This course is an interdisciplinary exploration of translation theory, past and present, and the political and aesthetic dimensions of bilingualism and biculturalism. There is no language prerequisite for the course, and we welcome students from all disciplines. The class meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with a series of guest speakers coming in approximately every other week to take over the class for that week and give a public lecture Wednesday evening.
Translation is, of course, a rewriting of an original text.
Rewritings can introduce new concepts, new genres, new devices, and the history of translation is the history also of literary innovation, of the shaping power of one culture upon another. But rewriting can also repress innovation, distort and contain, and in an age of ever increasing manipulation of all kinds, the study of the manipulative processes of literature as exemplified by translation can help us toward a greater awareness of the world in which we live. Issues in the history of translation. Marilyn Gaddis Rose. The Terrain of Translation Theory.