Admission requirements
Students should be sufficiently proficient in English and Dutch. This course is part of the minor Translation and cannot be taken separately.
Description
‘Beautiful translations are like beautiful women, that is to say, they are not always the most faithful ones.’ Whatever one might think about this tongue in cheek comparison between beautiful women and beautiful translations by the British literary critic and cultural philosopher George Steiner, this quotation may serve as an illustration of the debate on free versus literal translations that has dominated the world of translation for centuries. Translation theorists, critics and, of course, translators themselves have been occupied with the problem of whether a translator should translate literally or freely. But what do we actually understand by literal and free translations? This is just one of the many fascinating questions that we will be discussing throughout the course. The course covers a wide range of issues and debates in translation studies and aims to provide students with an overview of the history of translation studies, different translation theories and various approaches to translating. Some translators claim that they do not need to know anything about translation studies or theories, just as you do not need to know anything about an engine to be able to drive a car. On the other hand, one might argue that if translators are more aware of the different choices they have when making a translation – whether it be a novel, a poem or a legal document – they will be able to produce a better translation. That is why this course does not only focus on translation theory as such; in tutorials, we will also apply various methods and approaches to different texts.
Course objectives
Knowledge of the most important translation theories and areas of applied translation studies
Ability to critically reflect on different translation theories
Ability to apply the methods and strategies discussed in some of these theories
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Seminar
Assessment method
Assessment
- Written examination with short open questions
Additional course requirement: completion of at least 80% of the homework assignments.
Students who fail to fulfil the additional course requirement (i.e. completion of at least 80% of the homework assignments) will be required to write a short paper (take home assignment) at the end of the course, in addition to taking the written examination.
Weighing
100%
Resit
Students can only resit the written examination if the mark for the regular examination is a fail.
The resit will consist of a written examination with short open questions (100%)
Students who failed to fulfil the additional course requirement (i.e. completion of at least 80% of the homework assignments) will be required to write a short paper (take home assignment), in addition to taking the resit examiniation.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Attendance is compulsory. Missing more than three tutorials means that students will be excluded from taking the exam (or essay or other assignments) and resits. Consequently, the course cannot be completed during that particular academic year. Unauthorized absence also applies to being unprepared and/or not bringing the relevant course materials to class.
Reading list
J. Munday (2022).* Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications*. London & New York: Routledge.
This course book (5th edition) can be purchased at bookstores or online. It is also available as an ebook.
Additional reading materials will be made available on Brightspace.
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available on the website
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Arsenaal
Remarks
Not applicable.