Abstract:

Curriculums designed for translation and interpreting studies include courses related to the culture and civilization of the studied language(s). In the British Culture and Civilization course for first year translation and interpretation students (also language teacher trainees) at Sapientia University various topics are presented and discussed, and an unconventional activity is also included: a visit to the Teleki-Bolyai Library from Târgu Mureș. This library is home to a large collection of books from all over the world, written in several languages. A less known part of the collection consists of the works of English authors, acquired by the founder of the library, Count Sámuel Teleki. In this study we propose to explore some of these books, examining what aspects of British culture and civilization they reveal, based on the historical, humanistic, political and social contexts they originated in, and what domains and topics are represented in these works (such as religion, science, secular literature etc.). We intend to demonstrate that the library’s collection can be an inspiration and a useful source for students who are interested in researching or simply reading and learning more about these topics.

Keywords:

Culture and civilization course, library visit, inspiring activity.