Instructor: Emily Canning
Meeting time: M&W 12-12:50pm
Office Hours: M&W 1-2pm or by appointment
Contact: canning@brandeis.edu
Mailbox: Anth Dept, Brown 2nd floor
Office: Brown 220
Office phone: (781) 736-8211
Classroom: Brown 316
University Writing Seminar 34A:
Lost in Translation:
The Destruction and Reproduction of Meaning between Cultures
Fall 2014, Brandeis University
What does it mean when something becomes “lost in translation”? This course will
examine the consequences of reproducing meaning across varying cultural contexts. We will
draw from a wide range of examples around the world and throughout time, placing particular
emphasis on imperial/colonial encounters, transnational/immigrant narratives, and contemporary
ethnography. The theory in the course will be primarily rooted in linguistic anthropology and
allied fields, and we will apply these theoretical insights to artistic mediums such as film and
literature. Since is expected that most of you will have some level of competence in a foreign
language if you are not fully bilingual and/or bicultural, everyone is encouraged to share their
own experiences and relate them to the analytical frameworks in discussion.
The goal of the University Writing Seminar is not merely to acquaint you with a
particular theme, but to develop skills in writing and critical thinking. By the end of the course,
students will be familiar with the conventions of college-level writing and research and will have
developed strategies to revise and critique both their own writing as well as the writing of others.
All University Writing Seminars share the same basic assignments, which include three papers: a
close-reading essay, a lens paper, and a research paper. Ultimately the hard (and admittedly
sometimes painful) work that you put into this class will help lay the necessary foundation for
succeeding both in your future writing at the college-level and throughout the course of your life.
TEXTS:
Write Now, a collection of Brandeis student essays
Writing in Response
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (required)
Lost in Translation by Eva Hoffman (optional)
OVERVIEW OF MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS:
ESSAY 1: CLOSE READING
Linguistic anthropologist Benjamin Lee Whorf wrote that “language shapes the way we think,
and determines what we can think about.” Drawing upon evidence in Eva Hoffman’s Lost in
Translation, consider to what extent you think language determines or influences thought. Do
you agree with German philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein that “the limits of my language mean
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the limits of my world”? Or do you think there is a universal quality of human cognition which
language merely expresses but does not necessarily shape? While you are not forced to advocate
either extreme, you must make a cohesive argument on the relationship between thought (and/or
culture) and language. Although you should draw the majority of your evidence from Hoffman’s
work, you are encouraged to include any of your own multi-lingual/cross-cultural experiences to
further buttress your argument.
ESSAY 2: LENS ANALYSIS
For this assignment, use Irvine & Gal’s “Language Ideology and Linguistic Generation” as a
semiotic tool kit to unpack the distinct narratives presented in Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood
Bible. What are the “signs” (linguistic, cultural, biological) that the Price family misinterprets?
That is to say, how do the family members “represent” their surroundings and what semiotic
clues lead you to imagine how the family is perceived by the Congolese in their village?
Consider Irvine & Gal’s key terms of icon, index, symbol, iconization, and erasure. Incorporate
at least two of these terms into your paper, and use these as evidence to support a specific
argument regarding the cultural disjuncture between the Price family and their fellow villagers.
ESSAY 3: RESEARCH PAPER:
Find an instance of a text that has been reproduced in a new cultural context. What changes in
meaning have occurred? What do these changes reveal about the differences and/or similarities
of the cultures in question and of the concept of “culture” more generally? The notion of “text”
can be applied broadly to any item selected from the various genres we have discussed this
semester such as film, literature, humor, and or another cross-cultural encounter that has
multiple interpretations or “readings.” While you do not necessarily need to focus on the
mechanics of translation itself, you do need to research additional theoretical material regarding
the genre in its specific geographic or transnational setting. You should compliment your
theoretical analysis with ethnographic evidence from the specific culture you have chosen to
study.
