Translation studies scholar Lawrence Venuti lectured to students, faculty and community members at the fourth annual Gregory M. Shreve series Friday evening.

The free and open-to-the-public event, presented by the Institute for Applied Linguistics and Kent State alumni, started at 4 p.m. in the Moulton Hall Ballroom. The lecture was followed by a reception where attendees discussed ideas from the lecture and enjoyed a variety of refreshments.

Venuti discussed different theories of translation and shared his own model with the audience. He said that the goal for his translation model is to help translators appeal to academics.

“Translators need to engage educators who are studying and teaching translation models,” Venuti said.

Françoise Massardier-Kenney, director of the Institute for Applied Linguistics and professor of French Translation, said Venuti’s lecture would help improve an overall understanding of language.

“Most of the things you read were influenced by foreign languages and cultures,” Massardier-Kenney said. “It is important to be aware of translation from one text to another.”

Senior geology major Ryan Jarvis said that he attended the event because he’s interested in translation studies.

“Venuti’s lecture was very engaging, and I think he has a really unique perspective on the different translation theories he discussed,” Jarvis said.

According to the Institute for Applied Linguistics’ website, Venuti is an English professor at Temple University and a translation theorist and historian. He also translates from Italian, French and Catalan. He is an author of various types of literature on translation and has won awards for his work.

Contact Danielle Hess at [email protected].