In this second edition of the International Conference on the History of Non-Literary Translation, we will explore once again, just as we did in 2012, the specific issue of the translation from French into Spanish in the field of science and technique and, more generally, in fields that are not related to literature.
The reviewed timespan will comprise, once more, the four centuries throughout which translation made this kind of knowledge transfer between France and Spain possible. The general objective we have set on this second occasion is the same as in the first edition of the conference: to get to know and outline the state of scientific and technical knowledge transfers from one country to another throughout the mentioned time period. This time, however, it will be explained through its human transmitters, the translators.
The announcements and conferences will focus on the bibliographical data of the translators, and will address issues such as their education, knowledge and personality. People responsible for scientific and technical translations (as the editors, for example), as well as their recipients, will also be discussed, but in a more general manner. The historical, social and intellectual circumstances in which the translations were made and which influenced the translators can also be of interest of the attendees.
Regarding the translated texts, it would also be interesting to adopt as an object of study the contents that were either adapted by the translators or, on the contrary, remained faithful to the original text. In the case of adapted contents, the goals and particular social and human characteristics of the translators could be analysed in order to understand the reasons and modalities of the adaptation. On the other hand, with non-adapted contents, the elected fidelity to the original, whether specified or not by the translator, could also be discussed. The field and goals that we have just delimitated presuppose prior research on the cataloguing of material on which translators of the past worked.