Introductory description

This is a core theory module for the MA in Translation and Cultures (MATC) and is open as an optional module to any MA student with an interest in Translation and Transcultural Studies on course lead agreement.

The module seeks to familiarise students with key theoretical concepts in contemporary Translation and Transcultural Studies, explored through case studies across a range of text types in translation; it also provides an overview of the development of Translation Studies as a discipline. Students will be given the opportunity to explore how translation theory relates to translation practice and to the study of translation across a range of text types, as well as reflecting on their own positionality as researchers and practitioners in Translation Studies.

Module aims

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.

1 Introduction to Translation Studies: what is translation and how do we study it?

• Intralingual, interlingual, intersemiotic
• Process and product
• Metaphors of translation, translation as metaphor
  2 TRANSLATING TEXTS 1: Translation as transfer
• Linguistic approaches
• Equivalence and untranslatability
  3 TRANSLATING TEXTS 2: Rewriting and authorship
• Functionalist approaches
• Lefevere
  4 TRANSLATING CULTURES 1: Culture as translation
• Multilingualism and language contact
• Transcultural mediation
  5 TRANSLATING CULTURES 2: Translation as representation
• Venuti
• Benjamin
  6 READING WEEK
  7 TRANSLATING AGENTS 1: Ethics and ideology
• Ideologies in and of translation
• Ethical research in translation
  8 TRANSLATING AGENTS 2: Translation as action
• Sociological approaches
• Activism
  9 WORLD-NESS: Translation and the global
• Globalisation
• World literature
  10 Mini-conference (peer feedback exercise to support assessment preparation)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of core concepts in contemporary Translation and Transcultural Studies, including the development of the discipline and potential future directions
• Engage critically with theoretical concepts as appropriate for their own work
• Critically reflect on the intersections between translation practice and the theoretical approaches explored
• Demonstrate critical awareness, analytical and written skills at MA level
• Draw on their knowledge of language-specific exchanges to reflect on Translation and Transcultural Studies more broadly
• Demonstrate key transferable skills including effective and efficient communication, self-motivation, self- reliance, co-operation, and time and information management

Indicative reading list

Apter, Emily (2013) Against World Literature: On the Politics of Untranslatability. London: Verso.
Baker, M. (2018a) Translation and Conflict. A Narrative Account. Second Edition. London: Routledge.
Baker, Mona (2018b) ‘Audiovisual Translation and Activism’, in Luis Pérez-González (ed.) The Routledge Handbook of Audiovisual Translation. London & New York: Routledge, 453-467.
Baker, M. and Saldanha, G. (eds) (2021) Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies. Third Edition. London: Routledge.
Bassnett, S. (2014) Translation Studies. Fourth Edition. Abingdon: Routledge.
Bassnett, S. and Lefevere, A. (1998) Constructing cultures: essays on literary translation. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Bassnett, S. and Trivedi, H. (1999) Post-colonial translation: theory and practice. London: Routledge.
Benjamin, W. (2009) ‘The Task of the Translator’, in One-Way Street and other Writings. London: Verso, pp. 29–45.
Berman, A. et al. (2018) The age of translation: a commentary on Walter Benjamin’s ‘The task of the translator’ = L’Âge de la traduction : de Walter Benjamin, un commentaire. London: Routledge.
Bermann, S. and Wood, M. (2005) Nation, language, and the ethics of translation. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Bowker, Lynne (2023) De-mystifying translation. Introducing translation to non-translators. London: Routledge (available online as open access)
Castro, O. and Ergun, E. (eds) (2017) Feminist translation studies: local and transnational perspectives. New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Chesterman, A. and Wagner, E. (2014) Can Theory Help Translators?: A dialogue between the ivory tower and the wordface. Oxfordshire, England: Routledge.
Damrosch, D. (2003) What is World Literature? Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Damrosch, D. (2014) World Literature in Theory. Oxford: Blackwell.
D’Haen, T. , Cesar Dominguez and Mads Rosendahl Thomsen (eds) (2012) World Literature: A Reader. London: Routledge
Epstein, B.J. and Gillett, R. (eds) (2017) Queer in translation. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group.
Fawcett, A., Guadarrama, K. and Parker, R.H. (2010) Translation: Theory and Practice in Dialogue. London: Continuum.
Markku Filppula; Juhani Klemola; Devyani Sharma (2017) The Oxford handbook of World Englishes. Oxford: OUP.
Flotow, L. von (1997) Translation and Gender. Manchester: St. Jerome.
Gentzler, E. (2017) Translation and rewriting in the age of post-translation studies. London: Routledge.
Gorter, D. (2006) Linguistic Landscape: A new approach to multilingualism. Multilingual Matters.
Graham, J.F. (1985) Difference in Translation. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Guilherme, Manuela Lynn Mario T. Menezes de Souza (eds) (2019) Glocal Languages and Critical Intercultural Awareness: The South Answers Back. London: Routledge.
Large, D. et al. (eds) (2019) Untranslatability: interdisciplinary perspectives. New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Lefevere, A. (1992a) Translation/History/Culture: A Sourcebook. London: Routledge.
Lefevere, A. (1992b) Translation, Rewriting, and the Manipulation of Literary Fame. London: Routledge.
Levine, S.J. and Lateef-Jan, K. (2019) Untranslatability Goes Global. London: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
Loffredo, E. and Perteghella, M. (2006) Translation and creativity: perspectives on creative writing and translation studies. London: Continuum.
Marilyn Martin-Jones; Adrian Blackledge; Angela Creese (2012) Routledge handbook of mulitilingualism. London: Routledge.
Munday, J. (2016) Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications (4th ed). Fourth edition. London: Routledge.
Pym, A. (2014) Exploring Translation Theories. Second edition. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
Rendall, S. and Apter, E.S. (2014) Dictionary of Untranslatables. Edited by B. Cassin. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Shuttleworth, M. and Cowie, M. (1997) Dictionary of translation studies. Manchester: St. Jerome.
Tymoczko, M. (2007) Enlarging translation, empowering translators. Manchester, UK: St. Jerome Pub.
Venuti, L. (1998) The scandals of translation: towards an ethics of difference. London: Routledge.
Venuti, L. (1995) The Translator’s Invisibility. London: Routledge.
Venuti, L. (2013) Translation changes everything: theory and practice. New York: Routledge.
Venuti, L. (ed.) (2021) The translation Studies Reader. Fourth edition. London: Routledge.
Weissbort, D. and Ástráður Eysteinsson (2006a) Translation: Theory and Practice: A Historical Reader. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wright, C. (2016) Literary Translation. Abingdon: Routledge.

Research element

Students will complete an individual essay for assessment, which will require them to demonstrate research skills. Tasks set for seminar work each week will also sometimes include active independent research from students to support their own contributions in class.

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. Students on this module will be exposed to theoretical approaches and case studies from a broad global context.

Subject specific skills

This module will enable students to acquire knowledge and understanding of core concepts in contemporary Translation and Transcultural Studies; it will familiarise them with the development of the discipline and will equip them to explore potential future directions in Translation and Transcultural Studies research. On completion of the module, students will be able to engage critically with these theoretical concepts as appropriate for their own work, as well as reflecting on the intersections between translation practice and the theoretical approaches explored. Students will be able to see the synergies between different theories and recognise their potential application for analysis across a range of context and text types.

Transferable skills

All SMLC culture modules demand critical and analytical engagement with artefacts from non-Anglophone 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.