Each semester, Translation offers a variety of TRA-headed courses, as well as cross-listing courses with departments across campus. Students can take elective courses cross-listed with departments such as linguistics, psychology, philosophy, anthropology and comparative literature.

Fall 2025

What is a Classic?
Subject associations
CLA 203 / COM 217 / HLS 201 / TRA 203

"What is a Classic?" asks what goes into the making of a classic text. It focuses on four, monumental poems from the ancient Mediterranean and Near East: Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil's Aeneid, and Ovid's Metamorphoses, which are discussed through comparison across traditions. Students will consider possible definitions and constituents of a classic, while also reflecting on the processes of chance, valorization, and exclusion that go into the formation of a canon. Topics will include transmission, commentary, translation, religion, race, colonization, empire, and world literature.

Instructors
Yelena Baraz
Creative Writing (Literary Translation)
Subject associations
CWR 205 / COM 249 / TRA 204

Students will choose, early in the semester, one author to focus on in fiction, poetry, or drama, with the goal of arriving at a 10-15 page sample, with commentary, of the author's work. All work will be translated into English and discussed in a workshop format. Weekly readings will focus on the comparison of pre-existing translations as well as commentaries on the art and practice of literary translation.

Instructors
Jenny McPhee
Advanced Creative Writing (Literary Translation)
Subject associations
CWR 305 / COM 355 / TRA 305

Students will choose, early in the semester, one author to focus on in fiction, poetry, or drama, with the goal of arriving at a 15-20 page sample, with commentary, of the author's work. All work will be translated into English and discussed in a workshop format. Weekly readings will focus on the comparison of pre-existing translations as well as commentaries on the art and practice of literary translation.

Instructors
Jenny McPhee
The Bible as Literature
Subject associations
ENG 390 / COM 392 / HUM 390 / TRA 390

The Bible is more than one book. "Bible" comes from a Greek word that literally means "books." Some are hauntingly beautiful, others profoundly philosophical. Some are simultaneously boring and terrifying; some are riveting and funny. We'll think about how these different kinds of literature belong in the same overarching book: how are the ways in which they are written a part of the overall meaning or meanings of the Bible? We'll survey the literary devices that Biblical texts use and the beauty of its language. This way of reading isn't intended to challenge any faith tradition, nor does it assume that you've ever looked at the Bible before

Instructors
D. Vance Smith
Topics in Hindi-Urdu: Art and Practice of Translation
Subject associations
HIN 304 / URD 304 / COM 378 / TRA 302

The course will focus on topics and issues related to literary translation, from Urdu into Hindi, Hindi into Urdu, as well as the translation of Hindi/Urdu literary works into English and from English into Hindi/Urdu. Readings will address issues of theory and practice, as well as selected literary works and their translations. Includes student translation workshops.

Instructors
Robert L. Phillips
Spanish into English Translation in the Age of AI
Subject associations
SPA 368 / TRA 368

This course delves into the theory and practice of Spanish-to-English translation, combining readings, discussions, workshops, and guest lectures. Students will explore key theoretical frameworks and the linguistic and cultural challenges of translating diverse text types. A special focus will be given to the role of AI in translation, examining its limitations, biases, and ethical implications in contexts such as law, migration, healthcare, Indigenous languages, and literature.

Instructors
Catalina Arango
Translation, Migration, Culture
Subject associations
TRA 400 / COM 409 / HUM 400

This course will explore the crucial connections between migration, language, and translation. Drawing on texts from a range of genres and disciplines - from memoir and fiction to scholarly work in translation studies, migration studies, political science, anthropology, and sociology - we will focus on how language and translation affect the lives of those who move through and settle in other cultures, and how, in turn, human mobility affects language and modes of belonging.

Instructors
Sandra L. Bermann