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The Australian Literature Resource
Windows on Australia: Perceptions in and through Translation is a major interdisciplinary research project being carried out by Translation & Interpreting Studies in the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics at Monash University in collaboration with the Postcolonial Studies Program at Free University Berlin.
The project aims to advance understanding of Australia’s global role in literary production and clarify the marketability of Australian cultural exports to non-English-speaking countries. By mapping these exchanges, research will inform publishers, literary agents, authors, professional translators, and members of the public about the development and evolution of trends, norms, and perceptions pertaining to Australia's cultural contributions. Windows on Australia considers the translation and reception of Australian literature in various languages.
The initial phase (2009-2010) of Windows on Australia consists of a quantitative study of the cultural flows of Australian literature to language-other-than-English (LOTE) countries. It involves extensive data collection by the Translation Studies team at Monash, led by Assoc. Prof. Rita Wilson. Research partners at the Free University Berlin, led by Prof. Russ West-Pavlov, are key contributors to the data collection and analysis.
The focus is Australian novel-length literature translated into:
NB: These search results reflect currently known information about translations in the above languages at the moment the search is run. These are not static results and as work continues within AustLit these results will change.
With no systematic investigation into the myriad ways in which Australia has been portrayed and translated for LOTE audiences to date, research will explore both the marketing of texts and the attitudes towards Australia and notions of Australianness in a wide range of countries. The research is designed to yield a range of benefits for cultural institutions and industry players:
- A comprehensive online bibliography of overseas editions of Australian literature
- Methodologies for increasing opportunities to advance the export of Australian works into a range of foreign-language markets
- New insights into the global flow of cultural production
- Evidence-based findings grounded in quantitative and qualitative methodologies to clarify the perception and reception of Australian literature in non-English-speaking countries
- Insights into Australia’s cultural prestige and promotion of international interest in contemporary Australian culture and literature
- Enhanced links between the university sector and libraries, archives, government agencies, and other stakeholders.
Monash University Translation Studies was established in 2004 and has since rapidly expanded to become a pioneer in the field nationally. Both of the school’s postgraduate coursework degrees have gained approval from the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters Ltd (NAATI). Translation Studies has also achieved an external profile and recognition through national industry and community partnerships and international research events. Most recently, the program hosted the Third Conference of the International Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies (IATIS), attended by over three hundred delegates from all over the world.
The Postcolonial Studies Program in the English Department at the Free University of Berlin is one of the major European centres for the study of Australian Literature. It hosts the prestigious Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack Visiting Chair of Australian Studies and has set up a twinned Visiting Chair of German Studies at the University of Western Australia. It has extensive research and teaching collaborations with partner universities in Europe, Africa, and Australia.
In October 2010, the Windows on Australia team formed a partnership with AustLit at The University of Queensland to take advantage of the extensive work that AustLit researchers had already undertaken in recording translations of Australian texts within the AustLit database. The Windows on Australia Research Community was formed to ensure that this existing data could be incorporated into the aims of the project. This collaboration will ensure that researchers do not duplicate previous research effort, and that a enriched dataset about Australian writers’ penetration and reception in overseas readerships can be made available through AustLit.
The existing AustLit data has been derived from a number of ongoing and previous projects:
- The Bibliography of Australian Literature project collected all known first overseas and translated works of literature published in book form;
- Dr Toni Johnson-Woods has collected a significant dataset of translated texts in the course of her research into Australian pulp fiction industry;
AustLit also collects details of translations in the course of our ongoing work updating author records.
New data has been derived from two current projects:
- Russell West-Pavlov and Jens Elze-Volland from Free University Berlin have produced Australian Literature in German Translation : a Catalogue of Titles, Translators, and Trends 1789-2010
- CAL-funded pilot project titled Windows on Australia, undertaken by Rita Wilson and Leah Gerber and researchers at Monash University
During the course of the Windows on Australia project, AustLit indexers will also check, enhance, and extend existing records.
Contact: To provide information on translations or seek access to AustLit email: info-austlit@austlit.edu.au
Assoc. Prof. Rita Wilson (Monash University)
Professor Russell West-Pavlov (Free University Berlin)
Dr Leah Gerber (Monash University)
Dr Brigid Maher (LaTrobe University)
Kerry Kilner (University of Queensland)
Dr Toni Johnson-Woods (University of Queensland)
Professor David Carter (University of Queensland)
Research Assistants from Monash University:
Elizabeth Bryer
Yaqi Gao
Monica Rogers
Catherine Sell
Research Assistants from the Free University of Berlin:
Jens Elze-Volland
Rowan Payton
Katharina Reinartz
Technical development:
Lachlan Simpson
Jonathan Hadwen
AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource
The Bibliography of Australian Literature : A-E Arnold, John; Hay, John; Batten, Sally; Kilner, Kerry; O'Neill, Terence; Wood, Christopher (2001)
The Bibliography of Australian Literature : F-J Arnold, John; Hay, John; Kilner, Kerry; O'Neill, Terence (2004)
The Bibliography of Australian Literature : K-O Arnold, John; Hay, John; Kilner, Kerry; O'Neill, Terence (2007)
The Bibliography of Australian Literature : P-Z Hay, John; Arnold, John; Kilner, Kerry; O'Neill, Terence (2008)
We particularly thank our university and industry partners for the ongoing financial support that enabled the establishment of this major research project:
Windows on Australia is a separately published work within AustLit.
No part of this work may be reproduced without permission.
AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource 2004-
Windows on Australia: a bibliography.
Bibliography.
Includes index. ISBN 9780980632248
1. Australian literature - Translation.
2. Australian censorship - History and criticism - Translation.
I. Wilson, Rita; II. West-Pavlov, Russell; III. Gerber, Leah; et. al.