Nele Noppe

Japanese to English translator, researcher, and open culture activist, doing my part to make sure everyone can create and enjoy what they want. Recovered academic. Check out my publications, or come talk to me on Twitter or my blog.

About me

I became a full-time freelance translator after gaining ten years of experience as a Japanese Studies research and communication expert. My Ph.D., a digital humanities project on the cultural economy of media in Japan, led me to specialize in academic and technical/IT translations. I combine a wealth of expert knowledge on media, technology, and society, especially free/open culture-related topics, with great practical skills in research and communication.

Things I translate

Academic materials: papers, conference programs, website texts for universities, news articles

IT/tech materials: software manuals, FAQs, website texts, training and conference materials, news articles

Specializations

I specialize in topics related to open culture that I’ve been immersed in for several decades through my work and hobbies:

Remix culture/fan culture and related topics like freedom of expression, copyright (creative commons/public domain/licensing), popular culture, and internet culture and social media in general. Given my focus on Japan, I have a lot of specific Japan-related knowledge about media, for example about the media industry, Internet platforms for various media, and popular media such as manga and other comics, anime, and games.

Open science and related topics like citizen science, access to scholarly knowledge, and crowdsourcing of knowledge.

Open access and related topics like academic publishing in general, peer review, research communication, funding, and other academia-related issues.

Open education and related topics like MOOCs, educational technology, and access to education.

Open source software and related topics like the tech industry, the history of technology, sociology of technology.

Maker culture and related topics like makerspaces, DIY culture, open source hardware, and open design.

The sharing economy and related topics like crowdfunding.

How all of the above intersect with issues of accessibility, gender and sexuality, labor rights, sustainability, environmental rights, and so on.