HP211-15 Gender and Translation in the Hispanic World: Translating Women Writers
Introductory description
What are the challenges of translating women's writing from Spanish into English? How have Spanish-language women and LGBT+ authors been translated across time? Which writers and feminist theories are translated into English (and why others aren't)? What does it mean to do a feminist translation? This module provides students with a broad knowledge of key research and discussion topics about women, gender, sexuality and feminism in the Hispanic world, in relation to translation. Framed within the broader context of translation and publishing in the English-speaking book market, it exposes students to a variety of exciting contemporary women writers in the Hispanic world and the English translations of their texts, paying special attention to women's fiction, LGBT+ literature and feminist theory. As well as critically analysing existing (feminist, phallocentric and cis-heteronormative) translations of writers from Latin America, Equatorial Guinea and Spain, students are given the opportunity to translate selected passages from the texts under study. This module will cover these topics using a variety of literary texts as well as academic articles. Students will be taught and assessed in English, and will be required to read and translate from Spanish source text material.
Module aims
The aim of this module is to introduce students to the ideological role of translation as an enabling tool for the circulation of women's writings, LGBT+ texts and feminist theories from the Hispanic context to the English-speaking book industry. More specifically, the modules aims:
(1) to expose students to different examples of contemporary Hispanic women's writing from Latin America, Equatorial Guinea and Spain;
(2) to encourage critical thinking on the relationship between translation and contemporary women's writing in Spanish, particularly in relation to the dynamics between translation and gender, translation and sexuality, and translation and feminist theory;
(3) to introduce the core theoretical concepts of gender-conscious approaches to translation such as feminist translation theory;
(4) to improve students' skills in translating literary and philosophical texts from Spanish into English;
(5) to develop an ability to analyse and evaluate specific translation strategies in their own and other translators' work.
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
Week 1. Introduction: Feminist and Gender-conscious Approaches to Translation.
Week 2. Women in Translation Initiatives: Hispanic Authors in the English-language Book Industry.
Week 3. Translation Strategies: from Grammatical Gender to Ideological Discourses.
Week 4. Translating Women's Fiction (I): Sexuality and Erotic Writing.
Week 5. Translating Women's Fiction (II): Historical Fiction and Testimonio.
Week 6. Reading Week.
Week 7. Translating LGTB+ Writing: Beyond Cis-Heteronormativity.
Week 8. Translating Feminist Non-Fiction (I): Transgressive Texts.
Week 9. Translating Feminist Non-Fiction (II): Feminist Theory Texts.
Week 10. Revision: Tips for a Translation Commentary & Essay Writing.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Knowledge of aspects of the cultures, communities and societies where target language is used, namely multilingual Spain, Latin America and Equatorial Guinea.
- Knowledge, awareness and understanding of one or more cultures and societies, other than their own.
- Familiarity with the methodologies and approaches appropriate to the discipline of feminist translation studies applied to women writers in a Hispanic context.
- Ability to access, read and critically analyse primary and secondary source materials in target language.
- Intercultural awareness, understanding and competence.
Indicative reading list
PRIMARY TEXTS.
Week 1. Academic texts to get an overview of this week's topic.
Castro, Olga and Emek Ergun. 2018. Feminism and Translation. In: Jon Evans and Fruela Fernandez (eds.) The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Politics. London: Routledge, pp. 125-143.
Godayol, Pilar. 2019. Translation and Gender. In: Africa Vidal and Roberto Valdeón (eds.) The Routledge Handbook of Spanish Translation. London: Routledge, pp. 103-117.
Week 2. Academic texts to get an overview of this week's topic.
Basaure, Rosa, Marcela Contreras, Andrea Campaña and Mónica Ahumada. 2020. Translation and Gender in South America: the representation of South American women writers in an unequal cultural scenario. In: Luise von Flotow and Hala Kamal (eds.) The Routledge Handbook of Translation, Feminism and Gender. London: Routledge.
Castro, Olga and Helen Vasallo. 2020. Women Writers in Translation in the UK. The 'Year of Publishing Women' (2018) as a platform for collective change?" In: Luise von Flotow and Hala Kamal (eds.) The Routledge Handbook of Translation, Feminism and Gender. London: Routledge.
Week 3. Academic texts to get an overview of this week's topic.
Nissen, Uwe Kjær. 2002. Aspects of Translating Gender. Linguistik Online 11 (Special issue Language and Gender II). Available at https://www.linguistik-online.net/11_02/nissen.html
Flotow, Luise von. (2019). Translation. In: Robin Truth Goodman (ed.) The Bloomsbury handbook of 21st-century feminist theory. Londres: Bloomsbury, pp. 229-243.
Week 4. Extracts from fiction texts.
Harwicz, Ariadna. 2012. Matate amor. Buenos Aires: Paradiso. [English translation: 2018. Die my love. Translated by Sarah Moses and Carolina Orloff. Edinburgh: Charco Press.]
Tusquets, Esther. 1979. El amor es un juego solitario. Barcelona: Lumen. [English translation: 1988. Love is a Solitary Game. Translated by Bruce Penman. London/New York: John Calder/Riverrun Press.]
