Combining large-scale analysis (Big Data) with the qualitative methods of translation sociology and history, this project maps the global circulation of Czech literature in book form since 1945.
To analyse these literary transfers, we develop the concepts of translation channels and individual trajectories. At the same time, we challenge the traditional binary opposition between authorised and unauthorised Czech literature in the Cold War era.
Our team proposes a more balanced, dynamic and multi-layered model that can account for individual experiences and decisions as well as the diversity of Czech literature and international circulation patterns in post-World War II Europe. This model reflects the turbulence of the Cold War and the collapse of the Eastern Bloc along with globalisation and ongoing European integration.
The qualitative studies in this project will examine the links between distant reading and agency- or text-based analyses of translation. Our goal is to provide a new and comprehensive understanding of the recent history of Czech literature in translation. To this end, we will develop innovative digital methods to investigate global literary transfers and systems.
VIMR, Ondřej: „Choosing Books for Translation: A Connectivity Perspective on International Literary Flows and Translation Publishing.“ In Diana Sanz-Roig & Neus Rotger: Global Literary Studies: Key Concepts. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2023, pp. 279-300. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110740301-012
SŁOWIK, Olga: „Becoming a Czech literature translator in Poland: thet role of trust.“ In Perspectives. Translation Theory and Practice, 2022, doi: 10.1080/0907676X.2022.2119875
VIMR, Ondřej & ROSIŃSKI, Cezari: Česká literatura ve světě: možnosti mapování ve velkém rozsahu (1820-2020) [Mapping Czech Literature in Translation on a Large Scale], in Česká literatura LXX, č. 6, s. 711-734, doi: 10.51305/cl.2022.06.03
VIMR, Ondřej: „A computational approach to the history of Czech literature in translation during the Cold War (1948-1989)“. In Translation Studies. Submitted 2022
MIESENBÖCK, Julia: „Like-minded agents and established consecrators: Czech-to-German poetry translators, 1948–1989.“ In Translation Studies. Accepted 2022.
ROIG-SANZ, Diana, FÓLICA, Laura Fólica, TORRES, Ester Torres, VIMR, Ondřej: „Translation Flows Between Peripheral Languages in the Long Nineteenth Century“. In Lieven D’Hulst (ed.): Cultural History of Translation (vol. 5). Bloomsbury. Submitted 2021, accepted 2022
GNOT, Anna: Ota Filip jako kulturní zprostředkovatel transferu české literatury do němčiny v 70. letech 20. století. [Ota Filip as a Cultural Mediator of Czech Literature in Germany in the 1970s.] (Světová literatura v Čechách – česká literatura ve světě, mezinárodní konference [World Literature in Czechia – Czech Literature in the World, international conference]. 6–7 October 2021, Faculty of Arts, University of Southern Bohemia in České Budějovice)
SŁOWIK, Olga: Jak získat důvěru? Překladatelské debuty v česko-polském kontextu. [How to gain trust? Translation debuts in Czech-Polish Context.] (Světová literatura v Čechách – česká literatura ve světě, mezinárodní konference [World Literature in Czechia – Czech Literature in the World, international conference]. 6–7 October 2021, Faculty of Arts, University of Southern Bohemia in České Budějovice)
VIMR, Ondřej: Trajektorie české světové literatury. Otázky a možnosti výzkumu ve velkém měřítku. [Trajectories of Czech world literature. Challenges of large-scale research approaches.] (Světová literatura v Čechách – česká literatura ve světě, mezinárodní konference [World Literature in Czechia – Czech Literature in the World, international conference]. 6–7 October 2021, Faculty of Arts, University of Southern Bohemia in České Budějovice)
VIMR, Ondřej: Studying the Middle Ground of Global Literary Circulation. (Bridging the Gap Between Traditional and Digital Literary Studies. 27-29 September 2020, Network for Digital Literary Studies and The Royal Danish Library, Copenhagen)
VIMR, Ondřej: Modelling International Trajectories of a Literature. The Case of Czech Literature since 1945. (Between the Nation and the World. The Role of Translation and Para-Diplomatic Initiatives in the Circulation of Small/Minor/Peripheral/Less Translated Literatures. 29.-30. června 2020. Open University of Barcelona, On-line symposium)
In 2020-2022, this project is graciously funded by the Czech Science Foundation (Grant No. GJ20-02773Y).
