Elizaveta Vasserman

I was awarded a PhD in translation studies in the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies at the University of Leeds for my thesis ‘Andrei Fedorov’s theory of translation and its place in the history of translation studies’ in January 2022. My research project was an interdisciplinary study in the field of translation history and historiography of translation theories that investigated the figure and work of Russian scholar Andrei Fedorov, focusing on his translation theory and ultimately seeking to reclaim Fedorov’s place in the history of the discipline. It was supervised by Professor Jeremy Munday, Dr Jacob Blakesley, and Dr Bogdan Babych and funded by Leeds International Doctoral Scholarship.

I have taken up a LAHRI postdoctoral fellowship to work on the revision of my PhD thesis and further research to turn it into a monograph which will be published with Routledge. The book will be dedicated to the life and work of Andrei Fedorov, whose contribution to translation studies remains understudied in Anglophone literature.

Since I finished my PhD, I have worked as a postdoctoral research associate for the LAHRI research project ‘Enhancing participatory research skills and partnerships: A review of mechanisms for engagement with community and voluntary organisations,’ supervised by Dr Pammi Sinha. The project (April-August 2022) aimed at mapping and understanding the nature of participatory research activities by colleagues in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures at the University of Leeds collaborating with non-academic organisations in the Leeds City Region. My role involved web content research, designing and conducting surveys and interviews, analysing qualitative and quantitative data, and writing a report.

Prior to starting the PhD at the University of Leeds, I had a non-academic career. My latest work experience was in the translation industry, first as an in-house translator and then as a translator/editor and managing partner of a small translation business.

Publications

• Vasserman, E. (2023). Andrei Fedorov’s impact: a scientometric analysis. Perspectives, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/0907676X.2023.2165954
• Munday, J., & Vasserman, E. (2022). The name and nature of translation studies: A reappraisal. Translation and Translanguaging in Multilingual Contexts, 8(2), 101-113. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1075/ttmc.00089.mun.
• Vasserman, E. (2022). Bibliography of publications by Russian scholar in translation and literary studies Andrei Fedorov (1906-1997) [Data set]. University of Leeds. https://doi.org/10.5518/1090

Monograph in progress

• Vasserman, E. (Under contract). Andrei Fedorov in the history of translation studies. Routledge.

Awards and grants

2023    CIUTI (Conférence Internationale Permanente d'Instituts Universitaires de Traducteurs et Interprètes) PhD Award for the best doctoral dissertation, Second Laureate

2022    Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures International Conference Fund (University of Leeds)

2022    Leeds Arts and Humanities Research Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship

2019    European Society for Translation Studies Summer School Scholarship

2019    LCS Strategic Research Development Fund (University of Leeds)

2017    Leeds International Doctoral Scholarship, full tuition and maintenance

2015    University of Hull International Postgraduate Scholarship, full tuition

Recent conference presentations

• ‘Andrei Fedorov’s transnational contacts and their role in the history of translation studies,’ paper presented at the 10^th Congress of the European Society for Translation Studies, Oslo, Norway, 22 June 2022
• ‘The theory of translation by Russian scholar Andrei Fedorov and the metalanguage of translation studies,’ presentation at the 31st CETRA Research Summer School in Translation Studies, KU Leuven, Antwerp, Belgium, 29 August 2019
• 'The history of ideas: translation theory by Russian scholar Andrei Fedorov,' paper presented at the Translating Thought/Translating Literature international colloquium at the University of Sheffield, UK, 31 January 2019

Conferences organised

• The Third Leeds Postgraduate Conference in Translation and Interpreting Studies – Across Time, Across the Globe: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Translation and Interpreting Studies, University of Leeds, 11 June 2019 (co-organiser)

Student education

During the course of my PhD at the University of Leeds, I participated in teaching the following modules in the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies:

• 2021-2022, Methods and Approaches in Translation Studies: preparing and teaching seminars in the taught postgraduate module; 10 contact hours per semester.
• 2020, Literary Translation: preparing and delivering one lecture in the taught postgraduate module.
• 2019-2020, Methods and Approaches in Translation Studies: preparing and teaching seminars (10 contact hours) and participating in the delivery of two lectures with Professor Jeremy Munday.
• 2018- 2019, Beginning Russian: preparing and teaching practical seminars in Russian language; 40-60 contact hours per semester.

Qualifications

• PhD in Translation Studies (University of Leeds, UK)
• MA (Dist) in Translation Studies (University of Hull, UK)
• BA equiv., Specialist: Teacher of English Language, Translator (Perm State Pedagogical University, Russia)

Research training

• CETRA Research Summer School in Translation Studies, KU Leuven, Antwerp, Belgium, 19-30 August 2019

Research groups and institutes

• Centre for Translation Studies
• Language at Leeds
• Translation
• Russian and Slavonic Studies