FREN457

FREN457

English-French Translation

Focusing on the main challenges involved in intercultural communication, this course provides a basic introduction to foundations, principles, practical strategies, and methods of translation from English to French for a variety of literary, general, specialized, professional, and creative purposes. We will explore the strategies and tools translators use when faced with challenging linguistic and cultural differences as well as the artistic, ethical, and political implications of different approaches to translation. The course is divided into several parts, each part corresponding to a field of translation such as the translation of literary, legal, economic, commercial, technical, medical, and political texts, as well as subtitle translation. The course will culminate with a final project accompanied by an essay that introduces the chosen text, analyze some of its linguistic and/or literary features, situate it with respect to its cultural context and target audience, and explain translation choices. Class will be conducted in a combination of French and English.

Language of instruction: French

Instructor: Dr. Irem Ayan

Prerequisite: FREN 357

Participation, Weekly Homework = 10%
Translation Projects (15% each) = 30%
In-class Tests (15% each) = 30%
Final Project = 30%
Total = 100%

Christophe Gagne, Emilia Wilton-Godberfforde, English-French Translation: A Practical Manual. 1st Edition. Routledge, 2021. ISBN 9781138841956

FREN103

Intensive Beginners’ French

This course addresses the fundamentals of the French language taught with an action-oriented methodology. It is ideal for students who are not complete beginners in French or for those who are fast learners, or for those who have knowledge of another Romance language. You will be introduced to experiential learning in group settings. This may require you to complete a learning task and/or an assignment outside of campus (taking the public transportation and journaling your experience in French).

The teaching approach is learner-centered and inclusive. A learner-centered approach means that you are a part of your learning. Therefore, you will need to develop strategies of learning in conducing both individual and group work. It also means that I will adjust content based on your needs to the best I can to support a positive learning experience for you. An inclusive approach means that everyone matters in regards of your identity (racial, gender, sexual) and/or accessibility needs. In this class, equity matters so you are welcome to use the non-binary pronoun “iel” and further inclusive forms of writing.

This is a 3CR course aligned with CEFR level A1 objectives and its overall language proficiency (general competences,  communicative language competences, communicative language activities and strategies). Credits will be granted for FREN 103 (3) or both FREN 101 (3), FREN 102 (3).


Language of Instruction: French

Instructor: Dr. Caroline Lebrec

Prerequisite: No prerequisites

In-Class Active participation 15%
In-Class Assignments 25%
Experiential Learning Assignments 15%
Interactions with the electronic platform (exercises) 10%
Participation on Canvas Discussions 10%
Final Exam 25%

Coming soon!

 

 

 

 

 

ITAL103

Intensive Beginners’ Italian

Fundamentals of the Italian language. Aligned with CEFR level A1 objectives.


Language of Instruction: Italian

Instructor: Dr. Luisa Canuto

Prerequisite: Language Placement Test. Recommended: Expertise in another Romance language.

Note: Credit will be granted for ITAL 103 or both ITAL 101, ITAL 102.

Preparazione 25%
Partecipazione 20%
Quizzes (3) 15%
Prove Orali (2) 15%
Esame Finale Scritto 25%

All material will be in the Canvas Course Hub.

 

FREN431

Indigenous Literatures of Francophone Canada

Eruoma Awashish, Nitehik/Dans mon coeur

Depuis le début des années 2000, la littérature et le cinéma autochtones au Québec connaissent un essor important. Dans leurs textes littéraires et œuvres cinématographiques, les créatrices et créateurs issus des Premiers Peuples mettent en avant des demandes de justice, de guérison et de récupération des savoirs autochtones. Si notre époque actuelle continue d’être marquée par le colonialisme de peuplement, la création et l’art de raconter (le storytelling), peuvent-ils constituer des interventions qui dérangent les systèmes qui oppriment ? Pour bien y répondre, nous nous pencherons sur les débats historiques et contemporains sur la langue, la race, la souveraineté et l’exploitation des ressources naturelles au Québec, afin de contextualiser la production des arts narratifs autochtones et de mieux comprendre les épistémologies qui les sous-tendent. La sélection d’œuvres d’écrivain·es et de cinéastes de différentes nations (Innu, Wendat, Cris, Mohawk, Abénaquis, Anishnaabe et Inuit), qui s’expriment dans différents genres littéraires (histoire orale, récit de vie, autofiction, théâtre, nouvelle, poésie) et cinématographiques (archives visuelles, documentaire, long métrage, court métrage, nouveaux médias), mettra en lumière la grande diversité des arts narratifs autochtones au Québec.


Language of Instruction: French

Instructor: Dr. Isabella Huberman

Prerequisite: Recommended for students in 3rd year or above. Restricted to students with 2nd year standing or above.

