Introduction to Translation Studies

Literature is unimaginable without translation, which challenges prevailing concepts of the original. Among the aesthetic, ethical, and political questions it raises—questions increasingly crucial to practitioners of literature worldwide—are: Who translates? Who is translated? What is translated? And—yes—how? And also: what does it mean to think of literature prismatically rather than nationally? What might an anti-colonial translation be? This course will investigate these questions and others by examining histories and theories of literary translation, as well as by considering the role of the translator in the context of publishing, media, film, and“world literature”. Students will consider and critique the politics of literary translation, as well as compare and evaluate how translation shapes texts read in translation. Finally students will engage in the process of thoughtful curation of literary texts for translation and in the practice of translating literature.

Offer as needed

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