Listed in: European Studies, as EUST-262
Ilan Stavans (Section 01)
An in-depth chronological examination of translation in all its facets, from ancient times to the present, involving close reading, research analysis, discussion, and exercises in the practice of translation. The survey starts with myths like the Tower of Babel and the construction of the Library of Alexandria. It will examine the debate around translating the Bible and Quran, how the Middle Ages and especially the Renaissance fostered voracious translation endeavors of Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey, the Toledo school of translation, Dante, Montaigne, and Shakespeare, and the way Johannes Gutenberg’s movable-type printing press expanded the horizons of translation in the fifteenth century and beyond. Students will look into Goethe’s vision of world literature, the difference between interpreters and translators, the professionalization of translation in the twentieth century, and Google and A.I. translation machines. They will reflect on the Arabic and Chinese traditions of translation as well as efforts at rendering indigenous classics from the Americas in different languages. Authors analyzed include Jerome, Averroes, Marsilio Ficino, Lin Shu, John Dryden, Friedrich Schleiermacher, Walter Benjamin, Muhammad Abduh, Jorge Luis Borges, Vladimir Nabokov, and Umberto Eco. Taught in English. Limited to 30 students.
Fall Semester. Professor Stavans.
How to handle overenrollment: Seniors from diverse background prioritized
Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: emphasis on written work, readings, independent research, oral presentations, group work, in-class quizzes or exams, artistic work, visual and aural analysis
Course Materials