New Blog!

As of today, this blog will no longer be updated.

After setting up my professional resume site, I decided to create a matching blog. Simply click on the picture above to visit the new site!

Since I began using this platform in 2015 a lot has changed - where I am, what I want to do, what I enjoy talking about. I think it's only fitting to change venues.

But all of my old posts will still be available here. 

Don't forget to subscribe on the new site to get posts in your email!

Review: Teach Yourself Hindi

Back in January I committed to buying and using a textbook for Hindi for the following reasons:

• Lack of solid and wholesome beginner-intermediate material
• Lack of focus 
• Desiring an offline source for vocabulary and reading practice

By the time I bought Teach Yourself Hindi I had already learned the alphabet, colors, numbers and a few greetings. This made the book very easy to slip into, as I already had a hold on the fundamentals.

The Mystic Mountain Range and Doctor Strange

Before Doctor Strange released in early November, I was already hearing quiet complaints of stereotypes and overuse of the “Mystic Near East” trope. Certainly this isn't the first time Nepal (and often India) had been reduced to gurus and isolated mountain-top monasteries. And while I enjoyed Doctor Strange, I was curious about the use of this trope in the comics and film.

Thoughts on using ACTFL Can-Do Statements

Given that I’ve studied primary Indo-European languages, I’ve become well familiar with the Common European Framework of Reference (CERF). Japanese has its own equivalent (JLPT), but Arabic lacks a concrete exam, and I’ve often used CERF levels to monitor my progress.

Project Updates: Web Development, Course Revision and More

While being nestled near the Western Ghats in an Indian high-rise suburb appears relaxed, I can tell you that it this isn't the case! It felt as if the final months of the year might have been swept out with the pre-Diwali cleaning.

After a series of viral and a short respite in Hyderabad in September, I found myself frantically trying to finish or resume projects started in August.

First there was my personal website, which I have used as a lab rat for different CSS3 and HTML5 principles since last October. Finally I settled on a design, at least for the time being, and cut 75% of what I had built. All that was left was to edit the content, finalize fonts and colors, and finish the media queries. Granted, my PHP form abruptly stopped working, possibly because of an addition of another script, and so it was back to the drawing board for my contact form.

Given that I enjoy numerous creative pursuits, I wanted a place to showcase my development project, translation, writing, and design. However, I also wanted the website to be simple, not overbearing, and possibly interactive. Therefore, I borrowed code from this fullscreen layout with page transitions as shown on Tympanus.net and tweaked it to create a one-page interactive layout. In the process, I learned quite a bit about JQuery and clean CSS3 styling, which I hope to use in my future projects.

I’m hoping to experiment with the layout of this blog, as well as delve into some WordPress development.

Next, I wanted to focus on my online grammar course. Although I am proud of my first course, I have wanted to expand and improve on it. Back in March I had made a list of possible improvement areas based on feedback from a test class, and I continued to add to this throughout the year. Finally in October I sat down and organized my list and created a general timetable. As I plan to nearly quadruple the size of my course, I have estimated it will take about eleven months to write, film and edit it. While I’ve gone ahead and done some work now, I’m officially starting in December.

Of course, all of my projects will take the passenger seat for 20 days in November, during which time I will learn stick shift! While I’m not too fond of driving, depending on autos and Ola cars has become rather impossible at this point. Waiting for our area to develop simply isn’t a decent option. This became especially clear in September, when a viral was making its rounds about the house, and we had no way to get to a doctor without a vehicle.

As for my German and Hindi – both are slightly off schedule. I’m still planning to take my German exam in February-March, as my work through Aspekte has appeared promising. My Hindi, finally, is starting to pick up. On a typical day I can understand most of what people say around me, or at least get the gist. I can maybe understand 30 of Bollywood dialogue, which is expected, as I haven’t quite hit the 1000 word mark yet. Currently I’ve stopped at chapter 14 of Teach Yourself Hindi, of which I’ll give a proper review in a future blog post.

Writing wise, I have three short stories in the works, a novel outline, and a draft of a comic. I’ve also had time to write a few poems here or there, and I’m hoping to make it a regular activity.

Once I finish driving school in November, and take my C2 exam in early 2017, I’m hoping to have more time to lend to these other projects. And once my Hindi reaches a more natural conversational level, I’m estimating sometimes early next year, I’m hoping to start some Marathi (the local language) and Bengali (home language).

