Irish Literature in Translation

4 units
205 Dwinelle
MWF 12-1
Thomas Walsh

L&S Breadth:  Arts & Literature

This course covers Irish literature with special reference to the practice of translation, especially as it relates to the poetics of Irish verbal and narrative artistry. The theory of translation will be reviewed through readings in Shulte and Biguenet as well as Bassnett Since the intersection of Irish with English and Latin has a complex history, the course will take account of the shifting social and political realities within which Irish texts flourish at different periods. Some of the topics to be addressed include:  the development of early Irish prose and verse as represented in translation; Irish versions of Greco-Roman classical and post-classical legend, the reception of  Irish literature by English cultures; the status of Irish literature in the modern period; interactions between Ireland and other cultures through its poetry and prose; and the place of Irish literature in a comparative literary canon. Special attention will be paid to the theoretical issues arising from the problems posed by the act of translation.

This course will ask students for two papers; there will be short quizzes and a final.

Required texts:

Maureen O’Rourke Murphy and James MacKillop, eds. An Irish Literature Reader: Poetry, Prose, Drama. 2^nd edition. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2006. ISBN: 0-8156-3046-8

Susan Bassnett. Translation Studies. NY: Routledge, 2013.  78-0415506731

Ciaran Carson (Trans.). The Táin. Penguin: 2007.  13:978-014045634.

Thomas Kinsella (Trans.). The Táin. Oxford. ISBN: 0-19-280373-5.

Rainer Shulte and John Biguenet. 1992. Theories of Translation: An Anthology of Essays from Dryden to Derrida. The University of Chicago Press, 1992. ISBN-13: 978-0226048710

Peig Sayers. The Autobiography of Peig Sayers. Trans. By Bryan MacMahon. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1974.  ISBN-0-8156-0258-8

Flann O’Brien. The Poor Mouth: A Bad Story about the Hard Life. (Án Béal Bocht.) Trans. Patrick C. Power. Dalkey Archive Press, 1973. ISBN-13: 978-1564780911

Course Reader. This text will be available in the first week of classes.

Prerequisites:  None.  All required readings will be in English.