D O R I. K A T Z

The following feature story appeared in the campus publication MOSAIC in April, 1999.

LEARNING TO SEE THE FULL SPECTRUM OF LIFE THROUGH LANGUAGE

In the eyes of Professor of Modern Languages and Literature Dori Katz, speaking only one language is tantamount to living in a monochromatic world. By speaking only one language, people limit their understanding of their environment and deprive themselves of the personal enrichment a new language affords, she contends.

"The fact that English is spoken so widely," Katz observes, "gives people a false sense of comprehension about the world. The sounds, culture, and associations of each language are very different. A person has a unique identity and personality in each language. If you speak only one language, it’s like walking into a room and only seeing one color."

Born in Belgium, Katz grew up speaking Flemish and French before she emigrated to California, where as a young teenager she learned to speak English. She earned an M.F.A. in English and a Ph.D. in comparative literature, both from the University of Iowa, joined Trinity’s faculty in 1969 as an instructor in French and comparative literature, and became the first woman in the College’s history to earn tenure in 1975.

An accomplished translator, Katz is well known for her translations of three books by the French novelist Marguerite Yourcenar. She is also a poet who recently published a Spanish bilingual volume of poems entitled Hiding in Other People’s Houses, translated into Spanish by Diana Valencia, which describes her recollections of her childhood in Belgium during World War II and the Holocaust. To commemorate that experience and encourage student research in the areas of anti-Semitism, racism, and human rights violations, Katz and her husband Associate Professor of Economics Andrew J. Gold last year established the Andrew J. Gold and Dori Katz Fund for Human Rights.

Eclectic course offerings

To enable her students to experience a "Technicolor" world, Katz has moved well beyond merely instructing them in French vocabulary and grammar. In addition to teaching a broad range of French literature and comparative literature courses, Katz has developed a creative writing course entitled "Translation Workshop: Theory and Practice," which melds a student’s facility in a foreign language with creative expression. And she has team-taught such courses as diverse as "Proust and the Painters of his Times" (with Gwendolyn Miles Smith Professor of Art History Alden Gordon) and "The Holocaust" (with Professor of History Samuel D. Kassow). In addition, she is an active participant in the language-across-the-curriculum program, through which students earn supplementary language credit by reading additional texts in a foreign language. For example, last year she worked with Leigh Burwick ’98, a math major and French minor, and read a book on chaos theory and the autobiography of French mathematician Andre Weil in French for a math course taught by Associate Professor of Mathematics Paula A. Russo. Next fall, she and her husband will teach for a semester at Trinity’s campus in Rome.

An exceptional translator

According to her colleague Kenneth Lloyd-Jones, John J. McCook Professor of Modern Languages, "Dori sees that the value of language lies, more than anything else, in its ability to effect communication and to foster relationships. To reach people, you have to touch them, and that is what she does with her gift for language, whether in her classes, her translations, or her poetry. Her defining feature is the fact that she is a translator. By this, I refer not only to the necessary linguistic dexterity and sensitivity as she moves between English and French, as evinced by her publications, but something much more precious, much more giving. Through her poetry and all her doings, Dori takes experiences, some of which are merely the wear and tear of daily life, but others which are incredibly painful, deeply intimate, unbearably difficult to articulate, and through a combination of talent and heart, translates them into things of universal access, endowed with great moral beauty."

An knowledgeable teacher

Caroline L. Olmstead ’99, a history major with a French language concentration, was impressed with the deep historical perspective Katz brought to the course "France during the Occupation: 1940-1945." "Professor Katz used a documentary, popular films, and different readings to enable us to see the occupation from the viewpoint of women, the military, the resistance, and Vichy collaborators," she explains. "As a history major, I really appreciated learning about this period from different angles. I studied abroad last year after I took the course and was able to view France with a better understanding. Professor Katz is extremely knowledgeable about the material."

French major Florencia M. Guerra ’99, who took the same course with Katz, said she was interested to learn about the everyday lives of French women during the time period. "With men off to fight in the war, women took on the role of family provider and, as a result, became more autonomous," she notes. Guerra’s recent focus on French cinema made her appreciate seeing the Claude Chabrol’s film "The Story of Women," which chronicles the true story of a French housewife during the war who became an abortionist, initially to help her friends and then to make money. Since abortion was against the law in the Vichy regime, she was tried, condemned, and guillotined by the French government. "Professor Katz is very knowledgeable about the subject matter," Guerra says.

Katz not only espouses with great enthusiasm the joys of learning new languages, but embraces and exudes them herself. To prepare for her time in Italy’s Eternal City, she is familiarizing herself with yet another language. "I can’t imagine being in Rome and not being able to speak some Italian," she says with a smile.

-Suzanne Zack