Ian Giles

Thesis title: Tracing the Transmission of Scandinavian Literature to the UK: 1917-2017

PhD in Scandinavian Studies

Year of study: 5

  • School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures

Contact details

PhD supervisors:

Address

Street

Room 4.38
School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures
The University of Edinburgh
50 George Square

City
Edinburgh
Post code
EH8 9LH

Biography

Background

I was awarded my PhD in Scandinavian Studies in 2018. My thesis examines the transmission of Scandinavian literature to the UK over the last century through a series of case studies based on a theoretical framework encompassing function-oriented descriptive translation studies and polysystems theory. I also hold an MA (Hons) in Scandinavian Studies and an MSc in Translation Studies, both from the University of Edinburgh.

I was the 2017 SWEA International Scholar in Research of the Swedish Language, Literature and Culture.

From 2013 until 2016 I was a University of Edinburgh College of Humanities and Social Sciences Research scholar, and I am the recipient of the Swedish Women's Educational Association International, Inc. Stipend for Research in Swedish Language, Literature and Society in 2017.

I was a co-organiser of the Nordic Research Network (NRN) Conference 2016 London at IMLR in November 2016, and I was the chair of the NRN 2015 organising committee for the conference held at the University of Edinburgh in February 2015.

I co-edited a volume published by Norvik Press featuring fresh interdisciplinary research on Nordic topics being undertaken by early career scholars in the UK, released in 2016. I am a regular contributor to Swedish Book Review.

I have worked as a commercial and literary translator, and have published half a dozen translations. I was shortlisted for the 2015 International Dagger by the Crime Writers’ Association. I am a member of the Translators Association, and an associate member of the SFÖ. I am additionally the Chair of the Swedish-English Literary Translators' Association.

Qualifications

Awards

  • CAD 1000 grant from the Canadian Initiative for Nordic Studies (2018)
  • The Swedish Women's Educational Association International, Inc. Stipend for Research in Swedish Language, Literature and Society (USD 10,000) (2017)
  • CAD 700 grant from the Canadian Initiative for Nordic Studies (2017)
  • £1200 DELC Small Project Grant (with Guy Puzey) (2016)
  • SEK 30,000 grant from the Åke Wiberg Stiftelse, Sweden (with Barbara Tesio, Ryan Foster, Chris Cooijmans and Laura Chapot) (2016)
  • £1000 grant from the Anglo-Swedish Literary Foundation (with Barbara Tesio, Ryan Foster, Chris Cooijmans and Laura Chapot) (2016)
  • £500 grant from the Anglo-Norse Society (with Barbara Tesio, Ryan Foster, Chris Cooijmans and Laura Chapot) (2016)
  • CAD 1000 grant from the Canadian Initiative for Nordic Studies (2015)
  • £2000 grant from the University of Edinburgh’s Researcher-led Initiative Fund (with Barbara Tesio and Ryan Foster) (2014)
  • University of Edinburgh College of Humanities and Social Sciences Research Studentship (2013-2016)
  • School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures Alumni Masters Scholarship (2011)

Undergraduate teaching

  • Ibsen, Brandes and Strindberg (2014/15)

  • Ingmar Bergman and Cinema (2014/15)

  • Scandinavian Civilisation B: From National Romanticism to the Nordic Model (2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19)

  • Scandinavian Languages 2 (2011/12, 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19)

  • Scandinavian Language Paper 2 (2011/12, 2013/14, 2014/15)

  • Scandinavian Literature 2 (2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19)

  • Scandinavian Historical and Cultural Topics 2 (2013/13)

  • Scandinavian Historical and Cultural Topics: From Runes to Rock Music (2014/15)

  • Swedish 1 (2011/12, 2015/16, 2017/18)

  • Swedish 4 (2015/16)

  • Thinking Translation: A Beginner's Guide (2018/19)

  • Facilitator for Kickstart workshop in Scandinavian Studies (2012)

Postgraduate teaching

  • Technology and Translation in the Workplace (2018/19)

Edited books

  • Beyond Borealism: New Perspectives On The North. Eds. Ian Giles, Laura Chapot, Chris Cooijmans, Ryan Foster, Barbara Tesio. London: Norvik Press, 2016. Print.

Book chapters and articles

  • "A Career in Swedish Literary Translation - Up To Now" Swedish Book Review 2017.1 (2017). Print.

  • "Twilight over Europe" Swedish Book Review 2016.2 (2016). Print.

  • "A report from Nordic Research Network 2015 in Edinburgh?" Scandinavica 54.2 (2015). Print.

  • "Three per cent?" Swedish Book Review 2015.2 (2015). Print.

  • "Success Doesn’t Always Sell: Why Didn’t Göran Tunström Do Better In English?" Swedish Book Review 2014.2 (2014). Print.

  • "The Fårö Documents: The Political or the Regionalised Ingmar Bergman." Illuminating the North: Proceedings from the Nordic Research Network Conference 2013. Eds. Agnes Broomé, Pei-Sze Chow, Nichola Smalley, Louisa Taylor, Essi Viitanen. London: Norvik Press, 2013. Print.

  • "Who Actually Are Translators of the Scandinavian Languages (and What Are They Paid)?" Swedish Book Review 2013.2 (2013). Print.

