Current News
The School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies in Trinity College Dublin is delighted to welcome Lu Jenny to Trinity College as Literary Translator in Residence.
The Embassy of Mexico and Trinity College Dublin, with the support of the Instituto Cervantes, cordially invite you to the Mexican Lecture 2012 "Democratic Transition in Mexico" by Prof José Woldenberg on Tuesday, 21st February at 7pm in the Robert Emmet Theatre, Arts Building, Trinity College.
Based on the submission of some of his poetry Dr Peter Arnds was selected from a large pool of applicants to spend two weeks in September 2012 as poet-in-residence in the Heinrich Böll Cottage in Dugort, Achill Island. The German Nobel Laureate lived here in the 1950s and many of his impressions of Ireland recorded in his 'Irish Diary' are based on his stay on Achill Island. The writer/artist in residence programme is funded and supported by the Mayo Co Council, the Arts Council of Ireland, and the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Germany. It is the purpose of this residency programme to give artists and writers a tranquil space in which their creativity can flourish and where they share their work with the local community by way of public readings and visits to schools and community organisations.
Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov at the Long Room Hub, 23rd November. Following brief welcoming speeches from the Head of School Sarah Smyth, and John Murray from the Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies, Mr Mladenov held a question-and-answer session with Bulgarian students studying at Trinity. The meeting was also attended by the Bulgarian Ambassador to Ireland, His Excellency Emil Yalnazov, and the Bulgarian Lector at the Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies, Dr Rossen Stoichkov.
Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov and Dr Sarah Smyth (right)
Congratulations to Dr Peter Arnds (Germanic Studies Department) who has been merited as the lecturer of award-winning undergraduate student Laura Sinnott (winner of the Languages and Linguistics category 2011- The Undergraduate Awards of Ireland and Northern Ireland).
Christopher Tauchen, a student on the MPhil in Literary Translation (2010-2011), returned recently from a three-week internship at the Higher School of Translation at Moscow State University. The programme, which was funded in full by the Russkiy Mir foundation, consisted of lectures on the theory and history of translation as well as practical workshops on the interpretation and translation of literary texts in Russian. Some forty students from fourteen countries around the world were invited to participate.
The Department of Italian and the Trinity Long Room Hub present "What is So New about Dante's Vita nova?" Professor Zygmunt G. Barański - Notre Dame Professor of Dante and Italian Studies and Emeritus Serena Professor of Italian, University of Cambridge
Neill/Hoey Lecture Theatre, Trinity Long Room Hub - Thursday, 27th October 2011 ~ 7.15pm Admission free, all welcome
Dr Ciaran Cosgrove (Hispanic Studies, Trinity College, Dublin) is the first Irish recipient of the Mexican Government “Ohtli” award. Originally awarded for contributions made to the empowerment of Mexican-American communities in the United States, its character and remit have now been extended. It is now the highest award presented to a civilian outside Mexico for “services rendered to the dissemination of Mexican culture abroad”. “Ohtli” is an indigenous “Nahuatl” word signifying both the noun, “path”, and the activity, “he/she who opens pathways”.
Congratulations to Christopher Tauchen, a student on the MPhil in Literary Translation (2010-11), who has been awarded a three-week internship in Moscow by the Russkiy Mir Foundation. Christopher’s visit to Moscow will be hosted by the High School of Translation in Moscow State University and the All-Russia State Foreign Literature Library.
Recent launch of publications in the School for the academic year 2010-2011 (PDF)
Archive News
The Festival of Russian Culture Dublin
The Festival of Russian Culture Dublin will be held from 1 - 7 March, 2011. Events include exhibitions, readings, film screenings and a Pancake Day family celebration in Temple Bar on Sunday March 6th, 2011.
Comparative Literature Association of Ireland
Third Annual Postgraduate Symposium
Gender and Identity in Comparative Literature
Organisers: Dr Michael G Kelly and Dr Marieke Krajenbrink
Friday 26 – Saturday 27 November 2010
Welcome Vladimir Olegovich Babkov, Visiting Fellow in Literary Translation
The School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies in Trinity College Dublin is delighted to welcome Vladimir Olegovich Babkov to Trinity College as the first Visiting Fellow in Literary Translation. This initiative is funded by Ireland Literature Exchange and the Dublin City Public Libraries. Vladimir has agreed to give master classes in literary translation (English into Russian) to anyone who is suitably qualified. The master classes will last one-and-a-half to two hours a week over a period of ten weeks. The day and time will depend on the availability of interested parties. If you are interested in taking part, please send your CV to Sarah Smyth at ssmyth@tcd.ie. The cost of the series is €100.
TCD Academic Awarded Prestigious Medal of Pushkin
The Head of the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies, Dr Sarah Smyth was awarded the prestigious Medal of Pushkin this week (November 4th) in the Moscow Kremlin by Presidential Decree.
This medal is awarded annually to no more than ten recipients in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the promotion of Russian language and culture in the world.
Commenting on being the first Irish person to be honoured in this way, Dr Smyth said: “In the context of Bono’s concert in Moscow and meeting with President Medvedev during the summer, President Mary MacAleese’s visit to Russia in September and the Taoiseach’s planned trip in the coming year, the award highlights a significant shift in Irish-Russian relations and bodes well for future developments.”
