wolters (University College London)

0945-1015 From Mobutu to Molenbeek: Cultural Translation in Contemporary Belgian Ethnic-Minority Writing in French Sarah Arens (University of Edinburgh)

1015-1030 Discussion

1030-1045 Tea/coffee

1045-1145 Round table: Translation and Belgium Adrian Armstrong, Marja Kingma

All events in the programme are free but those wishing to attend must register in advance with the venues. Please register separately for both days.

ALCS Student Days 2017 (London)

23 February 201717 March 2017 Jenny Watson

The ALCS Student Days have been part of Dutch Studies in the UK for many years. Most students who undertake a course in Dutch at university will have participated at least once in the Days, which take place every other year. Every edition of the Days sees undergraduates and postgraduates from various departments descend on a host institution for 24 hours of culture, learning, creativity and getting to know one another.

Every Student Days includes an event with a visiting speaker and visits to local places with a Low Countries connection. Thus, the poets’ collective De dichters uit Epibreren held a poetry workshop in 1999, in 2001 the performance artist Tine Ruysschaert led a drama workshop and in 2005 De Woorddansers organised a poetry slam. In 2008 Stichting Passionate facilitated an afternoon workshop and an evening performance with Wilfred de Jong, and Ernest van der Kwast in Nottingham. In 2010 the Flemish Theatre Company Fast Forward offered language and drama workshops and in the evening a poetry performance, Als ik jou. In 2013 Passionate Bulkboek organised workshops and an evening performance with Rebecca Lenaerts, Daniel Dee, and Bouke Billiet.

This year the student days return to UCL with a jam-packed programme of cultural delights and practical training. Highlights include a hands-on workshop in subtitling from Cinema Bioscoop and a careers event looking at the value of Dutch when looking for a job. On Thursday 24th and Friday 25th of March, Bloomsbury will be alive with enthusiastic students speaking Dutch and learning about Low Countries culture together, any undergraduate or postgraduate from a university where Dutch is taught is warmly invited to join us!

studdaysposter

Programme:

Thursday 23.03.17

12.00 welcome and lunch

13.30-17.30 subtitling workshop with CinemaBioscoop and the
UCL Centre for Translation Studies: work with a range
of Dutch short films, make subtitles ready for viewing
in the evening

18.30-late film screenings and drinks at RADA Studios

Friday 24.03.17

10.00-13.00 career morning: range of guest speakers, including journalist Tim de Wit (NOS radio and televisio) and many many former students on working with Dutch and its speakers.

Plenty of opportunity over coffee and lunch to talk and mingle.

Flanderslogo