EVALUATION:
10%
15%
65%
5%
5%
Class Participation
Pre-Draft Assignments and Peer Reviews
Major Assignments:
Essay 1 15%
Essay 2 20%
Essay 3 30%
Student Presentation
Final Portfolio
CLASSROOM POLICIES AND EXPECTATIONS:
Attendance: This course is discussion-oriented; coming to every class meeting on time and
ready to contribute is essential not only to the class as a whole, but to your individual progress as
a writer. Students who are significantly or recurrently late will be considered absent. If you must
miss a class for any reason, please notify me in advance (i.e. more than 24 hours before the class
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you will miss) providing a reason for your absence. Students are allowed three absences per
semester (for any reason). Every additional absence after your third will result in a reduction of
your final grade in the course by one third a letter (a B+ grade will be lowered to a B). Seven or
more absences over the semester will result in a failing grade for the course.
Participation: Since this is a discussion-based course, class participation is particularly
important. Please come to each class on time, having completed any reading and/or writing
exercise that was assigned for the day, and ready to participate fully in class discussions and
activities. If there was reading assigned for a class, please bring a copy of the reading, with
prepared notes, questions, and comments, and be ready to share your ideas with others. Students
who repeatedly come to class without being prepared to participate will be marked absent. To be
prepared for class, you should feel comfortable with the assigned reading and be able to discuss
its merits and drawbacks, i.e. have a firm grasp of what and where the author’s thesis is, know
the basic outline of the piece’s argument, have assessed the strengths and weaknesses of the
evidence and analysis brought to bear, and come with questions, concerns, or uncertainties.
Additional credit for participation will be given for posts on LATTE forums.
Conferences: Students will meet one-on-one with the class instructor three times during the
semester for 20-minute conferences, which will enable you to receive detailed and personalized
feedback from me on your writing as well as give you a chance to raise questions or concerns
about the assignments. Sign-up sheets will be posted in advance on LATTE. Conference
attendance is mandatory, and not showing up for a conference will count as an unexcused
absence. Please bring all relevant materials to the conference, including drafts, comments,
revisions, outlines, etc. It is the student’s responsibility to come to conference with a set of
concerns regarding their writing or essay drafts that they wish to discuss.
Peer Review Workshops: In addition to conferences, peer review workshops provide another
important opportunity for students to receive and give critical and constructive feedback about
the writing process to their peers. When rough drafts are due, you will hand in three copies: one
for the instructor, and two for your peer review partners. You will also receive copies of the
rough drafts of your two peer review partners. All students are responsible for carefully reading
their partners’ rough drafts, composing a thoughtful and useful peer-review letter, and sharing
feedback with your peers during the following peer review workshop. I will look for evidence of
revisions that address the points made in peer review letters in the final drafts of the essays you
hand in and will factor in such evidence when assigning grades.
Essay Formatting: All essays (rough and final drafts) must meet the following conditions:
 be typed in 12-point Times New Roman (or equivalent) font
 be double-spaced, with 1 inch margins (be sure to adjust the default page settings if
using Microsoft Word)
 contain your last name and page number in the header or footer of every page
following the first
 cite all sources using MLA format (or equivalent—consistency is what counts)
Portfolio: All class essays and assignments (including class exercises, essay drafts, feedback,
revisions, etc.) should be kept in a folder, which you will be responsible for handing in at the end
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of the semester. Students’ portfolios give an overview of their work and overall progress
throughout the semester, and are important in assigning final grades. Adding class essays and
assignments to your folder as the semester progresses instead of trying to assemble the portfolio
at the end of the semester will make your life much easier!
UWS Outcomes: Please consult the last page of the syllabus for a list of UWS Outcomes.
Late Work: All assignments, including Pre-Draft assignments, Essay Drafts, and Peer Review
Letters are due on the day they are listed on the syllabus, unless otherwise noted. Extensions will
not be granted unless there are extenuating circumstances and in any case require more than 24
hours advance notice (i.e. extensions will not be granted the night before an assignment is due).
Papers will be marked down a grade for each day they are late (i.e. a B+ paper turned in a day
late will receive a B). Late pre-draft assignments will not be graded.
The Writing Center: The University Writing Center, located on the first floor of Goldfarb
Library (room 107), provides free one-on-one help with your essays. You are strongly
encouraged to take advantage of this (free!) service. Writing Center tutors are well trained (many
of them are UWS instructors) and will work with you in 45 minute tutorials that you can
schedule online (http://www.brandeis.edu/writingprogram/writingcenter/register.html).
