TRANSITIONS
The term “transition” comes from the latin transire—to cross a border or pass from one shore to another—and thus conjures up both movement and a state of limbo or in-betweenness. Transitions can be sudden, abrupt and brutal (for example phase transitions in the physical sciences), yet they more often happen over longer time scales and—in the case of demographic, environmental or political change—are seen as taking place gradually. Shifts can be radical and disruptive, but they can also be timid, incremental and rooted in precedent. Their significance, even their very existence, is often only tangible in hindsight when we look back and try to comprehend the past. It begs the question of why some periods and events are deemed memorable or highly significant while others are relegated to a forgotten past in an attempt to forge a social, national, institutional or individual narrative.
This call invites participants to think about such shifts and the different ways in which they are perceived. Pascal Chabot defines transition as “sought-after change” (Chabot 6) and yet not all transitions are welcome. It makes sense then to consider whether or not changes are the intentional result of human agency and social and political action. Terms such as the “green transition” abound but such terms are used by different actors for a host of different reasons. In our discussions we may want to consider the multitude of ways in which changes affecting ecosystems have been portrayed at different times in the history of the English-speaking world. How has the move towards new lifestyles and ways of inhabiting the world been imagined, described, lauded or derided? What about the impact of inventions such as the printing press and steam power or of the epoch shift seemingly brought about by the digital revolution? What resistance, if any, is put up across English-speaking regions to sudden changes, whether social, political, industrial, aesthetic or ideological?
Another area of debate concerns trans-identity: recent theoretical stances on trans-identity have shed new light on the notion of gender and foregrounded the notion of “becoming” as opposed to more fixed and immutable categories. Such conceptual frameworks enable identities to be considered in all their complexity, facilitating the subversion and toppling of a whole host of labels which tend to reinforce prevailing hierarchies and dominant structures. Scholars could address transition narratives from both past and present, weighing up the issues at stake in different eras and contexts.
A third line of inquiry could relate to what could be called the “art of transition”. In a stage performance or a speech, audiences and other performers are guided towards a new idea or image, or on to the next phase of a text or speech through different devices and techniques. The “art of transition” could be assessed in many different fields of English studies, whether from a hermeneutic, poetic or pragmatic perspective. Seeking out and studying transitions means paying attention to how texts, speeches and images are received by a reading, listening or viewing public.
To think about the notion of transition is also to raise fundamental epistemological and historiographical questions. To what extent is a transition, articulated by way of period markers, a retrospective creation, emanating from a society’s need to assess its past? When certain periods are deemed “transitions,” what does it say about individual and collective attempts to fashion a narrative of the past? It is worth digging deeper into the ideological stance underpinning any attempt to define categorical periods in the past. For instance, are such attempts a way of consolidating a new political regime, as in the case of “transitional justice” in South Africa? Does it go without saying that the notion of “transition” harbors within it a linear and teleological vision of history? Does the notion unequivocally conjure up incremental progress? Or can it also provide a glimpse of “the rumblings of the underside of history,” as Michel Foucault put it, over and above the great “upheavals” such as political or “industrial” revolutions?
There is also scope here for considering ongoing shifts in the field of English Studies itself. In which ways is the transdisciplinary nature of our field prompting a transition towards new practices and standards? What impact is the cross-fertilisation of research techniques at an international level having on the pursuit of English Studies in French language faculties? What contribution is being made by revolutionary technical advances (most notably, strides in data digitalization and AI) to fostering and conveying knowledge about the English language and the English-speaking world?
Social Sciences
The term “transition” opens up a number of avenues of inquiry in the social sciences. How are past periods defined by historians who attempt to convey the passage from one era to another in decades, centuries or other time-frames? Long-term changes—Ira Berlin’s “long emancipation of slaves,” ChristopherHaigh’s “English Reformations,” the rise and fall of political parties, or the advent of illiberalism in contemporary politics—could be considered, as could one-off political crises such as revolutions, resignations or regime overthrow, which often result in the implementation of transitional measures (provisional governments, “caretaker” leaders or regencies) subsequently to be replaced by another regime (which may or may not, in hindsight, be seen as the epitome of stability). Certain key dates or individual decisions can be viewed as catalysts for social shifts or as signs of changes under way—for instance Supreme Court rulings such as Roe v. Wade, now overturned, the Brexit referendum in the UK, the outbreak of war, armistices, ceasefires and truces, or key legislative or election victories. In such cases it is worth exploring the discourse, agenda and underlying aims of those who are both pushing for change and attempting to define what counts as a crucial transition. From a historiographical standpoint, placing emphasis on such shifts and thinking differently about the past can promote new schools of thought or conceptual frameworks. For example, thinking in terms of institutional continuity rather than sudden shifts is a hallmark of revisionist approaches seeking to distinguish themselves from prevailing Marxist orthodoxy. Addressing and unpacking the ideaof historiographical or epistemological “turns” (for instance, the“linguistic,” “religious” or “spatial” turn) could also be fruitful. In the social sciences, the study of temporary housing or settlement for refugees and migrants, for the homeless, for victims of domestic abuse, or natural or humanitarian disasters could also be propitious areas of study. How is asylum regarded differently in the fields of history, political science, sociology orethnography, and in particular of ethno-linguistics and ethno-psychiatry?