Then, perhaps, I can finally reacquaint myself with my other languages.

Film Review: PINK

After the Brock Turner scandal, in which a rapist served only three months of his six months sentence, it was fitting and somewhat comforting to see the film PINK.

Given India's usually conservative stance in the social realm, I wasn't sure what to expect. Certainly rape is considered a crime, but I wasn't sure how the victims would be seen. Would we hear common excuses - "Her clothes were skimpy" or "She was too flirty"? Yes, this was touched upon. But gratefully there was also the resounding "No means no".

Film Review: A Flying Jatt

At the end of August I ventured out with my husband and mother in law to see the almost family-oriented movie A Flying Jatt. Although I normally enjoy watching a Hindi film without subtitles, as I consider it extra language practice, I had reservations about this film based on the earlier release of Baaghi.

Post Updates

Due to my current undertaking of projects, I will be posting only on two Fridays a month starting in October. At the moment it has become difficult to both effectively study and write high quality posts. However, as each project comes to a close, I will most likely have an additional post that month with information and updates.

These are my current challenges:

• German C2 level exam by January/February
• Hindi B1/Conversational by December
• Finish Personal site, begin blogger redesign (plus later projects when these are complete)
• Continue learning Indian cuisine. 
• Finish scripting comic, edit it, and begin drawing
• 14 Day Challenge by Istebrak (currently on day 13).
• Social Media Marketing and blog writing (in preparation for freelance career)
• Grammar Course overhaul
• Miscellaneous writing projects (outlining mode)

As you can imagine, there's a lot going on. And, generally, I tend to group certain activities in topic or "class" titles, if only to feel more organized:

• Advanced German Composition 
• Conversational Hindi
• Beginner to Intermediate Web Development: HTML5, CSS3, Javascript, Jquery and PHP
• Cooking Authentic Indian Home food (Mix of styles)
• Review of Art Fundamentals With Clip Studio Paint
• Freelancing and Marketing 101

Most of these tasks will last until the end of the year - although I hope to complete an additional 2-3 web projects before then. The drawing the comic will most likely last for a year, if not longer, as it isn't a high priority. It may take me about a year to complete the revised grammar course, as I'm tripling the content and plan to have higher-quality videos and exercises.

Thank you all for sticking with this blog! I'll post again soon! 

Web Development Update

Last November I started working on a professional website, only to go on hiatus in February before returning to the States. I didn't start working on it again until June, and I'm glad to say its nearly complete.

Since June I've exchanged my crude text holders for icons from Icomoon, by buttons for tabs and plain html for some nice hover effects. I've also added color and some jQuery to make the site interactions more dynamic. I'm still sorting out the colors, affects and some minor alignment, but the website is coming along.

Before I tune the aspects listed above, I'm working on making the website responsive. In other words, it will modify the content to fit whatever screen it's on. Mostly I'm working on creating media queries for the mobile and tablet.

So far it's been a pretty good ride. I've gotten a better hold on CSS3 transitions, bootstrap override, responsive navigation, dynamic Javascript and Jquery, with a dash of PHP for the contact form. I'm not sure I would use this site for an actual personal website at the moment, but it's been a great learning experience.

My next project will be to create a blogger template, followed by some ventures into WordPress. Wish me luck!

NIE! The Physics of Sorrow by Georgi Gospodinov

Title: Physics of Sorrow

Author: Georgi Gospodinov

Translator: Angela Rodel

Original Language: Bulgarian

"If we exist, that means we're being watched. There is something or someone that never lets us out of its sight. Death comes when that thing stops watching us, when it turns away." -187

According to the New York Times, this Bulgarian novel is a kind of response to an Economist poll showing Bulgaria to be the saddest place in the world. But this piece isn't exactly what I would call depressing - nor does it read like a standard novel. The Physics of Sorrow is dressed like prose but breathes like poetry.

Angela Rodel masterfully translated each segment, as it reads fluidly as we jump from each experience to the next. There's certainly a flavouring of Borges in this work, particularly due to the motifs of labyrinths.

The empathetic narrators' obsession with the Minotaur keeps the reader centred as he/she is flung into the lives of family members at different ages. It is a small portrait of the Bulgarian life in the last century, a dash of colour that offers a glimpse into the mindset of a family surviving war, living through the rise and fall of communism, into the modern day.

