This course will introduce the concept of translation and explore its implications for literature, culture, and ideology. Students will examine how translation can shape the meaning of a text, as well as how literature and culture are interrelated and how they can be used to convey certain ideas and ideologies. In addition, students will learn to recognize and analyze the different approaches used by writers of different cultural backgrounds. Through reading and discussing relevant works, students will explore how literature can be interpreted through the lens of ideology. They will analyze how different interpretations of a text can be used to communicate different messages and meanings. Examples of the questions which may be explored include gender, race, colonialism, post-colonialism, humanism and religion. These questions will be discussed on two levels: (i) comparison of different writers' approaches within the same broad cultural tradition, and (ii) comparison of approaches between different cultural traditions. Through these discussions, students will develop an understanding of some of the major concerns of writers in different cultural traditions. Texts of different genres and backgrounds will be selected for discussion.

CILO-1: Demonstrate knowledge of translation studies, Chinese and Western thinking on translation, and the translation turn in cultural studies. CILO-2: Describe the ethical and political implications of translation, and the role of translation in the development of new forms of communication in the age of globalization. CILO-3: Distinguish between translation and multilingualism, including the challenges of translating between different languages and scripts, and the role of translators in preserving and promoting minority languages. CILO-4: Describe the relationship between translation and literary studies, including the history of translation, the study of literary genres, and the influence of translation on literary production.