Literary studies
In literary history, we also find period dividers—those that are produced by literary criticism or by literary works themselves. When writing proclaims its dissidence from prior legacies as well as its passage towards new forms or a new era, a complex relationship with the literary past emerges. Within texts themselves, the representation of instability, whether geographical, existential or ontological, appears to be of particular interest here. Nature writing, for example, is a key area of deep reflection on environmental transition. How do narrative prose, poetry and theatre portray the constantly shifting relationship between the human animaland its surroundings? How do they sketch out transitions towards new ways of inhabiting ecosystems? In travel writing and diaspora literature, a transition from one place to another, or from one culture to another, can be a transformative experience which opens up a space of self-creation. Places of transit linked to migration may be seen as “contact zones” where majority and minority cultures hybridize each other (Pratt ). In such contexts, should transition be seen as the “liminal phase” in a rite of passage (Gennep) or, on the contrary, as a phase of blurring and confusion that thwarts assimilation or reintegration into a group? Literary texts that imagine subjects trapped in thelimbo of in-betweenness will be valuable objects of study here. Similarly, the relationship between life writing and the traditional stages of the lifecycle—childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age—could be a rich vein of inquiry. Does the literary text reflect these divisions or, on the contrary, destabilize and undercut them? Thanatography and pathography, through their focus on illness, convalescence and death, which they turn into life experiences in their own right, may be of particular interest in this respect. More generally, we invite studies of literary texts that envisage identity as adynamic phenomenon, one involving unresolved tension between two poles: texts that focus on trans-identity will be key objects of investigation here. Finally, a transition can also be understood as a textual threshold between the paratext (as defined by Genette) and the main body of a literary work: in this case, does a transition reinforce the cohesion between the various parts of the text, or is it meant to unsettle the reader or the audience? One may also think of internal transitions taking place between chapters, acts and scenes, or shifts in focalization or changes in generic affiliation that occur within literary works. As for moments of transition in novels and plays, they are often categorized as “minor” parts of the text; yet they can also be regarded as puzzling “dysfunctional moments,” pivots when literary discourse shifts from one regime or system to another: a “moment of tipping over, when a shift in the program of the text is enacted” (Charles 258). What exactly might be at stake in such moments?
Film Studies
The term “transition”in film studies immediately conjures up the various changes spanning the history of film, from what Gunning dubbed the “cinema of attraction” to narrative cinema, the passage from silent films to films with synchronised sound, not to mention all the ongoing changes in the media. Transformation is also necessarily central to film adaptation, which, according to Thomas Leitch, should no longer be assessed according to standards of fidelity to the original. One should not forget the variety of transitions achieved in films through editing, which plays a key role in narrative continuity and can therefore also be used to disrupt it. Narrative continuity also raises questions around which scenes appear crucial: can some be deemed less important than others, or be considered mere “pauses”? Finally, film as a vector of political change or a means to voice concerns raised by fundamental shifts in society, be they political or national, individual or personal, merits investigation. One example might be the portrayal of identity crises from the perspective of transgender characters. Transition could also be addressed more specifically through the lens of reception theory and by thinking about the ethical issues raised by the broadcasting of TV series (Laugier). Watching a TV show could arguably be the first step towards political awareness. Idealized or dystopian views of the future, and the expectations they create, might also have an impact on the way we see our own time. In the wake of Posthuman theories, the view according to which the human being has a stable essence can be challenged, as the boundaries blur between man and machine, man and animals, but also within categories of race, gender, sexual orientation and social class. This transition within human beings themselves, turned into a new hybrid form epitomized by the figure of the cyborg, undermines prevailing standards. The transitory nature of the human form is rendered even more vivid by the transhumanists, who call for the use of technological innovations to enhance the human body in an attempt to reach transcendence (Huxley). But is such technological evolution desirable? Scholars drawing on ecocriticism might focus on the way both documentaries and fiction films explore interactions between the human and the non-human in order to unveil underlying power dynamics and help change our culture through environmentally oriented educational practices.