Students who take advantage of this service will receive a form during their tutorial that will
entitle them to a 24 hour extension on the final draft of their essay (one extension per
assignment). Essays with extensions will be due, in my mailbox, by noon of the following day,
extension form attached. The same offer applies to any students who are non-native speakers of
English who have a tutor that they meet with regularly. (For a free weekly tutor if English is not
your first language and you need extra help contact Shelby Speer at shelbyb@brandeis.edu)
Academic Integrity: It is essential that all the work you hand in for this course is your own, and
that when you use outside sources or ideas that you cite them properly. The University’s policy
on academic integrity is distributed annually in the Rights and Responsibilities Handbook
(http://www.brandeis.edu/studentaffairs/sdc/rr/). Instances of apparent or alleged dishonesty will
be forwarded to the Department of Student Development and Conduct for possible referral to the
Student Judicial System, and may carry severe consequences including failure on the assignment
in question, failure in the course, and/or suspension from the University.
Disabilities: If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University
and wish to have reasonable accommodation made for you in class, please come see me as soon
as possible. Further information is available at the Brandeis Disabilities Services and Support
website (http://www.brandeis.edu/acserv/disabilities).
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Unit 1:
The Experience of Language and the Language of Experience (Close Reading)
Week 1
Mon Sept 1 – No class
Wed Sept 3 – Introductions, review syllabus, ice breaker, survey of class
- Close reading exercise of “Dybbyk” scene from A Serious Man
HW: Read: First section of Eva Hoffman’s Lost in Translation (Pp. 3-23)
Week 2 (1st conference, round 1—September 9th)
Mon Sept 8 - Discussion of Hoffman, continue discussion of close reading
HW: Read: Read Hoffman, pp. 99-164, Write Pre-Draft 1.1
Wed Sept 10 – Review pre-drafts and thesis “stress test” (3 C’s), discuss pre-draft 1.1
HW: Read Ahearn’s chapter on “Language, Thought, & Culture” and Deutscher’s article
(optional), and Write Pre-Draft 1.2 (developing a thesis statement)
Week 3 (1st conference, round 2—September 15th)
Mon Sept 15 – Group work on thesis and whether or not they pass “stress test”
HW: Write rough draft of Close Reading essay – bring 3 copies to class
Wed Sept 17 - Workshop and peer review rough drafts, discuss problems thus far in writing
HW: Finish Final Draft of Close Reading Essay
Unit 2: The Signs of Dissonance and the Dissonance of Signs (Lens Analysis)
Week 4
Mon Sept 22 – Turn in final draft of Close Reading essay (plus cover letter)
- Introductory semiotics & language ideology through My Fair Lady clip
HW: Read Irvine & Gal, sign up for conference time
Wed Sept 24 – Discuss text, lecture on Irvine & Gal – applied to Kyrgyzstan fieldwork
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HW: Read Poisonwood Bible, p. 1-49, Write Pre-Draft 2.1
Week 5
Mon Sept 29 – Group work - read McIntosh article, discover how she used Irvine & Gal
HW: Read Poisonwood Bible, p. 50-98
Wed Oct 1 – Discuss pre-draft assignments and give examples of applying lens
HW: Write Pre-Draft 2.2 (understanding the lens text), read Poisonwood Bible, p. 101-151
Week 6 (2nd conference, round 1—October 8th)
Mon Oct 6 – Evaluations/ Feedback, and “Semiotics Mash-up” Exercise/PowerPoint
HW: Read Poisonwood Bible, p. 152-201
Wed Oct 8 – Discuss pre-draft 2.2 and have each student share his or her semiotic examples
HW: Write Pre-Draft 2.3, Read Poisonwood Bible, p. 202-267
Week 7 (2nd conference, round 2—October 14th)
Mon Oct 13 – No class (Brandeis Thursday)
HW: Poisonwood Bible p. 267-311
Wed Oct 15 – Discuss how to write introductions & conclusions – similarities & differences
HW: Read Poisonwood Bible p. 317-385
Write: Week 8
Mon Oct 20 – in class activity with old Lost in Translation student papers
HW: Write: 1st Draft of Essay #2 and bring three copies to class Wednesday
Wed Oct 22 – Peer Review of Rough drafts
HW: Read as much of the rest of Poisonwood Bible as you can to gather additional material for
your lens essay, but it is not required that you finish the book.
