The language of instruction is English.
The Syllabus of the Translation Studies Doctoral and Teacher Training Summer School consists of six basic modules:
a) Re-thinking Translation Theory
Through presentations by the different members of the teaching staff, the most current approaches to translation theory will be re-read, and critically discussed, paying particular attention to the contemporary research of literary and non-literary works in a historical perspective. Issues such as ideology and censorship shall be focused on, and special attention shall be paid to the ethical motivation in TS research and active translatological engagement in society.
b) Methodological Approaches in Translation Studies
A plethora of different methodological approaches in TS will be presented, focusing in particular on researching translation of literary and non-literary texts from the perspective of historical and sociological studies or through the use of ethnographical and corpus studies approaches. Social research methods and the research of spoken discourse shall also be discussed.
c) Thematic Sessions by the Guest Professor (see below)
d) Teacher-Training Seminars
A selection of topics, relevant for teachers of translation, shall be discussed, for example:
- Curriculum and syllabus design: the process and factors involved
- The definition of objectives and learning outcomes; translator competence
- Participants: trainee and trainer profiles (prior knowledge, personal characteristics, learning and teaching styles, expectations and motivations…)
- Resources such as ICT, classroom layout and organization, bringing professionals into the classroom, taking students out of the classroom: work experience, professional simulation, mobility programmes…
- Classroom dynamics: large and small group activities
- Assessment: design and implementation
e) Individualized Tutorials
In tutorials the doctoral students have the opportunity to discuss their own individual projects with all the teachers of the school, including with the guest professor.
f) Graduate Conference
Each student is expected to present her/his research project, and will have the opportunity to debate issues, particularly relating to methodology, with their peers and the teaching staff of the summer school.
Student obligations
- to participate in discussion and debate
- to prepare a presentation
- to submit an article based on their presentation within two months after the end of the Summer School. The article will be refereed and published in print and on the website.
Assessment
Assessment is based on an oral presentation in the second week of the course and the submission of a paper of some 5000 words within two months after the end of the Summer School.
Certificates
Certificates of attendance are issued at the end of the course.
Formal “Pass” certificates with the indication of ECTS points confirming successful completion are issued when all assessed work has been delivered and approved.
Lectures by Guest Professor Hanna Risku
Socio-cognitive translation studies
The sessions deal with the role and importance of situation and context in translation and thus contribute to answering some far-reaching questions in translation and interpretation studies (TIS). They stress the role of the social and material world and the fact that human cognition leans and depends on the structures of the environment and the body. The object of study is thus extended from individual translators and their cognitive processes to a coupled system of human organisms and other entities. As examples of the implications of the socio-cognitive, extended view on translation, I discuss the role of artefacts and representations and propose a research agenda that explores how translation expertise is socially constructed. I also discuss the idea of allocating translatorial agency to the whole spectrum of units from individuals to socio-technical and organisational assemblages such as translation networks, publishing houses and language service providers.
The methodological sessions offer insights into the challenges and options of planning and carrying out field research in TIS. I focus on the practicalities and strategies of research organisation, including what I have learned about how to initiate, design and organize research projects, contact and interact with practitioners as (potential) participants, deal with different types of data and work in a research team.