The Role of Translation Education and "Humanities Plus" in Liberal Education
During the past few years, many scholars have been re-evaluating both the “what” and the “how” of liberal education. These re-evaluations have sought to define liberal education in ways that go far beyond the classic formulations of the Yale Report of 1828 and Cardinal Newman’s Idea of a University. In particular, the new definitions emphasize the need for pragmatic and experiential education along with Newman’s “cultivation of the intellect.” For several reasons, translator education fits this modern approach to liberal education quite well. First, as students develop translation competence, they hone the critical thinking skills associated with traditional liberal education. Second, as students fulfill translation internships in community settings, they gain practical experience that helps them see how their critical thinking skills apply to the professional world. The Spanish translation major at Brigham Young University illustrates how such an experiential program can work.
Redefining Translation Competence in an Electronic Age. In Defence of a Minimalist Approach
Since the 1970s the notion of “translation competence” has been viewed as at least 1) a mode of bilingualism, open to linguistic analysis, 2) a question of market demands, given to extreme historical and social change, 3) a multicomponent competence, involving sets of skills that are linguistic, cultural, technological and professional, and 4) a “supercompetence” that would somehow stand above the rest. The general trend among theorists has been to expand the multicomponent model so as to bring new skills and proficiencies into the field of translator training. This trend may be expected to continue with the increasing use of electronic tools. Here it is argued, however, that the multicomponential expansions of competence are partly grounded in institutional interests and are conceptually flawed in that they will always be one or two steps behind market demands. On the other hand, a simple minimalist concept of translation competence, based on the production then elimination of alternatives, can help orient translator training in times of rapid technological and professional change.
Marketing the mpa degree: Access and program structure as determinants of successful enrollments
During the months of October through December of 1982, a national comparative evaluation of 186 MPA programs was undertaken to determine which variables are associated with enrollment strength across these programs. Two sets of variables, one corresponding to the structural characteristics of the program, the other corresponding to measures of access for these programs, were statistically analyzed. The findings are as follows: (1) the highest enrollments are determined by access to a market population and whether or not the program was located in a school of public administration; (2) there is a fundamental difference between programs oriented towards full-time students and those oriented towards part-time students; (3) full-time oriented program enrollments are dependent on structured characteristics of a program while part-time oriented programs are sensitive to access variables and not program characteristics and; (4) larger enrollments are associated with organizational autonomy with the lowest enroll...