The OCCT Discussion Group is a dynamic forum in which students and researchers, writers and translators can present and debate topics in Comparative Criticism and Translation Studies. The sessions are convened by postgraduate students, but they are open to anyone interested in the subjects discussed. No knowledge of languages other than English or prior familiarity with the presented material is required to attend.
Since its inception in 2013, the OCCT Discussion Group has provided a friendly space for participants to exchange ideas and share their research. From its beginnings as a reading group, in which attendees discussed material set in advance, it has developed into an informal research seminar in which speakers give short presentations and engage in lively discussions with the audience. Over the years, the seminars have been organised around a theme (i.e. Intermediality, 2016; Out of Context, 2017-2018; 'Minor' Literatures, 2018-2019); however, in recent years, the group has moved towards discussions of a broad range of topics each term, drawing junior and senior scholars as well as award-winning poets, novelists, and translators. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Discussion Group moved online, a format which allowed speakers and attendees to join the sessions from diverse locations. As restrictions have been lifted, the group has returned to in-person meetings whilst continuing to offer several online events throughout the year.
The OCCT Discussion Group has been honoured to welcome many distinguished speakers. Just as importantly, the group is proud to offer a platform for postgraduate students and Early Career Researchers to present their work-in-progress and receive feedback from the community.
If you are interested in facilitating one of the Discussion Group sessions, or suggesting a topic for discussion, please contact the convenors, Mary Orsak (mary.orsak@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk) and Theo Barnett (theo.barnett@balliol.ox.ac.uk). Please note that the brief talk given at the start of each meeting is not meant to be a formal presentation, but, rather, a prompt for the ensuing discussion.
If you would like to join our mailing list, please send a blank email to occt-discussiongroup-subscribe@maillist.ox.ac.uk.
In my Discussion Group session, we translated an Indian language poem into Greek, Tamil, French, Hindi, Urdu, Italian and many other languages resulting in delightful multilingual rhymes from across cultures. I am so grateful to OCCT for giving me the opportunity to present my translation work, run translation workshops with an extremely engaged and experienced audience, participate in translation-related panel discussions, and gain an incredible network of translators in Oxford. It is wonderful to be a part of this community.
- Mohini Gupta
