DECADOCS is a pioneering research and training programme enabled by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks (MSCA-DN) aimed at reinterpreting the concept of decadence. Traditionally associated with decline, decadence will be explored through new perspectives, focusing on sustainability, transnationalism, and sensoriality. The programme offers tailored intersectoral training in collaboration with museums, archives, galleries, and other partners, reinforcing its scientific and social impact.
‘Decadence in Translations: Translating for, and in French and British Periodicals, 1880-1914. Corpora, Translators, and Translational Aesthetics’
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This PhD project explores the publication of translations in French and English literary periodicals from 1880 to 1914 in relation to the concept of Decadence. As well as a final written project of around 100k words, the successful candidate is expected to contribute to: the creation of a database of translation material in 1000 French and British periodicals; the establishment of a prosopography and interactive map of translators including women and targeting scholars and students; and the production of criteria for decadent translation designed to enrich translation studies and upskill translators’ competencies.
The project includes two periods of secondment at IMEC (Abbaye d’Ardennes) and Cadenza Academic Translations (Exeter, UK), where the successful candidate will receive additional training and support.
About the Research
It has long been recognised that Decadence was a translinguistic and interlinguistic phenomenon in France and Britain at the fin de siècle. This project contributes to general work on the meaning and understanding of Decadence from the nineteenth century to the present day by exploring the role of translation in the circulation and spread of ideas associated with this concept. Specifically, this project considers the role of literary periodicals in the dissemination of Decadence in translation and builds on recent developments in digital humanities.
As increasing numbers of periodicals are digitised and made available online and elsewhere, this project will survey the presence of works in translations from English to French and from French to English within literary periodicals between 1880 and 1914. Whilst the presence and valence of translation in periodicals will be central to the doctoral thesis produced at the end of the period of study, it will be equally important to create a database of these translations, accompanied by a prosopography of translators and interactive map of their location which will allow other researchers to generate their own lines of inquiry. A preliminary study of the aesthetics of translations in periodicals is also expected.
Tasks include:
- Research to locate translated material in French and English periodicals from 1880-1914
- Translation and digitalisation of archival material
- The creation of databases to record archival and periodical findings
- Compiling research findings into scientific presentations, publications, and a PhD thesis
Supervisors
Matthew Creasy, The University of Glasgow
DECADOCS 