Valerie Henitiuk

Last updated

Valerie Henitiuk (born 1963 in Manning, Alberta) is a scholar researching aspects of the intersection of translation studies, world literature, Inuit literature, [1] Japanese literature, and women's writing. She is a Canadian citizen, recently retired as Vice-president Academic & Provost at Concordia University of Edmonton. [2] Henitiuk has been a visiting scholar at both Harvard and Columbia Universities in the US and at Kokugakuin University in Japan. She was previously executive director of the Centre for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence and Professor of English at Grant MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta, on the faculty of the University of East Anglia (UK) and Director of the British Centre for Literary Translation (BCLT).

Contents

Early years

Henitiuk was born in Manning, Alberta in 1963, and grew up in various locations in western and northern Canada. An interest in acting led her to participate in a number of drama workshops while in her teens. Following extensive travels in USA and Central America she completed a BA (French + Latin, 1985) and MA (French Translation, 1988), was then employed by the Alberta Government Translation Bureau, and operated a freelance translation business. Ms. Henitiuk subsequently returned to the University of Alberta, obtaining an MA in Japanese Literature in 2000 and a PhD in Comparative Literature in 2005.

Educational background

Henitiuk has a PhD (Comparative Literature) from the University of Alberta. She also holds a Diplôme d'études linguistiques françaises, Université de la Sorbonne-Nouvelle. Her PhD was supported by Killam Prize and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) fellowships, the Dorothy J. Killam Memorial Graduate Prize, as well as an award allowing her to spend a year at Kokugakuin University in Japan conducting research (2002–03). Upon the completion of the PhD in 2005 Henitiuk was awarded the prestigious Governor General's Gold Medal as the foremost graduate at the university (all faculties).

In September 2005, Henitiuk began a two-year post-doctoral fellowship at The center (now Institute) for Comparative Literature and Society directed by Gayatri Spivak. Her sponsor was David Damrosch. This research project investigated the process by which national literature becomes world literature. Her fellowship was funded by SSHRC and she was awarded the inaugural SSHRC Postdoctoral Prize. [3]

Professional background

In June 2017 Henitiuk was appointed as Vice-president Academic & Provost at Concordia University of Edmonton, Alberta. From April 2013 to June 2017 Henitiuk was a professor of English and executive director of the Centre for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence (formerly Faculty Commons) at Grant MacEwan University. From March 2007 to March 2013 she was Senior Lecturer in Literature and Translation at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich, UK and (from August 2011) Director of the BCLT at UEA. Henitiuk previously held posts as acting Director and associate director of the BCLT. [4] From August 2010 to August 2011 she was a visiting scholar at Harvard University funded by a fellowship [5] from the Leverhulme Trust. She specializes in the study of: World Literature, Comparative Literature, Translation Studies, East-West Cultural Exchange, and Women's Writing.

In 2011 Valerie Henitiuk was a founding member of the journal Translation . From 2012 to 2017 she was editor of the Routledge journal Translation Studies . [6] From 2007 to 2011, she was editor of In Other Words: the journal for literary translators [7] and served on the editorial board from 2009 to 2011 for the transdisciplinary journal titled translation. She was also, from 2008 to 2012, on the faculty for the Nida School of Translation Studies, a research symposium held annually in Italy.

Exploratory research funded by a SSHRC Insight Development Grant in 2016 on English and French translations of Inuit Literature led to a multi-year study of the writings of Markoosie Patsauq (1941-2020).

Published works

Together with Marc-Antoine Mahieu (INALCO), and in collaboration with the author, Henitiuk in 2021 brought out the first full critical edition of any Indigenous author in Canada, translating Markoosie Patsauq's 1969-70 Umarjursiutik unaatuinnamut as Hunter with Harpoon/Chasseur au Harpon (2021), [8] which has been described as "one of the most complete and far-reaching critical editions of a text directly uttered-even if in writing-in any North American Native language". [9] Trade editions, featuring a preface by the Inuit leader Mary Simon, have also been released in English as well as in French, for readers in both France [10] and Quebec. [11] Henitiuk and Mahieu have also published on topics such as representing experiential knowledge. [12]

Henitiuk has authored a monograph on liminal imagery in a cross-cultural selection of women's writing [13] and another book, designed to assist in the teaching of translation, looks at some fifty different translations from Japanese of a single passage from The Pillow Book. [14] She has also co-edited two collections of stories by women from India, [15] [16] and a collection of critical essays on W. G. Sebald. [17]

