Centre for Catalan Studies, Queen Mary University of London

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Centre for Catalan Studies, Queen Mary University of London

The Centre for Catalan Studies at Queen Mary has been established to promote and consolidate Catalan studies research in the UK.

19/03/2026

📚 Translation in History: Theoretical and Practical Issues

Taking place on Monday 23 March (1:00–2:45 pm), this session will explore key questions surrounding translation as a historically situated practice, engaging with issues of methodology, textual intervention, and cultural mediation.

Speakers:
– Dr David McGrath (Honorary Research Fellow, QMUL), currently working on the translation of Latin American and Spanish authors.
– Paula Espinosa (visiting doctoral researcher, Centre for Catalan Studies, QMUL), whose research examines the intersections of censorship and stylistics.

The seminar will include a practical workshop component, encouraging participants to reflect critically on translational choices and constraints.

📍 Scape Canalside, TR4
🗣️ Seminar in English
👥 Open to all

18/03/2026

🎬The Invasion of the Barbarians UK premiere was completely sold out and the atmosphere couldn’t have been better. Thank you to everyone who came and made it so special — your energy, curiosity, and engagement truly filled the room.

The discussion with the director was one of those you don’t forget: powerful, thought-provoking conversations on historical memory, antifascism, and what it means to create cinema in Catalan today. Many in the audience were deeply moved, recognising their own family stories on screen — told in Catalan, with honesty and care.

We’re incredibly grateful for such an open and inspiring exchange, and for all of you who stayed, asked questions, and shared the moment with us.

We’ll keep promoting Catalan language and culture through many more activities to come.

04/03/2026

The UK premiere of The Invasion of the Barbarians, a film about cultural an political resistence against facism.

Join us for the exclusive UK premiere of a major Valencian film from 2025 — a gripping historical drama that bridges past and present.

València, 1939.
Esperanza, an art conservator, is responsible for safeguarding the masterpieces of the Museo del Prado that were transferred to Valencia during the war to protect them from fascist bombings. When the war ends, she is arrested and interrogated by a Francoist lieutenant about a missing painting from the Prado collection: The Invasion of the Barbarians.

Eighty years later,
Aurora confronts the mayor of a town near Valencia over the exhumation of a mass grave from the Franco era discovered within the municipality. As past and present collide, buried truths demand to be uncovered.

The screening will be followed by a special Q&A with the film’s director, Vicent Monsonís, offering audiences the opportunity to delve deeper into the film’s themes of memory, justice, and historical legacy.

📅 March 16th, 6:15 pm
📍 Arts One, Queen Mary University of London
🎬 Original version (catalan) with English subtitles
🎤 Followed by Q&A with the director and drinks reception

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to experience a powerful story of art, memory, and resistance — and to engage directly with the filmmaker behind it.

Free admission, please register via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/uk-premiere-the-invasion-of-the-barbarians-tickets-1984376324003?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

28/02/2026

📚*Memòria de fang. In Memory of the Victims of the DANA*

The phrase “only the people save the people,” written in mud letters on the walls, is a powerful statement that says much more than it seems. It carries a certainty that is both bitter and joyful at the same time: that solidarity, tenderness, and salvation can only be given to us by one another, without expecting too much from the rest.

Thanks to and for last night, Thank you for the organisation and for bringing the voices of such wonderful people. We had the opportunity to listen to Pau and Òscar, author and editor of the book Memòria de fang, an essay in interview format that gathers the stories, reflections, and experiences of those affected by and who survived the flood.

We also heard the moving testimony of Rafel, a member of ValenciansUK, a Valencian living in London who lost two brothers in the flood, and who showed us the true face of dignity and struggle.

We closed the evening with an emotional concert by Pau, who set to music everything that was floating in the room and in our minds.

Thank you to everyone who attended—for the emotion, the debates, the ideas. We keep going!

26/02/2026

📚 Book Presentation: La nena del socaire

An inspiring evening celebrating a novel written over more than three decades — a journey through memory, art and transformation.

We were delighted to hear Eva Bosch in conversation with Ramon Lamarca, followed by a rich and engaging discussion with the audience on art, the position of women in the artistic world, and the role of one’s mother tongue in the creative process.

Thank you to everyone who joined us and contributed such thoughtful reflections ✨

CatalanLiterature

15/02/2026

La Queen Mary serà seu de certificació per als exàmens oficials de l’Institut Ramon Llull.

Últims dies per inscriure-vos als certificats de llengua catalana. Ho podeu fer en línia a través de l’enllaç que trobeu a la nostra bio.

19/12/2025

All of us at the Centre for Catalan Studies wish you Season’s Greetings and a Happy New Year. Our programme of events to take place during 2026 will be announced soon. 🎄

Des del Centre for Catalan Studies us desitgem bones festes i un bon any nou. Aviat anunciarem les nostres activitats per a l’any 2025. 🎄

24/11/2025

Last Tuesday we enjoyed an unforgettable Joanot Martorell Lecture 2025! ✨

The event was a great success: fantastic attendance, rich discussion, and a truly outstanding lecture by Professor Jacqueline Hurtley (University of Barcelona), who—as always—was superb. 👏📚

Under the title “Translation or transcreation? English-language authors, Catalan translators and publishers, 1920–1938”, we explored how the works of George Eliot, Joseph Conrad, and Virginia Woolf were translated—and often reimagined—into Catalan during a vibrant cultural moment, thanks to authors and translators such as Josep Carner, C.A. Jordana, and Josep M. Millàs-Raurell. 🌍💬

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us and contributed to such an engaging evening—and special thanks to the for their collaboration in making this event possible. 🙌✨

Here are some highlights from the event! 📸

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London
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Website

https://ccsqmul.com/

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