Dutch Literature: Literature and translation

Introduction to Dutch literature and a good proficiency in Dutch (advanced level, B2 + of the Common European reference framework).

In-depth study of manifestations of translating, of hybridization of languages and multilingualism, including the discursive heterogeneity in Dutch-speaking literature.

Close reading of theoretical texts on translation related to literature, together with examples of adaptation, transposition, rewriting or transcreation for example.

Close analysis of literary texts in other languages which have been translated into Dutch by well-known writers.

At the end of the course, students:

- will see the importance, through the challenges presented by translation, of a multiplied space of encounter between languages and cultures, that in the twenty-first century no longer responds to the logic of the nation-state. Starting from the literature in the Dutch language, they must show evidence of their understanding, through examples of translation, of transcultural effects in their historical and current richness.
- will have been introduced to the thinking and theory of translation. They will master the main conceptual developments in order to apply them to the field of literary analysis
- will have acquired a good knowledge of the foundations of literary stylistics and pragmatics
- will be able to make  a critical commentary on a Dutch literary text translated by a Dutch author correctly using the available tools, and to report on its linguistic, heuristic and intercultural mechanisms within the literary field

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.

Continuous assessment:
- Personal analysis of a text-translation case related to the creative writing of an author, oral presentation of the results to the group and discussion, by way of preparation of the written assignment. The students hand in a brief written report and circulate a handout before the workshop. Students are expected to prepare all texts before class  and should be ready to participate fully in the discussions.

Certificative assessment:
- Term paper + oral exam. The quality of personal expression and mastery command of the written and scientific language are crucial.

A dynamic and varied learning approach is adopted with  interactive lectures when possible.

Classes will take the form of lectures and smaller groups where students will carry out analytical readings and critical discussions. There will be in-depth analysis in small groups; original scientific comments are expected from the participants.

This seminar will examine the case of writers-translators in Dutch-speaking literatures. We will consider how these two different authorial positions create distinct reading contracts and influence the construction of the author's "posture" (Meizoz). Through close textual analysis, we will attempt to understand for example whether the translation work of some well-known writers remains distinct from their original creative work in the mother tongue or not.  The question is: where does the translator's work end and the writer's  creative work begin? How do these two aesthetic activities that produce meaning and play with language relate to one another? What are the issues that translation highlights in the creative process? And what kind of choices and reading attitudes on the part of the author does it imply?

In order to explore what we could define as the poetics of translation by these authors, we will mostly consider the case of Hugo Claus, whose translation work has recently been (re)discovered. We will use a corpus of poems translated by Claus from French (Charles d'Orléans, Baudelaire, as well as the collection of poems, Dichterbij, published in 2009 under the name of Hugo Claus).

This class will highlight, via the challenges of translation, interactive cultural processes approached within a comparative framework.

Bibliography guidelines :
- Mathilde Vischer, La traduction, du style vers la poétique. Philippe Jacottet et Fabio Pusterla en dialogue. Paris : Kimé, 2009.
- Borges, De vertalers van de duizend-en-één nacht. In: Ton Naaijkens, (e.a.), Denken over vertalen. Tekstboek vertaalwetenschap. Nijmegen: Vantilt, 2010, p. 69-84
- Kristal Efrain, « Translation in the Creative Process », in : ID., Invisible Work. Borges and translation. Vanderbilt University Press, 2002, p. 88 et suiv.

Studied texts:
- Hugo Claus, dagboekblad "vertalen", in Van horen zeggen, 1970.
- Hugo Claus, « Charles Baudelaire, Spleen (vijf versies) », in Het Teken van de Ram. Antwerpen: Lotus, p. 52-53.
- Hugo Claus, Dichterbij. Amsterdam: De Bezige Bij, 2009.

Syllabus (reader), handouts, powerpoint.