Our Workshops

Our workshops develop the skills students need to become excellent linguists and confident critical thinkers.

Each workshop is led by a leading translator in the field and offers a guided exploration of translation in different contexts, interrogating social and ethical issues, questioning assumptions and analysing biases.

Students are introduced to key translation skills and approaches. Examples of the original, cross-media work that results can be found on each workshop page. Customised workshops are available on request. See our sample series below.

Superheroes are not afraid of translation: webcomics in Arabic

In this workshop, students become superheroes tackling translations of an Arabic webcomic one episode at a time.

Electric Guitar Jakarta

An introduction to Bahasa Indonesia and Jakarta, through rock music, this workshop focusses on translation as multisensorial, potentially anti-colonial, and—very importantly—creative play.

A translator’s best friend: trusting your instinct

Using an Urdu poem, discover how you can embrace and nurture your sharpest tool as a translator and make it your ally in the long run.

Translating Russian feminist protest art

Students take to the streets of St Petersburg in this workshop, investigating the subversive potential of language through their translations of feminist political placards.

Keeping your eye on the Dragon Ball: translating Japanese anime

Does dubbing allow the Anglophone world access to the nuances of Japanese anime? In this workshop students will explore the challenges of translating this unique art form.

Translating political satire from Egypt

How can translators capture voices of dissent in their specific contexts? This workshop will explore political satire from Egyptian Arabic.

All about register: translating slang

During this dynamic workshop students will explore the power structures evident in our own language and navigate these in their translations of a popular UK rap song.

A translator’s tour of Turkish pop

Tune in to the nuances of language and music culture and sound out ways of translating a Turkish hit single… in the style of a British artist.

Translating English from around the world

Translate from English to English, examining the forces that have shaped the world.

It’s all Brazilian Portuguese to us

Students navigate questions of language and power, as translators of a popular Brazilian film script with no previous knowledge of the language.

Translating humour

Translating humour is no joke! The multilingual workshop calls for creativity, compromise and an open-mind, whilst offering insight into the heart of different linguistic cultures.

Finding the translator in the text

Can the way we read a text ever be neutral, and should it? This workshop highlights how our different life experiences shape the way we interpret texts.

Series

A Shadow Heroes series provides students with intensive training to become excellent linguists and confident critical thinkers. We work with teachers to design bespoke series for each student group. Examples of these are listed below. Please contact us for more information.

Sample Series I

Translation requires an open and flexible mind. In this series, students will develop the skills of expert listeners and mediators, exploring linguistic diversity in different settings and broadening their ideas about language and translation.

Workshops

Sample Series II

Translation is a dynamic process of communication which flows through the body of the translator. This series will ask the students to reflect on how our life experiences, interests and biases shape our translations.

Workshops

Sample Series III

A translator can face all manner of constraints: both external and internal. This series will challenge students to think creatively and question ideas of difference and uniformity under the spotlight of language.

Workshops