Lesson Report:
Title: Antigone themes, annotation, and translation workshop (law vs. justice, civil disobedience, and family loyalty)
Synopsis: This session deepened students’ interpretation of Sophocles’ Antigone by extracting 10 core themes and then applying them through an evidence-based annotation task. Students then conducted a bilingual translation/back-translation workshop (Persian, Pashto, Urdu) to explore how language affects meaning, culminating in short poetry-style readings of the retranslations.
Attendance
– Students mentioned absent: 0
– Note: One new student (Nargis) joined for the first time and arrived late; instructor provided quick onboarding encouragement.
Topics covered (chronological)
1) Live check-in and onboarding
– Quick roll via “thumbs upâ€�; instructor confirmed full attendance.
– Welcomed new student Nargis; encouraged her to reach out if content feels fast and to get caught up on prior session’s material.
2) Review from last class: framing question and initial issue
– Prompt: Revisit Antigone and identify at least one central problem.
– Recalled prior insight: the conflict between law and justice as a primary issue.
3) Guided thematic discussion: 10 takeaways from Antigone
– Students offered and refined the following themes, with instructor synthesis and links to the text’s situations:
1) Law vs. justice: When state law conflicts with moral law, the play suggests moral law may supersede. Breaking unjust laws can be ethically justified.
2) A life worth living vs. unjust life: “Better to die with pride than live unjustly.� Antigone accepts death over moral compromise.
3) Women’s agency and gender bias: Creon’s presumption (“what man…�) shows underestimation of women; Antigone’s action showcases female resolve and power.
4) Moral clarity and courage: Knowing right from wrong is insufficient; the play centers on the bravery required to act on one’s convictions.
5) Citizens vs. authoritarian rule: Examines civic responsibility under an authoritarian governor; questions of obedience, dissent, and punishment.
6) Hard choices/double bind: Antigone’s dilemma (die or leave brother unburied) emphasizes that ethical choices can be impossible yet necessary.
7) Nonconformity/civil disobedience: Antigone refuses to “just follow� manmade rules when they violate higher principles.
8) Divine law vs. human law: The tension between sacred duties and decrees issued by those in power is central and recurring.
9) Majority vs. minority: The majority can be wrong; one may need to stand alone to uphold the right.
10) Family loyalty: Duty to kin can override personal safety; raised the question whether Antigone would act similarly for a non-family member.
4) Annotation mini-workshop (evidence gathering)
– Task setup:
– Choose one of the 10 themes most meaningful to you.
– Find three passages (lines/sentences/paragraphs) in the Antigone PDF that best illustrate that theme.
– Timing: Approximately 5 minutes; teacher reiterated instructions mid-task on request.
– Reminders: Any length acceptable; focus on best fit for the chosen theme.
5) Language proficiency poll and grouping
– Objective: Identify students’ most fluent language to form translation pairs.
– Result (approximate): Majority Persian, three Pashto speakers, and one English-primary; some Urdu capability identified in chat.
– Adjustment: Because the poll did not capture names, repeated collection via chat to pair students appropriately; goal was at least two participants per language.
6) Translation exercise (Part 1: into L1)
– Instructions:
– From your three selected passages, pick one and translate it into your strongest non-English language (Persian, Pashto, or Urdu).
– It can be a single line or several; “best effortâ€� translation is acceptable.
– Do not include the original English on your page.
– Write first in notebook, then upload to the Google Drive assignment folder (S2 link provided).
– Clarifications:
– Each student completes their own translation.
– If English is the strongest, translate into another language you can manage (several chose Persian/Urdu).
– Instructor emphasized not to post the English source; later reminded those who had uploaded with English visible to omit it going forward.
7) Partner assignments (by language)
– Instructor formed pairs primarily by language group to support the next step (back-translation). Examples included:
– Persian: Asya with Mohammad Jawad; Mariam with Nargis; Razia with Najma; Sitara with Abdulbais; Ombra with Katayoun.
– Pashto: Sara with Yusufar.
– Urdu: Yalda with Omani.
– Note: Instructor confirmed all were paired; asked students to report any omissions.
8) Translation exercise (Part 2: back into English)
– Instructions:
– Find your partner’s uploaded translation (in Persian/Pashto/Urdu) on Google Drive.
– Translate it back into English without consulting the original English text and without any machine translation tools.
– Upload your English back-translation to the Drive.
– Timing: ~5 minutes plus a short extension for connectivity issues.
– Troubleshooting:
– If a file lacked a name, the instructor renamed files (e.g., “Umani poemâ€�) to help partners find them.
– Students with upload issues were allowed to submit via alternate routes (e.g., to a peer or by email).
9) Poetry-style reading of back-translations
– Students read aloud their partners’ English retranslations to observe how meaning shifted through bilingual mediation.
– Sample outputs (paraphrased excerpts):
– “I will die like him with the man I love, pure and innocent…â€� (Mariam reading Nargis’s back-translation)
– “He doesn’t have the right to forbid me from what is mine.â€� (Razia, from Najma’s back-translation on the majority/custody of rights theme)
– “Let it be your apology. I’m going to [bury] my brother now.â€� (Asya reading Mohammad Jawad’s)
– “Today… church is a weak and ineffective sound… mostly supporting current circumstances and wrongdoers.â€� (Nargis reading Mariam’s; highlights semantic drift)
– Instructor framed this as a meaning-in-translation exercise ahead of a fuller debrief.
