ENG 325-01 - Studies in Ethnic American Literatures (Fall)

4 credits

Translation Matters: The Task of the Ethnic American Writer. In this seminar, we will explore the literary, linguistic, and cultural matters of translation in ethnic American literature and examine how and why translation matters for reconceptualizing the relationship between “the ethnic” and “the American.” Drawing on the insights of translation theory, from Walter Benjamin’s “The Task of the Translator” to recent critical interventions by Lawrence Venuti, Gayatri Spivak, and Emily Apter, we will consider questions concerning the complex interplay between language, culture, and identity. Authors will likely include: Chang-Rae Lee, Maxine Hong Kingston, Richard Rodriguez, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, John Yau, Gloria Anzald£a, David Treuer, Dave Eggers, and Andrew X. Pham. In addition to a mid-term paper and final project, students will be required to write short weekly responses to the readings and participate actively in discussion. For the final project, students will have the option of writing a longer research paper on a specific matter of translation in ethnic American literature or producing their own translation of a literary work, accompanied by a critical introduction. Students will be encouraged to read, think, and write across disciplinary boundaries, drawing on their own foreign language knowledge, academic studies, and cultural backgrounds - in short, to translate in their own terms what it means to be American, ethnic and otherwise.

Prerequisite: ENG 227, ENG 228, ENG 229, ENG 231, ENG 232, or ENG 273 .
Instructor: Phan