Course Catalogue

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This course will help students enhance their understanding of translation by connecting China with the universalist political theoretical categories of deeply European origin. The course will start from the "cultural turn" of translation studies, taking a critical look at the notion of translation, and explore the agent of power and ideology in translation. It will also look at various ways in which translation has been invoked, practised and used in some transcultural contexts, as a way to understand how cultural translation has shaped and transformed Chinese society.

11 x 2 hours of tutorials

Standard entry to Masters at College level.

None

None

■ Oral presentation in class (10 minutes) 20%

■ An essay-form individual reflective learning diary (2000 words) 40%

■ A critical book review (c. 1500 words) 40% 

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

Class presentation element non reassessable.

This course aims to:

■ encourage students to read across disciplines in exploring the role of translation and language use and to support them in doing this;

■ encourage and develop students' critical thinking on language use and translation;

■ broaden and deepen students' understanding of a variety of issues in relation to translation, such as power relations, gender, and colonialism etc.;

■ explore the role of language and translation in trans-cultural situations; specially through examples of intellectual interactions between China and the West.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ identify relevant aspects of translation theory and instances from the history of translation practice;

■ apply a range of cultural theories in relation to the question of translation; 

■ critically discuss and analyze the role of language and translation in trans-cultural situations;

■ draw comparisons between translation and cultural and social transformation in a global context.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.