Week 5. Extracts from fiction texts.
Menchú, Rigoberta (edited by Elisabeth Burgos). 1983. Me llamo Rigoberta Menchú y así me nació la conciencia. Cuba: Casa de las Américas. [English translation: 1984. I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala. Translated by Elisabeth Burgos-Debray. London: Verso.]
Moure, Teresa. 2005. Hierba Mora [author's self-translation from the Galician language]. Barcelona: Lumen. [English translation: 2018. Black Nightshade. Translated by Philip Krummrich. Sofia: Small Stations]
Week 7. Extracts from fiction and non-fiction texts.
Obono, Melibea. 2019. Yo no quería ser madre. Vidas forzadas de mujeres fuera de la norma. Madrid: Egales. [English Translation: 2020. I didn't want to be a mother. Translated by Lawrence Schimel. London: Feminist Press.]
Obono, Melibea. 2016. La Bastarda. Barcelona: Flores Raras. [English translation: La Bastarda. A Novel. Translated by Lawrence Schimel. London: Feminist Press].
Week 8. Extracts from non-fiction texts.
Cacho, Lydia. 2010. "Argentina-México: armas, drogas y mujeres". Chaper 6 in Esclavas del poder. Un viaje a la trata sexual de mujeres y niñas en el mundo. Ciudad de México: Editorial de Bolsillo. [English translation: 2012. "Argentina-Mexico. Arms, Drugs, and Women". Chapter 6 in Slavery Inc. The Untold Story of International Sex Trafficking. Translated by Elizabeth Boburg. London, Portobello.]
Irusta, Erika. 2014. Cartas desde mi cuarto propio. Colección 2013. Barcelona: El camino rubí, pp. 170-181. [English translation: 2016. Letters from my Own Room. How To Be a Proud Menstruator. Translated by Natividad Mateos Lucero. Barcelona: El camino rubí.]
Week 9. Extracts from academic texts.
Lagarde, Marcela. 2009. "Claves feministas en torno al feminicidio". In: Estefanía Molina and Nava San Miguel (eds.) Nuevas líneas de investigación en género y desarrollo. Madrid: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, pp. 211-236. [English translation: 2010. Feminist Keys for Understanding Feminicide (Translated by Charlie Roberts). In: Rosa-Linda Fregoso and Cynthia Bejarano. Terrorizing Women: Feminicide in the Americas. Duke UP: xi-xxv.]
Vasallo, Brigitte. 2018. Pensamiento monógamo, terror poliamoroso. Madrid: Oveja roja. [English abridged version: 2019. Monogamous Mind, Polyamorous Terror. Sociological Research Online, 24(4) 680–690.]
SECONDARY TEXTS.
Camus Camus, Carmen. 2011. Women, translation and censorship in the Franco Regime. MonTi, 3, 447-470.
Castro Vázquez, Olga. 2009. (Re)examining Horizons in Feminist Translation Studies: Towards a Third Wave? MonTi, 1, 59-86.
Castro, Olga. 2013. Talking at Cross-Purposes? The Missing Link between Feminist Linguistics and Translation Studies, Gender and Language, 7(1), 31-54.
Curiel, Ochy & Silva-Reis, Dennys. 2019. Pensar la traducción y el feminismo negro: entrevista con Ochy Curiel. Ártemis, 27(1), 236-240.
Davies, Catherine. 1991. Feminist Writers in Spain since 1900. From Political Strategy to Personal Inquiry. In: Helena Forsas-Scott (ed.) Textual Liberation. European Feminist Writing in the 20th Century. London and New York: Routledge, 192-225.
Flotow, Luise von. 1991. Feminist Translation: Contexts, Practices and Theories, TTR, 4(2), 69-84.
Hopkinson, Amanda and Marsh, Hazel. 2020. Activist Narratives: Latin America Testimonies in Translation. In: Routledge Handbook of Translation and Activism. In: Rebecca Ruth Gould and Kayvan Thahmasebian (eds.). London: Routledge.
Levine, Suzanne Jill. 1991. The Subversive Scribe: Translating Latin American Fiction. St. Paul: Graywolf Press.
Maier, Carol. 1985. A Woman in Translation, Reflecting. Translation Review, 17, 4-8.
Maier, Carol. 1998. Issues in the Practice of Translation Women’s Fiction. Bulletin of Hispanic Studies, 75(1), 95-108.
Massardier-Kenney, Françoise. 1997. Towards a Redefinition of Feminist Translation Practice. The Translator, 3(1), 55-69.
Miguélez-Carballeira, Helena. 2005. Gender-related issues in the English translation of Esther Tusquets and Rosa Montero. New Voices in Translation Studies 1, 43-55.
Palmary, Ingrid. 2014. A Politics of Feminist Translation: Using Translation to Understand Gendered Meaning-Making in Research. Signs, 39(3), 576-580.
Reimóndez, María. 2009. The Curious Incident of Feminist Translation in
Galicia: courtcases, lies and gender-n@tions. Galicia 21, Issue A: 68-89.
