CLCS 322 Translation Theory: Staging the Page
This course aims to give students an overview of major ideas behind translation and the problems and possibilities surrounding the active movement of texts from other languages into English. The five main emphases will be: the “task” of the translator (Benjamin, Venuti, Schleiermacher); Postcolonialism and translation; translating gender; Translation Ethics; and ethical questions of online translation tools and their impact on the contemporary world of translation. Students will read classic, overarching texts on translation and translating, as well as engage with more contemporary thought about the relationship between languages as it pertains to literary texts and as it intersects with Postcolonial Studies, Gender Studies and Translation Ethics in the works of translation theorists such as Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, von Flotow, Bassnett, and Spivak. “Translation challenges” related to notions of language and power and translator negotiation of source text and target audience, and based on existing translations, will be given particular prominence across all module emphases, and students will be encouraged to think about, discuss and workshop their own versions that seek to address these challenges.