The rise of the platform economy continues to have a profound impact on the translation and interpretation (TI) industry, transforming the way language services are produced, distributed, and consumed. With the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, we have witnessed an accelerated shift toward digitization and online modalities at all levels of social and economic engagement. This shift raises important questions about the nature of language and translation work with evolving implications on linguistic equity and language access issues in the Global North. 

At Hunter College’s 3rd Annual Language Works Conference, we invite scholars and practitioners to share their insights and/or research findings touching on the theme from various points of inquiry, including, but not limited to:  

• What conceptions of translation/interpreting and what modalities are emergent,changing,   or diminishing in this 3rd decade of the new millennium?
• How has the platform economy culture undermined/boosted or otherwise impacted the role of the languaging professional?
• To what extent are higher education programs (degree as well as professional training) (mis)aligned with the translator/interpreter’s prospect/outlook/success in the platform economy?
• What are the ethical implications of new technological environments of work with respect to trust, content ownership, privacy, or transparency (whose, to whom?)
• What are the social and humanitarian dimensions of localization, glocalization, and the hegemonic dominance of the platform model in terms of equity and language access?   

Call for Submissions

We welcome submissions as conception papers or ongoing/recent research or field experience reports with focus on the intersection of multilingualism, translation, interpreting, and the platform economy; we look forward to stimulating conversations in all and interdisciplinary dimensions – professional, educational, technological, and sociocultural. 

To submit an abstract, please complete this abstract submission form: Provide your presentation title and a 200-250 word description of your proposed presentation. 

Deadline: March 15, 2023.   Notification of acceptance will be sent out by April 1st, 2023.

We look forward to receiving your submissions!

Event Format

This event will take place in person at the Hunter College home campus in New York City and will be conducted in English. Individual presentations should be 20 minutes and panel presentations 40 minutes (maximum five panelists each, including the moderator).