Human relationships are at the center of every culture. How does the divine intertwine with romantic notions? Get acquainted with the myths of the goddess Cāmuṇḍēṡvari and the god Nañjuṇḍēṡvara that are contained in folk ballads in the South Indian language of Kannada. Learn how the details of these songs reflect human desire and the complicated nature of human relationships. Then discover the implications of these tales on concepts of the divine and divine love.

“To speak … means above all to assume a culture” the cultural and political critic Frantz Fanon said but in speaking, writing or translating a langue not our own, how do we assume the unfamiliar culture? Our language is so basic to our everyday lives that we rarely think about all the implications that the words we use might have. However, when we speak a foreign language, we are likely to suddenly become more aware of these implications as we try to make our meaning clear. Are we really saying what we think we are saying? This awareness becomes even more acute when we attempt to translate from one language to another and find we must consider not only the literal meaning of words but their cultural context. In colonial cultures these differences demonstrated how basic language is to human identity and how virtually impossible it is to suppress that identity. Using examples from Fon, one of her native tongues, d’Almeida will discuss the particular difficulties and challenges in trying to translate not only the correct meanings but also the cultural implications of words from one language to another.

Love, sex, blood, guts, a disastrous horse race, and a hip mazurka – Anna Karenina is a book that has it all. See how directors from around the world have translated Anna from page to screen. That train notwithstanding, actresses from Greta Garbo to Keira Knightley show that nothing can keep a good (bad?) woman down. At this annual closing event of Humanities Week, the Russian & Slavic Studies Department celebrates the work of Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy in readings and video clips that highlight key elements in the story of his famous heroine.

Droughts are common in Arizona but water problems affect unexpected regions around the world, including North China. Nature and culture have conspired to critically shape the waterscape of the North China Plain. This region is unique because local communities and the state in China have tried addressing this ecological challenge for centuries, often in remarkably creative and effective ways. The water problem has been compounded by the breakneck pace of economic and social change during the last several decades and has added a new layer to this problem. Explore the contemporary challenges of water scarcity in China through the lens of history, seeking a translation of sorts of historical experience into a more nuanced view of China’s water challenges and the potential national and international consequences of resource constraints.