ENGL 490: Majors Seminar (3 Credits)

2010 Winter Session (2010-2011 Academic Year) ENGL 490: Majors Seminar (3 credits)

Instructor: Leslie Arnovick Section: 002 Term: 1

English Bible Translations from Middle English to Modern English

Course Description: This course surveys English translations of the Bible from Middle English (Wycliffite Bible) into Early Modern English (Tyndale and King James), Modern English, and Present-day English. We will compare and contrast the language and style of these different versions, at the same time paying attention to the literary genre and historical context of the biblical texts (books) under discussion. The first part of the course is devoted to the three early versions of Middle English, Tyndale, and King James (also known as the Authorized Version). The second part of the course is devoted to later translations. There students will each choose two Modern English versions and analyze them as literary texts, comparing and contrasting these later translations with the formative early ones, especially King James. Throughout we will consider how language change – reviewed by the instructor – affects translation. We will also examine the tension between the demand of modernizing the English of the Bible and the desire of respecting wording that has become traditional.

Required Texts: Annotated Bible The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Augmented Third Edition, College Edition, New Revised Standard Version. 2007. New York: Oxford University Press. Pbk. ISBN 0195288831. [2001 ed: Koerner BS191.5 .A1 2001 09]

Historical Bibles Cooper, W.R., ed. 2002. The Wycliffe New Testament (1388): An Edition in Modern Spelling. London: British Library. ISBN 0712347283

Cooper, W.R., ed. 2000. The New Testament Translated by William Tyndale: The Text of the Worms Edition 1526 in Original Spelling. London: British Library. ISBN 0712346643

The Holy Bible 1611 King James Version reprint. 2003. A.W. Pollard, intro. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. ISBN 1-56563-160-9 [1985 ed. VST Stacks BS185 1611a]

Parallel Text Editions of the Bible (Students will choose one of these editions) The Contemporary Parallel New Testament: 8 Translations: King James, New American Standard, New Century, Contemporary English, New International, New Living, New King James, The Message. 1998. New York: Oxford University Press. Hard. ISBN 0195281365

The Catholic Comparative New Testament: New American Bible, Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Douay-Rheims, Good News Translation. 2006. New York: Oxford University Press. Hard. ISBN 019528299X

The New Testament Octapla: Eight English Versions of the New Testament in the Tyndale-King James Tradition. Ed. by Luther A. Weigle. New York: Thomas Nelson and Sons, nd (1962). [Barber BS2025 1962 W4]

Recommended Texts: Historical-Literary Context Metzger, Bruce. 2001. The Bible in Translation: Ancient and English Versions. Grand Rapics: Baker Academic. Pbk. ISBN 0801022827 [VST Stacks BS450 .M46 2001]

Gabel, John B. 2005. The Bible as Literature: An Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, USA; 5th ed. Pbk. ISBN-10: 0195179072. [1990 ed. Koerner BS535 .G25 1990]

Johnson, Marshall D. 2002. Making Sense of the Bible: Literary Type As an Approach to Understanding.. Grand Rapids: Wm.B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. Pbk. ISBN-10: 0802849199 [VST Stacks BS535 .J64 2002]

English Literary Tradition Frye, Northrop. 2002. The Great Code: The Bible and Literature. Mariner Books. Pbk. ISBN-10: 0156027801 [2006 ed. Koerner PN56. B5. .F72 2006]

For Further Background Fyvie-Bruce, Frederick. 1988. The Canon of Scripture. Downers Grove, IL: IVP (Inter-Varsity Press) Academic. Hard. ISBN 083081258X [JRA (Regent) Stacks BS465 .B78 1988]

Dove, Mary. 2007. The First English Bible: The Text and Context of the Wycliffite Versions. Cambridge Studies in Medieval Literature. Pbk. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521880289 [Koerner BS136 .D68 2007]

The Cambridge History of the Bible. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Volume 1, From the Beginnings to Jerome. Ed.by R. Ackroyd and C.F. Evans. 1975. Pbk. ISBN 0512099730; Volume 2, The West from the Fathers to the Reformation. Ed. by G.W.H. Lampe. 1975. Pbk. ISBN 0521290171; Volume 3, The West from Reformation to the Present Day. Ed. by S.L. Greenslade. 1975. Pbk. 0521290163 [1963 ed. Koerner Reference BS445 .C26 1963]

Course Requirements: In addition to required participation in class research and group presentations (worth 33% of total mark), each student will deliver a lengthy seminar presentation on and engage the class in discussion of his or her individual research (33%) and submit a 10-page paper on that research due at the end of the term (33%). For presentations, a detailed outline submitted in the form of hard-copy handouts for

the instructor and all class members should be brought to class at the time of presentation. Class attendance is mandatory.