TranslationStudies
In the field of translation studies, one may perceive the act of translating as a transition (from one format or mode of expression to another) instead of viewing it as the preservation and transmission of the original. When written documents are translated into a wide variety of formats (audio, audiovisual, multimedia), in which ways does the transition from one medium to the next redefine the act of translation itself? There is also scope to explore transitions which are currently taking place within the field of translation studies, such as the incorporation of feminist perspectives into professional practices or the contributions coming from the cognitive sciences. What changes are currently affecting the work of translators? The development of Neural Machine Translation could be viewed as a transitional phase between the idea of the machine replacing the human translator (through the use of CAT tools) and that of human intervention being fundamental in the process of post-editing or as a combination of pre-editing and post-editing work. Technical developments are thus redefining the tasks performed by human translators as well as the aims of their training programs or how they are recognized professionally. Transitions towards more collaborative translation practices or towards more or less institutionalized or professional practices (fan subbing, translations in times of crisis and emergency) are also crucial to address.
Didactics (Teaching & learning)
Driven by social, economic and ecological transitions, the actors, objects and concepts intrinsic to the didactics of languages and cultures also lend themselves to analysis through the lens of “transitions”. The very process of developing an additional language involves multiple transitions—from one “level” to another, across learning modes (in class and through leisure, via other- or self-directed activities), and between different language skills. On the other side of the didactic dyad, the act of teaching can involve transitions between phases of a lesson or course, or between class room styles; it can also involve transitions through the development of the pedagogical skills of those involved, or to new external constraints (class size, timetables, accessibility of resources). The profession of language teaching itself is subject to multiple transitions, concerning, for example, teachers’ posture, status or precarity (whether working in primary, secondary, higher or adult education, in the private or public sector, in France or abroad). In the field of English for Specific Purposes, recent developments in specialized terminologies as well as changes affecting discursive strategies and more generally the culture of specific areas of expertise merit examination, as do the effects of these transitions both o nmethods for investigating ESP and on the teaching and learning of English for academic or occupational purposes. Changes in the tools used to mediate and mediatize teaching (movements from one tool to another, shifts in usage) could also be examples of transitions in this field. At this time, the transitions afforded (and sometimes required) by the rise of artificial intelligence appear particularly worthy of study.
Linguistics
In the linguistic field, there is scope for examining how new media and social networks have brought about changes in discursive forms. The use of chat and instant messaging is generating alternative forms of direct written interaction, forms which were previously restricted to verbal exchanges. In a broader sense, we are currently witnessing a shift whereby written forms borrow markers of spoken language. From a diachronic perspective, it would be instructive to analyze linguistic changes which prompt alteration in the status of certain units, notably through processes of grammaticalization, pragmaticalization or constructionalization. Turning to synchrony, the case of connectors used to mark transitions within texts and speeches (e.g. by the way, anyway, mind you, let’s say….)and the effects such markers have could be explored. Do they favour continuity, or alterity? What about discourse situations involving changes in enunciative levels? Examples might include the transition from factual to commented enunciation (calling on meta-enunciative expressions), the shift from general statements to specific illustrations, the passage from technical to popularized forms of discourse and so on. What are the cues or markers favoring such transitions? From a phonological perspective, the variations observed in transitions from one region to another could be explored. How speakers inter-subjectively adapt their own phonetic system to accommodate those of others is significant here, as well as processes of (regressive or progressive) assimilation induced by the transition from one term to another.
WORKS CITED
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Chabot, Pascal. L’âge des transitions. Presses universitaires de France, 2015.
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Gennep, Arnold van. Les Rites de passage. 1909. Picard, 1992.
Gunning, Tom. “The Cinema of Attraction [s]: Early film, its Spectator and the Avant-Garde.” Theaterand Film: A Comparative Anthology.1986. Yale University Press, 2005, pp.37-45.
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Haraway, Donna. “A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late TwentiethCentury.” 1984. Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature, Routledge, 1991, pp. 149-181.
Huxley,Julian. “Transhumanism.” Ethics in Progress 6.1, 2015, pp. 12-16.
Leitch, Thomas. Film Adaptation and its Discontents. Johns Hopkins UP, 2007.
Laugier, Sandra, editor. Les séries : Laboratoires d’éveil politique. CNRS, 2023.
Pratt, Marie-Louise. “The Art of the Contact Zone.” Profession, Modern Language Association,1991, pp. 33-40.
