Literary Translation – (M.Phil.)

Contents

This course runs from September to the following August. Your MPhil course consists of course work assessed by essay, of translation work, options and a dissertation on a translation-related topic. There are core elements (common to everyone) and options.

The taught element of the M. Phil in Literary Translation runs for the first two terms. Students take a number of compulsory courses, and choose from a range of optional courses. The `Translation Seminar´, runs through both terms; the courses entitled `Theory and Methodology of Comparative Literature and Literary Translation´ and `Theory and History´ run in successive terms, and the course `Texts and Translation´ will be taught by full-time Trinity Staff in the first term, and by a guest translator (Peter Sirr) in the second term. All the courses are compulsory for all students. In addition, students take ONE option in each term on a specialist course of their own choosing. Regular class attendance is required.

The non-taught element of the course involves the submission of a portfolio of 35-40 pages of translated text and a dissertation of 20,000 words. The portfolio (two copies) is to be submitted by Monday, 10th May 2010 and the dissertation (two copies) is submitted by Thursday, 30th September 2010.

Core Course 1(Michaelmas Term): Theory & Methodology

Course Coordinator: Peter Arnds

This core course is shared with the MPhil in Comparative Literature, and explores some key theoretical issues raised by the activities of comparing and translating literatures. Recognition of the difference of other languages, literatures and cultures is arguably what initiates the projects of comparison and of translation. But, having acknowledged difference, what then authorises comparison, or translation? What are the conditions of comparability, or translatability? What continuities have to be presumed in order to claim that a given text is like (or unlike) another? or that a given text is equivalent to another?

The course examines different ways in which we might conceive of the relationships and the divergences between texts, cultures and traditions, as well as between disciplines. For, while inviting the students of Literary Translation and Comparative Literature to explore their shared concerns, the course is also an invitation to consider what distinguishes translation and comparison, and therefore to engage with the still very current debates around the legitimacy of Comparative Literature as a distinct field of inquiry. Students study a range of historical and more contemporary theoretical and literary texts with a view to acquiring an understanding of Literary Translation and Comparative Literature as inherently self-reflective critical practices, where the grounds for translation and for comparison are always open to question.

Core Course 2 (HilaryTerm): Theory & History

Course Coordinator: Peter Arnds

This course is taken only by students of Literary Translation and is made up of a series of two-hour lectures by different members of faculty. The lectures explore the theory and practice of translation in the context of a specific historical moment. The aim of the course is to provide students with a sense of the diversity of approaches to thinking about translation (linguistic, socio-linguistic, philosophical, literary and so on), and the diversity of contexts in which these reflections appear, as well as a broad introduction to key moments in the history of translation theory (the Medieval and Early Modern periods, the Renaissance, Romantic Germany, etc.).
Possible topics include (please note these are subject to change due to faculty availability):

Texts and Translations: (Michaelmas & Hilary Terms)
Course Coordinator: Susana Bayó Belenguer & Peter Sirr
A discussion seminar of translation practice taught by several members of Faculty. Runs throughout the year, 2 hours per week. This course is not separately assessed but feeds into preparation for the portfolio and the dissertation. This course is followed in the second term by seminars with visiting translators, Peter Sirr.

Course Options Students select options, assessed by essay (30%). Although these are listed as `non-core´ items, this is only because they are not taken by all students together. However, they constitute an important element of assessment. According to local arrangements, students will either choose ONE full-year option or TWO half-year options as outlined on the following pages.

Up to 4 hours weekly over two terms will be spent in optional courses which will be selected from a number of one-term and two-term options. A student might apply to take a language module or engage in language study instead of one option. In order to facilitate potential exchange or independent travel abroad, no classes are scheduled for Trinity Term. Students spending this period elsewhere are expected to remain in e-mail contact with their dissertation supervisors.

Dissertation An important part of your assessment, counting for 30% of the overall credit, is a dissertation. During the first term following enrolment, and in any event, before the Christmas vacation, you should choose a dissertation title. Although you are free to select a subject on any translation related topic (theory, practice or a commented translation of your own), you must also find a supervisor willing and able to supervise your work and agree the title with the course director. Naturally, the work should be original and your own, and you should take care not to duplicate topics already dealt with by other researchers. You may not resubmit work submitted for another degree. The finished dissertation should be approximately 20,000 words long.