Més GASolina

El dos de setembre de l’any passat, el grup musical GAS, que assaja i toca a Barcelona amb la formació actual des del 2009, va publicar a Youtube el vídeo d’una de les seves cançons. La particularitat d'aquest vídeo, on es veu la banda tocant al seu local d'assaig, és que la cançó que interpreten és la versió d'un tema seu, Eterno debutante, en xinès mandarí, és a dir, 永远的初学者.

Ràpidament, la comunitat cibernauta se'n va fer ressò, i a dia d'avui el vídeo ha rebut més de 16.000 visites i més d'un centenar de comentaris que representen un autèntic reflex de la sinofonia, tant per l’origen dels visitants (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tailàndia i Malàisia, però també de la diàspora als Estats Units i Europa) com pels temes que els visitants han comentat en relació a la cançó i el grup. De la República Popular de la Xina (RPX) han arribat molt poques visites, ja que que youtube hi està bloquejat. Recentment, el vídeo s'ha penjat també a Youku, la versió local de Youtube, i caldrà veure com rep el públic del continent la cançó. Potser si apareixen més cibernautes que opinin com zhengzhou518 (“I think you should come to China”), els GAS acabin fent una gira xinesa.

The Challenge of China

El proper dijous 14 de març la Facultat de Traducció i Interpretació acollirà una conferencia de Emmanuel Lincot, director del departament d'Estudis sobre la Xina de l'Institute Catholique de París (ICP) i editor en cap de la revista Monde chinois Nouvelle Asie, dedicada a l'anàlisi de l'evolució econòmica, estratègica, política i cultural del món xinès. 

La conferencia, que duu el títol de "The Challenge of China", forma part del Seminari Permanent d'Investigació i Doctorat-Tribuna d'Àsia Oriental, i tindrà lloc a l'aula 2 de la FTI a les 13:00h.

The (mis)use of paratexts to (mis)represent the Other: Chun Sue’s Beijing Doll as a case study

Translation is believed to be the site par excellence of intercultural encounter and exchange, but in this research I question this generally accepted axiom. Different cultures have different views on the function of source texts in translation and different expectations about the role of the translator. They therefore have different translation norms that have an impact on the final product, i.e. the translated text. Power relations between cultures are also reflected in a translator’s approach to the translation task, and the way in which publishers present translated texts to their target audiences. By analyzing three translations (into English, Catalan and Spanish) of Chun Sue’s Beijing Wawa, a Chinese chick lit autobiographical narrative, I show how different strategies used in transferring paratextual elements across linguistic and cultural boundaries in the translations under study reflect different degrees of intercultural sensitivity and different ways of representing the Other. All three translations of the Chinese evidence a tendency to manipulate the appearance of the source text and, as a result, to reshape the author’s image of herself. Consequently, the function and status of the text in the literary system of the target culture is modified. Some of the paradoxes evidenced as a result of publishers’ re-presentation of the original for their target audiences are reflected upon, and conclusions drawn.

(Article in press)

Jornada sobre l'haiku en llengua catalana

El proper dia 22 de març se celebrarà, a la seu de Casa Àsia de Barcelona, la forma poètica japonesa que des de Josep Carner fins a poetes contemporanis com Miquel Desclot i August Bover, tot passant per Salvador Espriu o Rosa Leveroni, ha estat molt ben rebuda i abastament practicada dins les lletres catalanes.

La jornada, coordinada pel membre d'InterAsia Jordi Mas, és una iniciativa del grup InterAsia en col·laboració del grup GETCC i Casa Àsia, i compta amb el suport econòmic de la Fundació Japó.

A la pàgina de les jornades hi trobareu informació sobre el programa, els ponents i els poetes que participaran al recital del vespre.

Inter-Asia think tank partners ranked among the best in the world

An important aspect of the Inter-Asia research group's current project The impact of East Asia in the Spanish context: Cultural production, politics/policies and society, funded by the Spanish government, is the role of our close cooperation with external entities that promote the project and observe its results (Entes Promotores Observadores; EPOs), including leading think tanks in Spain and in China.The International Relations Program of the University of Pennsylvania has recently published its 2012 Global Go To Think Tanks Report and Policy Advice, lead by Professor James G. McGann, and the only international ranking system for think tanks available to date.

According to the 2012 edition, one of Inter-Asia's closest collaborators, the CIDOB Foundation (the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs; Centro de Estudios y Documentación Internacionales de Barcelona) has been recognised as the most influential Think Tank in the South of Europe. CIDOB was ranked 18th in the top 75 think tanks in Western Europe, 35th in the worldwide (non US) category, and 64th among the 150 top think tanks worldwide (US and non US).

According to this new edition of the Global Go To Think Tanks, with the 18th position (up 15 posts from last year’s position) CIDOB is the most valued Spanish think tank within category of the top 75 think tanks in Western Europe.

Within the category of the top 100 think tanks Worldwide (Non-U.S.) CIDOB is ranked number 35, up from position number 37 in 2010. Compared to 2011 edition, CIDOB not only improves its score in the Western Mediterranean ranking, but this year appears within the Top 150 think tanks Worldwide (US and non-US) in position number 64, thus entering the global elite of think tanks for the first time. "In a year in which CIDOB is celebrating 40 years, it is placed as one of the top think tanks in Europe. The big challenge ahead is to consolidate the position and try to improve it", says Carles A. Gasòliba, President of CIDOB, in a preliminary assessment of the results of the survey.

Several of the Chinese think tanks with which Inter-Asia collaborates together with the CIDOB Foundation have also been very highly ranked:

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS)
Top 150 Think Tanks – Worldwide (US and Non-US) (#17)
Top 100 Think Tanks – Worldwide (Non-US) (#5)
Top   45 Think Tanks in China, India, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (#1)
Top   80 Domestic Economic Policy Think Tanks (#11)
Top   50 International Development Think Tanks (#14)
Think Tanks with Outstanding Policy-Oriented Research Programs (#18)
Think Tanks with the Most Significant Impact on Public Policy (#14)

Institute of World Economics and Politics (IWEP, CASS)
Top 80 Domestic Economic Policy Think Tanks (#11)
Top   50 International Development Think Tanks (#27)

Central Party School
Best Think Tanks with Political Party Affiliation§ (#12)

China Institute of International Studies (CIIS)
Top 150 Think Tanks – Worldwide (US and Non-US) (#38)
Top 100 Think Tanks – Worldwide (Non-US) (#36)
Top   45 Think Tanks in China, India, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (#8)
Best Government Affiliated Think Tanks (#7)

Entrevista digital a Seán Golden

En ocasió de la recent publicació de China en perspectiva. Análisis e interpretaciones, el bloc del Programa d’Estudis de l’Àsia Oriental de la UOC ha convidat Seán Golden, director del Centre d'Estudis i Recerca sobre Àsia Oriental (CERAO) de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona i membre d'InterAsia a contestar les preguntes que es rebin al següent correu: pestudisasiatics@uoc.edu.

Bloc dels Estudis d'Àsia Oriental, UOC