Henitiuk has also published scholarly articles on a variety of subjects including the translation of Inuit literature, women's writing, the introduction of classical Japanese literature into the west, and comparisons between eastern and western texts. Her first major, and most frequently cited, article is "Translating Woman", an analysis of gender translation issues which she has continued to explore during her research. [18] She has also discussed feminist aspects of literature in the context of magic realism. [19] Recent scholarship has concentrated on examinations of the way translations of 10th-century Japanese women's writing has entered the western consciousness [20] [21] [22] and the political/cultural dimensions of translation of such work. [23] Book chapters have analyzed boundary metaphors in Elizabeth Inchbald [24] and rape as a motif in literature. [25] Other chapters discuss gender aspects in The Tale of Genji , [26] The Kagerô Nikki [27] and The Pillow Book of Sei Shônagon . [28]

Public service

Besides her academic work, Henitiuk has been deeply involved in the promotion of literary translation as a professional discipline through a variety of organizations, [29] serving on national and international committees. As well she has been quoted regarding funding cuts to the arts [30] in the UK and Canada, and has made pedagogical contributions. [31]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murasaki Shikibu</span> Japanese novelist and poet (c. 973 – c. 1014)

Murasaki Shikibu was a Japanese novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court in the Heian period. She is best known as the author of The Tale of Genji, widely considered to be one of the world's first novels, written in Japanese between about 1000 and 1012. Murasaki Shikibu is a descriptive name; her personal name is unknown, but she may have been Fujiwara no Kaoriko (藤原香子), who was mentioned in a 1007 court diary as an imperial lady-in-waiting.

<i>The Tale of Genji</i> Classic work of Japanese literature

The Tale of Genji, also known as Genji Monogatari is a classic work of Japanese literature written in the early 11th century by the noblewoman, poet, and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu. The original manuscript, created around the peak of the Heian period, no longer exists. It was made in "concertina" or orihon style: several sheets of paper pasted together and folded alternately in one direction then the other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japanese literature</span> Literature of Japan

Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or lit. 'Chinese writing', a Chinese-Japanese creole language. Indian literature also had an influence through the spread of Buddhism in Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sei Shōnagon</span> Japanese author and court lady

Sei Shōnagon was a Japanese author, poet, and a court lady who served the Empress Teishi (Sadako) around the year 1000 during the middle Heian period. She is the author of The Pillow Book.

<i>The Pillow Book</i> 1002 book of observations and musings recorded by Sei Shōnagon

The Pillow Book is a book of observations and musings recorded by Sei Shōnagon during her time as court lady to Empress Consort Teishi during the 990s and early 1000s in Heian-period Japan. The book was completed in the year 1002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inuktitut</span> Name of several Inuit languages spoken in Canada

Inuktitut, also known as Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the North American tree line, including parts of the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, to some extent in northeastern Manitoba as well as the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. It is one of the aboriginal languages written with Canadian Aboriginal syllabics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Waley</span> British orientalist and sinologist (1889–1966)

Arthur David Waley was an English orientalist and sinologist who achieved both popular and scholarly acclaim for his translations of Chinese and Japanese poetry. Among his honours were appointment as Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1952, receiving the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 1953, and being invested as a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in 1956.

<i>The Diary of Lady Murasaki</i> Early 11th C. Japanese written work

The Diary of Lady Murasaki is the title given to a collection of diary fragments written by the 11th-century Japanese Heian era lady-in-waiting and writer Murasaki Shikibu. It is written in kana, then a newly-developed writing system for vernacular Japanese, more common among women, who were generally unschooled in Chinese. Unlike modern diaries or journals, 10th-century Heian diaries tend to emphasize important events more than ordinary day-to-day life and do not follow a strict chronological order. The work includes vignettes, waka poems, and an epistolary section written in the form of a long letter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suematsu Kenchō</span> Japanese politician

Viscount Suematsu Kenchō was a Japanese politician, intellectual and author, who lived in the Meiji and Taishō periods. Apart from his activity in the Japanese government, he also wrote several important works on Japan in English. He was portrayed in a negative manner in Ryōtarō Shiba's novel Saka no ue no kumo.

Ivan Ira Esme Morris was an English writer, translator and editor in the field of Japanese studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesser cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The lesser cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae.

