Staff profile

I hold a PhD in linguistics (2000, Moscow State University) and a PhD in Translation Studies (2009, School of translation and interpretation, University of Ottawa).

I have conducted research in translation studies, especially in the sociology of translation and the epistemology of translation studies. I have also studied lexicography and a number of aspects of Russian language and culture. 

More specifically, my primary academic interest is translation as a social activity. I have applied several sociological theories (notably, Luhmann’s social systems theory, Bourdieu’s theory of social fields and Habermas’ theory of communicative action) to various aspects of the translation history of Kievan Rus, Muscovy and Russia. I have studied the social role of translation in the westernization of Russia in the eighteenth century (my research has been published as a monograph), the role women-translators played in the Russian history of translation; I published on the aspects of gender and sexuality as they manifested themselves in the Russian translation history, etc.

I am the Director of the MA in Translation and Russian Studies at the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, Durham University, UK. I teach courses in translation theory, translation history and sociology of translation as well as contribute to the specialised English-Russian translation module.

For more information please see my website www.tyulenev.org.

Authored book

• Tyulenev, Sergey (2018). Translation in the Public Sphere. Palgrave Pivot.
• Tyulenev, S. (2014). Translation and Society. London: Routledge.
• Tyulenev, Sergey (2012). Translation and the Westernization of Eighteenth-Century Russia. Berlin: Frank & Timme GmbH.
• (2011). Applying Luhmann to Translation Studies Translation in Society. Routledge.
• (2004). Теория перевода [Translation Theory]. Moscow: Gardariki.
• (2000). Перевод как инструмент стилистического анализа художественного произведения (Прагмастилист. аспект) [Translation as a Means of Stylistic Analysis of the Literary Work of Art.]. Moscow: Gotika.

Chapter in book

• Tyulenev, Sergey (2017). Speaking Silence and Silencing Speech: The Translations of Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov as Queer Writing. In Queering Translation, Translating the Queer: Theory, Practice, Activism. Baer, Brian & Kaindl, Klaus Routledge. 112-129.
• Tyulenev, S. (2015). Translation and Agency. In Researching Translation and Interpreting. Angelelli, Claudia V. & Baer, Brian James London: Routledge. 17-31.
• Tyulenev, S. (2013). Social Systems and Translation. In Handbook of Translation Studies. Gambier, Yves & van Doorslaer, Luc Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 4: 160-166.

Edited Journal

• Tyulenev, Sergey & Zheng, Binghan (2017). Toward a Comparative Translation and Interpreting Studies. Translation and Interpreting Studies, 12 (2): John Benjamins.

Journal Article

• Tyulenev, Sergey (2023). Translation as meaning negotiator. Translation Studies
• Tyulenev, Sergey (2022). Translation and Diplomacy: The Ins and Outs of Social-Systemic Boundaries. Diplomacy & Statecraft 33(3): 589-604.
• Tyulenev, Sergey (2021). In a wilderness of mirrors: the ethics of translation in Cold-War espionage. The Translator 27(4): 368-383.
• Tyulenev, Sergey (2021). Translation and (Counter-)Intelligence: The Interpenetration of Social-Systemic Boundary Phenomena. Perspectives 29(3): 339-353.
• Tyulenev, S., Zheng, B. & Johnson, P. (2017). A Comparative Study of Translation/ Interpreting as a Profession in Russia, China and Spain. Translation and Interpreting Studies 12(2): 332-354.
• Tyulenev, S. & Zheng, B. (2017). Introduction: Towards the Comparative Studies of Translation and Interpreting. Translation and Interpreting Studies 12(2): 197-212.
• Tyulenev, S. (2016). A systemic centenary of Russian poetic translation. Asia Pacific Translation and Intercultural Studies 3(2): 123-145.
• Tyulenev, S. (2016). Vsemirnaia Literatura: intersections between translating and original literary writing. Slavic & East European Journal 60(1): 8-21.
• Tyulenev, S. (2015). Towards Theorising Translation as an Occupation. Asia Pacific Translation and Intercultural Studies 2 (1): 15-29.
• Tyulenev, S. (2015). Resolving the Paradox of the Enlightenment. Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences 8(2): 308-328.
• Tyulenev, S. (2014). Strategies of Translating Sexualities as Part of the Secularization of Eighteenth- and Early Nineteenth-Century Russia. Comparative Literature Studies 51(2): 253-276.
• Tyulenev, S. (2014). Translation as a Social Fact. Translation and Interpreting Studies 9(2): 179-196.
• Tyulenev, S. (2013). Translating in the public sphere: Birth pangs of a developing democracy in today's Russia. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 31(4): 469-479.