Hi! My name is Kara Maria Quast. I am a third year political science and sociology double major, minoring in literature. I am studying at UBC on exchange for the academic year 22/23. Usually I study in Berlin but I grew up in London. I am 21 years old. In my spare time I love to read, play hockey, ski, watch soap operas and cook. In the future I hope to become a lawyer.
In this course I expect to be exposed to not only works of literature I am as of yet unfamiliar with but also literary genres. I am excited to learn about different writing styles and tones and potentially investigate their origins. One of the reasons I enjoy literature, especially the works that are popular and canonised is because usually they were successful due to people resonating with them in some way. Although not always, this can give an insightful and/or new perspective on cultural and/or historical elements or moments in time.
This semester I am expecting to do more readings than in any previous term. Although my chosen degree is always reading intensive, the classes I have selected this semester are particularly difficult and time consuming. That is not to say that they are not brilliant and unenjoyable classes. I am looking forward to each one.
Although I have worked with translated works in the past I have never discussed the effects of said translation on the works. A gap created between the original language and intent of the work and the message the reader consumes. How detrimental is this loss of clarity or specific nuance that is only possible with all the connotations and extended cultural meanings of the original words and language? It would be interesting to analyse the different receptions of one work translated by different people. These translations would inevitably be different. How much credit should a translator get as ‘author’ of a work? Although they are not the original writer they inherently insert their own world view and understanding of the work through their personal lens. In doing so they must skew the work.
The first lecture touches upon commonality between Latin American countries. A few ideas that come to mind are a complex and violent history with indigenous populations, colonial trauma and remaining influences and governing systems, and a strong influence of Catholicism. I am unsure how prominent that latter truly is all countries we will be discussing in the course. All of these influences a likely to have been discussed in literature; however, in very different formats and from varying cultural, class, gendered, and generational perspectives. To approach the works we will discuss with a new methodology, attempting to free them of the reductionist terms of literature of a region, will be challenging and new to me. I am very much looking forward to being proven wrong, right or anything in between in the coming semester.
What do you most enjoy about reading? The quiet? The story? The satisfaction of working your way through a book?