10) Break
– A 10-minute prayer break was scheduled; class to resume at 19:20 with more readings and discussion.
Actionable items
Urgent (before next session)
– Verify completion of uploads:
– Ensure every student has uploaded both the L1 translation and the English back-translation to the S2 Drive folder.
– Follow up with anyone who reported Drive issues (e.g., Sitara) or who is still “tryingâ€� to upload.
– Finalize language pairings:
– Confirm definitive membership of Pashto vs. Urdu groups to avoid odd numbers; update pairs as needed and share a clean list.
– File hygiene:
– Ask any students who included the original English to re-upload without it.
– Establish a naming convention: “Name_Language_Stepâ€� (e.g., Nargis_Persian_Translation; Nargis_English_BackTranslation).
– Provide written instructions:
– Post a concise instruction sheet for the annotation and translation/back-translation workflow with time estimates and submission steps (for reference and for newly joined students).
High priority (next session’s plan)
– Finish readings and debrief:
– Continue back-translation readings.
– Facilitate a short debrief comparing original vs. retranslations: What shifted? Which theme nuances were amplified or lost? Why?
– Annotation evidence check:
– Have students submit their three citations with line numbers and one-sentence justification for fit with their chosen theme.
– Optionally compile a class handout of “Top citations per themeâ€� for study.
Follow-up/administrative
– New student onboarding:
– Send Nargis the Antigone PDF, prior session recap, the list of 10 themes, S2 Drive link, and the instruction sheet.
– Communication:
– Instructor shared a personal email for urgent issues; remind students to use the course email system for routine matters and reserve the personal address for time-sensitive needs.
– Support for multilingual work:
– Consider brief guidance or a glossary for key Antigone terms (e.g., burial rites, decree, edict, divine law) in Persian/Pashto/Urdu to support consistent translations.
– Attendance tracking:
– Since no absences were identified via “thumbs up,â€� confirm a roster-based attendance record to cross-check against chat participation.
Homework Instructions:
ASSIGNMENT #1: Antigone Theme Evidence + Translation Exchange
You will deepen your understanding of a key theme we identified together in Antigone (e.g., law vs. justice, divine vs. human law, breaking unjust laws, personal moral courage, power of women, majority vs. minority, civilians vs. authoritarian government, family loyalty, doing the hard but right thing, being alone doesn’t mean you’re wrong) by locating textual evidence and then exploring how meaning shifts through translation and retranslation across the languages represented in our class (Persian, Pashto, Urdu, etc.). Complete any parts you did not finish during class before our next meeting.
Instructions:
1) Choose your theme
– Review the 10 themes we brainstormed in class and select the one that is most meaningful to you.
– Examples from our discussion include: “divine law vs. human law,â€� “breaking unjust laws,â€� “power of women,â€� “the majority isn’t always right,â€� “family loyalty,â€� and “personal courage to do the right thing.â€�
2) Find evidence in the text
– Open the Antigone PDF.
– Find three separate passages (a line, a few lines, or a short paragraph each) that best illustrate your chosen theme.
– Copy these three passages into your notebook with any identifying info you can provide (speaker, scene/line numbers if available).
– You do not need to upload these three at this stage; they are for your own reference.
3) Select one passage for translation
– From your three, pick ONE short passage that most clearly captures your theme (one sentence or a few lines is enough).
4) Translate into your other language
– Translate that one passage into your strongest non-English language (most of you will use Persian or Pashto; a few of you will use Urdu).
– Do not use machine translation. Aim to carry the meaning and tone, not just word-for-word equivalence.
– Write the translation in your notebook or type it up. Do NOT include the original English anywhere on that page/file.
5) Upload your translation to the class Drive (S2)
– Take a clear photo or export a clean file of your translation only (no English).
– Upload it to the same Google Drive folder we used in class (the S2 folder).
– File-name it clearly so your partner can find it: YourName_Language_Theme
– Example: Mariam_Persian_DivineVsHumanLaw
– If you previously uploaded without your name, rename or re-upload so your name is visible.
6) Retrieve your partner’s translation
– Find your assigned partner’s file in the Drive (use the pairings announced in class; stay within your shared language group).
– If your partner’s upload shows the original English somewhere, ignore it.
7) Back-translate into English
– Without consulting the original play or any translation tools, translate your partner’s non-English version back into English.
– Rely only on your understanding of that language and context to recreate the meaning as best you can.
– Write this English retranslation in your notebook.
8) Upload your back-translation
– Upload your English retranslation to the Drive as a separate file.
– File-name it: YourName_BackTranslation_ofPartnerName
– Example: Nargis_BackTranslation_ofMariam
9) Be ready to read
– Locate your partner’s English retranslation of your passage in the Drive and read it.
– Be prepared to read it aloud at the start of our next session so we can hear how the meaning moved across languages.
10) If you run into issues
– If your partner hasn’t uploaded yet, complete steps 1–5 so you’re ready, and contact the instructor for guidance.
– For any Drive or pairing problems, contact the instructor as soon as possible.
Reminders:
– Do not include the original English on any uploaded translation page.
– Do not use machine translation at any stage.
– Aim for clarity, faithfulness to meaning, and readable English in your back-translation.