Reviews

  • "End of Summer" Swedish Book Review 2017.2 (Forthcoming). Print.
  • "Our skin, our blood, our bones" Swedish Book Review 2016.2 (2016). Print.
  • "Unfortunately, I’m dead and can’t come to school today" Swedish Book Review 2016.1 (2016). Print.
  • "Traitors" Swedish Book Review 2015.2 (2015). Print.

Published translations

  • Roll, Liselotte. Good Girls Don't Tell. Amsterdam: World Editions, 2016. Print

  • Jonsvik, Berit. Konstepidemin – Epidemic of Art. Gothenburg, Sweden: Konstepidemin, 2016. Print.

  • Huuva, Greta. Nature Is My Kitchen. Gällivare, Sweden: VARDA, 2014. Print.

  • Norman, Andreas. Into A Raging Blaze. London: Quercus, 2014. Print.

  • Andersson, Gunnar. Vikings! Edinburgh: National Museums of Scotland, 2013. Print.

  • Bernacchioni, Veronica, ed. Laponia: Nature and Natives. Gällivare, Sweden: VARDA, 2013. Print.

  • Strindberg, August. "The Dance of Death (Part 1)." Donmar Warehouse, 2012. Literal translation.

  • Komplitt: Forum for Comparative Literature, Lund University, November 2017: Nordic Noir: A Portal For Understanding Scandinavian Literature In Britain? [Invited speaker]

  • Nordic Research Network 2017, University of Aberdeen: From Gela Alta to Fortitude: the British Love Affair with the Frozen North

  • SWEA International Stipend Award Ceremony, Helsingborg City Hall, Sweden, June 2017: Mottagandet av översatt skandinavisk litteratur i Storbritannien

  • Rethinking Scandinavia, The Centre for Scandinavian Studies Copenhagen-Lund, Lund, Sweden, June 2017: 'The greatest writer in the world': Agnar Mykle - Scandalous Rogue or Man of Letters?

  • SWEA Toronto Chapter, Toronto, Canada, May 2017: What's in perception? Scandal, utopia and snow

  • Association for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies in Canada (AASSC) Annual Conference 2017, Ryerson University, Canada, May 2017: Far Removed: Perceptions of Scandinavia in Cultural Translation

  • Nordic Translation Seminar, Writers Centre Norwich (supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers), May 2017

  • Nordic Research Showcase: Scandinavian Studies at the Universities of Edinburgh, Lund and Copenhagen, University of Edinburgh, April 2017: Hamsun in Britain

  • 250 Year of FoI, Free Word Centre, London, December 2016: Translating His Majesty's Ordinance for the 21st Century Reader

  • Negotiating Nations, University of Edinburgh, October 2016: Does It Translate? The Translation of an 18th Century Legal Text [with Peter Graves]

  • The International Association of Scandinavian Studies (IASS) Conference, University of Groningen, Netherlands, August 2016: Panel discussion on the academic status and position of the smaller languages and literatures

  • The International Association of Scandinavian Studies (IASS) Conference, University of Groningen, Netherlands, August 2016: ‘Hamsun’s great year in Britain’: The Late Rise and Early Decline of Knut Hamsun in Britain

  • Lund University Literature Department Visit to the University of Edinburgh, June 2016: A Translation Research Project
  • Översättarkonferens på Långolmen, Stockholm, May 2016
  • LLC Blethers, University of Edinburgh, February 2016: How To Organise A Conference In 400 Seconds
  • SFÖ English Network Mini Conference, London, November 2016
  • 11th International Postgraduate Conference in Translation and Interpreting, University of Edinburgh, October 2015: Story of a Crime: The Decalogy that Disappeared. The Loss and Rediscovery of Translated Genre Fiction Pioneers.
  • Translation Studies Research Seminar Series 2015-16, University of Edinburgh, October 2015: Nordic Grey – The Origin Story of Nordic Noir
  • LLC Work in Progress Seminar, University of Edinburgh, September 2015: Sjöwall and Wahlöö: A Case of Sui Generis Scandinavian Literary Transmission?
  • Translating the Literatures of Small European Nations, Bristol University, September 2015: Doctoral discussant for panel
  • Association for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies in Canada (AASSC) Annual Conference 2015, University of Ottawa, Canada, June 2015: Crime Fiction Writers Maj Sjöwall And Per Wahlöö In English: A Case Of Sui Generis Scandinavian Literary Transmission?
  • Third Durham Postgraduate Colloquium – Theoretical Frameworks and Methodologies, Durham University, February 2015: Research in Translation Studies: A Feeling For Translation – The Reception of Scandinavian Literature in the UK in the 1990s
  • LLC Work in Progress Seminar, University of Edinburgh, October 2014: A Feeling for Translation – The Transmission of Scandinavian Literature to the UK in the 1990s
  • Scandinavian Studies Research Seminar Series 2013-14, University of Edinburgh, April 2014: Tracing the Transmission of Scandinavian Literature to the UK: The Elongated Twentieth Century
  • The Society of Swedish Literature in Finland Visit to the University of Edinburgh, September 2013: Vad är inverkan av receptiv flerspråkighet inom ett nordiskt kulturellt sammanhang? Sett egenom ögonen av aktiva översättare
  • Nordic Research Network 2013, University College London: The Fårö Documents: The Political or the Regionalised Ingmar Bergman
  • Northern Studies Virtual Conference 2012, University of the Highlands and Islands: The Fårö Documents: The Political or the Regionalised Ingmar Bergman
  • Nordic Research Network 2012, University of Edinburgh: Translational Issues in Translating the Opening of Tjuven by Göran Tunström
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