(updated on January 23, 2018)

On June 30 and July 1 of 2016, the third symposium dealing with the the relationship between philosophical hermeneutics and translation studies took place in Cologne, Germany, at the Technische Hochschule in Köln. The symposium, which was initiated and organized by John Stanley, was attended by about 30 scholars and researchers from various countries around the world.  Key note speakers in the plenary on the first day were Anthony Pym on modes of Erlebnis within translation knowledge, Holger Siever on complex thinking as a challenge for translational hermeneutics, and Radegundis Stolze on the connectivity of hermeneutical thinking within translatology.
During the afternoon of June 30th, four parallel sessions took place on issues concering how to apply hermeneutical translation methods, on creativity in translation, and on the link between translation and subjectivity; reports on hermeneutical and phenomenological research projects were given at this time. The first day was concluded with a panel discussion on how to develop a practical methodology for empirical research into translation and interpreting. The panel discussion provided valuable stimuli for further research in the coming years. After the panel research the large majority of the particpants boarded a charter bus and traveled to John Stanley's house in Bonn, where the symposium dinner was served. This was an enjoyable evening with much amiability and a strong academic exchange.

A major theme on the second day of the symposium was commemorating the hundredth birthday of Fritz Paepcke. Radegundis Stolze reported from the commemorative celebration that was held in Budapest, the place of his last activity, and read a word of greeting by Mary Snell-Hornby. Then Larisa Cercel explained a basic principle in Paepcke’s translational hermeneutics, namely seeing and translating. Philippe Forget, a former collaborator of Paepcke at Heidelberg talked about limits and potential of Paepcke’s hermeneutics.

Following the commemorative activities, Douglas Robinson delivered a paper on the influence of ancient Daoism and Confucianism on German romantic translation hermeneutics.
The afternoon also featured two parallel sessions on historical research. The symposium was borght to a close by a paper on hermeneutics and theology (Brian O’Keeffe) and a presentation on contextualizing communication within language games (John Stanley). Further research will be grounded on these foundations.