<i>Mumyōzōshi</i>

Mumyōzōshi is an early 13th-century Japanese text. One volume in length, it is the oldest existing Japanese text on prose literary criticism. The author is unknown, but the leading candidate proposed is Shunzei's Daughter. Other candidates who have been proposed include her maternal grandfather Shunzei himself and the monk Jōgaku (上覚).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Pivato</span> Canadian writer and academic (born 1946)

Joseph Pivato is a Canadian writer and academic who first established the critical recognition of Italian-Canadian literature and changed perceptions of Canadian writing. From 1977 to 2015 he was professor of Comparative Literature at Athabasca University, Canada. He is now Professor Emeritus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Empress Shōshi</span> Empress consort of Japan

Fujiwara no Shōshi, also known as Jōtōmon-in (上東門院), the eldest daughter of Fujiwara no Michinaga, was Empress of Japan from c. 1000 to c. 1011. Her father sent her to live in the Emperor Ichijō's harem at age 12. Because of his power, influence and political machinations she quickly achieved the status of second empress. As empress she was able to surround herself with a court of talented and educated ladies-in-waiting such as Murasaki Shikibu, author of The Tale of Genji.

Agnes Nanogak Goose was an Inuk artist from Holman (Ulukhaktok), Northwest Territories, Canada.

Nasrin Rahimieh is an Iranian-born American literary critic, editor, and educator. Rahimieh is the Howard Baskerville Professor of Humanities in the Department of Comparative Literature and the Director of the Humanities Core program at the University of California, Irvine (UCI).

<i>Hateful Things</i>

Hateful Things, also known as Infuriating Things, is a section of The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon, a Japanese author and courtier of the Middle Heian period around 1000 AD.

Sally Rice is a professor emerita of linguistics at the University of Alberta, where she took up a position soon after earning her PhD in 1987 at the University of California, San Diego, under the supervision of Ronald W. Longacker.

Emma LaRocque is a Canadian academic of Cree and Métis descent. She is currently a professor of Native American studies at the University of Manitoba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret-Ann Armour</span> Scottish-born Canadian chemist (1939–2019)

Margaret-Ann Armour was a Scottish-born Canadian chemist based at the University of Alberta. She is best known for her expertise in developing guidelines for hazardous lab waste disposal, and for being a vocal advocate for women in science. Armour founded the Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science and Technology (WISEST) program, and served as the first and only Associate Dean of Science for Diversity at the University of Alberta. Among her many honors, she was named a member of the Order of Canada (2006), a 3M Teaching Fellow (1996) and a Canada 150 ambassador (2017).

