Sathya Rao, PhD - Directory@UAlberta.ca

Contact

Professor, Faculty of Arts - Modern Languages and Cultural Studies Dept

Email: srao@ualberta.ca

Overview

Area of Study / Keywords

Translation studies Francophone studies Minorty media Technology and French as a second-language Franco-Albertan Literature and History

About

I strongly value interdisciplinarity and community engagement in research and teaching.

Research

My expertise includes translation studies (e.g., translation & philosophy and translation policies) and Francophone literatures. My current research projects include 1) the development of Le Francopass, a mobile/web application designed to help users hone their French language and cultural skills by attending events in the local Francophone community; 2) the history of French-speaking female journalists and newspapers in Western Canada and Alberta, and 3) the implementation of municipal translation policies in Canada. I have published extensively on these topics and others. I was awarded the Vinay & Darbelnet Prize (2005) by the Canadian Association for Translation Studies and the Roger Motut Prize (2024) for the excellence of my contribution to the advancement of Franco-Albertan literature and history.

Teaching

I teach courses on translation practice and theory, French literature, French cinema and French language. I have been involved in Community Service Learning (CSL) and project-oriented pedagogy for over a decade. I have supervised honours and graduate students in translation studies on topics such as self-translation, translation of multilingual texts, postcolonial translation, eco-translation, and audiovisual translation. I was the recipient of the GSA Graduate Supervision Award (2015), the "Great Supervisor" Award (2019), the SALUTE Award for Leadership in Undergraduate Teaching (2019), and the Faculty of Arts CSL Award (2020).

Courses

FREN 254 - Introduction to Translation Theory and Practice: French-English-French

Prerequisite: FREN 297. This course can also be applied to the MLCS Certificate in Translation Studies.

Fall Term 2025

FREN 300 - Advanced French

Designed to improve the student's command of French through intensive oral practice and advanced written exercises. Prerequisite: FREN 212 or consent of Department. Note: not to be taken by students with credit in FREN 297, 298 or FRANC 216, 217, 226.

Fall Term 2025

FREN 454 - Translation: English into French

Prerequisite: FREN 254 or consent of Department. Note: This course can also be applied to the MLCS Certificate in Translation Studies.

Winter Term 2026

MLCS 400 - The History of Translation

A broad historical perspective on the contributions made by translators to the intellectual and cultural history of the world through consideration of the Germanic, Romance and Slavic traditions. The role of the translator and basic principles governing the various traditions are examined to gain insight into different types of translation (religious, literary, technical) and significant moments in the history of translation. Prerequisite: 6 units in a Language Other than English at the 200-level or above or consent of Department.

Winter Term 2026

Browse more courses taught by Sathya Rao

Scholarly Activities

Research - Canadian Minority Media Database

Minority media are a vital component of our media ecosystem and contribute greatly to our cultural diversity and heritage. However they often go unnoticed as they target specific ethnic groups and are overshadowed by majority media, whether national or transnational. The purpose of the Canadian Minority Media Database is to shed light on minority media both in their operations and as subjects of scholarly research.

Canadian Minority Media Database

Research - Founder and co-editor of Alternative Francophone

Alternative Francophone is an online peer-review journal hosted at the University of Alberta. The journal focuses on issues related to francophonie from a humanities perspective (e.g., literature, linguistics, media studies, and translation studies). Alternative francophone is indexed in several academic databases and libraries.

Alternative francophone

Research - Francopass

Francopass is a mobile/web application designed to encourage users to attend events in the local francophone community to enhance their knowledge of French language and francophone cultures. Francopass draws on gamification principles. Le Francopass is available on Google Play Store ("Francopass") and App Store ("Francopass mobile").

Francopass

Research - The History of the Francophone Newspapers in Western Canada

Online resource with information on French-speaking newspapers and journalists in Western Canada. The site features columns of female journalists such as Magali Michelet.

The History of the Francophone Newspapers in Western Canada