Languages and Literature, University of Warwick
Thesis title:
My practice-based PhD research seeks to revitalise debates around translator (in)visibility by interrogating conventional translation norms through a creative-critical approach that merges textual translation with digital audio storytelling. Focusing on four short stories by Shuang Xuetao and Ban Yu — two contemporary authors from Shenyang whose works engage deeply with Northeast China’s industrial past and collective memory—I explore how their aurally rich narratives enable multimodal translation practices. Employing a two-stage translational process (textual translation followed by audio remediation), my practice foregrounds the translator’s multisensory agency while unlocking the text’s intermedial potentialities.
At the core of my project is the multifaceted concept of ‘voice’ as theorised across translation studies and media arts. I interrogate how ‘voice’ can be materially reconceptualised and embodied in translation praxis, thereby asserting the translator’s narrative presence and creative agency. Expanding this inquiry, I analyse the ecological force and function of literary translation as local narratives undergo digital remediation. Through multimodal methodologies — including original field recordings, performative narration, and experimental sound design — my practice investigates how these remediated texts generate affective atmospheres while facilitating immersive, situated encounters with local knowledge for transnational audiences.
Ban, Y., 2025.Chorus. Translated by Y. Xi. Eunoia Review, 29 March.
Xi, Y., 2025.Territories of Transition: Navigating Trans Embodiment, Identity and Activism in Neoliberal Landscapes. In: Crisis and Body Politics in Twenty-First Century Cultural Production. 1st ed. London: Routledge, pp. 128-144.
'Creative methods: translating "The New Northeast Chinese Writers Group" from text to audio', The International Postgraduate Conference in Translation and Interpreting (IPCITI 2023).
'Giving voice to my translation: towards a praxis of the literary translator's vocal empowerment' (view my talk here, from 15:10), When I Dare To Be Powerful International Conference 2023.
'Giving voice to the (still) rusted: translating Chinese "Rust Belt" literature amidst a world-literary system in crisis', School of Modern Languages and Cultures PGR Symposium 2023.
2025 The International Postgraduate Conference in Translation and Interpreting (IPCITI), Member of the Organising Committee.
2023 Midlands4Cities Research Festival Co-organiser and 'Creative Showcase' coordinator.
YA book narrator, The Big Read, April 2023, via WIE Network
Literary translation; creative-critical methods; eco-translation; sound studies; audiobook studies; contemporary Chinese literature; queer literature.
'An audio-narratological investigation of recorded literary readings in English (1924-)', AHRC International Fellowship at The Library of Congress (LOC), US, June-September 2024.
LN312: Translation and Translators in the Contemporary World, Week 8, Term 2, 2025 – 'Multimodal Translation', University of Warwick.
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