Migration and global consumerism

The migration and global consumerism case study investigates literary and cultural translingualism in Argentina, resulting from mass immigration from Spain and Italy, and British settler migration. It includes consideration of the official policies towards these communities in the emerging nation-state.

Aspirations to modernity are identified in the translingual culture of women migrants in Buenos Aires, translingual family and commercial communities in Argentina, and the marketing strategies of the Argentine wine industry targeting global consumers.

Consumerism as a translingual marker of modernity will be studied in relation to commercial institutions (the department store in Berlin and Buenos Aires), art movements (Italian futurism) and the global economy.

The project will also examine the historic role of translators as transcultural mediators in China, focusing on the language used to convey concepts of European modernity against a backdrop of critical reflections on China’s own traditions. The case study will address the question of what constitutes mutual, translingual knowledge in this context.

Research team

Catherine Davies (IMLR, School of Advanced Study, University of London)

Katia Pizzi (IMLR, School of Advanced Study, University of London)

Qing Cao (School of Modern Languages and Cultures, Durham University)