Mona Malkawi

Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies – Literary Translation

Education

University of Arkansas, Fayetteville – Ph.D., Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies (Literary Translation Concentration), 2017

• Dissertation: “Twice Heard, Paradoxically Unseen: Walking the Tightrope of Invisibility in Palestinian Translated Fiction”
• Committee: John DuVal, Adnan Haydar, Charles Adam

Yarmouk University, Irbid – M.A., Translation Program, 2009

• Thesis: “Relevance of Linguistic Relativity to Translation”
• Mentor: Lutfi Abulhaija

Yarmouk University, Irbid – B.A., English Language and Literature, 2006

Academic Experience

Yarmouk University, Irbid

• Assistant Dean for Quality Assurance, Accreditation, International Projects, Sep 2025–Present
• Assistant Director, Language Center, Sep 2024–Sep 2025
• Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies / Literary Translation, Translation Department, 2017–Present
• Full-time Lecturer, Translation Department, 2010–2012

Courses Taught

Yarmouk University, Irbid

• Literary Translation (Graduate Level)
• Literary Translation (Undergraduate Level)
• Translation Theories
• Translation I
• Translation II
• Translation Project
• Translation of the Short Story
• Translation of Tourist Texts
• Analysis of Literary Texts
• Vocabulary Building
• Introduction to Arabic and English Literature
• Advanced Reading
• Advanced Grammar
• Special Topics in Translation
• Contrastive Grammar
• Paragraph Writing in English
• Essay Writing in English

University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

• Teaching Assistant, Department of World Languages and Cultures, Fall 2015 & Spring 2016

Research Interests

World Literature, Comparative Literature, Cultural Studies, Literary Translation, Postcolonial Translation Theories, Middle East Studies, Literary Theory, Translation and Conflict, Interpreting, and Subtitling

Publications

Articles

• AlRousan, R., Jaradat, R., & Malkawi, M. (2025). ChatGPT Translation vs. Human Translation: An Examination of a Literary Text. Cogent, 11(1), 2–21.

• Harahsheh, A., Malkawi, M., & Al-Motleq, R. (2025). Strategies in Subtitling Jordanian Dialect on Netflix: A Case Study of AlRawabi School for Girls. Sage Open, 15(1), 1–15.

• Malkawi, M., Sara, H., & Harahsheh, A. (2025). Subtitling Jordanian Cultural Expressions into English on Netflix: A Case Study of AlRawabi School for Girls Season 2. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 12(1586), 1–28.

• Al-Ramadan, R., Sayaheen, B., & Malkawi, M. (2025). Boom in Arabic–English Literary Translation: A Contextual Analysis of Geopolitics and Patronage (2003–2020). Research Journal in Advanced Humanities, 6(1), 1–12.

• Zuraikat, M. J., Malkawi, M., & Mashreqi, S. (2025). Optimistic Meditations on Sartre’s Existentialism. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 11(1), 101322.

• Malkawi, M. (2025). Re-narration in the Translation of Fadwa Tuqan’s Rihla Jabaliyya, Rihla Saʿba: Sira Dhatiyya. International Journal for Arabic and English Studies (Accepted).

• Malkawi, M., Zuraikat, M., & Al-Ramadan, R. (2024). Stylistics in Badawi’s English Translation of Qindil Umm Hashim. 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature, 30(3), 193–208.

• Sayaheen, M., Sayaheen, B., & Malkawi, M. (2024). Pre-Translating Process in Literary Text. World Journal of English Language, 14(3), 211–219.

• Moser-Mercer, B., Qudah, S., Malkawi, M., Mutiga, J., & Al-Batineh, M. (2023). Interpreter and Translator Training: From Crisis Response to Sustainable Livelihoods. In The Routledge Handbook of Translation, Interpreting and Crisis (pp. 217–232). Routledge.

• Malkawi, M. & Sayaheen, B. (2023). The Role of the Arab Intellectual and Power Relations in the Translation of Ghassan Kanafani’s Returning to Haifa and Sahar Khalifeh’s The End of Spring. Jordan Journal of Modern Languages and Literatures, 15(1), 67–89.

• Moser-Mercer, B., Qudah, S., Malkawi, M., Mutiga, J., & Al-Batineh, M. (2021). Beyond Aid: Sustainable Responses to Meeting Language Communication Needs in Humanitarian Contexts. Interpreting and Society, 1(1), 5–27.

• Sayaheen, B., & Malkawi, M. (2019). Understanding the Nature of Arab–Israeli Conflict: A Corpus-Based Study of Semantic Prosody in Arabic Political Discourse. Lebende Sprachen, 64(2), 309–322.

Grants & Projects

2025
Yarmouk University – Istanbul University Exchange Training Program

• Designed a collaborative training and exchange program between Yarmouk University and Istanbul University.
• Developed program structure.
• Submitted formal application to Istanbul University for approval and implementation.

2024–2025
Stevens Initiative Global Virtual Exchange (GVE) Project – Shenandoah University (USA)
Role: Instructor Partner

• Facilitated collaborative virtual exchange learning experiences between students across institutions.
• Designed and implemented cross-cultural Arabic language learning tasks and virtual interaction modules.

