Shaping Identities in Literary and Translated Texts

Literary texts represent a fertile field where researchers can explore identity construction, clashes of identities, and cultural identity. Identity construction in literature can also shed light on the issue of ideology and its importance in sharing individual and societal norms, values, and social identities. Besides, literature can provide an area where identity can be constructed by involving both the writer and his or her audience. The current event organized by the members of the PRFU, “Language and Identity,” will explore issues linked to how the writer can deconstruct and reconstruct the characters’ identities and their effects on the readers. The language of the literary texts plays a vital role in shaping the reader’s identity since it transmits the cultural values to which the character belongs. Hence, culture cannot be separated from other components of the literary text, mainly the literary language, and vice versa, i.e., the literary language provides a powerful way to shape identity. The three components are represented in literature and construct the literary text.
On the other side of the corner, the translator can also shape identities, but in another language different from the language used in the original text. This means that translation becomes a new voice that tiptoes into the private literary universe created by the author, telling the same story in a different language from what was written and overcoming cultural and language barriers. Indeed, translation is a creative act that can form the ideologies and identities of both the writer and the translator.
The First International Hybrid Conference aims to shed light on how identities can be shaped in literary and translated texts and how the latter represents the social norms of a given society. Another ultimate goal of the conference is to bridge the gap between linguistics and literature by applying linguistic theories to study literary issues like identity construction, gender and gendered identity, cultural identity, literary language, and linguistic diversity in literary texts. Therefore, how identity can be shaped and expressed depends on a given society's social norms and literary traditions. Another aim is to show how the translator can voice the author’s ideologies and identities in a different language.

This call for papers invites researchers to attend The First International Hybrid Conference on “Shaping Identities in Literary and Translated Texts,” which will be held virtually on November 20 and 21, 2023, at Dr Moulay Tahar University in Saida. The conference provides a space for researchers to share their research in literature, linguistics, sociolinguistics, and dialectology. We particularly welcome contributions on the following tracks (but not limited to):

• Literature as a field of identity construction
• The construction of identity in multilingual literature
• Language choice as a marker of identity construction in Arab women’s writings
• Language diversity/ dialect use in literary texts
• Identity construction and linguistic diversity in Arabic/ world literature
• Linguistic innovations in literary texts
• Language and gender in literature
• Linguistic approaches to literature
• Vernacular elements and literary language
• Literary dialect between linguistic and stylistic scrutiny
• Multicultural literary texts and identity
• Dialect and stylistic connotations in literary expression
• Cultural and hybrid identities through literature
• Migration, crossing borders, and identity through narratives
• Hybrid identities through Muslim women’s writings
• Folklore and identity construction
• Code-choice and identity construction
• Translating identities in multilingual communities
• Identity and theatre translation
• The multiplicity of identities in translating children's literature
• Strategies for translating culture-specific items in literary texts
• Folktales, identity construction, and translation
• The translator’s voice in shaping identities
• The translator’s creative voice