Teaching

Current Teaching

• 2013 - Present
  Recent Developments in Translation Studies

  PhD Specialized Seminar, School of Translation and Interpretation, UOttawa

  With the cultural turn prompted in the early 1980s by the DTS, Cultural Studies (Bassnett-Lefevere) and post-colonialism (Trivedi, Niranjana, etc.), translation studies began integrating anthropologists’ century-old questioning on the effects of their practices (Asad, Sturge). The awareness of the context and social effects of the translation act lead to criticism of representations of otherness that this act renews, changes or reframings (Baker). Focus shifted to the asymmetry between languages and cultures and the power relations and marginalization it creates. The ethics of difference underpinned an interventionist and restorative approach to translation that is based on deconstruction and Benjamin (Derrida, Bhabha, Worf, Davis).
  During the 1990s, the postcolonial perspective made way for the sociological turn. While intensifying translation flows, globalization revealed the numerous agents involved in the production and distribution circuits of translated books (Casanova, Heilbron, Sapiro). Bourdieu’s sociology provided the main methodological framework for new studies (Gouanvic, Buzelin). It was supported by other approaches such as institutional sociology (Latour) and especially communications sociology (Luhmann) that, focusing on discourse, took socio-criticism even further (Brisset). Yet, sociological systemism has been swiftly integrated to the wider frame of complexity theory to create an ontology where translation would have a key position (Marais).
  Against the backdrop of conflict (racial, religious, political) and following the September 11 attacks, translation studies have become further focused on communication between cultures. Ethnoscapes (Appadurai) of great urban centers shaped by migration flows as well as post-colonialism created new translation practices and new conceptions of translation, within and without the discipline. Also prompted by new information and communication technologies and by the emergence of a new network-centered mindset, these new practices no longer fell under existing definitions of translation (Latour, Folaron-Buzelin). They lead to new theories as well as new pedagogies. The internationalization of translation studies (Tymoczko, Susam-Sarajeva), even its globalized or otherwise ecologized conception (Cronin) is at the heart of these new inquiries and compels us to reflect upon theories that draw upon other, non-Western traditions, but also non-neighboring disciplinary perspectives to TS (Neergard & Arduini).

• 2014-Present
  The Arabesque of Canadian Islam

  PhD Multidisciplinary Seminar, Institute of Canadian and Aboriginal Studies (ICAS), UOttawa

  Western/Canadian Islam is diverse in many respects. Its languages, cultures, sensibilities, schools of thought, colours and places of origin are factors that force one to analyze the individuals and groups affiliated with this religion. In fact, media conditioning is such – especially since the attacks of September 11th 2001 – that the Muslim phenomenon, from East to West, has barely left anyone indifferent among the general public. Many widely publicized events have elicited polemical posturing and fostered increased social tensions, often preoccupying the Canadian social and political context: from religious tribunals to the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, from reasonable accommodations to questions surrounding “halal,” Islam asks “questions that anger,” even many Muslims themselves. What are these questions and in what fields? Which answers do we propose in the context of a diversified, even fragmented, community? What are its general traits or affiliations, if any? What are the problems (endogenous or exogenous) confronted by the diverse (ancient and novel) forms of fidelity to Islam represented in the Canadian context? Etc.

• 2006-Present
  Translation Studies and the Humanities

  MA Seminar, School of Translation and Interpretation, UOttawa

  Objectifs généraux
  • Permettre à l’étudiant(e) de s’initier aux grands courants contemporains de la traductologie.
  • Initier l’étudiant(e) à l’analyse critique de différents textes théoriques et la réflexion sur l’acte de traduire ainsi que sur le texte traduit.

  Objectifs spécifiques
  • Comprendre l’évolution de la pensée sur la traduction en Occident et pouvoir situer les différents courants les uns par rapports aux autres ;
  • Découvrir les divers points de rencontre possibles entre la traduction et d’autres disciplines ;
  Situer son propre projet de recherche (maîtrise ou doctorat) au sein des études traductologiques.

