After participating in the Summer Institute for Translation & Global Literacy 2024, we asked two attendees—Sushmita Sircar, Associate Professor of English at Gettysburg College, and James Wells, Edwin L. Minar Professor of Classical Studies at DePauw University—to share about their experience. Professor Sircar shares below about how the Institute supported her work of foregrounding translation in the world literature classroom, and Professor Wells highlights his takeaways to further bolster and expand the project of bringing translation practice into the classical studies classroom.
How did the 2024 Summer Institute at the University of Iowa help further your project progress?
SS: I came away energized by many ideas—both concrete and small scale, like assignments and readings, as well as larger ideas about how a course on translation might fit into the college and department curriculum as a whole. I actually had a reading list of about thirty books from the Institute that I borrowed from the library to think through my course on translation! I think the Institute will be invaluable as I modify my course to teach next fall.
JW: My project was to develop activities in which students translate original-language ancient Hellenic texts, a poem by Sappho (c. 620 BCE) and a passage from Thucydides’ (c. 460–c. 400 BCE) History of the Peloponnesian War. The context for this experiment with translation pedagogy is a 100-level, general education course entitled “Ancient Greek World,” which surveys ancient Greek culture and history and features primary sources, literature in English translation, as well as visual culture. Students most often enroll in this general education course to fulfill distribution requirements in Arts and Humanities. The course assumes no prior knowledge. The Summer Institute proved invaluable for designing scaffolded translation activities that enable students to encounter the cultural difference represented by ancient Hellenic textual artifacts. I came away from the Institute with tools that I could implement immediately in my teaching. I additionally benefitted from conversations about pedagogical challenges, such as laying the groundwork for students to work with ancient Hellenic texts without knowledge of the language and navigating resistance to work perceived as difficult or irrelevant.
The Summer Institute proved invaluable for designing scaffolded translation activities that enable students to encounter the cultural difference represented by ancient Hellenic textual artifacts. I came away from the Institute with tools that I could implement immediately in my teaching.
What is the benefit of professional development and community-building opportunities like the Summer Institute?
SS: It was such a pleasure to meet colleagues working in departments ranging from literary studies and comparative literature, to language departments and translation programs. It really expanded my sense of who a course on translation can speak to within a university or college. I loved learning about the work of other Institute participants, and seeing the work on translation that is being carried out through various institutes and other programs across the country. I think this community will also be a helpful resource as I further think about translation in my own work and teaching.
JW: The opportunity to broaden my communal connections with others who share interest in the practice and teaching of translation was invaluable to me. I came away from the Institute validated in my work as a translator and motivated to lean more fully into translation, both in my writing and teaching.
What were some of the most impactful sessions, opportunities, or encounters for you during Summer Institute?
SS: I found the session on sharing and talking through syllabi for a course on literatures in translation with other participants to be extremely helpful. I also learned a lot from Adrienne Rose’s session on designing “translation for global literacy” courses. I learned a lot about how to incorporate translation and creative writing activities in order to further students’ conceptual understanding of the process of translation. Curtis Bauer and Sonia Colina’s sessions on introducing translation activities and assignments left me with many ideas, and I particularly loved hearing the responses of other participants to the creative prompts they provided. The Institute's tone was set by Aron Aji's wonderful "translating by sound" exercise, which I would love to try to replicate in some form with my students. Overall, I really came to appreciate how generous everyone was with their teaching expertise—being willing to share syllabi, assignment prompts, and their experience with teaching translation.
JW: As my project suggests, I came to the Institute expecting to learn strategies for integrating translation pedagogy into general education courses I teach. The Institute also introduced me to new possibilities for translation pedagogy in my foreign language teaching. Grammar translation remains a typical pedagogical practice in the teaching and learning of ancient Greek and Latin. Lessons I took away from the Institute equip me to disrupt this translation-as-assessment paradigm. The Summer Institute additionally motivated me to develop a course on translation theory and practice that I expect to offer as a World Literature course in AY 2025–2026.
How did your experience at the Summer Institute deepen or expand your understanding of global literacy and translation pedagogy?
SS: The Institute broadened my understanding of what a course on translation and world literature could achieve. It made me explicitly think about translation and interpretation as practices outside the literature classroom—in the language classroom, in hospitals/courtrooms, and other arenas where translation is a practical need. This made me want to think about translation not just as a creative practice or as a metaphor for thinking about our globalized world, but of the material problems with translation and language justice. I also came away with a set of specific ideas about encouraging students to engage with their own language skills and to use translation creatively to produce their own literary texts. I am still thinking about how these might be incorporated into my syllabus, but I’m excited to expand the ambit of my literature class into one that invites students to engage in the process of translation themselves.
JW: I adopt engaged pedagogy in my teaching and seek to center difference in my choices of course content. The Summer Institute expanded my pedagogical practice by introducing me to ideas for intentionally integrating translation in general education and foreign language courses in order to more explicitly align learning goals with global literacy.
The Institute broadened my understanding of what a course on translation and world literature could achieve. It made me explicitly think about translation and interpretation as practices outside the literature classroom—in the language classroom, in hospitals/courtrooms, and other arenas where translation is a practical need. This made me want to think about translation not just as a creative practice or as a metaphor for thinking about our globalized world, but of the material problems with translation and language justice.