Course on Translation Studies @ Assam University

Translation Studies:

Global Practices in Interpretation and Representation

07-11-2017 to 12-11-2017

Course Area: Humanities & Liberal Arts 
Foreign Faculty :David Johnston, School of Arts, English and Languages, 

Queen's University, UK 
Host Faculty : Sib Sankar Majumder, English

Overview

From exegesis to philosophical hermeneutics, the interpretation of social and cultural phenomena has arguably been the definitive act of humanistic scholarship. At the heart of such activities is an awareness of the complexities of representation, whether textual, visual, scientific or ideological. As an intellectual method and a writing practice, it is precisely upon such acts of interpretation and representation that translation is centered. Although the history of translation as both theory and practice offers a range of strategies as to how texts might be both interpreted and, in turn, represented, two approaches have recurred so frequently as to be considered dominant models (cf. Venuti): one is the instrumental method, by which texts are treated as being characterized by invariance of meaning, so that their representation is rooted in metonymical practice; the other (following on from Steiner), is the hermeneutic model that treats texts as being open to multiple acts of interpretation, and translation as a representational practice whose methods are metaphorical, concerned with establishing patterns of relatedness between text and receiving context. In that way, translation refuses the discursive authority of source text and target context alike, achieving this by both establishing and working within the provisionality of the different spatial and temporal domains inhabited by text and reader / spectator alike. In other words, translation is much less about the establishment of meaning than it is about the promotion of understanding.

In the  multilingual/multicultural space, that is India, an understanding of translation practices, both linguistic and socio-cultural, is crucial since such a practice does not merely promote understanding, but promotes understanding of differences across cultures and linguistic groups. Additionally, in this increasingly globalized world, translation is a survival tool rather than an academic pursuit. The course, therefore, intends to delve into the fundamentals of this process and engage with the dominant practices of Interpretation and Representation involved in the same.

Course Objectives

The primary objectives of the course might be summarized as follows:

1. To trace the origins and methods of the instrumental method, and to assess their validity through a series of case studies;

2. To trace the origins and methods of the hermeneutic method, and to assess their validity through a series of case studies;

3. To elucidate how interpretation and representation are problematized in both philosophy and the arts;

4. To suggest ways of considering time and space not as barriers to understanding but as the very arena in which the act of translation takes place;

5. To ensure that participants develop a solid understanding of both the convergences and divergences of Western and Indian methods and practices.

Modules

A: Theory Lecture

B: Case Studies/Practical

Date: 7th to 12th November, 2017 (5 Working Days)

Number of participants for the course will be limited to fifty.

You Should Attend If

You are a Student or Faculty Member with interest in Translation, Representation and Interpretation.

 You are a Writer, Artist or a professional with an established interest in issues of Interpretation and Representation.

You are a Professional/ Trainee Translators or Interpreter, from the academia, government and corporate spheres.

The participation fees for taking the course is as follows:

Participants [abroad] : US $100

Faculty Members/ Professionals: Rs. 3000

Students/ Research Scholars: Rs. 1500

The above fee includes all instructional materials, computer use for tutorials and assignments, case-study materials etc. The participants will be provided with accommodation on payment basis.

Last Date of Registration: 15 October 2017

The Faculty

Professor David Johnston, School of Arts, English and Languages, Queen's University, Belfast, works on the theory and practice of literary translation and theater. He is committed to the idea of practice as research, both in terms of performance and of translation as a writing practice, and much of his work deals with the ways in which theory and practice, in theater as in translation, are mutually illuminating.

Professor Dipendu Das, Head, Department of English, Assam University, Silchar is a creative writer, translator and a translation theorist. His research interests include Theater Studies and Translation. He is currently working on literary and cultural productions dealing with displacement and migration.

Dr. Sib Sankar Majumder is an Assistant Professor of Assam University, Silchar. His research interests are Theater and Performance Studies and include adaptations of literary texts in visual or performative media.

Anindya Sen, Assistant Professor, Assam University, Silchar, teaches translation theory and is interested in the political aspects of translation as a process and the cultural negotiations involved in the same.

Course Coordinators:

Dr. Sib Sankar Majumder

Phone/Whatsapp: 09435065638

Anindya Sen

Phone/Whatsapp: 09706538097

E-mail: translationstudies.aus@gmail.com

Course Brochure HERE

Image: arts.uwa.edu.au