Natalya Mikhailova

Transformative Pedagogy in Liberal Arts: Developing Metacognitive Compe-tences via Translation

Transformative Pedagogy in Liberal Arts: Developing Metacognitive Competences via Translation

Natalya Mikhailova

European Humanities University, Lithuania

In this paper, Jack Mezirow's cognitive-analytic approach to transformative learning is used as a point of departure to approach teaching literary texts in a foreign language. First, this paper will explore how difference and failure in translation are employed in the classroom as valuable aspects of foreignness and multiplicity. Bilingual teaching of literary works fosters critical thinking, predisposing students to experience disorientation, examine their assumptions, recognize the dissatisfaction with only one language at hand, explore alternatives of experiencing the world, try out new cultural and linguistic roles. These metacognitive competences are promoted by the productive tension of failure experienced in translation and placing students in a multilingual learning environment.

Second, this paper will explore how the lacunae of Mezirow's cognitive-analytic approach are complemented by embracing pedagogy of failure which highlights the difficulty, thus putting to work the oscillation between languages as a crucial feature of interpretive methodology itself. Oscillating between languages in the perpetually shifting quicksand of translation, students find themselves negotiating the impossibility of exact transfer, experiencing play of differences caused by the disorienting encounter with the literary work. These hermeneutic oscillations, swaying between disorientation and belonging, subvert the logic of consuming and subsuming, propel students into a liminal experience where singularity of what each language aims to express is palpable, thus exposing students to absence of a fixed identity.

I suggest that such intrinsic elements of critical thinking lead to formation of metacognitive

competences helping students to transcend habitual dualistic model of thinking outside of classroom as well, contributing to the development of learners' autonomy required for resolving dilemmas, developing self-awareness and ability to make reasonable choices as autonomous learners, moving them into a third space of critical thinking (Bhaba, 1994).

Keywords: transformative pedagogy, translation, metacognitive competences, liberal arts

References (main ones only):

Bhabha, H. K. (1994). The location of culture. Routledge.

Eckstein, L. E., Finaret, A. B., & Whitenack, L. B. (2023). Teaching the inevitable: Embracing a

pedagogy of failure. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 11.

Mezirow, J. (1990b). How critical reflection triggers transformative learning. In J. Mezirow (ed.)

Fostering critical reflection in adulthood: A guide to transformative and emancipatory learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Biography

Natalya Mikhailova is a lecturer at the Department of Humanities and Arts, European Humanities University, Lithuania. Having completed her B.A. and M.A. degrees in the U.S. with specific emphasis in continental philosophy, literary theory and criticism, Natalya teaches Introduction to Humanities, Social Entrepreneurship, and Civic Engagement. With over 10 years of teaching experience, her engagement in liberal arts education is combined with experience gained from online collaborative pedagogy, experiential learning, and course development. In her teaching practices, Natalya actively integrates critical thinking and creative engagement with the social and political developments in the world. Her other interests include educational entrepreneurial initiatives, transformative pedagogy and emotional intelligence in online learning.