The structure mirrors a kind of natural flight of conciousness, in a way that complements the empathetic nature of the narrator. He moves from one time and person to the next, experiencing everything, but only for a moment before moving into another mode of conciousness, another thought appears.

This novel, due to its structure, is far more interactive for the reader. Connecting the characters and time-line is part of the joy of the novel. While short, this novel is rather time consuming, if only because one must become used to the pattern.

Regardless, I'm shelving Physics for a definite re-read - if only because, even in its sorrow, there is beauty.

Dabble: Networking

The difference is, I lie for a reason, for the understandable and underreported concern of identity theft. I’d lie even to my mother, God rest her soul, as even parents aren’t exempt from stealing. Besides, I am not unlike other professionals, who tell tall tales to bolster mediocre clothing shops and messy programming experience. About these things only a dust speck of talk can be true – but their own lives, heaven forbid! Among their own personal experiences they speak the absolute truth, littering the air with all sorts of private information, especially after a drink.

My freelance work building databases often compels me to meet such professionals on a monthly basis, sometimes weekly, if the bar floors are bare. From Rhode Island to Chicago to Santa Fe, most of these are held in dimly lit joints with a throng of white-collared young graduates leaning on a slick counter, drinks in hand.

Once, however, I found myself at a particularly congested coffee shop in Midtown, Memphis. Here, tucked in the far point of yellow painted walls, I sunk into a couch with a skull-sized mug in my left hand and I nearly told the truth. I almost said my name.

Good God, how terrifying.

It was a girl going on twenty-seven with a southern twang thick as honey. Ms. Cindy Evers, from Mount Juliet, the girl with two cats and who loved Tom and Jerry growing up.

As usual, it wasn’t difficult to keep her talking about herself. My formula is to follow each answer with a question. Thusly:

“And how did you get into creating chipmunk scarves and selling them online?”

“Well, I sell all sorts of animal-related merchandise. Scarves, hats, shirts. Soon we’ll have headbands and other jewelry. But you see I grew up hunting animals and keeping all sorts of pets. I even had a sloth for two weeks. Named it Jerry. But I started making crafts at about ten, when I my aunt gave me a little kit for my birthday.

“And you...I’m sorry, did you say your name?”

For a reason I couldn’t quite fathom, I nearly said it. The first hung of my tongue. Perhaps it was the sincerity and kindness in her voice, or simply the abundance of caffeine, that made my mouth overeager to speak. Luckily, I caught myself.

“I’m Jonathan. It must have been a winter birthday, to give you a kit like that. Something to do when it snows.”

“Oh no. My birthday is August 4th. Nothing but heat and humidity that time of year!”

She giggled and placed her mocha latte on a glass tabletop covered with poetry magazines. Ms. Evers smiles, and we talk like this – if only for a few more minutes. I ask a barrage of questions. And when she finishes, I remind her of my services and take my leave. At this gathering, there are less than thirty people, so I should be careful not to be overheard. Someone may recognize what I’m doing, after all.

And when I leave, all will remember my secure database programming. Two or three will leave with a number I gave them. Each may have a different name for me, but that is the cost of security.

When it comes out on the news someone lost their identity, that their entire account had been emptied, that no culprit emerged, at least I can sleep knowing that I’m safe. How could I support myself if my identity ran away from me? If someone could google me and find me? I lie to survive – as anyone would.

Three Non-European Languages For English Speakers

There's a trend for language learners in the English-speaking world to stick to Western European languages. Who can blame them? English shares a considerable amount of vocabulary with both romance and Germanic languages - this makes them a bit easier to pick up. It's no different than a Hindi speaker learning Bengali, Gujarati, or even Persian.

More adventurous learners have attempted branching out into East Asian languages like Japanese and Chinese, especially for those interested in anime or business.

But here are five more languages that can broaden your horizons:

Update: WebDev & Other Projects

I returned to India in early April, and since then I've been working to sort out my daily tasks and my larger projects.

NIE! Leaves of Narcissus by Somaya Ramadan

Title: Leaves of Narcissus

Author: Somaya Ramadan

Translator: Marilyn Booth

How To Conquer Anxiety When Speaking

Whether you become nervous speaking in your native language or not, many second language learners have anxiety speaking to target language speakers. You may stay silent or stumble over your words. These reactions are generally associated with a lack of confidence. You may believe your not competent, you can't recall the words quick enough, or perhaps you have general social anxiety.

