The UC Berkeley Comparative Literature department is proud to announce that the call for submissions is open for our 12th Annual Undergraduate Symposium, “Translating Reality” on April 12, 2025. We are reaching out now with the hope that your students may consider submitting their work to us!
With this theme, we encourage scholars to consider the relationship between art and reality, and the seemingly impossible challenge of merging the two. Authors often operate under the belief that writing aids in the creation and transmission of meaning. Yet, these efforts at signification require translation of lived “realities” into literary copies, inevitably resulting in notable disparities between the two. Acts of translation exist between a sense of ‘objective’ reality and reality as the author perceives it; they exist between a reader and their ability to receive and interpret the words on the page; they exist, of course, between languages themselves. The Comparative Literature Undergraduate Research Symposium eagerly awaits your submissions, addressing questions such as: What is the relationship between translation and “original,” and does that relationship matter? How can writing reckon with lived experience? What is the goal of literature if all communication of reality is imperfect?
Through the symposium, the committee aims to provide a forum for undergraduates to present and discuss their research among peers, graduate students, professors, and the public. Past symposia have featured keynote speakers Poloumi Saha, Ramsey McGlazer, Karl Britto, Judith Butler, Timothy Hampton, and Eric Naiman, as well as undergraduate participants from around the world. This year, we are pleased to announce that our keynote speaker will be Professor Ellen Oliensis of Ancient Greek and Roman Studies and Comparative Literature.
We ask for analytical papers or chapters (minimum 10 pages) for consideration. In addition to papers, we are also accepting a limited number of literary translations. Applicants must submit a full translation, as well as a minimum of five pages of explanatory notes. We are not looking for “by-the-book” renderings– rather, we encourage creative and unexpected work! All accepted applicants will be expected to prepare a 15-20 minute presentation of their work to be delivered at the conference. The deadline for submission is February 1, 2025 at 11:59 (PST). Please submit your work to this google form, also found on our website.
Sincerely,
The 2025 Comparative Literature Symposium Committee
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Comparative Literature Undergraduate Research Symposium
Department of Comparative Literature, UC Berkeley
Scan the QR code to submit to the 2025 Symposium!