Title: “A Foil to the Hero: Antiheroic Characters in Language, Literature, and Translation”
Date: 4 April 2024
Place: Roma Sapienza University
Organising committee: Angelo Arminio, Giovanni Raffa
Please write to: giovanni.raffa@uniroma1.it and angelo.arminio@uniroma1.it for full call for papers and deadlines
Antiheroic characters have not only embodied a forceful element of rebellion against the status quo, but have also become one of the most prolific and ubiquitous character types in non-literary fiction, to the point of contributing to intertextual awareness (Bruun Vage 2016, p.184) as well as subversively twisting gender-based expectations (Hagelin & Silverman 2022, p. 203). From a linguistic point of view, the figure of the antihero, especially in contemporary texts, raises numerous questions when it comes to its linguistic conformation and its translation. Antiheroes can be recognised as such because of the character’s personality, actions, morality and life choices, but the construction of antiheroic identities also happens by linguistic means (Schubert 2017). Their duality can be made manifest with powerful lexical choices, statements, use of swearings or even the use of peculiar accents or dialects. In turn, these features require effort on the part of the translator, and as the translation process is “the most recognizable type of rewriting” (Lefevere 1992, p. 9), the transfer of antiheroic features can demand creative solutions.
The students of the 36th cycle of the PhD Programme in English Literatures, Language and Translation at Sapienza University of Rome invite to engage in a meaningful discussion that revolves around the idea of the antihero in its various forms. Submission deadline for abstracts: 31st January 2024.