Language Challenge Update

Due to moving I was limited in my language learning for about 2 weeks, with my practice being sporadic, but since then I've gradually returned to a regular schedule. Here's what I've been doing the past several days (the weeks before that I won't mention, basically because it was most vocabulary review).

Learn a Language With YWriter

There are many softwares and applications that claim to "teach" a language. But what about immersing yourself in software you already use?

As the free PC equivalent of Scrivener and a writing software, it may surprise you that YWriter can be used to learn a language. But this method is really no different from shifting from native language to target language on your computer.

Transitivity and Language Learning

Transitivity was a concept I struggled with in elementary school, and then promptly forgot about. Even when I began learning new languages, I was far more preoccupied with perfective verbs and tenses to even think about how transitivity may matter.

Now In English! Modern Japanese Literature

Title: Modern Japanese Literature: From 1868 to the Present Day

Author: Various

Translators: Sam Houston Brock, Robert H. Brower, Harold G. Henderson, Howard Hibbon, Glenn Hughes, Baroness Shidzut Ishimoto, Yozan T. Iwasaki, Donald Keene, Ivan Morris, W.H.H. Norman, Shio Sakanishi, G.W. Sargent, Edward Seidensticker, Burton Watson, and Meredith Weatherby. 

Editor: Donald Keene

Into India: Spiritual Stereotypes And Mysticism

In the West, it seems that mysticism gave its dying breath eons ago. But is that really true?

The Key To Learning Grammar

Grammar doesn't have to be a stumbling block. But for many of us, it is. It's the antiquated scroll with rules and exceptions rolling out into oblivion. How can we memorize something so long and complex? It isn't as difficult as you may think.

Word Specificity vs. Word Choice

Analysing word choice is one of the most difficult aspects of writing - either in revising your own
work or in interpreting someone else's. Usually you might end up cutting down your word count, removing a cliché or two and then moving on to the next article. But rather an word choice, I've come to adopt the phrase "word specificity".

But what is the difference between the two?

Now In English! "The Rehearsal of Misunderstanding"

Title: The Rehearsal of Misunderstandings: Three Collections by Contemporary Greek Women Poets

Original Authors: Rhea Galanaki, Jenny Mastoraki, Maria Laina.

Translator: Karen Van Dyck

On April 27, 1967, a group of colonels in Greece took control of the government and installed a dictatorship that would last until 1974. During this period free expression was harshly surpressed. That did not, however, stop writers and artists from speaking out and practising their craft. And this collection of Greek poetry edited and translated by Karen Van Dyck's showcases women's poetry during the Junta.

Build Your Portfolio As Novice - Part 2

Last time we dealt with the research-focused aspects about building a solid portfolio as a novice. In this section, we'll discuss how to put together an action plan.

Build Your Portfolio As A Novice - Part 1

Having only recently graduated college, I am still living through that "transition" period - partially because I was a liberal arts major, and mostly because I have varied interests and projects. But whether I am working on translation or web development, I still need one thing to get my career going - a portfolio.

The concept is nothing new  - but my experience has been in the art world. So now that I'm experimenting in a different venue, I've written down a method that I (and others) can reuse when trying to figure out how to start their portfolio without much experience.

There are general tips: use whatever you already have, for example. But there are many cases (especially if changing careers), when you may need to create a few new items.

Four Myths About Translated Scripture

Still a powerful player in the world at large, religion - and therefore religious texts - takes on quite a bit of scrutiny. And it should, as a sphere of influence. But regardless of whether it affects the globe or the individual, religion (at least in the mainstream) tends to revolve around sacred texts. 

Translated books - even scriptures - are far
more complicated than you think!

Among the Abrahamic religions, we have the Torah, the Bible, the Qu'ran. Hinduism has an even wider variety, among the most important are the Vedas and the Bhagavad Gita (one book out of the Mahabharata). Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Shinto - you'll find a central text, perhaps among many others, within each of these sects.

However, it's important to remember that religious scriptures must often be translated in order to be understood - especially for those with an ancient origin. Most people understand the necessity of this - after all, not everyone can understand ancient Greek or Aramaic, Arabic or Sanskrit. Still, it's not something we often think about.

But can you really just pull a Bible from the bookshelf and read it?