Participation active – 15%
Test d’analyse – 15%
Présentation orale – 15%
Journal de bord – 10%
Travail final (45%)
Étape 1 – 10%
Étape 2 – 15%
Étape 3 – 20%

  • An Antane Kapesh, Eukuan nin matshimanitu innu-ishkueu / Je suis une maudite sauvagesse, Montréal, Mémoire d’encrier, 2019 [1976]
  • Naomi Fontaine, Kuessipan, Montréal, Mémoire d’encrier, 2011
  • Émilie Monnet, Okinum, Montréal, Les Herbes rouges, 2020
  • Virginia Pésémapéo Bordeleau, Ourse bleue, Montréal, Éditions Pleine lune, 2007

RMST374

Mapping Gendered Spaces in Hispanic Literature and Culture

This course will explore ways in which gendered spaces are constructed, negotiated, and contested in Latin American women’s literature and cultural production. From Indigenous cosmologies and colonial encounters to struggles for independence, rise of modernisms, and contemporary feminist, queer, and decolonial voices, we will trace how women writers have inscribed their experiences into the cultural and political landscapes of their times. Questions to be examined: How have gendered narratives locate space and place under conditions of patriarchy, colonialism, and state violence? What forms of resistance and reimagination emerge from multiple settings? How do gendered spaces intersect with race, class, and sexuality in shaping cultural memory and identity? In this course, students will develop critical tools to analyze literature and culture through intersectional, feminist, and spatial frameworks. They will gain a historical and theoretical understanding of gendered representation in Hispanic cultural contexts.


Language of Instruction: English

Instructor: Dr. Alessandra Santos

Prerequisite: No prerequisites

Attendance/Participation: 15%
Journal/Study Questions: 15%
Short Reflection Paper 1: 15%
Short Reflection Paper 2: 15%
Media Project: 15% Final Essay: 25%
Total: 100%

  • Ileana Rodríguez and Mónica Szurmuk. The Cambridge History of Latin American Women’s Literature (2016) - available through the UBC Library
  • Primary literary texts - available through course Canvas

RMST250

Italian Mafia Movies

The association of the mafia with Italy is one of a handful of prevailing cultural metaphors about the country that unfailingly provoke a broad spectrum of impassioned responses from both Italians and non-Italians. This course argues that cinema has fundamentally shaped our perceptions and emotions about the mafia. We trace the lineaments of a cinematic genre born from the American and Italian milieus: the mafia movie. Diverse theses about Italian-origin organized crime, including the Cosa Nostra, Camorra, ‘Ndrangheta, Banda della Magliana, and others, are proposed in these films, which sometimes highlight anti-mafia activities and individuals. We conduct formal film analysis while attending to the socio-historical and cultural contexts of the production of the films or the historical periods depicted in the films. The guiding question of the course is not whether these filmic representations accurately depict the mafia and their contestations. Rather, we seek to unravel the representational complexities, intentions, and agendas of the movies and of the genre. In this way, we gain a cinematic key to understanding Italian mafia which complements relevant historical and empirical studies.


Language of instruction: English

Instructor: Dr. Gaoheng Zhang

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

Critical essay 1: 25%
Critical essay 2: 25%
“Mafia Movie Stories” and written reports: 30%
In-class activities: 20%

Coming soon!

RMST140

Italian Fashion Cultures

In 2022, Italy’s newly-elected, right-wing prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, re-named a previous trade ministry as the “Ministry for Business and Made in Italy,” thereby invoking a key marker of Italian commercial, group, and cultural identity. Since the end of the WWII, the garment and accessories sector has been traditionally recognized as a pillar within the Made in Italy industries.

“Italian Fashion Cultures” examines both the national history of Italian fashion since the post-WWII period and its global dimensions. The course delineates the dynamics among the country’s fashion capitals (Florence, Rome, and Milan), with a focus on the apparel sector’s growth during the 1950s-1970s. We also probe how and why Italian fashion has developed in response to the clothing sector’s exigencies and creative tension with France, the United States, and China.

The course highlights ready-to-wear and fast fashion, the two most significant categories of the fashion world today. Cultural appropriation, decoloniality, and sustainability are examined throughout the course in relation to the course’s primary texts, including fashion journalism, websites, social media, advertising, literature, films, and artworks.

Students are encouraged to consider three central questions:

(1) how clothing is represented in the primary texts to influence the audience’s cognitive and affective knowledge;

(2) how fashion helps forge individual, brand, national, and other cultural identities;

(3) given the ubiquitous presence of fashion branding, how these narratives articulate the Made in Italy cachet to consumers?