• 2006-Present
  Introduction to Theories of Translation

  BA bilingual course, School of Translation and Interpretation, UOttawa

  This core course unit is taught as a three-hour weekly course. The unit introduces students to the early theories of translation, with particular emphasis on their key concepts and premises. After introductory sessions that consider the scope and meaning of theory in relation to the practice of translation as well as a brief overview of translation theory developed before the twentieth century, the course then follows a broadly chronological trajectory of the development of the major theories in the field that have been developed from the 1960s to the late 1980s. Beginning with the linguistic approaches that have preceded the birth of translation studies as a discipline, the course goes on to introduce and consider the notions of sign, language and its categories, cultures, communication, equivalence, interpretation, following with the functionalist approaches including skopos, norm theory and descriptive translation studies. The relevance and application of these theories to previous experience of translation is of course considered. As part of this course, students acquire the necessary meta-language to critically analyze translations and account for translation decisions. Discriminating, critical engagement with theoretical concepts will be encouraged as will consideration of their practical applications. Thus, the course invites students to think critically and reflectively about the community of translators and interpreters that they aspire to join (or to which they may already belong), and to engage with the complexity and implications of the choices they have to make on a daily basis. To ensure the development of the ability to critically engage with, and reflect upon, these theories, students will be expected to prepare for each class by reading set and recommended texts and participating fully in class discussions.

• 2006-Present
  Stylistique Comparée

  BA course for francophones, School of Translation and Interpretation, UOttawa

  Objectifs généraux

  • Permettre à l’étudiant(e) francophone de s’initier aux principes de la stylistique comparée du français et de l’anglais.
  • Permettre à l’étudiant(e) de mettre en pratique ces principes au domaine de la traduction.

  Objectifs spécifiques

  Au terme du cours, l’étudiant(e):
  • Se sera familiarisé(e) aux principes de la stylistique comparée du français et de l’anglais.
  • Sera en mesure d’identifier les structures différentielles de certains aspects et catégories du français et de l’anglais.
  Aura pratiqué l’analyse stylistique et la traduction de nombreux segments linguistiques et d’extraits de textes de l’anglais vers le français.

Past Teaching

• 2015-2016
  Advanced Methodologies in Translation Studies

  MA Seminar in methodologies of research in Translation Studies, Translation and Interpreting Institute (TII), Qatar

  This course will cover models and methods for translation research. Its primary aim is to prepare you to write your thesis, whether research- or practice-oriented. Building on what you have learned during Year 1 of MATS, you will become increasingly familiar with the main areas of research and inquiry in Translation Studies, the principles of designing research projects, reviewing the literature and writing research proposals. You will also learn the skills and requirements for writing translation commentaries for the purposes of writing a practice-oriented thesis that consists of a translation accompanied by a theoretically-informed and evidence-based critical analysis. The final goals of the course are for you to write a sound and feasible research proposal on which the final thesis will be based, to have chosen and made first contact with their supervisor and finally, to begin writing the thesis itself.

• 2015-2016
  Current Trends in Translation Studies

  MA Seminar on (advanced) theories of Translation Studies, Translation and Interpreting Institute (TII), Qatar

  This core course unit is taught as a three-hour weekly seminar. The unit introduces students to more recent scholarly approaches to the study of translation that have been developed over the last two decades, with particular emphasis on their key concepts and premises. After introductory sessions on mapping the inherent interdisciplinary character of translation studies as well as overviewing the state of translation theory developed in the wake of the cultural turn, the course then follows a thematic development of the major theories in the field of TS in relation to other disciplines of the humanities and social sciences. Beginning with poly-systemic approaches, norm theory and descriptive translation studies before moving on to wider considerations developed through literary, philosophical, historical, political, anthropological, and sociological approaches. The relevance and application of some of these theories to Interpreting Studies are also considered. Discriminating, critical engagement with theoretical concepts will be encouraged as will consideration of their scholarly and practical applications. Thus, the course examines a variety of perspectives: translation as textual, cognitive, literary, social, ethical and political dimensions that impact the wider context in which they take place. It invites students to think critically and reflectively about the community of translators and interpreters that they aspire to join (or to which they may already belong), and to engage with the complexity and implications of the choices they have to make on a daily basis. To ensure the development of the ability to critically engage with, and reflect upon, these theories, students will be expected to prepare for each class by reading set and recommended texts, make structured presentations and participating fully in class discussions.

