Perspectives on punishment differ between cultures leading to wide-ranging responses to real and perceived transgressions. Through a variety of creative works translated into English, students will analyze how writers grapple with justice, retribution, and redemption. Special attention will be given to the role of translation in shaping cross-cultural understandings of punishment, as well as the ethical and artistic challenges of rendering these works into new linguistic and cultural contexts. Research questions that will guide our approach include: How do creative works in a language other than English depict punishment, and how do these depictions compare to those in other literary traditions? How does the act of translation shape perceptions of punishment in a given language? What are the aesthetic and rhetorical strategies authors use to evoke empathy or critique punitive systems in their works? What do we need to know about a culture to accurately interpret creative works, and what aspects of punishment do not translate? How have adaptations of creative works altered portrayals of punishment?
Featured Image
“Holding, pushing #2” by madamepsychosis is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
