November 23, 2019 | American Academy of Religion, San Diego

Translation is fundamental to religion and to the study of religion. Despite a growing body of literature theorizing the study of religion and its relationship to the practice of translation, currently there is not AAR unit devoted to translation. Translation thus remains an undertheorized practice at the AAR despite its centrality to Religious Studies. This exploratory session addresses this lack by leveraging the intense energy currently running through the field of Tibetan Buddhist Studies, which has become a major cultural, economic, and intellectual force within the sphere of global Buddhism. We propose to bring together stakeholders to critically assess the past, present, and especially the future of translation. We seek to promote translation practice as a conceptually rich space in which to reflect upon multiple scholarly, philosophical, social, cultural, and political issues in the study of and global engagement with Buddhism, and in the study of religion more broadly.

Andrew Quintman & Kurtis Schaeffer, Presiding

Panelists: Daniel Aitken, Holly Gayley, Amelia Hall, Sarah Harding, Sarah Jacoby, Anne C. Klein, Marcus Perman, Dominique Townsend, Sangseraima Ujeed, Nicole Willock, Tom Yarnall