Opening the Black Box:
Translation Theory from St Jerome
to Walter Benjamin

Course Description

Even though translation studies is still fairly new as an academic discipline, reflection on translation per se is as old as the practice itself. Translators' remarks about their work afford us a glimpse of the nature of the translation process, at the same time mirroring contemporary views on language and literature. They can also help to explain or defend a translator’s textual decisions. The focus of this course will be the study of primary sources, ranging from St Jerome's comments on his Bible translation and Martin Luther's "Sendbrief vom Dolmetschen" (1530) to Friedrich Schleiermacher's "Über die verschiedenen Methoden des Übersetzens" (1813) and Walter Benjamin's "Die Aufgabe des Übersetzers" (1923). A folder containing master copies of the seminar reading will be available at Frau Podsiadly's office (RH 39/213) by the end of February.

Prerequisites:

Earning a course credit in this Proseminar presupposes that students have already taken the lecture course "Introduction to the Study of Literature" and that they attend the seminar on a regular basis. Apart from writing a term paper of between 10 and 12 pages, students will be asked to give a short presentation on a specified topic.

Required reading:

Albrecht, Jörn (1998). Literarische Übersetzung. Theorie. Geschichte. Kulturelle Wirkung. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft (ISBN 3-534-10915-5), Part I: 9-160.
Apel, Friedmar (1983). Literarische Übersetzung. Stuttgart: Metzler. (ISBN 3-476-12206-9), Chapters IV and V.

Registration:

To register, students are to send an e-mail to Marie-Luise Egbert by 15 March, stating their name, semster standing and subjects.

Opening the Black Box:Translation Theory from St Jerometo Walter Benjamin

Course Description

Opening the Black Box:
Translation Theory from St Jerome
to Walter Benjamin