COURSE UNIT TITLE

: TRANSNATIONAL TRANSLATION FLOWS AND TRANSLATION AS SOFT POWER

Description of Individual Course Units

Course Unit Code Course Unit Title Type Of Course D U L ECTS
MÜI 5066 TRANSNATIONAL TRANSLATION FLOWS AND TRANSLATION AS SOFT POWER ELECTIVE 3 0 0 7

Offered By

ENGLISH TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETING

Level of Course Unit

Second Cycle Programmes (Master's Degree)

Course Coordinator

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR GÜLFER TUNALI

Offered to

ENGLISH TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETING

Course Objective

The objective of the course is to analyse the social dynamics that shape the international circulation of translations. Drawing on the ideas of Pierre Bourdieu, Pascale Casanova, Johan Heilbron and Gisele Sapiro in the field of (international) literature, the course will examine the relationships between translation, international prestige mechanisms, cultural influence, and soft power. Students will develop a critical perspective on the sociology of translation by understanding the social, political and economic factors of translation activities.

Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit

1   The students are expected to understand the sociological approach to the transnational circulation of literary works.
2   The students are expected to understand the basic conceptual and theoretical frameworks of the sociology of translation in this field.
3   The students are expected to understand the methodological approaches of research on the circulation of literary works.
4   The students are expected to critically evaluate the transnational circulation of literary works.
5   The students are expected to develop a research project that evaluates the transnational circulation of translation from a sociological perspective.

Mode of Delivery

Face -to- Face

Prerequisites and Co-requisites

None

Recomended Optional Programme Components

None

Course Contents

Week Subject Description
1 Introduction
2 The Transnational Flow of Literary Translations
3 The Transnational Flow of Literary Translations
4 The Transnational Flow of Literary Translations
5 The Transnational Flow of Literary Translations
6 The Transnational Flow of Literary Translations
7 The Transnational Flow of Literary Translations
8 Mid-term
9 Transnational Flow of Translations of Other Works of Cultural Value
10 Transnational Flow of Translations of Other Works of Cultural Value
11 Transnational Flow of Translations of Other Works of Cultural Value
12 Cultural Diplomacy and Soft Power
13 Cultural Diplomacy and Soft Power
14 Cultural Diplomacy and Soft Power
15 Presentation and discussion of students' research projects
16 Presentation and discussion of students research projects

Recomended or Required Reading

Textbook(s)/References/Materials:

Sapiro, G., Bustamente, M. (2009). Translation as a measure of international consecration. Mapping the world distribution of Bourdieu s books in translations , Sociologica 2 3: s.1 45.

Sapiro, G., M. Santoro, and P. Baert, (2020) Ideas on the Move in the Social Sciences and Humanities, London, Palgrave Macmillan

Heilbron, J., & Sapiro, G. (2018). Politics of translation: How states shape cultural transfers. In D. Roig-Sanz & R. Meylaerts (Eds.), Literary Translation and Cultural Mediators in'Peripheral'Cultures: Customs Officers or Smugglers (pp. 183-208). Springer Nature

Casanova, P., & Brownlie, S. (2021). Consecration and accumulation of literary capital: Translation as unequal exchange. In The translation studies reader (pp. 407-423). Routledge.

Casanova, P. (2004). The world republic of letters. Harvard University Press.

Yu, Jinquan ( ) and Chunli Shen (2024). Translation selection and the consecration of Dylan Thomas s poetry in China: a sociological perspective. Target 36 (3) : 398 420,

McMartin, J., & Gentile, P. (2020). The transnational production and reception of a future classic : Stefan Hertmans s War and Turpentine in thirty languages. Translation Studies, 13(3), 271-290.

Xu, R., & von Flotow, L. (2025). A study of Pathlight: literary cultural diplomacy in China today. Perspectives, 33(1), 201-214.

Khalifa, A. W., & Haddadian-Moghaddam, E. (2025). Translation, soft power, and Cold War book diplomacy: Franklin Book Programs legacy in words, images, and memory. Perspectives, 1-21.

Wu, Y. (2017). Globalization, translation and soft power: A Chinese perspective. Babel, 63(4), 463-485.

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

Lecture, interactive discussion of weekly articles and book chapters, response papers, presentations

Assessment Methods

SORTING NUMBER SHORT CODE LONG CODE FORMULA
1 MTE MIDTERM EXAM
2 FCG FINAL COURSE GRADE
3 FCGR FINAL COURSE GRADE MTE * 0.40 + FCG* 0.60
4 RST RESIT
5 FCGR FINAL COURSE GRADE (RESIT) MTE * 0.40 + RST* 0.60


Further Notes About Assessment Methods

None

Assessment Criteria

To be announced.

Language of Instruction

English

Course Policies and Rules

Attendance is obligatory. Students are expected to read assigned material and write weekly response papers. They are also responsible to write a term paper based on findings of a wide scale research.

Contact Details for the Lecturer(s)

gulfer.tunali@deu.edu.tr

Office Hours

To be announced.

Work Placement(s)

None

Workload Calculation

Activities Number Time (hours) Total Work Load (hours)
Lectures 15 3 45
Preparations before/after weekly lectures 15 6 90
Preparation for midterm exam 1 10 10
Preparation for final exam 1 10 10
Preparing presentations 1 15 15
Final 1 3 3
Midterm 1 2 2
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours) 175

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

PO/LOPO.1PO.2PO.3PO.4PO.5PO.6PO.7PO.8PO.9PO.10PO.11
LO.15555314435
LO.25555315555
LO.35555315555
LO.45555313554
LO.55555315555