Reading & Composition

While just 2-3% of books published in English in the US are translated from other languages, around just 30% of that small percentage are works by women. In “Translating Women,” we will examine this under-examined literature. Our course title refers to: translating women writers and women who translate. We’ll use a feminist framework and think about “women” as an inclusive, non-essentialized group.

What is translation? While we’ll certainly discuss translation between languages, we’ll also discuss and practice translation between mediums, art forms, and cultures. We’ll consider related issues like adaptation and re-writing. While you don’t need to speak another language to take this course, we welcome other languages and literacies to the classroom. We’ll engage with translation as a reading and composition practice and reading and composition as a translation practice. Throughout the semester, we’ll read nonfiction texts—like works by Jhumpa Lahiri and Valeria Luiselli—that explicitly put forth views on translation and dramatize the translation process. We’ll also read fictional texts in English translation, from Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, among others, as well as texts that contain more than one language. These will include works by Gabriela Mistral, Clarice Lispector, Lara Cardella, and Gloria Anzaldúa. We’ll consider the ways that other art forms take up adaptation, for example by reading excerpts from Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend and watching an episode from the TV series. 

This R1A course fulfills part of the University’s R&C requirement. It will be writing-intensive, and we will discuss and practice a wide range of reading and compositional strategies throughout the semester. These, and the related assignments, will build in scope, from short close reading texts to longer analytical essays. We’ll also work together on creative translation projects. This course is oriented towards helping students hone critical thinking, reading, and writing skills, applicable far beyond the disciplinary boundaries of Comparative Literature. As women who translate, we’re excited to engage in this material with you.