Laura Linares

Lecturer in Spanish/Translation Studies

University College Cork

About

I am a Translation Studies scholar with a particular interest in how minoritised languages and cultures navigate global creative landscapes. My research explores translation both as a metaphor and as a material practice, examining how it shapes the visibility, identity, and resilience of linguistic communities across literature and digital media. I focus especially on Galician and other Iberian minoritised cultures, drawing on interdisciplinary approaches from Translation Studies, Cultural Studies, Digital Humanities, and Media Studies.I graduated with my PhD from University College Cork in 2022 and spent three years as a lecturer at the University of Limerick before re-joining UCC in 2025. My first monograph, Translation Landscapes: Contemporary Galician Fiction in English (Legenda, 2025), won the Association of Hispanists of Great Britain and Ireland Publication Prize. I am currently co-authoring a second book for the Routledge Studies in Literary Translation series with my long-term collaborator Dr Olga Castro, which investigates how stateless cultures use translation as a form of cultural diplomacy. My research has appeared in leading journals such as Translation in Society, International Journal of Iberian Studies, and Perspectives, and I am currently co-editing a special issue for Target: International Journal of Translation Studies entitled Translation and/as Soft Power in the Twenty-first Century.My second major project explores how video games can act as spaces for cultural transmission and linguistic resilience for minoritised languages in Europe. This strand builds on more than a decade of experience in the video game and localisation industries, as well as my expertise in corpus-based methodologies.

Research

My research explores how minoritised cultures and languages negotiate visibility, identity, and resilience in global contexts, with a particular focus on the role of translation, both as a metaphor and as a material practice. I work across literature and digital media, with a particular focus on Galician and other Iberian minoritised cultures. My work is grounded in Translation Studies but draws on Cultural Studies, Digital Humanities, and Media Studies to trace how linguistic and cultural communities operate in the global arena, especially under conditions of marginality and rapid technological change.MONOGRAPHS
(In preparation) Castro, Olga and Laura Linares. 2026. Agency, Diplomacy and Stateless Cultures in Translation: Basque, Catalan and Galician Literatures in the Anglosphere. London/New York: Routledge.Linares, Laura. 2025. Translation Landscapes: Galician Fiction in English in the Twenty-first Century. Oxford: Legenda. Winner of the Association of Hispanists of Great Britain and Ireland Publication Prize.PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES
(In press) Linares, Laura. 2025. ‘Bridging Disjunctures: Appadurai’s Cultural Anthropology of Globalisation and Literary Translation Studies.’ Translation in Society.Linares, Laura. 2023. ‘Institutional Desires, Individual Endeavours: Contemporary Galician Narrative in English Translation.’ International Journal of Iberian Studies, 35, 313-322.Castro, Olga and Laura Linares. 2022. ‘Translating the literatures of stateless cultures in Spain: translation grants and institutional support at the Frankfurt Book Fair.’ Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice.Linares, Laura. 2021. ‘Bridge Building or Armchair Traveling? The Reception of the English Translations of Manuel Rivas and Domingo Villar.’ Viceversa. Revista Galega de Tradución, 21, 93-120.BOOK CHAPTERS
(In press) Linares, Laura. 2025. ‘Digital Games-based Language Learning’, in Murray, Liam, Marta Giralt and Silvia Benini (eds.) From Classic TESOL & CALL to Managing the Translation to GenAI. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.(In press) Linares, Laura and Mariano Paz. 2025. ‘Pierre Menard, Translator of the Quixote: Borgesian Approaches to Translation and their Impact in the Translation Classroom’, in Krajenbrink, Marieke (ed.) Bildung as Transformation: Embracing Pluridisciplinarity and Liminality. A Festschrift in honour of Professor Jean Conacher. Bern: Peter Lang.Linares, Laura. 2024. ‘Galician World Literature? Born-translated fiction and the construction of Galician culture in English’, in Amarelo, Daniel and Laura Lesta García (2024) New Diasporic Reflections on Galician Culture and Literature: Beyond Sentidiño. New York: Routledge.Linares, Laura. 2020. ‘Plácido Castro e a tradución das Rubáiyát de Omar Kháyyám’, in Ríos, Xulio (ed.), Vocacións e ideais de Plácido Castro. Santiago de Compostela: Consello da Cultura Galega.EDITED SPECIAL ISSUES
(In preparation) Linares, Laura; Olga Castro and Olivia Hellewell (eds.). 2027. ‘Special Issue: The Changing Landscape of Literary Translation and/as Soft Power in the 21st Century’. Target: International Journal of Translation Studies.Castro, Olga and Laura Linares (eds.). 2019. ‘Translational Encounters. Crossing Borders in Galician Translation and Interpreting Studies.’ Galicia 21: Journal of Contemporary Galician Studies.EDITED VOLUMES
Linares, Laura. 2016. Verbas atlánticas. Poesía inglesa, escocesa e irlandesa traducida por Plácido Castro. Cambados: Fundación Plácido Castro.WHITE PAPERS/REPORTS
Linares, Laura and Estefanía Muñoz Gómez. 2021. ‘Developing a new Industry-University Synergy in an AI-driven Language Service Industry’, GALA White Papers. Seattle: GALA.Castro, Olga and Laura Linares. 2019. ‘Conclusións e propostas de acción das xornadas “A internacionalización da literatura galega en tradución ao inglés: novas oportunidades perante un mercado editorial británico en apertura”’ Consello da cultura galega.BLOGS/OUTREACH
Linares, Laura. 2022. ‘A tradución da cultura galega ao inglés: internacionalización ou performance?’. Revista Clara Corbelhe.BOOK REVIEWS
Linares, Laura. 2018. ‘Review of Corpus Stylistics in Heart of Darkness and its Italian Translations by Mastropierro, Lorenzo (2018) London/New York: Bloomsbury’. Journal of Corpus and Discourse Analysis 1(1), pp. 1-5.Linares, Laura. 2018. Review of Fictional Translators: Rethinking Translation through Literature by Arrojo, Rosemary (2018) London/New York: Routledge’. New Voices in Translation Studies, 2018(18), pp. 84-88.Linares, Laura. 2018. ‘Review of Migrant Shores: Irish, Moroccan and Galician Poetry by Palacios, Manuela (ed.) (2017) Ennistymon: Salmon Poetry’. Poetry Ireland Review 124, pp. 61-63.Linares, Laura. 2017. ‘Review of Historia das historias de Galicia by Dubert, Isidro (ed.) (2016) Vigo: Edicións Xerais de Galicia’. Boletín Galego de Literatura 50(1), pp. 23-28.Linares, Laura. 2017. ‘Review of Peripheral Visions / Global Sounds. From Galicia to the World by Colmeiro, José (2017) Liverpool: Liverpool University Press’. Galicia 21: Journal of Contemporary Galician Studies, Issue G (16-17), pp. 110-113.Linares, Laura. 2015. ‘Review of Literaturas extranjeras y desarrollo cultural. Hacia un cambio de paradigma en la traducción literaria gallega by Fernández Rodríguez, Áurea; Iolanda Galanes Santos; Ana Luna Alonso and Silvia Montero Küpper (eds.) (2015) Berna: Peter Lang’. Galicia 21: Journal of Contemporary Galician Studies, Issue F (14-15), pp. 103-107.

