The Graduate Certificate in Translation (CTr) is a one-year program offered by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Translation is one of the most sought-after skills today. If you have a passion for languages, want to keep up with the latest developments in the field, and wish to work with some of the best scholars and translators in the region, this program is for you.
The Certificate complements numerous degrees in the liberal arts. It is equally suited for new translators who need grounding in translation studies, as well as seasoned translators who seek to expand and improve upon their abilities.
The program is open to anyone interested, including upperclass undergraduates and graduate students enrolled at AUA, as well as new applicants, who wish to prepare for a rewarding career as a translator or cross-cultural communications specialist. Upon successful completion of the coursework (4 courses at 3 credits each), students receive a Graduate Certificate in Translation (English/Armenian).
COURSE SCHEDULE
Fall Semester: CTR 380: Introduction to Translation Studies and CTR 381: History and Theories of Translation (6 credits)
Spring Semester: CTR 382: Practicum in Translation and CTR 383: Consecutive and Simultaneous Interpreting (6 credits)
Courses are scheduled during evening hours.
1.1. Students will be able to follow critical discussions in translation and/or interpreting studies;
1.2. Students will be able to develop a language (vocabulary) and discourse (manner) for analyzing translations; they will be able to contextualize and evaluate translations in a constructive manner.
3.1. Students will be able to translate and edit a variety of texts from English to Armenian and from Armenian to English;
3.2. Students will be able to interpret for a variety of audiences from English to Armenian and from Armenian to English.
2.1. Students will be able to demonstrate an informed understanding of the history of translation and/or interpreting as fields of practice and academic disciplines;
2.2. Students will be able to apply modern theories in their translation and/or interpreting activities.
4.1. Students will be able to excel in their chosen field of translation and/or interpreting and broaden their scope.
The aim of this course is to introduce students to critical discussions in translation studies and to help them develop a language (vocabulary) and discourse (manner) for analyzing translations as well as contextualize and evaluate translations in a constructive manner. Students are encouraged to view translation as a process, involving planning, drafting, and revision for clarity and precision. They are required to complete short readings and weekly writing assignments, which may include but are not limited to response papers, vocabulary journals, and translations from a range of texts from across the disciplines.
The practicum component aims to consolidate the theory and practice of translation covered in the previous courses. The course helps student translators develop and expand their own translating and editing techniques, and to facilitate the integration of their skills and knowledge through large-scale practice. It enables students to translate a wide variety of genres in professional areas (literary, medicine, law, business, etc.) so that they can make informed choices about their own professional future. Students are guided through their apprenticeship in stagesâobservation, controlled practice of translation techniques, and increasingly difficult and lengthy texts. Throughout the practicum, students receive constructive feedback and assistance and evaluate peer performance.
An introduction to the fundamental technique of comparative linguistics, including the comparison of the phonological and morphological systems, syntax and lexicon of Armenian and English, this course emphasizes the important relationship between these two languages. Through lectures, analytical exercises, and individual and collective translation workshops, students learn about the problems and possibilities of communication between these languages through a translatorâs perspective. Evaluation components include, among others, active participation in class discussions, oral and written comparative analyses of translated texts from a linguistic point of view.
This course aims to investigate the history of translation and the theories that have accompanied the changing roles of translation in the societies where they have been put into practice. Translation is viewed here as a factor that has contributed to shifts in intellectual, literary, and cultural trends. The course also examines the main theoretical concepts currently discussed in translation studies, and demonstrates how they influence translation in practice. By taking a comparative and cultural studies approach, rather than a purely linguistic approach, this course explores the impact of translation as a force for change and traces the ways in which texts are received by readers in different cultural contexts.
Consecutive and Simultaneous Interpreting is a course grounded in theory and practice and specifically set up to train professional interpreters. The course offers students an opportunity to get acquainted with the theoretical and professional frameworks of consecutive and simultaneous interpreting. Students learn to interpret in various professional areas such as literature, medicine, law, business, etc. Worksite learning is a key component of the course during which students perform live interpreting tasks under supervision and shadow professional interpreters at work.
This course explores topics in translation theory and practice with emphasis on current problems and research. Topics to be announced prior to course registration.
SHUSHAN AVAGYAN
Shushan Avagyan received her PhD in English studies from Illinois State University with a specialization in translation studies and a graduate certificate in womenâs studies. She has taught comparative literature courses and translation workshops since 2006. âHer articles and translations have appeared in numerous publications, including Asymptote, Review of Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary Womenâs Writing, Music and Literature, and Los Angeles Review of Books. She is the translator of Energy of Delusion: A Book on Plot, Bowstring: On the Dissimilarity of the Similar, A Hunt for Optimism, The Hamburg Score, and On the Theory of Prose by Viktor Shklovsky (Dalkey Archive), Art and Production by Boris Arvatov (Pluto) and I Want To Live: Poems of Shushanik Kurghinian (AIWA). She is currently the coordinator of the Graduate Certificate in Translation Program.
DAVIT ISAJANYAN
Davit Isajanyan is a graduate of Jacobs University Bremen and UniversitĂ€t Bremen, Germany. He also studied at Yerevan State University; University of Pennsylvania; and University of Alabama in Huntsville. He has taught theory and practice of interpreting since 2015. His interests lean towards the âlinguistic turnâ in security and identity studies. He is the author of Along the Trails of the Armenian Orphans: The Humanitarian Mission of the Near East Relief as Documented in the Photographic Collections of the Rockefeller Archive Center. His recent translations include chapters from Road to Serfdom by Friedrich A. Hayek, and sections from The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money by John M. Keynes.
For more information about the program contact: [email protected]