ABSTRACT
The MFA program in literary translation at Queens College of the City University of New York operates on the assumption that better writers make better translators. Students are required to submit a thesis, typically a book-length translation, and to take a workshop designed to support the composition of this final project by creating a venue for presenting it as a work in progress. Presenting a survey of the philosophy of language that includes poststructuralist concepts of textuality, literature course is typically offered to students early in their study to ensure that discussions in workshops and craft courses move beyond belleletristic assumptions in the critique of translations. Workshops introduce rhetorical exercises like homophonic translation and imitation to encourage creative play during the translation process. Both to build a more student-centered workshop and to encourage translating beyond conventional practices, collaborative translation is often required.