References

  1. ↑ Weber, Bob (November 13, 2016). "'Challenging language:' Edmonton academic studies versions of 1st Inuit novel". CBC News .
  2. ↑ "CUE's New Vice President Academic & Provost, Dr. Valerie Henitiuk". Concordia University of Edmonton. 10 April 2017.
  3. ↑ "Article about Valerie Henitiuk winning post-doctoral award".[ dead link ]
  4. ↑ "Valerie Henitiuk elected as the new Acting Director of the British Centre for Literary Translation – Interlitq blog".
  5. ↑ "Leverhulme fellowship announcement" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-10-26.
  6. ↑ "Translation Studies". www.tandfonline.com.
  7. ↑ "In Other Words". nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk.
  8. ↑ "Hunter with Harpoon". www.mqup.ca.
  9. ↑ Dorais, Louis-Jacques (October 2022). "Dorais 2022". International Journal of American Linguistics. 88 (4): 573–575. doi:10.1086/720818. S2CID   252854527.
  10. ↑ "Kamik". www.editions-depaysage.fr.
  11. ↑ "Markoosie Patsauq". www.editionsboreal.qc.ca.
  12. ↑ Henitiuk, Valerie; Mahieu, Marc-Antoine (2 January 2021). "Response by Henitiuk and Mahieu". Translation Studies. 14 (1): 99–104. doi:10.1080/14781700.2020.1846605. S2CID   234310756.
  13. ↑ "Embodied Boundaries: Images of Liminality in a Selection of Woman-Authored Courtship Narratives". Studies in Liminality and Literature Vol. 7. Madrid: Gateway Press/ Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. 2007. ISBN   978-84-931843-5-3.
  14. ↑ Worlding Sei Shônagon: The Pillow Book in Translation. University of Ottawa Press. 2012. ISBN   978-0-7766-0728-3.
  15. ↑ Henitiuk, Valerie; Kar, Supriya, eds. (2016). Spark of Light: Short Stories by Women Writers of Odisha. Edmonton: Athabasca University Press. ISBN   9781771991674.
  16. ↑ Henitiuk, Valerie; Kar, Supriya, eds. (2010). One Step towards the Sun: Short Stories by Women from Orissa. Bhubaneswar: Rupantar. ISBN   978-81-906729-1-7.
  17. ↑ Baxter, Jeannette; Henitiuk, Valerie; Hutchinson, Ben, eds. (2013). A Literature of Restitution: Critical Essays on W. G. Sebald. Manchester University Press. ISBN   978-0-7190-8852-0.
  18. ↑ "Seeking Refuge in Prepubescent Space: The Strategy of Resistance Employed by The Tale of Genji's Third Princess". Canadian Review of Comparative Literature. 28 (2–3): 193–217. June 2001.
  19. ↑ Henitiuk, Valerie (June 2003). "Step into my Parlour: Magic Realism and the Creation of a Feminist Space". Canadian Review of Comparative Literature. Vol. 30, no. 2. pp. 410–27.
  20. ↑ Henitiuk, Valerie (January 2008). ""Easyfree translation?" How the modern West knows Sei Shônagon's". Translation Studies. 1 (1): 2–17. doi:10.1080/14781700701706377. S2CID   143520999.
  21. ↑ St. André, James, ed. (2010). "Squeezing the Jellyfish: Early Western Attempts to Characterize Translation from the Japanese". Thinking through Translation with Metaphors. Manchester: St. Jerome. pp. 144–60. ISBN   9781905763221.
  22. ↑ Henitiuk, Valerie (2008). "Going to Bed with Waley: How Murasaki Shikibu Does and Does Not Become World Literature". Comparative Literature Studies. 45 (1): 40–61. doi:10.1353/cls.0.0010. JSTOR   25659632. S2CID   161786027.
  23. ↑ Henitiuk, Valerie (2010). "A Creditable Performance under the Circumstances? Suematsu Kenchô and the Pre-Waley Tale of Genji". Translation Terminology Writing . 23 (1): 41–70. doi: 10.7202/044928ar .
  24. ↑ Cass, Jeffrey; Peer, Larry, eds. (2008). "To Be and Not To Be: The Bounded Body and Embodied Boundary in Inchbald's A Simple Story". Romantic Border Crossings. Aldershot, Hampshire and Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing. pp. 41–52. ISBN   978-0-7546-6051-4.
  25. ↑ Chilewska, Anna; Wilson, Sheena, eds. (2007). "The Innovation of Rape? The Motif of Bodily Integrity Functioning as a Feminine Discourse System". Writing after the Gaze: the Rupture of the Historical. Edmonton: M.V. Dimic Research Institute. pp. 49–68. OCLC   164938479.
  26. ↑ Bomarito, J.; Hunter, J.W., eds. (2005). "Virgin Territory: Murasaki Shikibu's Ôigimi Resists the Male". Feminism in Literature: A Gale Critical Companion. Vol. 1 [of 6]: Antiquity-18th Century. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale. pp. 90–96. ISBN   978-0-7876-7574-5.
  27. ↑ Lloyd, F.; O'Brien, C., eds. (2000). "Walls, Curtains and Screens: Spatio-Sexual Metaphor in the Kagerô Nikki". Secret Spaces, Forbidden Places: Rethinking Culture. Polygons: Cultural Diversities and Intersections. Vol. 4. NY and Oxford: Berghahn Books. pp. 3–16. ISBN   978-1-57181-788-4.
  28. ↑ von Flotow, L., ed. (2010). "Prefacing Gender: Framing Sei Shônagon for a Western Audience, 1875-2006". Translating Women. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press. pp. 247–69. ISBN   978-0-7766-0727-6.
  29. ↑ "Anketnik ZRC SAZU". anketnik.zrc-sazu.si.
  30. ↑ Dennis, Emily (1 July 2010). "Grant reprieve for region's arts groups". Eastern Daily Press . Retrieved 2019-01-13.
  31. ↑ Damrosch, D., ed. (2009). "Resources". Teaching World Literature. Options for Teaching series. NY: Modern Language Association. pp. 401–16. ISBN   978-1-60329-034-0.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.