Literary Translation

• CAS TL 500: History and Theory of Translation
  The goal of this course is to familiarize students with the history of translation and the main trends in Translation Studies. Students learn to apply concepts acquired in class to analyze and critique translations and develop their own strategies. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking.
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  • Aesthetic Exploration
  • Historical Consciousness
  • Critical Thinking
• CAS TL 540: Translation Seminar
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: Proficiency in a second language.
  Undergraduate Corequisites: CAS TL 542.
  Graduate Prerequisites: Proficiency in a second language.
  Graduate Corequisites: CAS TL 542.
  Translation seminar where students produce substantial literary translations into English from their language of choice with the guidance of the instructors and language-specific mentors. Students hone their translation skills, read, and discuss articles about practical issues of translation. Students are required to register for co-requisite CAS TL 542.
• CAS TL 541: Translation Today
  Undergraduate Corequisites: CAS TL 542.
  Weekly lectures and discussions with prominent literary translators from Boston and elsewhere. Students engage with a variety of languages and several genres: poetry, drama, essay, fiction, and more. Focus on concrete, practical translation issues arising from the speakers' work. Students are required to register for co-requisite CAS TL 542. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, The Individual in Community, Creativity/Innovation.
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  • The Individual in Community
  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • Creativity/Innovation
• CAS TL 542: Literary Translation
  Undergraduate Corequisites: CAS TL 540 or CAS TL 541.
  Guest lecture series in literary translation. Mandatory co-requisite with CAS TL 540 and CAS TL 541. This course cannot be taken on its own.
• CAS TL 551: Topics in Translation
  May be taken multiple times for credit if topics are different. Topic for Spring 2023, Section A1: Self-Translation and Bilingualism. Examine self-translated texts and texts about literary self-translation, that is, translations of works made by their own authors. Question the categories of author and translator, original and translation, writing and re-writing. Reflect on bilingualism and migration as creators of literature. Topic for Spring 2023, Section B1: Translation and Storytelling in the Medieval Mediterranean.Explores how medieval translators cultivated a Mediterranean storytelling tradition and how modern translators keep this tradition alive. Works include 1001 Nights, Kalila and Dimna, the Maqamat of al-Hariri, and Don Juan Manuel's Book of Count Lucanor. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking.
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  • Aesthetic Exploration
  • Historical Consciousness
  • Critical Thinking
• CAS TL 585: Chinese Literary Translation Workshop
  A workshop on translating literary works from Chinese to English designed for MFA students and advanced undergraduate students. Discusses strategies for rendering context-dependent and idiomatic expressions, translating different literary genres, and syntactical and stylistic choices for the translator. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.