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Published: October 2nd 2015
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Today, I will take you on a brief tour of my new home for the next two years: l'UFR d'Études Interculturelles de Langues Appliquées. A UFR is what we would call a "School of..." or "College of..." within a University in the US. My department within the school is LEA (Langues Étrangères Appliquées), and my major is ILTS (Industries de la Langue et Traduction Spécialisée).
THE PLACE The UFR EILA is housed in the Olympe de Gouges building at Paris 7. I have extremely conflicted feelings about this building. On the one hand, I feel honored to pursue an advanced degree in a building named after one of the first advocates of women's rights in France and the western world. In 1791, Olympe de Gouges published the
Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Citizen, a response to the National Assembly's
Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen published two years earlier during the French Revolution. The National Assembly's document provided the basis for the French Constitution and was modeled after the Declaration of Independence. De Gouges, outraged at the omission of women from this document on which was to be formed the new
republic, fought back with her
Declaration. She continued to publicly speak out for women's rights until she was guillotined in 1793. It is with full consciousness of the women who came before me, who took a stand for gender equality, and without whom I would not be here, that I continue my education.
That said, for a building named after such an important historic figure, it is very poorly designed. There is a weird outside level, the "mezzanine," which is disconnected from a certain set of classrooms. To get to where the majority of my classes are, you have to either take a specific staircase or make your way up in sections, going down hallways between staircases. Speaking of annoying stairs, only one staircase goes to the fourth floor, and once you get there, the room numbers are counter-intuitive. It's a dumb building, and even after several weeks of class I still get lost. I'm not talking about getting lost on a big university campus. I'm talking about getting lost IN A BUILDING that I live in five days per week.
THE FACES A university is a unique place where people from different backgrounds come together in the pursuit of knowledge. And like most unique places, it comes with no shortage of interesting characters. First, let's take a look at a few of the professors. No last names, in case they Google themselves and find this blog.
Sophia: Sophia teaches Scientific Translation from Spanish. She's young, cute in a teenagery sort of way, and clearly spends time at the gym. The first day of class, I got the distinct impression that she only likes to talk about herself. Several classes later, this holds true. The way she talks about herself, it's as though her teaching methods are the best anyone has ever come up with, and also as though she came up with the whole idea of group work all by herself. I sincerely hope that her vanity doesn't affect her grading. If so, I'll have to come up with some way to hide my look of disgust as she preens in front of the class.
Patricia: Patricia is Sophia's antithesis. Rigorous, kind, and with a bitingly sharp intellect, her Scientific Translation from English course is both informative and challenging. Clearly an expert in her field, she often suggests strategies for success with this kind of translation, and additional reading on the subject. She is also one of the only professors who demands independent, one-the-spot thinking. She requires that we know not only
what the answer is, but
why it is. Finally, some university-level engagement. Patricia is also extremely cognizant of foreign students in the class. She takes time to make sure we are following, and reminds us that she is available if we need any help. She is my kind of professor.
Chris: Chris is an entertaining character. He teaches Phraseology and Translation into English. He is also very kind, and is willing to give advice. He expresses his desire to get to know the students better, and at the pre-semester info meeting, even suggested
office hours, which apparently are not a thing here. His defect is one that many academics seem to be affected by: he finds his subject so interesting that he wanders down tangents, often spurred by irrelevant comments, and ends up wasting a lot of time. Although his musings on idioms in French and English are interesting, I still don't think I know what Phraseology is.
Nicolas: Nicolas has the most American approach of all the professors. In his class, I feel like I'm back at U of M. A true academic, he teaches a lecture course on the General Culture of Translation. His two hour class is an adventure through history, culture, and linguistics. In genuine professor style, he will complete a history lecture with a "Why does this matter" slide, connecting all that we have just covered with the pertinent issue of specialized translation today. I find it interesting that many of the French students don't like his class, preferring the practical translation courses to lectures on theory. I personally love theory, and I guess that my American education is to blame.
Now, let's meet some of my colleagues.
The Americans: I was pleasantly surprised to find that two other Americans were in my program. Shannon and Sophia had both been in Europe the previous year, working as teaching assistants. As you might expect, they are both very intelligent, well-travelled, and accomplished linguists. My kind of people. Added bonus: we can all complain about the French education system together. Spoiler alert: I can see where they're coming from, but I'm getting my PhD at home.
The Hispanics: Not surprisingly for a trilingual translation program, there are several students from Spain and Latin America. Foreign students tend to flock together anyway, but I'm so glad to have befriended Spanish-speakers, so I can actually speak Spanish! Because, shocker, my Spanish translation classes are conducted in French (seriously, what is this place?). Ana and I are working on projects together in several classes, which means that we're usually speaking Frespanglais, aka 3 languages at once and also no language at all. Veronica, another Spaniard, takes on the role of team mom, and is also kind enough to correct my errors as I try to resurrect my Spanish language fluency.
The French: As I am trying not to isolate myself completely from native French speakers, luckily this group of ladies includes a few locals. Sophia, Julia and Colleen are francophones, and generously allow me to converse with them in (sometimes sloppy) French. When I told people I was moving to Paris, they always asked me if I thought the French were rude. These three ladies debunk that stereotype. They are all very sweet and have been so welcoming from day one.
This group of ladies (no, there really aren't any men in this program. rats.) ranges in age by 30 years, and brings together cultures from all over the world. I guess translation really does bring people together. The kind of people that all speak fluent Frespanglais.
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