The course does not assume student’s prior knowledge of Italy or Italian fashion. Oral presentations and a final project (in the format of a critical essay, a short film, a multimedia project, or creative writing) are the main tools of assessment of learning outcomes. Regular attendance in class lecturing and participation in group discussions and in-class activities are essential for developing critical and analytical skills for these assessment activities.


Language of instruction: English

Instructor: Dr. Gaoheng Zhang

Prerequisites: No prerequisite

Final project: 25%
Prospectus: 15%
Four “Fashion Stories”: 40%
In-class activities: 20%

Coming soon!

RMST347

Gender and Sexuality in Italian Cinema

Italy, cinema, and romantic love are closely associated concepts for many people. William Wyler’s wildly popular film Roman Holiday (1953) stands as a powerful testament to this perception. What does Italian cinema say about this subject? This course will explore nuances of love, sex, desire, and eroticism in Italian cinema within the country’s post-WWII historical, socio-political, and cultural milieus, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s. The course’s three units— “masculinities,” “femininities,” and “stardom”—will cover a range of focused discussions of tropes and notions of gender and sexuality in cinema. Students will learn to contextualize contemporary Italian cinematic depictions of love and to apply critical concepts from gender studies to film analysis. All films have English subtitles.

Language of instruction: English

Instructor: Dr. Gaoheng Zhang 

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

Argumentative essay 1: 30%
Argumentative essay 2: 30%
Final oral presentation: 20%
In-class activities: 20%

Coming soon!

RMST340

Italian Food Cultures

Italy is world-renowned for its food cultures and Italians put great care into food preparation, consumption, and appreciation. It is no wonder that Italian food-related themes permeate the country’s cultural life and beyond. Operating in the field of interpretive humanities, this course examines cultural representations of Italian or Italian-derived foods. We interpret the role that these representations play in articulating larger social issues in contemporary Italy, including regionalism, anti-globalization, family history, gender and sexual identities, Italian American food, tourism in Italy, and immigration to Italy. Through studying primary texts such as films and literature, students are encouraged to form a complex picture of Italy’s relationships with food cultures in a local-global context. Relevant empirical information and socio-historical contexts are often provided in lectures and through students’ readings. But the main task of the students is to interpret what the primary texts articulate about Italian(-style) food and foodways as they interact with the social world. The course assumes no prior knowledge of Italian. But it requires a passion for Italian food and culture! The course is particularly recommended to students at 2nd year standing or higher.

Language of instruction: English

Instructor: Dr. Gaoheng Zhang

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

Final project: 25%
Prospectus: 15%
“Culinary Stories” (Four improvised oral presentations and written reports): 40%
In-class activities: 20%

Coming soon!

RMST455

Tending the World Soul as Renaissance: Byzantium in Italy and the Humanist Dream

Anonymous in Giorgione’s style, Orpheus and Time. Washington, Phillis Memorial Gallery

Early in the fifteenth century it became painfully obvious that the scattered remains of what had once been glorious Byzantium were sitting on the edge of a historical abyss: it was simply a matter of time before the Ottoman Turks would conquer Constantinople and turn it into the capital of their rapidly expanding, increasingly powerful Empire (1453).

This course explores the extraordinary cultural legacy that Byzantium left to the world in and through its waning. We will focus in particular on the area of the Italian peninsula, where many of the most eminent Byzantine delegates to the Council of Ferrara-Florence (1437-39) ended up settling, “trans-lating” with them the heritage of their Classical, Late Antique and Christian cultures.

One of the most powerful Italian families, the Medicis, sponsored the “rebirth” of the ancient wisdom of the Greeks through a painstaking program of translations largely authored by Marsilio Ficino. But the Florentine Academy also gathered poets, philosophers, painters, musicians. Their works quickly spread throughout Italy, and from there to the rest of the Western world.

The invention of the printing press powerfully helped entertain the dream that the (re)birth of an irenic, peaceful, self-aware and holistic society was possible. The dream of such a felicitous Renaissance only lasted a few decades, engulfed as it was by Europe’s political and confessional tragedies. Even so, its legacy never died out completely, and remained the backbone of Western sapiential awareness.

It is the heritage of this “other” Renaissance which we shall try to track down — a heritage grounded in the ancient teachings of the Hermetic wisdom, advocating through the ages the “golden” possibility of achieving a timeless, truly realized human consciousness.

Language of instruction: English

Instructor: Dr. Daniela Boccassini

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

Coming soon!

Required texts:

There are no required books to buy. Required texts are available online, or will be made available via Canvas.

Primary Texts (either in PDF or available online) include excerpts from:
— Asclepius
— Nicholas of Cusa
— Marsilio Ficino
— Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
— Erasmus

Recommended texts:

TBA, either in PDF or available online