BSTD 802: Guided Studies

This course is a bi-weekly workshop in which students will exchange translations of the texts they are working on for their thesis and discuss other translations of related material when relevant. By the beginning of the fall semester, students should have draft translations of a significant portion of their thesis texts to share with the class. The aims of this workshop are to: 1) provide structure and accountability at the early stages of the thesis project, 2) give students an opportunity to discuss their own texts/genres and the specific challenges of translating these, 3) create an opportunity for students to learn from each other’s work and understanding, 4) identify and articulate specific solutions and strategies for themselves and future translators, and 5) polish the grammar, style and clarity of their translations. Discussions will focus primarily on the specifics of translation while also keeping in view larger concerns of method and theory. Students will be responsible for distributing and presenting their own translations and other relevant material, reading and commenting on classmates’ translations in advance of seminar meetings, and compiling a digest of key translation problems and solutions related to their texts.

Prerequisites

Successful completion of the first year of the MA.