Ideology in Syllabus: The Revised B.A. English Translation Programme at Iranian Universities

Abstract

In 2018, the Iranian Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology introduced its B.A. Revised English Translation Programme (RETP). This article reviews the revised curriculum drawing upon concepts such as ‘ideology’ and ‘centralizing political systems’. Analyzing the components of the document, it is argued that the syllabus is the result of ideologically-motivated political factors shaped in post-revolutionary Iran to consolidate the hegemony and ideology of an emerging state. This appears to be a unique case in Translation Studies and translation historiography, in particular as far as the role of socio-political ideology in translation pedagogy is concerned. Findings suggest that there remains a large number of ideologically-motivated courses in the curriculum that are of neither theoretical nor practical uses in translating/interpreting. Drawing on the current trends in Translation Studies, a set of alternative courses is proposed.