Previous recipients have included the renowned Russian scholar and lexicographer, Professor Marcus Wheeler, formerly of The Queen’s University Belfast, and Lyudmila Putina, for her pioneering works in and with the Russian-speaking diaspora since the formation of the Russian Federation.
Sarah’s career as a Russianist began in the early eighties. She is the author of a number of widely acclaimed Russian language textbooks and is currently principal investigator on a major IRCHSS-funded research project on Russian speakers in Ireland.
Trinity College Participates on Trade Mission to the Russian Federation Promoting Educational and Cultural Links with Russian Institutions
Head of School, Dr. Sarah Smyth with President of Ireland, Mary McAleese
A delegation from Trinity College Dublin, promoting educational and cultural links with Russian institutions, took part in the Enterprise Ireland trade mission to the Russian Federation this week (September 6th-11th) which coincided with the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese’s State visit to the country.
One of the projects promoted during the visit was the establishment of Ireland’s first Russian Cultural Centre. Trinity College Dublin, the Dublin City Public Libraries and the Dublin City Council are very close to finalising negotiations with the ‘Russian World’ (Russkiy mir) Foundation to open the first Russian Cultural Centre in Ireland. This jointly funded initiative will provide a Russian-language resource centre, a range of language classes from beginners to advanced, and a cultural outreach programme for the general public. In the course of the trade mission, TCD’s Vice-Provost/ Chief Academic Officer, Professor Patrick Prendergast, accompanied by College Registrar, Professor Juergen Barkhoff and Head of School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies, Dr Sarah Smyth, invited representatives from Russkiy mir to visit Dublin to agree an appropriate venue in one of Dublin’s library premises.
Trinity College Dublin (Centre for Literary Translation, Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies, Oscar Wilde Centre for Irish Writing), the Irish Literature Exchange, Dublin City Public Libraries and the Dublin City Council in collaboration with the Gorky Literary Institute in Moscow also launched the biennial publication of a journal to showcase contemporary Irish literature in translation into Russian and an annual Fellowship in Literary Translation.
The Fellowship in Literary Translation will be for a citizen of the Russian Federation and is intended for translators of English or Irish into any of the languages of the Russian Federation. As part of the fellowship the translator will reside in Trinity for a semester and will be provided with a stipend and a workspace in the university’s institute for arts and humanities, the Trinity Long Room Hub. The selected candidate will also provide master classes and contribute to the life of the university and city of Dublin through readings and lectures to the public and student body.
During the visit, the Vice Provost/ Chief Academic Officer, Professor Patrick Prendergast, signed a student exchange agreement with Moscow State University (MSU). Both Trinity College and the Russian university have been collaborating for a number of years and the agreement goes to further strengthen Trinity’s relationship with one of the leading universities in Russia. It enables Trinity students from the Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies to study at the university, and similarly Russian students from MSU can study a range of subjects at Trinity across the university’s faculties.
At a meeting in Moscow State University the Vice-Provost/ Chief Academic Officer, Professor Prendergast also met and addressed the first group of seven or eight students studying Irish as their primary foreign language. The School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies presented the Philology Faculty with Irish language textbooks. The delegation also copper fastened an agreement whereby TCD and Moscow State University administer the Russian State Language tests in Ireland on an annual or biennial basis.
The Minister for Trade and Commerce Mr Billy Kelleher, who is leading the Enterprise Ireland trade mission, welcomed these important educational and cultural initiatives stating: “Ireland-Russia education relationships are growing. Significant numbers of Russian students come to study in Ireland every year and we are confident that this number will continue to grow in the coming years.”
“Ireland-Russia Education partnerships, such as Trinity College Dublin’s agreements with Moscow State University greatly enhance the global image and understanding of Ireland and contribute to an accumulation of capital that is not just economic, but political and cultural. It also, reciprocally, provides a means of enhancing the quality of learning, teaching and research in Ireland.”
“The participation of Trinity College Dublin as well as the other leading Irish and Russian institutions on this trade mission is a most encouraging indication of the significant potential for increasing and deepening the Ireland-Russia education relationship.”
Commenting on the significance of the links with Russia, the Vice-Provost/ Chief Academic Officer, Professor Patrick Prendergast added: “Together with Dublin City Council and the Irish Literature Exchange, we are forging significant links with the Russian Federation. For Trinity which is the only university in Ireland with a Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies, these are very important agreements which will provide major stimulus and a vibrant literary exchange also involving our Centre for Literary Translation and Oscar Wilde Centre for Irish Writing.”
During the visit a book of drawings, titled A collection of Russian Architectural Drawings in the Library of Trinity College Dublin, depicting the palaces, gardens, churches and monasteries of St Petersburg was presented to President McAleese. The book's content focuses on drawings that were recently discovered in the Trinity College library and date from the mid 18th century. Using the expertise of individuals from both within TCD and abroad, the book provides a detailed historical insight into the development of St Petersburg’s buildings and the links that existed between Russia and Europe in the late 1740’s. These drawings also help to expand and correct our existing knowledge of both the trade and cultural links that existed between Europe and Russia at that time. The publication, which was commissioned by Trinity College, was published in Russia with the support of the Trinity Long Room Hub, Trinity’s arts and humanities research institute.