My answer certainly shouldn't surprise you, given my past articles. The fact is this: Any translated text contains more context, more culture, and more history than we are aware of as the recipient. A religious text is no different. If the stories read "easy", it's because the translator worked hard to make it so. But don't get comfortable and let yourself be slipped up by these myths:

Now In English! "Memory In The Flesh" by Ahlam Mosteghanemi

Title: Memory In The Flesh/Bridges of Constantine

Author: Ahlam Mosteghanemi

Translator: Baria Ahmar Sreih / Raphael Cohen, Revised Translation: Peter Clark

Original Language: Arabic

There are some novels that contain a plot so marvelous that you can't help but read on. And there are others that lead you 262 pages deep from the poetry alone. I've heard that Persian may be considered the poetic language of Southwest Asia and Northern Africa, but it certainly has its contenders.

Of Passion And Purpose

Our path is tends to be a maze, rather than a road...
- Img byAshley Batz on Unsplash.com

As one might expect of a blog adorning the word "passion" (Kefi, Greek), I might one day discuss it. This is a topic one is familiar with from an early age, in so any words:

• What do you want to be when you grownup?
• Get a job you're passionate about!
• Study what you love!
• It's important to find your purpose in life!
• Do everything with passion.

Yet when my husband and I dwelled on our life purposes, we came up with radically different answers. First off, he answered the question. I, on the other hand, asked myself another question - How does purpose manifest?

WebDev Update: PHP and CSS3

For the last two months or so I have been scurrying about trying to tie up loose ends - finances, visas, finishing my online course, and the like. This has not to say that my self-study projects have fallen by the wayside. Rather, I've had to lessen the time devoted to them.

6 Tips On Learning Culture Without Visiting The Country

What should you know, before you travel?

Learning a language is incomplete without culture study. You may get hints from grammar - honorifics, for example - or idioms. But the right words are only the first step towards approaching the wealth of culture packed within a language.
The best part? You don't need to travel to your target country to get started.


So, for the purpose of this post, what is culture? It's really an umbrella term for varied thoughts, actions, histories and other unique identifiers of a certain group of people. A culture can be at a a national level (Germany), regional (Bavarian), social (high-class) and familial (your family vs. mine).

So how can we learn about other cultures, especially at a more intimate level?

Courseless: Minimalist Language Learning

Books by Kuznietsov

About every three months I tend to gauge my language progress, and then I switch up my learning methods appropriately. This may take place sooner, if need be. Typically, I tend to lean on having 1 good workbook, or self-learning textbook. But these books often do not contain everything you need to learn, and furthermore, the internet has a seemingly endless treasure trove of language resources. So how can one remain minimalistic and focused with so many resources available?

NIE! World Poetry: An Anthology of Verse from Antiquity to Our Time

There are times when a reader runs out of books. When she is shuffling around the library, trying to pick out a new title to take home. This quest can be many times more difficult if she is searching for a translated work - a category that probably does not have its own section.

One solution is to seek out an anthology. And one of the best anthologies I've ever purchased is World Poetry: An Anthology of Verse from Antiquity to Our Time, edited by Clifton Fadiman, John S. Major and Katharine Washburn. This volume, composed of 1376 pages of sweet and tumultuous words, will be one book you will not regret reading.

Language Log: The Objectives

Hi everyone! In mid-February I began my language log for this year on Fluent in 3 Months (Fi3M). I have two language goals this time around, so I've decided to give myself plenty of time to work on them. This is partially because 1) learning two languages will make the process slower, and 2) I have work/life commitments as well. 

Here is the breakdown:

3 Amazing Instances of Cultural Exchange

An Arabic translation of a Greek text.

One of the most underrated joys, at least for me, is noticing the vast amount of cross-cultural sharing that exists in society. Modern views of "Globalism" that resound in the media tend to portray the topic as some mystical development springing from the advent of advanced communication. It's true that the internet has widened the scope of the world for the ordinary man, but cultural exchange has been around since the beginning of time.

Now, some may point out that cultural sharing can be the byproduct of violent colonialism. And that's true. But much of it also developed through other means, such as trade agreements or scholarship. Here are some of my favorite examples of successful cultural exchange.

Courseless: How To Master Grammar In Any Language

By Jazmin Quaynor on Unsplash.

In all of language learning, one word incites fear, disgust and exasperated sighs; one word that causes learners to steer clear of some languages; one word that dominates student study sessions: Grammar. Throughout my experience in the classroom, I've noticed that grammar is the greatest hurdle for students - regardless of language. It's what teachers spend the most time explaining, what self-learners put of learning. It's a stumbling block.

