Sub-forums and Creative Writing Workshop of 2021 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Postgraduate Academic Exchanges in Foreign Languages and Translation Studies in SYSU
On the afternoon of May 5th, the sub-forums and the Creative Writing Workshop of the 2021 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Postgraduate Academic Exchanges in Foreign Languages and Translation Studies were successfully held at Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU).
In response to the national requirements on epidemic prevention and control, judges, guests, and participants attended four sub-forums through online Tencent Meeting. The sub-forums of four research directions—foreign literature, translation studies, linguistics and applied linguistics, cross-cultural studies and international and regional studies—were held simultaneously. The online sub-forums witnessed a strong academic atmosphere and active participation, as participants presented their papers in the order decided by drawing lots, guests asked questions and gave comments, and the audience provided different opinions.
The Sub-forum of Foreign Literature
The sub-forum of foreign literature invited Professor Li Zhimin, president of Guangdong Provincial Foreign Literature Association, and Assistant Professor Zhou Xingyue from SYSU to make comments. Five participants gave presentations to elaborate on the profound meanings of literary works from different perspectives. Their insightful presentations include various novel topics, such as reviewing the local aspirations and meaning construction in Li Zishu’s Vulgar Land, the contrast between the images of the heroines in All’s Well that Ends Well and Macbeth, the confrontation between destiny and free will in King Lear, analysis of the female consciousness in Lisa See’s Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Professor Li and Dr. Zhou gave detailed comments on the papers, specifying what the participants could improve on their papers, and offered constructive advice for the further literary studies of the participants. At this sub-forum, participants and guests had an active discussion and exchanged opinions with each other, creating a strong atmosphere of academic studies.
Photo of Professor Li Zhimin, Dr. Zhou Xingyue and participants
Sub-forum of Translation Studies
The sub-forum of translation studies invited Associate Professor Xie Guixia and Associate Professor Miao Jun from the School of International Studies (SIS) of SYSU to give comments. This sub-forum selected 7 excellent papers which cover various topics, such as the discussion, comment and analysis on the translation of terms, Chinese classic poems and Sichuan Liquor Culture, and the analysis and discussion on the risks, the current situations and the way out for translation industry. Both Dr. Miao and Dr. Xie expressed incisive opinions on the papers. After the interaction between participants and guests and a detailed discussion on translation studies, participants all said that they benefited a lot as they gained more knowledge and had a deeper understanding of their researches.
Presentation of participant from sub-forum of translation studies
Sub-forum of Linguistics and Applied Linguistics
At the invitation of the sub-forum of linguistics and applied linguistics, Professor Zeng Lei and Dr. Liang Sihua from SIS attended this sub-forum. Based on the theoretical framework of systemic functional grammar and visual grammar, eight outstanding participants shared their unique academic insights by analyzing different texts or linguistic phenomenon. The comments of Professor Zeng and Dr. Liang were very professional and meticulous. Both of them acknowledged the innovations in the papers of participants, and also pointed out to the point the defects in the theories and argumentations of each participant, providing new ideas and directions for participants to further their studies.
Participant giving a presentation and Professor Zeng Lei giving comments
Sub-forum of Cross-cultural Studies and International and Regional Studies
The sub-forum of cross-cultural studies and international and regional studies invited Professor Zhou Hui, Deputy Dean of SIS, and Associate Professor Huang Yu as guests to attend the online forum. Eight excellent participants each had a discussion from the perspectives such as the current situation of Turkish education, the regional cooperation in Northeast Asia in the post-pandemic era, and a comparative study of learning societies at home and abroad based on the knowledge graph. Deputy Dean Zhou and Dr. Huang gave insightful comments from the perspectives of topics selecting, thinking dimensions, the depth of the theory, the style of papers, etc. The audience also expressed their opinions actively on the novel topics and the points of view on the papers. The participants also furthered their academic thinking in the interaction and conversations with the guests and other participants.
Dr. Huangyu delivering a comment
Creative Writing Workshop
As the online sub-forums were in full swing, Professor Dai Fan from SIS, Professor Shen Jieling from South China Normal University (SCNU), and the winners of the Seventh National English Creative Writing Contest gathered together offline on Zhuhai Campus of SYSU. The winners made excellent presentations of their works at the Creative Writing Workshop. Professor Dai Fan and other participants all expressed their views at the workshop, having a heated discussion on the works, commenting on the writing skills, analyzing writing features, and exploring new perspectives of innovation. The activity was filled with relaxing and free atmosphere and laughter was constantly heard during the whole process.
Photo at Creative Writing Workshop
After each of the sub-forums and the Creative Writing Workshop were over, participants all said that they benefited a lot from the exchange they wished to have more chances to exchange opinions with experts and scholars. This activity provided an opportunity to experience the charm of academic research during the exchange of ideas of academic research for participants, and it also helped them find the direction for further studies.
