City, and/inTranslation: Glasgow in Contemporary Scottish Fiction 3301-LB2067-2ST
During the course, we will be exploring the specificity of the urban novel and of "cityness' as material for translation. Our focus will be on contemporary Glasgow, Scotland's largest city and a space that has been central to the evolution of Scottish identity and the Scottish novel since the 1980s. We will be analysing selected novels by Alasdair Gray, James Kelman and Suhayl Saadi. Our goal is to examine the specificity of these authors as representatives of contemporary Scottish prose – and specifically Glasgow literature – and to concentrate on its key linguistic, cultural and formal aspects in the context of translating such writing into Polish.
We will discuss the following topics and texts:
1. The city as a cultural, literary and translational phenomenon
2. The Scottish urban novel of the late 20th and 21st centuries – main concepts, characteristics and authors, with particular emphasis on Glasgow writing
3. Alasdair Gray – Alasdair Gray, Lanark: A Life in Four Books (1981) – a creative portrait of the city
4. Poor Things (1992) versus Biedne Istoty (1997) – an examination of Gray’s novel and its translation by Ewa Horodyska
5. James Kelman - seeking and establishing the city and selfhood in language; How Late It Was, How Late (1994) versus Jak późno było, jak późno (2011) - an analysis of Kelman’s novel and its translation by Jolanta Kozak
6. James Kelman, Kieron Smith, Boy (2008) - Glasgow as seen by a child
7. Suhayl Saadi, Psychoraag - polyglottic Glasgow of the 21st century
Type of course
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Knowledge: the graduate has familiarity with:
K_W01 advanced terminology, theory and research methods corresponding to
the state of the art in the disciplines of literary studies and culture and religion studies, in relation to the concepts of literary translation and literary translation studies, as viewed from the cultural perspective.
K_W04 concepts and principles concerning the protection of intellectual property and copyright.
Abilities: the graduate is able to:
K_U01 apply advanced terminology, theory and research methods
in the disciplines of literary studies and culture and religion studies, in relation to the concepts of literary translation and literary translation studies, as viewed from the cultural perspective.
K_U04 apply the concepts and principles of intellectual property protection and
copyright law.
Social competences: the graduate is ready to:
K_K01 critically appraise their knowledge and content obtained from various
sources
K_K02 recognize the importance of knowledge in solving cognitive and practical problems; consult experts when required.
Assessment criteria
The final grade will be based on: 1) regular attendance and active participation in classes as well as the submission of short home assignments; 2) A term paper analysing the problem of translating contemporary literary representations of Glasgow into Polish.
Attendance - min. 80%
If the course is taught online, each student is expected to have a working web-cam and microphone.
Retake - rewriting the term paper, if the student has received an unsatisfactory grade. Completing additional written assignments, if the in-class work has been unsatisfactory.
Bibliography
Critical texts:
Bassnett, Susan (1991) Translation Studies, London: Routledge
Bassnett, Susan and André Lefevere (1998) Constructing Cultures. Essays on Literary Translation, Clevedon: Multilingual Matters
Bukowski, Piotr i Magda Heydel red. (2009) Współczesne teorie przekładu, Kraków: Znak
Brown, Ian and Alan Riach eds (2009) The Edinburgh Companion to Twentieth-century Scottish Literature, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press
Craig, Cairns (1999) The Modern Scottish Novel. Narrative and the National Imagination, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press
Cronin, Michael, & Simon, Sherry. (2014). Introduction: The city as translation zone. Translation Studies, 7(2), 119–132. https://doi.org/10.1080/14781700.2014.897641
Hames, Scott (2010) The Edinburgh Companion to James Kelman, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press
Korzeniowska, Aniela (2008) Translating Scotland. Nation and Identity, Warsaw: University of Warsaw
Kozak, Jolanta (2009) Przekład literacki jako metafora. Miedzy logos a lexis, Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN
Schoene, Berthold ed. (2007) The Edinburgh Companion to Contemporary Scottish Literature, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press
Simon, Sherry (2012) Cities in Translation. Intersections of Language and Memory, London& New York: Routledge
Venuti, Lawrence (1995) The Translator's Invisibility. A History of Translation, London & New York: Routledge
Venuti, Lawrence ed. (2000) The Translation Studies Reader, London & New York: Routledge
Wallace, G. and R. Stevenson eds (1994) The Scottish Novel since the Seventies, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press
The novels:
Gray, Alasdair (1981) Lanark: A Life in Four Books, Edinburgh: Canongate Books
Gray, Alasdair (1992) Poor Things, London: Bloomsbury Press
Kelman, James (1994) How Late It Was, How Late, London: Vintage
Kelman, James (2008) Kieron Smith, Boy, London: Hamish Hamilton
Saadi, Suhayl (2004) Psychoraag, Edinburgh: Black&White Publishing
The Polish translations:
Gray, Alasdair (1997) Biedne istoty: sceny z wczesnych lat życia doktora Archibalda McCandlessa inspektora szkockiej służby zdrowia, trans. Ewa Horodyska, Warszawa: PIW
Kelman, James (2011) Jak późno było, jak późno, trans. Jolanta Kozak, Warszawa: PIW
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: