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University of Toronto Tamil Studies Coordinating Committee presents TamilStudies.org As a classical language, Tamil boasts a large and influential body of literature and history. This signifies the importance of teaching Tamil at the university level since students across North America will be given the opportunity to further their academic pursuits, from literary research to general knowledge. UTTSCC has taken on the initiative to establish a sustainable structure for Tamil studies within the University of Toronto. Through the support of various students, community members, professors and University of Toronto administration, we have reached great lengths in the past few years. For more details, please read Achievements. Through your continuous support, we aspire to reach our goals. Lecture - "The World in the Words : some challenges in translating modern Tamil literature" Speaker: The challenge and excitement of translation lies in the creative interplay between two languages: exploring what is sayable in one language and why; and whether it can be said in another. Tamil and English are languages with completely different grammatical structures, cultural assumptions and literary traditions. Moving from one to the other, the translator is driven to attend to the minute particulars of words and syntax, while keeping in mind the integrity of the text of which those words are part, as well as the wider cultural context they signal towards. With this in mind, I focus on specific problems in translating contemporary Tamil prose and poetry into English, with examples from my own practice. Lakshmi Holmström is a writer and translator, who studied at Madras and Oxford Universities. She has translated short stories and novels by the major contemporary writers in Tamil: Mauni, Pudumaippittan, Ashokamitran, Sundara Ramaswamy, Ambai, Bama and Imayam. Her translations of modern Tamil poetry have been published recently in various journals. In 2000 she received the Crossword Book Award in India for her translation of Karukku by Bama; and in 2007 she shared the Crossword-Hutch Award for her translation of Ambai's short stories, In a Forest, a Deer. One of the Founder-Trustees of SALIDAA (South Asian Diaspora Literature and Arts Archive). Royal Literary Fund writing fellow, University of East Anglia, 2003-6. She has given papers and workshops extensively, in Britain, India, Sri Lanka, The Netherlands, Denmark and the USA. She is a co-editor of the Penguin book of Tamil poetry in translation (forthcoming). For more information, see http://webapp.mcis.utoronto.ca/EventDetails.aspx?eventId=6052. Intro. Tamil language being offered at UTSC in Summer 2008 Courses on Introductory Tamil language will be offered again in the summer during Summer 2008. The equivalent of one full-year instruction will be offered via the summer courses, independently, by New College (UToronto-St. George) and UToronto-Scarborough Campus. The course offered by New College/UToronto-St. George is NEW213Y1, and UToronto-Scarborough Campus is offering LGGA74H3 and LGGA75H3. Both courses will be taught on the campus of UToronto-Scarborough Campus. The exact room for NEW213Y1 is still yet to be announced. (last updated: April 16, 2008) through New College / UToronto-St. George: NEW213Y1Y - Introduction to Tamil through UToronto-Scarborough Campus: LGGA74H3 Introductory Tamil I LGGA75H3 Introductory Tamil II Tamil Studies General Meeting Announcement from the Tamil Studies Coordinating Committee: As you all know, the initiative to establish Tamil Studies within the University of Toronto has been an ongoing, successful project which aims to bring university classes on Tamil history, culture, language, and other topics to U of T. With the success already of two years of courses, the initiative has come a long way through the support of volunteers, community members and donors. It is time to come together to reflect on our progress and discuss future goals to expand the current curriculum and build a more sustainable program. This will also be a great opportunity to review the current state of our initiative and improvements that can be made in moving forward. We would like for anyone who is interested in learning more about this to attend our General Meeting on: Thursday February 28, 2008 @ 6pm - 8pm Refreshments will be served. Map to Bahen Centre: Please contact us at info@tamilstudies.org if you have any questions or concerns. Classes Are a Success As of Summer 2007, more than 120 students have taken either the introductory language course (offered 3 three times) or the Tamil Studies course (offered once). According to course evaluations conducted by the Arts & Science Students Union, students have responded to the courses with exceptionally positive feedback and enthusiasm. One such student commented, "This course was definitely a positive experience that allowed me to connect with my mother tongue. Even though it is my mother tongue I had never learned it, but offering courses like this within a university allowed me to learn something about my proud heritage." Furthermore, there was full enrollment with at least 15 students on the waiting list for each offering of both the courses. Even among non-Tamil heritage students, the courses gained much interest especially for its correlation with degrees related to sociology, political science and anthropology. The enrollment of such students are expected to increase as more courses are offered. Demand currently exceeds the capacity of currently available courses, and given the growing population of the Toronto Tamil Community and interest among students to expand their understanding of the language and culture, and demand will only continue to increase.
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