LIT101 CM - Translation in Theory and Practice

“Every allegedly great age is an age of translations”: In this course we will test Ezra Pound’s dictum by examining the history, theory, and practice of translation. What do translators-and translations-do? What is translation’s role in the formation and transmission of culture? What is lost in translation and what may be gained? Bringing together readings from linguistics, literary criticism, philosophy, and anthropology, we will focus on case studies from ancient languages (the Bible, Greek classics) and pay special attention to literary translation in the 20^th and 21^st centuries. By also working on translations of their own, students will explore hands-on the interpretive and creative nature of the translator’s task and the specific challenges that different types of translation pose; familiarity with a foreign language is welcome but not required.

Offered: Every other year

Credit: 1

Course Number: LIT 101 CM