Introductory description

This module will be core to the new MA in Translation and Transcultural Studies, which replaces the MA in Translation Studies. In addition, it will continue to be core to the MA in Translation, Writing and Cultural Difference.

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.

This course introduces and develops the theoretical foundations of translation studies and shows what factors play a major role in the process of textual transfer between two cultures.
Week 1 - Why study translation?
Week 2 - The equivalence debates
Week 3 - Issues of un-translatability
Week 4 – Translating Poetry
Week 5 - Translating across time
Week 6 - Manipulating texts
Week 7 – Translation and world literature
Week 8 – The cultural turn of the 1990s
Week 9 - Problems of literary translation
Week 10 - Translation and difference

Learning outcomes

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

• Demonstrate an understanding of the development of Translation Studies as a discipline since the 1970s.
• Demonstrate an understanding of “pre-scientific” thought on translation from the classical era to the emergence of Translation Studies.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the nature and usefulness of translation theory and its relationship to translation practice.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the nature and usefulness of translation theory and its impact on the study of translated texts.

Indicative reading list

Baker, Mona (ed.) Routledge Encyclopaedia of Translation Studies. London: Routledge, 1998 (and subsequent editions)
Bassnett, Susan, Translation Studies . 3rd edition. London: Routledge, 2002
Bassnett, Susan and Trivedi, Harish, Postcolonial Translation. London: Routledge, 1999
Gentzler, Edwin, Contemporary Translation Theories . Revised 2nd edition. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 2001
Kuhiwczak, Piotr and Karin Littau, A Companion to Translation Studies. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 2007
Munday, Jeremy, Introducing Translation Studies. London: Routledge, 2001
Venuti, Lawrence (ed.) The Translation Studies Reader . 2nd edition. London: Routledge, 2004 Williams, Jenny and Chesterman, Andrew, The Map. A Beginners’ Guide to Doing Research in Translation Studies. Manchester: St Jerome, 2002.

Subject specific skills

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Transferable skills

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