Strategies of Intercultural Exchange: Lessons from "La Doncella Teodor"

We are pleased to welcome Paula Karger for a visit to our department.

About the Presentation:
The movement of cultural products today most frequently takes the form of translation—attempts to represent, as accurately as possible, the words or meaning of a text in a language different from that of the source—and / or adaptation—the rendering of a source text in a medium, setting, or through a lens, or any combination of these, in a setting different from that of the source. Yet these two much-debated approaches are not the only possible options for intercultural exchange. In this presentation, I look at the 16th- to 19th- century Yucatec Mayan renditions of the Castilian Historia de la doncella Teodor, which came to Castile from Arabic sources, to explore strategies of intercultural exchange founded in relationship-building that galvanizes learning and empowers audiences.

About the Presenter:
Paula Karger holds a PhD from the Centre for Comparative Literature, University of Toronto. Her research focuses on cross-cultural encounters and exchange, exploring not only the dynamics that colour and shape cultural products emerging from moments of contact, but also the myriad strategies employed in navigating such encounters. She has taught at the University of Toronto, as well as supporting faculty and program development. She is currently co-editing The Concise Companion to World Literature (forthcoming, Wiley) and preparing her book manuscript, entitled “Translation?: Cross-Cultural Contact as Negotiated Through the Story of the Maiden Teodor.”