Class Description
This course is a space for discussing the many pleasures and frustrations of translating, as well as a workshop where every participant will be allotted space to present and discuss their individual translation projects. Instead of seeing translation as a journey from obscurity to legibility, from an incomprehensible and private product to a publishable and globally saleable text, we will think of translation as a quotidian act of existence.
Our readings will help us understand how translation has been used as a tool for enabling different forms of imperialism, while evaluating how it continues to be implicated in oppressive hierarchies of race, gender, sexuality, or caste. Keeping these histories in mind, we will develop translation as a mode of thinking, appreciating how the frictional movement between languages helps us refuse succumbing to dominant codes of speaking and writing.
The course will function in two modes: the first half of each session will focus on discussing scholarly readings or literature on the many pleasures, frustrations, and ethics of translating. Together, we will work through these readings to develop a critical framework which helps us appreciate asymmetrical relationships between different languages. The second half of each session will function as a workshop where each member will bring a text from a non-English language to share with the rest of the group, along with a brief presentation and translation.
Ishan Mehandru is a PhD Candidate in the Comparative Literary Studies program at Northwestern University. He is interested in South Asian literature and film, religious studies, women's writing, queer theory, psychoanalysis, and translation. His dissertation project thinks about modes of relation and co-existence in sharply majoritarian times.
Materials List
Required
- Instructor Distributed Materials
First Assignment
- Read Arundhati Roy, "In What Language does Freedom Fall Over Tormented Cities?"
- Think of a word or a phrase from your non-English language that you believe is untranslatable.
A Brief Syllabus
- Arundhati Roy’s "In What Language does Freedom Fall Over Tormented Cities" discussion; individual and collective translation activity.
- Walter Benjamin’s “The Task of the Translator” and Lydia Davis’s “Twenty-One Pleasures of Translating (and a Silver Lining)” discussion; translation workshops.
- David Gramling’s “The Affront of Untranslatability: Ten Scenarios” discussion; translation workshops.
- Susan Bassnet’s, “Postcolonial Translation” discussion; translation workshops.
- Geeta Patel’s “Home, Homo, Hybrid: Translating Gender” discussion; translation workshops; closing reflections.
Cost and Registration
5 sessions, $220 ($198 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.
We offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($220), Community Supported ($210), and Sponsor ($230). Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.
To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.
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