As a research group, TRACE (Translation and Culture) studies translation as a literary, historical and cultural phenomenon. In doing so, TRACE pays particular attention to the ideological, religious, political and philosophical contexts in which translations are produced. Translations make these contexts visible and knowable in unique ways, and they encourage a critical examination of such notions as national literature and (cultural) identity. In disciplinary terms, TRACE stands at the intersection of translation, literature and cultural studies. Its research focuses on the roles translation and adaptation play in the constitution of various textual genres, media, and cultural spaces—ranging from literary texts, journalism and songs to popular culture, museums and theatre. From this wide-ranging perspective, TRACE conducts research on how translations have helped shape modern culture in its broadest sense, from the Enlightenment and Romanticism to the present. As it conducts this research, TRACE is particularly interested in the many traces which translators leave in the texts and media they work with; in the paratexts they use to frame their translations; and in their theorising about translation. TRACE collaborates closely with the Centre for Literature in Translation (CLIV), a research alliance between Ghent University and the Free University of Brussels (Vrije Universiteit Brussel).