Date: 24‐25 March 2011
Venue: Antwerp and Leuven, Belgium
Dead line for abstracts: 30 November 2010
The year 2011 marks the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Version,
undoubtedly the most important English translation of the Bible. Though this version is today often associated with Fundamental Evangelical Christian circles, its historical importance and its cultural and artistic impact cannot be overlooked. To commemorate the 400th anniversary of the publication, SIG VERBI, an international research group of CETRA under the auspices of the faculties of Theology and Arts of the K.U.Leuven and the Department of Translation Studies of the Lessius University College (Antwerp), is holding a conference. The conference fits into the events to commemorate the Protestant and Catholic Reformations, organized by Refo500, of which the K.U.Leuven is a project partner. The aim of the conference is to present research on this remarkable version of the Bible primarily from the perspective of translation, including the effects this piece of translation have exercised on various areas of religious and popular culture, and especially on the theory and practice of translation.
Confirmed speakers include, among others, prof. dr. Stephen Prickett (University of Kent),
prof. dr. Gordon Campbell (University of Leicester), prof. dr. Guido Latré (U.C.Louvain & UGent), prof. dr. Amanda Piesse (Trinity College) and prof. dr. Tibor Fabiny (Budapest).
Thursday 24 March, 2011 in Lessius (Antwerpen)
1. Historical Session
The Low Countries as Historical Context of the KJV
The origin/history of the KJV within the history of (English) Bible translations
How did contemporary political issues effect the translation of the KJV?
How did the KJV effect contemporary politics?
2. Literary/Cultural Session
The Low Countries as translation milieu
The effects of the KJV as a translation on literature/music/performing arts ,etc.
The influence of the KJV on later biblical and non‐biblical translations (e.g. on Jewish translations of the TaNaK, English translations of the Qur'an)
Good/bad practices in (Bible) translation that are influenced by the KJV
The use of KJV quotations and allusions in secular texts and their translations
Friday 25 March, 2011 at the Faculty of Theology (K.U.Leuven)
3. Exegetical Session
Contemporary exegesis & its influence on the translation of the KJV
The influence of the KJV on contemporary and later exegesis
4. Practical Theology Session
KJV & the translatability of religious texts
KJV & feminist/post‐colonial studies
KJV & inter‐religious dialogue
Fundamentalist Bible readings & King James Onlyism
The above list is not meant to be exclusive or restrictive. All suggestions for papers relating to
the topic of the conference’s theme will be taken into consideration. We welcome paper
submissions from graduate students.
It is anticipated that the allocated time for each paper will be 30 minutes, with additional time
for questions/discussion.
Please submit your abstract (max. 500 words) by 30 November 2010 to Dr. Gergely Juhász:
Notification of acceptance by 15 December 2010.
Details of accommodation in Leuven or in Antwerp and a booking form will be available soon
from the conference organizers and on the websites of the Faculty of Theology
(http://theo.kuleuven.be/page/conf_kingjamesbible/) and of Lessius University College
(www.lessius.eu). For further enquiries please contact either of the organisers Dr. Gergely Juhász (gergely.juhasz@theo.kuleuven.be) or Dr. Paul Arblaster (p.e.t.arblaster@hszuyd.nl). It is hoped that (selected) papers from the conference will be published in a volume edited by Dr Arblaster and Dr Juhász.
