The research line first started under the title Literary history and translations. Representations of the Other in the Portuguese Culture under the direction of Teresa Seruya as a completely new branch of investigation in Portugal and is part of this Centre since 2005.
The emerging field of Translation Studies continues now within the larger context of European Studies, emphasising the importance of translation and Translation Studies for the representation and accomplishment of the European Idea. We hope to provide Translation Studies with a still more European dimension. Moreover we expect to grant European Studies a concrete orientation in the reflection of how Europe is constructed by "translating" and how it is represented by and through translation. Translation in its basic sense of "trans-latio" means the building and the overcoming of borders and frontiers, the transition of its own space (by means of expansion) and the permeability of experiences and representations.
The research group brings together an excellent set of experiences, well developed and tested in a large European context (within EU-projects, international conferences, international partnerships and international publications).
The main aim of the research team is to define and to prove, in what sense translation is one of the most important means in the concept of Europe and in its cultural processes. Therefore the members will develop their research within four projects.
