This is
an ÔIntersessionÕ course (4th May – 19th June)
HUM 309-4: Literature
and the Arts Across Cultures
The
question of translation
Department of Humanities, AQ5115, 778-782-3689
Semester: Summer 2009, INTERSESSION (1094),
E1.00, Burnaby
Instructor: Kathy
Mezei AQ5117, 778-782-4666, mezei@sfu.ca
Prerequisites: 45 units.
Students who have taken this topic under HUM 381 or HUM 382 may not take this
course for further credit.
Course Description:
Translation – Òto carry acrossÓ
– defines our being in the world. We translate thoughts into speech and
into the written word; we translate and are translated across languages,
cultures, disciplines, and media. Yet translation is also betrayal (traduttore in Italian),
and much is gained but also lost in translation.
The new field of translation studies is
interdisciplinary, drawing upon the classics, comparative literature,
philosophy, sociology, linguistics, and cultural studies. With examples from
literature, film, and autobiography in a number of different cultures, we will
examine, the history, ideas, and practices of cross cultural translation We
will also discuss different translations of the same text (e.g., Mann,
Baudelaire).
While knowledge of another language would
be an asset, it is not a requirement.
Required Texts:
Thomas Mann, Death in Venice. Dover
0-486-28714-9
Eva Hoffman, Lost in Translation. Penguin 0
140127739
Brian Friel, Translations. Faber and Faber 0571 11742-2
Susan Bassnett. Translation Studies. Routledge
2002. (ISBN 0415280133)
Students are required to purchase a
Custom Courseware Package (including the selections from the Bible, Baudelaire)
at the Bookstore.
Course Requirements:
Five-page paper 20%
Mid-term 20%
Oral presentation 10%
Ten-page project 40%
Class participation
10%