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In commercial book translation, the reader is the end-user of the translated text; it is for his or her benefit that the translation has been produced, and it is the reading public whose money ultimately goes towards paying the translator‘s wages. Nonetheless, in Translation Studies, far more attention has been paid to the processes of translation or the finished translation product (see Saldanha and O‘Brien 2013) than to the users of such products, with reader-based studies few and far between. For this reason, there is little empirical evidence that the 'effects' and 'meanings' discussed by scholars in analyses of translated texts have any meaningful existence in actual reading situations, while the opinions and preferences of readers with regards to translation are virtually unknown (Leppihalme 1997; Kruger 2013). The present thesis therefore takes a first step in examining the attitudes of non-professional readers (that is, readers who are reading for pleasure rather than for criticism or analytical purposes) to translated books. The project reports on members of book groups in four UK cities, whose thoughts and opinions regarding translated texts, the act of translation and the role of translators were gathered using a written questionnaire and a series of interviews. Thus, the study combines a Descriptive Translation Studies approach with survey research. The results of this survey suggest that many readers have limited knowledge about what translation involves, as well as a certain ambivalence towards the finer details of the translation process. In addition, although they reveal a vigorous interest in considering and discussing linguistic, cultural and translation-related issues, readers‘ primary concern when presented with a text, whether translated or not, is the immediate reading experience. It is hoped that these findings will be useful in informing future approaches to the creation and dissemination of translated books to the British reading public.

This master’s thesis deals with the reception of Bernhard Schlink’s novel The Reader (1997, original Der Vorleser 1995) in North America and its role in the North American Holocaust discourse. Two questions dominate the investigation: How does The Reader reflect elements of the North American Holocaust discourse, and how does the novel contribute to this discourse? Two focal points govern this investigation. First, the North American Holocaust discourse is portrayed by means of a historical-cultural analysis of relevant literature, cinema and public events in order to understand the 'Americanization of the Holocaust,' that is how the Holocaust became an important part of American public intellectual discourse. Especially important here are The Diary of Anne Frank, the Eichmann trial and Hannah Arendt’s reportage of it, the TV-miniseries Holocaust, Steven Spielberg’s film Schindler’s List, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and Norman Finkelstein’s treatise Holocaust Industry. Second, the reception of Schlink’s The Reader in North American newspapers and magazines as well as in academic reviews and articles is discussed in order to show that this German novel is part of the discussion in North America. In the general public discourse the novel received mostly positive reviews, whereas in the academic discourse more critical observations were made. The resulting difference in reception stems from perspective, that is whether the novel is understood as a story about human fate or as a story about Germany’s past. The thesis concludes by synthesizing these two parts to demonstrate the interaction between Bernhard Schlink’s novel and the North American Holocaust discourse. It is shown that The Reader reflects elements of the North American Holocaust discourse, like Hannah Arendt’s thesis on the “banality of evil,” the question of how to deal with the Holocaust (film versus literature), and whether the Holocaust is part of the American discourse. Furthermore, the novel also contributes to the North American Holocaust discourse: on the one hand, The Reader follows the American discourse by giving another story and leading to a further popularisation of the Holocaust; on the other hand, the novel adds something new to the discourse, namely an individual view of perpetrators and a differentiated way of dealing with them.

This master’s thesis deals with the reception of Bernhard Schlink’s novel The Reader (1997, original Der Vorleser 1995) in North America and its role in the North American Holocaust discourse. Two questions dominate the investigation: How does The Reader reflect elements of the North American Holocaust discourse, and how does the novel contribute to this discourse? Two focal points govern this investigation. First, the North American Holocaust discourse is portrayed by means of a historical-cultural analysis of relevant literature, cinema and public events in order to understand the 'Americanization of the Holocaust,' that is how the Holocaust became an important part of American public intellectual discourse. Especially important here are The Diary of Anne Frank, the Eichmann trial and Hannah Arendt’s reportage of it, the TV-miniseries Holocaust, Steven Spielberg’s film Schindler’s List, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and Norman Finkelstein’s treatise Holocaust Industry. Second, the reception of Schlink’s The Reader in North American newspapers and magazines as well as in academic reviews and articles is discussed in order to show that this German novel is part of the discussion in North America. In the general public discourse the novel received mostly positive reviews, whereas in the academic discourse more critical observations were made. The resulting difference in reception stems from perspective, that is whether the novel is understood as a story about human fate or as a story about Germany’s past. The thesis concludes by synthesizing these two parts to demonstrate the interaction between Bernhard Schlink’s novel and the North American Holocaust discourse. It is shown that The Reader reflects elements of the North American Holocaust discourse, like Hannah Arendt’s thesis on the “banality of evil,” the question of how to deal with the Holocaust (film versus literature), and whether the Holocaust is part of the American discourse. Furthermore, the novel also contributes to the North American Holocaust discourse: on the one hand, The Reader follows the American discourse by giving another story and leading to a further popularisation of the Holocaust; on the other hand, the novel adds something new to the discourse, namely an individual view of perpetrators and a differentiated way of dealing with them.

published_or_final_version / Literary Studies / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / English Studies and Comparative Literature / Master / Master of Philosophy

This essay is a close reading of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando: a Biography that focuses on representation of gender in the novel and the possible response it elicits in the reader. The essay argues that the implied reader of Orlando - as manifested in the novel - is a feminist one, as well as it explores the possibility of this implied feminist reader being a female. The reasons as to why this could be are extensively examined by analyzing the main character Orlando as he metamorphoses from an English nobleman into a grown woman. To support the thesis, the essay looks both into reader response criticism and feminist criticism to clarify what an implied reader actually is. The similarities between Orlando and “A Room of One’s Own” are also touched upon as these suggest that the implied reader is a feminist. The essay then takes a closer look at the narrator of the novel and what this narrator suggests about the identity of the implied reader of the novel. In addition to this it is also concluded that s/he controls the reader’s perception of Orlando’s gender in the novel, and that this also echoes the ideals presented in “A Room of One’s Own”. The essay concludes that the implied reader of Orlando indeed is a feminist, but not necessarily a female one.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1990. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 230-235). Also available via the Internet.

Habilitation--Technische Hochschule, Aachen. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [361]-373).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Westminster Theological Seminary, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 110-120).