Dr Jennifer Arnold

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• PhD Hispanic Studies & Translation Studies (2017) (Birmingham)
• MA Translation Studies (2010) (Birmingham)
• BA Hons Hispanic Studies, First Class (2008) (Birmingham)

After completing an undergraduate degree at Birmingham, I remained at the university for both my MA and my PhD, which I completed in 2017 before beginning in my current position. I worked as a teaching assistant throughout my postgraduate study, contributing to a range of modules within Hispanic Studies, Catalan Studies and Translation studies.

Alongside my academic career, I also translate professionally, with a particular interest in literary and academic translation. In 2017 I was awarded the Emerging Translator Mentorship by the Writer Centre Norwich for Catalan.

Teaching I have taught on a range of modules including Spanish language and translation, core literature, Catalan language and translation, Catalan culture, and translation theory and practice. I have also taught on the MA in Translation Studies and continue to tutor on the distance MA.

I am currently researching and preparing an anthology of translated exile writings from Nazi Germany and Francoist Spain, including a selection of fictional and non-fictional texts from a wide range of genres including novels, short stories, poetry, essays and diaries. My doctoral research focussed on the translation and reception of Catalan literature within the UK market, with a particular focus on reader responses using both online readers and reading groups.

I developed a methodology which offers a way of assessing, not only reader responses to individual texts, but also responses to translated literature more generally, and the way in which decisions taken throughout the translation process can impact upon the reception of a work. My future research projects will build upon this methodology in order to challenge perceptions of Anglophone reader’s attitudes towards translated fiction.