• 2014-2015
  Approaches to Translation Studies

  MA Seminar in Translation Studies, Translation and Interpreting Institute (TII), Qatar

  This core course unit is taught as a three-hour weekly seminar. The unit introduces students to the main scholarly approaches to the study of translation that have been developed over the past five decades, with particular emphasis on their key concepts and premises. After introductory sessions that consider the scope and meaning of theory in translation studies as well as a brief overview of translation theory developed before the twentieth century, the course then follows a broadly chronological trajectory of the development of the major theories in the field. Beginning with micro-level and linguistic approaches, the course goes on to consider notions of equivalence, systems approaches, norm theory and descriptive translation studies, functionalist approaches, and corpus-based approaches before moving on to wider considerations developed through political, historical and sociological approaches. The relevance and application of these theories to Interpreting Studies are also considered. Discriminating, critical engagement with theoretical concepts will be encouraged as will consideration of their scholarly and practical applications. Thus, the course examines a variety of perspectives: translation as textual, cognitive, literary, social and political activities that impact the wider context in which they take place. It invites students to think critically and reflectively about the community of translators and interpreters that they aspire to join (or to which they may already belong), and to engage with the complexity and implications of the choices they have to make on a daily basis. To ensure the development of the ability to critically engage with, and reflect upon, these theories, students will be expected to prepare for each class by reading set and recommended texts and participating fully in class discussions.

• 2014-2015
  Strategies and Principles of Translation

  MA Introductory Seminar to Theories of Translation, Translation and Interpreting Institute (TII), Qatar

  This course unit equips students with the tools required to develop critical reading skills and analyze texts at different levels of linguistic organization. As part of this course, students acquire the necessary meta-language to critically analyze translations and account for translation decisions. Sessions, class discussions and exercises are linked to translation studies literature and analysis of texts and translations. After an introductory session, the course begins with text analysis at micro, or lexical levels and moves to ever broader considerations and contexts, covering grammatical structures, thematic and information structures, textual cohesion, semiotic (non-verbal) features, pragmatic features and issues of ethics and morality. By providing plenty of opportunities to examine and analyse a wide variety of texts and translations, the course is designed to introduce students to issues of textual analysis, translation theory, critical thinking and academic writing, which will be then be emphasised and reinforced in MATS02, Semester 2.

• 2011
  Interculturality and Translation

  Hybrid BA-MA course, School of Translation and Interpretation, UOttawa

  Réflexion sur les transformations de la culture par la traduction, repérage et analyse des formes d’expression de la culture dans les traductions et développement de la compétence interculturelle conçue dans la perspective de la traduction.
  Ce nouveau cours optionnel a une double vocation A) de développer, sous forme pratique, des pistes de réflexions théoriques entamées dans le cours d’introduction aux théories de la traduction TRA4975 autour du culturel en prodiguant des outils d’analyse et de repérage de ses diverses expressions, B) de proposer un panorama culturel plus large à la fois de la traduction et de la traductologie dans les grandes traditions culturelles du monde et C) de développer une compétence interculturelle conçue dans la perspective de la traduction.
  Le cours est conçu comme un atelier où les étudiants sont appelés à élaborer un projet de traduction dont ils doivent décrire le profile culturel. L’acquisition des connaissances sur la culture, ses composantes et leur agencement, ses transformations et les manières de manipuler ses expressions sera suivie d’une application pratique : un travail de fin de session où ils doivent choisir un sujet et mettre à profit à la fois les connaissances acquises et l’expérience personnelle.
  

• Spring 2006
  Translation, Culture, and Postcolonialism

  MA seminar, Glendon College, York University, Toronto (Canada)
  Adopting an inductive and interdisciplinary approach, this course explores issues in the translation of post-colonial literatures. Its main objective is to allow students to develop a critical reflection on the linguistic, aesthetic, cultural and political challenges surrounding the reception and remediation of various post-colonial literary works, while reinforcing their skills in the practice of literary analysis and translation.