Reimóndez, María. 2020. El enfoque feminista de la traducción e interpretación: una ventaja competitiva. Transfer, 15(1-2), 168-190.
Sánchez, Lola. 2017. Translation and the Circuits of Globalization: In Search of More Fruitful Feminist Dialogues in Contemporary Spain. In: Olga Castro & Emek Ergun (Eds.), Feminist Translation Studies. Local and Transnational Perspective. London: Routledge, 56-69.
Villanueva-Jordán, Iván. 2019. Abrir paso a las masculinidades gais en la Traductología. Asparkía, 35, 129-150.
ADDITIONAL/COMPLEMENTARY READINGS:
Brufau Alvira, Nuria. 2010. Las teorías feministas de la traducción a examen. Destilaciones para el siglo XXI. Granada: Comares.
Castro, Olga & Ergun, Emek. (Eds.). 2017. Feminist Translation Studies. Local and Transnational Perspectives. London: Routledge.
Díaz-Diocaretz, Miriam. 1985. Translating Poetic Discourse: Questions on Feminist Strategies in Adrienne Rich. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: Benjamins.
Domínguez Ruvalcaba, Héctor. 2016. Translating the Queer: Body Politics and Transnational Conversations. London: Zed.
Epstein, B.J. & Gillet, Robert (Eds.). 2017. Queer in Translation. London: Routledge.
Flotow, Luise von. (Ed.). 2011. Translating Women. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press.
Flotow, Luise von & Farahzad, Farzaneh (Eds.). 2017. Translating Women. Different Voices and New Horizons. London.
Larkosh, Christopher. 2011. Re-Engendering Translation. Transcultural Practice, Gender/Sexuality and the Politics of Alterity. Manchester: St. Jerome.
Lotbinière-Harwood, Susanne. 1991. Re-belle et Infidèle/ The Body Bilingual. Toronto: Women’s Press.
International
All modules delivered in SMLC are necessarily international. Students engage with themes and ideas from a culture other than that of the UK and employ their linguistic skills in the analysis of primary materials from a non-Anglophone context. Students will also be encouraged to draw on the experiences of visiting exchange students in the classroom and will frequently engage with theoretical and critical frameworks from across the world.
Subject specific skills
This module will develop students' linguistic skills through engaging with primary materials in the target language. It will build students' ability to engage with aspects of Hispanic culture through analysis of this primary material and through seminar discussion aimed at deeper critical thinking. In particular, students' awareness of gender-conscious approaches to translation applied to women's writing and LGBT+ texts will be enhanced through lectures and seminars which engage in scholarship in the field.
Transferable skills
All SMLC culture modules demand critical and analytical engagement with artefacts from target-language cultures. In the course of independent study, class work and assessment students will develop the following skills: written and oral communication, creative and critical thinking, problem solving and analysis, time management and organisation, independent research in both English and their target language(s), intercultural understanding and the ability to mediate between languages and cultures, ICT literacy in both English and the target language(s), personal responsibility and the exercise of initiative.
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 9 sessions of 1 hour (6%) |
| Seminars | 9 sessions of 1 hour (6%) |
| Private study | 132 hours (88%) |
| Total | 150 hours |
Private study description
132 hours of private study
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You do not need to pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group A
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
Assessment component |
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| Translation and Commentary | 30% | Yes (extension) | |
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Gender-conscious translation of a 250-word excerpt from a text selected by the module leader, accompanied by a 750-word (+/- 10%) commentary in English (one overall mark for both components, as the marking criteria for the translation will not be based on linguistic accuracy but rather on adequacy for the purpose of the translation as detailed on the translation brief students will receive). |
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Reassessment component is the same |
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Assessment component |
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| Essay from a choice of set questions. | 70% | Yes (extension) | |
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encourages them to study in depth a particular aspect of the issues addressed in the module related to the translation of women’s writing, LGBT+ texts and feminist theory. |
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Reassessment component is the same |
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Feedback on assessment
Feedback will be provided in the course of the module in a number of ways. Feedback should be understood to be both formal and informal and is not restricted to feedback on formal written work. Oral feedback will be provided by the module tutor in the course of lecture and seminar discussion. This may include feedback on points raised in small group work or in the course of individual presentations or larger group discussion.
Written feedback will be provided on formal assessment using the standard SMLC Assessed Work feedback form appropriate to the assessment. Feedback is intended to enable continuous improvement throughout the module and written feedback is generally the final stage of this feedback process. Feedback will always demonstrate areas of success and areas for future development, which can be applied to future assessment. Feedback will be both discipline-specific and focused on key transferable skills, enabling students to apply this feedback to their future professional lives. Feedback will be fair and reasonable and will be linked to the SMLC marking scheme appropriate to the module.
Pre-requisites
Students enrolling in this course must remember they will be required to read and translate from Spanish source text material. Students doing a post-Beginners in Spanish may prefer to opt for other modules in their 2nd year.
Courses
This module is Option list B for:
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UPOA-M166 Undergraduate Politics, International Studies and Hispanic Studies
- Year 2 of M166 Politics, International Studies and Hispanic Studies
- Year 3 of M166 Politics, International Studies and Hispanic Studies