Undergraduate Courses

A comparative exploration of the political, social and economic worlds of the three major Islamic empires of the early modern age; the Renaissance and the Reformation; the making of the absolutist states of Europe; science and commerce; the English Revolution and the Enlightenment; the American, French and Russian Revolutions of the modern age; the Industrial Revolution; nationalism and imperialism; World Wars I and II; the decline and transformation of China, Japan, India, the Ottoman world, Iran and Egypt in the modern age. Weekly discussion sessions and the study of audio- visual materials required.

A general survey of Turkish history from about the mid-19th century until World War II with a particular focus on the early Republican era. A comparative and analytical account of Westernization and Ottoman reform attempts, the struggle for constitution, the economic and social transformations, diplomacy and foreign policy, World War I, the rise of Turkish nationalism, the National Struggle, Kemalist social, economic and cultural reforms in the 1920s and 1930s with special emphasis on the Kemalist principles.

Introduction to the main types and contexts of interpreting. Initial steps in developing basic skills and techniques in interpreting. Emphasis on on-sight and bilateral interpreting between Turkish and English. Practice with authentic conference material. Exposure to research tools and terminology from different fields. Laboratory.

Acquisition of professional skills in actual conference situations. Off-campus training under the instructor's supervision.

Training for students who specialize in conference interpreting. Advanced practice in booths, with audio recordings of authentic material on current topics, and at off-campus conferences. Laboratory.

Study of theoretical approaches to interpreting. Examination of the strengths and shortcomings of different paradigms (cognitive, socio-cultural, and physiological as well as those related to translation theory). Exercises in interpreting, followed by a critical assessment of both the process and the product according to the different paradigms.

English-Turkish and/or Turkish-English translation of a recorded conference text, or a text on interpreting (each of substantial length), or a scholarly research project on a topic related to interpreting, supervised by a faculty member.

Introduction to the study of politics. Terminology and methodology of political science. Government and administration. Executive, legislative, and judiciary. Governance, political participation, political actors, government structures and processes. Basic concepts of political theory, comparative politics and international relations.

Please see Academic > Undergraduate > Elective Courses for a list of departmental electives currently offered.

Special emphasis on correct and refined Turkish usage, anticipating the needs of prospective translators. Practice in essay writing and in rewriting of Turkish texts in the form of intralingual translation. Correcting common mistakes in Turkish. Summarizing English newspaper articles in Turkish. Introduction to new Turkish coinages - cultural and scientific terms and concepts.

Further discussion of translation theories focusing on concepts such as shifts of expression, equivalence, translatability, acceptability and adequacy. Translation practice with expressive texts. Brief history of translation.

Introduction to information technologies developed for translators and language professionals. Focus on major language-related technologies and their historical development. Basic training for the most widely-used software applications, with a special emphasis on word processors and translation memory software. Discussion on benefits, uses and limitations of existing technologies. Ethical issues. Overview of current research.

Theories and current issues in Translation Studies. Approaches specific to the cultural paradigm. Emphasis on context, situation and power relations in translation.

Critical exploration of published translations, cultivating an awareness based on theoretical readings rather than error identification and prescriptivism.

Preliminary work for TR 428 (Translation Project). Selection of topic or source text. Preparation of outline and text analysis.