Oxford has launched a new Masters degree in Comparative Literature and Critical Translation. The English Faculty has taken a leading role in the development of this degree, which is convened by Prof Matthew Reynolds together with colleagues from Oriental Studies and Medieval and Modern Languages.
The nine-month MSt in Comparative Literature and Critical Translation is designed to give students critical, theoretical and research expertise in the intersecting fields of comparative and world literature and translation studies. To take the course, students must be able to work with two languages and literatures, out of Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, modern Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish.
The MSt is attached to Oxford’s research centre in Comparative Criticism and Translation (OCCT) and builds on the recent growth in scholarly awareness of the importance of translation to comparative and world literary study. This is what is meant by ‘critical translation’: not translator training, but rather an interest in the role played by translation and re-writing in literary history, and an alertness to the uses of translation in critical practice.
The core course will introduce students to key topics in comparative and world literature and translation studies, and give them the skills needed to develop their arguments and pursue original research. They will choose options from a wide range across English, Oriental Studies and Modern Languages, and receive expert supervision for their dissertation.
The course is now open for applications; teaching will start in October 2019.
