Skip over navigation

Course Offerings

Course Details

Spring 2012-2013
* ANT 349 / LIN 349 / TRA 349 (SA)   No Pass/D/Fail

Expertise in Translation: Linguistic Encounters Across Professions and Disciplines

Elizabeth Mertz

We usually think of anthropology as a translation across different cultures and languages, but encounters between different professions and academic disciplines also call for translation. In this course, we treat interdisciplinary and cross-professional exchanges as ethnographic sites, using methods from linguistic anthropology to examine the challenges of translating expertise across professional fields. We also explore different approaches to interdisciplinary translation, in the process developing our understanding of the broader interaction between language and culture.

Sample reading list:
Knorr-Cetina, Karin, Epistemic Cultures: How the Sciences Make Knowledge
Sarfaty, Galit, Values in Translation
See instructor for complete list

Reading/Writing assignments:
Weekly readings generally range between 85 and 160 pages; once in the term, will be a reading that is 214 pages long. Writing assignments: (1) a one-page description of a plan for the final course paper; (2) a 3-5 page analysis of interdisciplinary language, and (3) a 10-15 page paper that performs an original analysis of an interdisciplinary interaction.

Requirements/Grading:
Paper in Lieu of Mid Term - 10%
Paper in lieu of Final - 50%
Oral Presentation(s) - 10%
Class/Precept Participation - 10%
Other (See Instructor) - 20%

Schedule/Classroom assignment:

Class numberSectionTimeDaysRoomEnrollmentStatus
42949 S01 1:30 pm - 4:20 pm M   Aaron Burr Hall   216   Enrolled:11 Limit:18