English Studies at NBU

86-100

Authors: Iulia Bobăilă, Manuela Mihăescu, Alina Pelea

Critical thinking skills play a vital role in a knowledge society and have a direct influence on the quality of teaching and learning. We aim at highlighting the way in which the graduation paper in Translation Studies can become an excellent opportunity to encourage students to test the applicability of key concepts from this field and to tackle research systematically. Based on our experience of supervising graduation papers on translation studies-related topics, we have identified students’ typical approaches and recurring difficulties. This allows us to suggest possible solutions for the problems encountered, depending on each stage of the process. Our purpose as supervisors is to endow students with the cognitive flexibility they need in order to draw up an adequate research plan, use translation assessment criteria creatively and hone their critical skills for future real-life situations.

117-130

Authors: Carreen Schroeder

The purpose of the research was to examine whether or not partnerships between language services organizations and institutions of higher education have a positive impact on students, the educational institutions, partnering companies, and on the language services industry as a whole. We interviewed key educational institutions within the United States as well as a select few in Europe who closely partner with organizations within the language services sector to determine whether or not their partnering experiences had a positive effect on student enrolment, student participation, post-graduate success, and appropriate job placement within the language services industry. Likewise, we interviewed leaders in the language services industry to better understand whether or not they found the partnerships to be beneficial for their own organization, and for the industry as a whole. With regard to the key players we researched, all seemed to be in favor of partnerships, and all shared tangible reasons why these partnerships are a win for all involved. Although our research seems to indicate that – at least at present – there are only a limited number of these partnerships around the globe, there is a growing interest and desire for this number to grow in the years ahead.

145-169

Authors: Dmitry Yermolovich

This paper is a critique of the book “Lewis Carroll in Russia: Translations of Alice in Wonderland 1879–1989” by Fan Parker, Ph.D., which reviews eleven Russian versions of the children’s classic. Detailed analysis of Dr. Parker’s book has led the author to conclude that most of its principal arguments and findings are unsubstantiated, mistaken, biased or inexpert, and that it cannot possibly be seen as a source of authority in literary translation studies.

10

Authors: Charlène Meyers

Since numerous scientific and mathematical concepts can unsurprisingly be found in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the book itself has been a great source of inspiration for many scientists. This paper gives an overview of how Alice finds her way into scientific articles. More precisely, it discusses intertextual figures that refer to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in a corpus of 29 scientific articles from disciplines including psychology, medicine or astrophysics. Results show that intertextual figures tend to be more explicit in the field of physics and medicine than those found in the field of psychology. Crucially, observations show that intertextual figures found in the collected scientific articles serve different purposes depending on the discipline that makes use of them.

14

Authors: Jason Blake

Cultural misunderstandings often arise because of the unstated assumptions or “background books” that each of us has. In the classroom, such misunderstandings can make for uncomfortable moments, but they can also lead to fruitful teaching experiences for teacher and student alike. Using a variety of examples that arose while teaching a module called “Canadian Culture” at a Slovenian university, I argue that such moments – such as when students seem not to have heard what I think was a clear message or bit of information – the resulting cultural misunderstanding can be educationally rewarding. They force us to break out of the question-and-answer routine that is often a part of the teaching process.

20

Authors: Emmanuel Adeniyi

One of the tropes that have often been glossed over in African American literature is the concept of Stockholm Syndrome. The syndrome emphasises irrationality and abnormal psychological or mental disposition of Stockholm Syndrome sufferers towards individuals responsible for their pitiable conditions. This article examines the conception and its nexus with slavery and the use of religion (Christianity) as an ideological tool for the indoctrination or brainwashing of African slaves and their descendants in the United States of America. I argue that the syndrome, though conceived as a correlate of Freudian ego-defence mechanism, operates like a psychedelic or hallucinogenic drug which, according to Karl Marx, dulls the reasoning capacity and cerebration of the sufferers and prevents them from thinking rationally. Besides, it alters their perception of reality forcing them to accept abnormality as normality in a bid to create an escapist route for their fears, hurt feelings and pent-up wounds.