Edwin Gentzler is a Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature and former Director of the Translation Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Biography
Gentzler first obtained his BA in English at
Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Kenyon has 1,708 undergraduates enrolled. Its 1,000-acre campus is se ...
,
Gambier, Ohio
Gambier is a village in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,391 at the 2010 census.
Gambier is the home of Kenyon College. A major feature is a gravel path running the length of the village, referred to as "Middle Path". This ...
in 1973. From 1974–77, he studied
Germanistic at the
Free University of Berlin
The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...
. From 1978–83, Gentzler worked as a translator and administrator at the
International Writing Program
The International Writing Program (IWP) is a writing residency for international artists in Iowa City, Iowa. Since 2014, the program offers online courses to many writers and poets around the world. Since its inception in 1967, the IWP has hosted o ...
at the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
. He obtained his
PhD in
Comparative Literature
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study ...
in 1990 at the
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
,
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
. He was a guest professor at
Utrecht University
Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...
in Holland and
Warwick University
, mottoeng = Mind moves matter
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £7.0 million (2021)
, budget = £698.2 million (2020â ...
in England in the early 1990s. Since 1994 Gentzler has worked at the
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...
, Department of Comparative Literature, where he lectured in Translation Technology,
Translation Studies
Translation studies is an academic interdiscipline dealing with the systematic study of the theory, description and application of translation, interpreting, and Language localisation, localization. As an interdiscipline, translation studies borr ...
,
Postcolonial Theory
Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is ...
, and
Comparative Literature
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study ...
. He also directed the Translation Center., which provides translation services to business, hospitals, and social service agencies in New England. He has translated works of German authors, including
Manfred Jendreschik,
Axel Schulze,
Elke Erb
Elke Erb (born 18 February 1938) is a German author-poet based in Berlin. She has also worked as a literary editor and translator.
Biography Family provenance and early years
Elke Erb was born at Rheinbach, Scherbach (today part of Rheinbach) i ...
,
Sarah Kirsch
Sarah Kirsch (; 16 April 1935 – 5 May 2013) was a German poet.
Biography
Sarah Kirsch was originally born Ingrid Bernstein in Limlingerode, Prussian Saxony but had changed her first name to Sarah in order to protest against her father's an ...
,
Helga Novak, and
Eberhard Panitz
Eberhard Panitz (16 April 1932 – 1 October 2021) was a German writer, screenwriter, literary editor and publicist. He wrote epic works, documentaries, audio plays and scripts for films and television. He was committed to socialist realism, and ...
, into English. He retired in 2017.
He is a founding member of the
American Translation and Interpreting Studies Association, served on the Executive Committee of the
Nida Institute, and was co-editor (with
Susan Bassnett
Susan Edna Bassnett, (born 21 October 1945) is a translation theorist and scholar of comparative literature. She served as pro-vice-chancellor at the University of Warwick for ten years and taught in its Centre for Translation and Comparative C ...
) of the Topics in Translation Series for
Multilingual Matters
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...
.
Thought
Gentzler is the author of ''Translation and Rewriting in the Age of Post-Translation Studies'' (Routledge, 2017), ''Translation and Identity in the Americas'' (Routledge, 2008), and ''Contemporary Translation Theories'' (Routledge, 1993), reissued in revised second edition (Multilingual Matters, 2001) and translated into Italian, Portuguese, Bulgarian, Arabic, Persian, Chinese, and Greek. He is the co-editor (with
Maria Tymoczko
Maria Fleming Tymoczko (born 1943) is a scholar of comparative literature who has written about translation, medieval Celtic literature, and modern Irish literature including the works of James Joyce. She is a professor of comparative literature a ...
) of ''Translation and Power'' (University of Massachusetts Press, 2002). In his work ''Contemporary Translation Theories'' (1993) Gentzler examines modern approaches to translation studies, such as the translation workshop, the science of translation,
translation studies
Translation studies is an academic interdiscipline dealing with the systematic study of the theory, description and application of translation, interpreting, and Language localisation, localization. As an interdiscipline, translation studies borr ...
,
polysystem theory, and
deconstruction
The term deconstruction refers to approaches to understanding the relationship between text and meaning. It was introduced by the philosopher Jacques Derrida, who defined it as a turn away from Platonism's ideas of "true" forms and essences w ...
, all of which began in the mid-1960s and continue to be influential today. He explores the strengths and weaknesses of each method, tracing the connections among the different schools of thought. Illustrating the importance of translation theory to the current debates in
cultural studies
Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the political dynamics of contemporary culture (including popular culture) and its historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers generally investigate how cultural practices re ...
, Gentzler raises theoretical questions challenging assumptions of the leading translation theories.
Review of ''Contemporary Translation Theories'' at Iberlibro
/ref> In ''Translation and Identity in the Americas'', Gentzler looks at the development of translation in Brazil, Latin America, Canada, and the Caribbean, suggesting that translation is integral to cultural construction and identity formation in the Americas. In ''Translation and Rewriting in the Age of Post-Translation Studies'', he argues that texts no longer simply move across borders, but circulate internationally and intersemiotically into multiple languages, media, and forms.
Works
*''Translation and Rewriting in the Age of Post-Translation Studies''. London: Routledge, 2017.
*''Translation and Identity in the Americas: New Directions in Translation Theory''. London: Routledge, 2008.
*''Translation and Power'', co-edited with Maria Tymoczko
Maria Fleming Tymoczko (born 1943) is a scholar of comparative literature who has written about translation, medieval Celtic literature, and modern Irish literature including the works of James Joyce. She is a professor of comparative literature a ...
. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2002.
*''Contemporary Translation Theories'', revised 2nd edition. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 2001.
*''Contemporary Translation Theories.'' London & New York: Routledge, 1993.
References
External links
UMass Translation Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gentzler, Edwin
Kenyon College alumni
Free University of Berlin alumni
Vanderbilt University alumni
Linguists from the United States
American translation scholars
Germanists
German–English translators
Comparative literature academics
Living people
American translators
Year of birth missing (living people)