ABSTRACT
Traditional classes in creative writing, English literature, and American history give an advantage to students who were raised and schooled in English-language culture, but they penalize those who come from outside. As a teacher of translation, the author attempts to turn his students' outsider experiences into advantages for academic study. This transformation depends on a dialectical relationship between the students and the field. The students must become better readers and writers of humanistic texts. And rather than presenting idealized, monolingual humanities, the author wants to decenter English as the language of instruction through the material he teaches. The interdisciplinary nature of translation can transform the humanities by creating the grounds for social connections, avoiding Romantic, individualistic ideas, and practicing collaboration. By the same token, the interdisciplinary study of translation can transform students into more nuanced readers, better able to interpret multiple versions of a truth. These great benefits await a more thorough interaction of the humanities with translation.