But it doesn't have to be.

NIE! "Nothing More To Lose" by Najwan Darwish

Title: Nothing More To Lose
Author: Najwan Darwish

Translator: Kareem James Abu-Zeid 

Web Dev: PHP Scraping & Quizes

In addition to taking a beginner-intermediate course on Udemy for PHP and MySQL, I've also been reviewing some projects I created in Rob Percival’s tutorial, The Complete Web Developer’s Course. My first run-through the PHP projects ended with quite a few errors, so I wanted to repeat the tutorials and create working demos. One of those projects I discussed last time –the PHP contact form.

Short-Form: Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore is far more well-known as a Bengali writer (among other things) than as a translator. And shouldn't he be? He was the first non-European to receive a Nobel Prize for Literature. In addition to literature, he was skilled and insanely influential to Bengali music and art. As an Indian nationalist, you'll find his compositions as national anthems.

But resources on his views of translation are fairly scarce. He did, however, write to the Spanish translator Joan Mascaró on his translation of the  Upanishads, a collection of Hindu philosophical texts.

Courseless: Getting the Most Out Of Your Dictionary

From Wörterbuch CH

It’s no surprise that the bilingual dictionary continues to be the cornerstone of language learning, in that appears to be an almost limitless resource for aspiring bilinguals and polyglots. Although a somewhat stale resource, a pocket dictionary may include 20,000 words – double the fluency word count. However, it’s often the case that the
student will learn and use the wrong word, despite using the dictionary.

Here are three tips to prevent making awkward mistakes:

NIE! "Maria Nephele" by Odysseus Elytis

Title: Maria Nephele: A Poem In Two Voices

Author: Odysseus Elytis

Translator: Athan Anagnostopoulos

While, once again, perusing the stacks at the UT Knoxville library, I cam across a section reserved for Modern Greek, among which the popular poet Odysseus Elytis appeared to have a nearly a full shelf. He did, after all, win the Nobel Prize for literature in 1979. Although he is well known for his work Axion Esti,I chose to read Maria Nephele due to its fascinating structure. And it certainly wasn’t disappointing.

Faux Feminism? An Ad In India

Feminism and women’s empowerment – two concepts that seem to be taking the West by storm. You can find these terms in various debates in the US – from the right birth control to the right to wear/or not wear clothing. But how does it fair in India? What do people associate with feminism? What are the variants?

Well, that question is far too complicated to answer now. But that doesn't mean there aren't brief slivers of information. A more recent one I've noticed is a frequent ad for OLX – the Craigslist of India.

Into India: Happy Holidays

Nestled at the foot of the Western Gnats, the controversy over at my alma mater, the University of Tennessee appeared pitiful at best. I don’t mean that the students and faculty are wasting their time fighting for a more inclusive environment. But rather that our representatives are making a mockery of the citizenry once again – by claiming that respecting all folks regardless of belief is discriminating against Christen values. I say this, not to be political, but because, quite frankly, from the other side of the globe, the idea that saying “holiday” rather than “Christmas” devalues the latter is absurd. And often “holiday” is the perfect blanket term.

Experiments with Hindi

After a few weeks of adjusting to the mid-tropical Pune environment, I revved up my energies to begin learning Hindi. This time, however, I experimented with two theories from well-known polyglots – I joined Tim Ferriss’ article How to Learn But Not Master Any Language In 1 Hour and Benny Lewis’ Fluent in 3 Months. However, I did have one handicap: I intended to continue working on my German. That meant I couldn't spend as much time on Hindi as other languages learners might on this sort of challenge.

Short Form: Gayatri Spiyak

Gayatri Spiyak’s work on post colonialism and feminism in literature has made a profound impact on the interpretation of Third World literature. You may, in fact, remember her name from my post on Post-Colonialism and the Reader. Spiyak grew up and studied in Calcutta, before obtaining her PhD in Comparative Literature from Cornell. She founded the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society at Columbia University, where she is a professor. In addition, she was the first woman of color to occupy the highest faculty position in the entire history of the university.While Spiyak’s primary focus is not translation, the subject cannot be avoided in her field. And while Spiyak’s work centers on feminism, it is important to note that there is no reason her approach to translation can be applied across the board. The primary text I am using for this summary comes from her article, “The Politics of Translation”.