TEACHING

My contribution to teaching is rooted in inclusivity, interdisciplinarity, and student engagement. I bring a unique blend of academic scholarship and industry expertise to the classroom: my background as a translation and localisation professional and culturalisation team lead allows me to bridge theoretical learning with real-world applications in areas such as translation technology or video game localisation. I have developed and led a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate modules, including research-led content (LL6033 - Using Corpora in Translation Studies, UCC), practice-focused sessions (LL6018 - Contemporary Translation Theory and Practice) and student-centred initiatives. I have designed and coordinated assessment, successfully introduced innovative teaching technologies in the classroom and been a board member on key undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, such as the flagship UL Applied Languages undergraduate degree, My work in curriculum development, including the design and creation of a new MA in Translation at UL in 2024, reflects my commitment to fostering skills that are both academically rigorous and directly relevant to evolving industry demands.I am currently involved in the following modules in UCC:HS3001 - Final Year Spanish Language (Translation Sessions)
HS3015 - Third Year Spanish Language (Translation Sessions)
LL6018 - Contemporary Translation Theory and Practice
HS6003 - Advanced Spanish Translation Skills
LL6025 - Audiovisual Translation Studies (Video Game Translation Session)

SERVICE

Over the course of my career, I have contributed actively to academic administration, professional service, and public engagement. My experience ranges from coordinating core undergraduate and postgraduate modules and leading multidisciplinary teams, to serving on university committees and supporting institutional equality initiatives. I regularly participate in peer review and external evaluation, and I am committed to fostering supportive academic communities through mentoring and skills workshops. In addition, I have organised and led a wide variety of seminars, conferences, and high-impact cultural events, a small selection of which I have added below.ACADEMIC EVENT ORGANISATION (selection)2025
EST Conference Panel: Literary translation and/as soft power in the twenty-first century. In collaboration with Dr Olga Castro and Dr Olivia Hellewell.2024
School of Modern Languages and Applied Linguistics Day - Research Outputs Panel2022
Global Game Geographies: Translation and Cultural Representation in Video Games. Online International Symposium. University College Cork/University of Limerick.2019
Performing Translation: Translatorship in the 21st Century. International Conference University College Cork.2019
Intercultural Conversations: Community, Translation and Cultural Representation. Postgraduate masterclass, University College Cork.2018
Beyond Borders? New Formulations in Hispanic and Lusophone Studies. Postgraduate conference, University College Cork.
HIGH-IMPACT EVENT ORGANISATION2021
The Translation of Literatures in Basque, Catalan, Valencian and Galician.
Instituto Cervantes London and University of Warwick, Online.2019
A internacionalización da literatura galega en tradución ao inglés. Novas oportunidades perante un mercado en apertura. Consello da Cultura, Santiago de Compostela.STUDENT AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT (selection)2022-24
Translation seminars for undergraduate and postgraduate students. As part of my work as final year undergraduate Spanish coordinator, I have engaged in the organisation of several workshops on potential future avenues for students in the translation industry, including workshops with and about the Translation and Interpreting directorates in the European Union.2018- 20
UCC Translation Week, a week-long event hosted annually in April aimed to engage students with different aspects of translation, including video game and audiovisual translation workshops and sessions on the use of corpora in translation.2018
Me, myself and I, translated engagement activity with secondary schools on translation (led by Dr Craig Neville).2018
Participation in European Researchers Night (Cork Discovers) with a series of activities on multilingualism and translation.