Stefan Ward-Wheten graduated from Williams in June of 2011 with degrees in Comparative Literature and Political Science. While at Williams, he was invited to present a paper at the 2011 American Comparative Literature Association. Below follows his account of the experience in working on his paper, “Accessing the Real Through Ethical Translation: A Multicultural Analysis of Ancient Chinese Poetry.” Stefan is currently based in Northampton, Massachusetts, working in outreach and fundraising for several political advocacy campaigns while pursuing his interests in freelance and professional writing and editing, education, communications, and nonprofit development.

Abstract for Accessing the Real Through Ethical Translation: A Multicultural Analysis of Ancient Chinese Poetry:

More than ever, new developments in prose and verse are entering into a worldwide conversation of ideas. In an increasingly globalized literary landscape, how should meaning be understood and drawn from these works as one encounters them – often in a very different context from their origin? This essay takes a comparative approach to that question, juxtaposing a piece from the eighth-century Chinese poet Wang Wei with two literary critics of the modern era, Jacques Lacan and Julia Kristeva. The poem is analyzed both in translation and in a more direct reconstitution of the original Chinese; each version invites a distinct interpretation from these Western theorists. Here the feat of translation is examined for its potential as a tool of exegesis as well as of proliferation, introducing new possibilities of reading by reformulating the work in different linguistic frames. Rather than simply acting as an atrophic filter against the full import of meaning, the movement across cultural and linguistic contexts in fact creates a dialectic between various manifestations of the work that provides a fuller understanding of the work’s own dimensions. Given the growing diversity of the universe of letters, “ethical translation” offers a means of furthering cross-cultural encounter while maintaining a constructive approach to the interplay of language and of worlds along the way. → More (PDF)

Since graduation, I have worked as a temporary legal recruiting assistant and a permanent legal assistant at the same big corporate law firm – Sullivan & Cromwell, in their Latin American regional practice group, editing and translating SEC filing documents for sovereign debt issuance for Latin American countries, preparing documents for sale of stocks, and providing research for major Latin American companies and banks.

In May of 2009, after being wait-listed a few law schools, I decided to go to South Africa to volunteer with the National Coordinator for Women’s Rights of the Treatment Action Campaign in Cape Town. This opportunity also served as a way for me to reassess my career options and my commitment to law. When I came back, I was given deferred admission to CUNY School of Law.

In the interim period, I volunteered at InMotion ( for women in need of legal advice and/or representation for immigration, divorce, child support, and domestic violence cases), the Child Studies Center at NYU (collecting data for a psychology study on how the mother’s culture affects her child’s academic preparedness), and helped out in a Brooklyn public school in a workshop meant to strategize with parents on raising their children’s awareness of their cultural heritage in a predominantly Afro-Caribbean community. And, I landed a job with the Census, a job that allowed me to use my language skills and gave me a pay check! Now I am in law school full-time. I am interested in Anti-trafficking law –as it relates to people. CUNY is definitely the place for me!

From a balcony in Naples, Italy, I can see the small, white summer homes of Capri in the distance, surrounded by the rich blue of the Mediterranean. This is where the language program at Williams has taken me. After graduating in 2007, I was fortunate to win a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) to Italy. In Naples I assist in the English classrooms by preparing fun, conversational lessons on American culture. My students range in age and ability but all share equally high energy and enthusiasm in perfecting their language skills.

Outside the classroom I have had an incredible time observing and exploring Naples, a city rich in natural beauty and history, but also one struggling to survive politically and economically. This year has offered me the chance to reflect on society here while also reflecting more deeply on my own. I have learned to appreciate the efficiency and opportunities of the United States, while also respecting the traditions and outlook on life here in southern Italy. And yes, I’ve also learned how and when to just stop and enjoy the view.

For the past 2 years, I’ve been living in Vladimir, Russia and teaching at an English language school called the American Home. For many of my students, I’m the first American or English-speaker they’ve ever met. Sometimes I feel like a celebrity, but the friendships I’ve made here are genuine, and, in true Russian style, will probably be lifelong.

Although I follow a strict grammar and vocabulary curriculum, I have a lot of freedom to design activities and games and to use American movies, music, and slang in my classes. We try to be good cultural ambassadors – celebrating Halloween and Thanksgiving, playing football and poker on Saturday afternoons, and attempting to teach the students how to play frisbee (a big hit) and whiffleball (far too complex.) Often my lessons begin in the classroom and finish up 3 or 4 hours later at a nearby café, with all of us joking around in an interesting Russian-English hybrid.

I’m often invited to local universities to speak about college in America, and so I frequently find myself explaining how taking Russian lit on a whim sophomore year resulted in my majoring in Russian, and ultimately, landed me here in Vladimir. It’s great how these things work out so well!

Shanghai Theatre Academy

Upon graduating from Williams in 2005, I received a Hubbard Hutchinson Memorial Fellowship in Dance. As a Chinese major and member of Dance Company, I used the fellowship to return to China where I studied traditional Chinese dance at the Shanghai Theatre Academy’s Dance and Opera College, managed an art gallery, worked as a freelance travel writer, and danced with the Zuheniao Dance Collective. After returning to America in late 2006, I became the program manager for the Harvard School of Public Health China Initiative.

I am now about to start Tufts University’s Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Program. I plan to incorporate traditional Chinese medicine into my Western medical studies, hopefully by doing additional training in China. Over the past three years since I graduated, I have been amazed at the ease with which my Chinese language skills that were so vigorously developed at Williams have allowed me to explore so many areas of interest, from art to health.