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Unit 3: Translating Culture and the Culture of Translation (Research Paper)
Week 9: Thinking Anthropologically
Mon Oct 27 – Discuss proofreading and peer edit rough drafts
HW: Finish final draft of Lens Essay and write peer review letters
Wed Oct 29 – Turn in final draft of Lens, prepare for FLIP session (Colbert on Wikipedia)
HW: Read Bohannan’s article “Shakespeare in the Bush” and Miner’s article “The Nacirema”
Week 10: Humor
Mon Nov 3 – FLIP session, how to find a research question, plagiarism and citations
HW: Read Hill’s article, find a couple of jokes from another language, translate them, and post
both the original and the translated version on LATTE with an explanation of the humor. Be
prepared to share at least one in class!
Wed Nov 5 - Discuss cross-cultural humor and share jokes
-What specific to each culture makes them funny or not funny?
HW: Write Pre-Draft 3.1 (research topic brainstorm), choose and read an article among three
texts from Violence in War and Peace (to apply as a “mini-lens”)
Week 11: Culture Clashes in Love & War (3rd Conference – round 1, November 12th)
Mon Nov 10 – Watch clip for film review and discuss how to develop research questions
HW: Finish the film and post your thoughts on LATTE forum, sign up for conference time &
research presentation date (April 14th, 16th, April 23rd, April 28th – no more than 5 people per day)
Wed Nov 12 – Discuss bibliographies and the research paper as a kind lens paper
HW: Write Pre-Draft 3.2 (annotated bibliography)
Week 12: Health & the Body (3rd conference – round 2, November 18th)
Mon Nov 17 – Turn in Pre-drafts and sign-up for student presentations
HW: Read The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down and post a brief reaction to LATTE
Wed Nov 19 –Discuss scholarly vs. non scholarly sources
- Exercise on employing different kinds of evidence to support an argument
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HW: Write Pre-Draft 3.3 (final draft research proposal)
Week 13
Mon Nov 24 – student presentations
HW: Write Rough Draft of Essay #3 and bring 3 copies for Monday Dec 1
Wed Nov 26 (No class for Thanksgiving break)
Week 15
Mon Dec 1 – Turn in rough draft of research essays and complete peer review in class, plus
student presentations
HW: work on research papers
Wed Dec 3 – student presentations
HW: - Finish research paper, prepare portfolio and write cover letter
Week 16
Mon Dec 8 (last day of class) – turn in final paper, student presentations
Date for Portfolio pick-up and movie night - TBA
MOVIE NIGHT: Lost in Translation (or results from vote)
Portfolio pick-up, end of the year celebration
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UWS Outcomes Spring 2014, Brandeis University
Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing:
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Use writing and discussion to work through and interpret complex ideas from
ethnographic readings and other texts
Critically analyze your own and others’ choices regarding language and form (e.g., in
student texts or formally published texts)
Engage in multiple modes of inquiry using text (e.g., field research, library-based inquiry,
web searching)
Incorporate significant research (as above) into writing that engages a question and/or
topic and uses it as a central theme for a substantive, research-based essay
Use writing to support interpretations of a text, and understand that there are multiple
interpretations of a text
Consider and express the relationship of your own ideas to the ideas of others
Processes:
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Use written, visual, and/or experience-based texts as tools to develop ideas for writing
Understand that writing takes place through recurring processes of invention, revision,
and editing
Develop successful, flexible strategies for your own writing through the processes of
invention, revision, and editing
Experience and understand the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes
Learn to critique your own and others’ work
Be reflective about your writing process
Knowledge of Conventions:

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Understand the conventions of particular genres of writing
Recognize and address patterns in your writing that unintentionally diverge from patterns
expected by their audience/s
Practice using academic citational systems (MLA) for documenting work
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