2020–2021
Ford Foundation Grant – Training Humanitarian Interpreters and Translators: Challenges and Opportunities
In collaboration with the Queen Rania Center and University of Geneva, Role: Co-Researcher

• Co-developed a 12-month professional diploma program in humanitarian interpreting and translation.
• Supervised instructors and served as joint tutor for interpreting courses.
• Contributed to the allocation and securing of funds for establishing a Smart Interpreting Laboratory (Simultaneous Interpreting Room) within the faculty.

Funded Project Proposals (Submitted / Under Review)

• Arabic Resources for Instructors and Student Engagement (ARISE) – Co-Applicant (Under review)
• Designing an International Arabic Proficiency Test and Assessment Framework – Co-Applicant (Under evaluation)

International Partnerships & Liaison Roles

• Liaison with West Virginia University (USA), 2017–Present
  • Coordinated recruitment of Yarmouk University students for graduate programs at West Virginia University.
  •  Facilitated selection and placement of Yarmouk students with full Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTAs).

Consulting & Professional Services

• Consultant, Applied Balqa University (2025)
  Evaluated a book intended as a measurement tool for Jordanian students’ English skills (grades 1–9); provided detailed feedback and recommendations for improving its educational assessment quality.
• Accreditation Committee Member (Language Center, Yarmouk University), 2025–Present
  Participating in the accreditation process of the Language Center at Yarmouk University in line with Eaquals international standards for quality assurance in language education.

Presentations, Workshops, and Academic Training

1.      Discussion Leadership & Literary Workshops

• Led literary translation workshops for Ph.D. and MFA students, University of Arkansas, 2015
• Participated in world literature forums focusing on translation practices and intercultural literary exchange, University of Arkansas, 2015
• Translated and facilitated discussion sessions on a collection of Ghassan Kanafani’s short stories, University of Arkansas, 2015

2.      Conferences and Seminars

• ATISA VII Biennial Conference: Where Theory and Practice Meet, New York University, New York, USA, 2014
• Imitations and Literary Translation, GSE 2015 Conference, University of Arkansas, 2015
• Translation: Future Vision, 4th Jordan International Conference on Translation (JICOT 4), March 2017
• A Witness on Translation, Yarmouk University, 2022
• The First International Conference for Translation Studies: Translation in the Arab World – Challenges, Hopes, and Aspirations, Yarmouk University, May 2023
• II International Congress of Woman’s Studies, Istanbul, 2024
• Future of Humanities in the Age of Digital Transformation, Yarmouk University, 2024
• Seminar for MA students: Translation, Culture, and Ideology, Yarmouk University, 2024

3.      Invited Lectures & Program Presentations

• Social and Cultural Perspectives of a Middle Eastern City, SIT Study Abroad, 2021
• Delivered multiple presentations to international delegations to introduce the Arabic Program for Speakers of Other Languages (APSOL) at the Language Center, YU, 2025
• Building Connections: An Overview of the Arabic Program for Speakers of Other Languages, Fifth International Week, Yarmouk University, 2025

4.      Training Workshops

• Project Proposal Writing Workshop, Jean Monnet, Zarqa University, Jordan, November 2025; focused on strategies and best practices for writing successful project proposals – Participant.
• International Training Workshop for Translation Students, Saint Louis Brussels University, March 2025 – Organizer and Coordinator; delivered online Arabic classes for non-native speakers.
• International Academic Training Workshop (TOT): Practical Applications for Developing Students’ Communicative Competence in Arabic for Speakers of Other Languages, 23 August – 20 September 2025 – Organizer, Coordinator, and Trainer.
• Training of Trainers (TOT) for Humanitarian Interpreting and Translation, in collaboration with the University of Geneva, 2020–2021 – Trainee.

Peer Reviewer
Reviewed manuscripts for journals in Comparative Literature, Translation Studies, and Cultural Studies, including:

• Humanities & Social Sciences Communications (Nature)
• Jordan Journal of Modern Languages
• Jordanian Translation Association
• Tajseer Journal, Qatar
• The International Journal of Arabic-English Studies (IJAES)

MA Theses Supervision

• Heba al-Omari (2024). A Comparative Study on Translators’ Styles in Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist
• Sara Hudeib (2024). Subtitling Jordanian Cultural Expressions into English on Netflix: AlRawabi School for Girls Season 2 as a Case Study
• Aseil al-Zoubi (2022). Refugees’ Inclusion and Exclusion in Omar El Akkad’s What Strange Paradise and Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West
• Malak al-Hakim (2022). The Representation of the Posthuman in Ahmed Saadawi's Frankenstein in Baghdad, Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, and Don DeLillo’s Cosmopolis
• Osama Ayyash (2022). Artificial Intelligence in Gary Shteyngart’s Super Sad True Love Story and Jennifer Egan’s The Candy House
• Rawan Marashdeh (2022). The Journey Motif and its Psychology of Hope in Omar El Akkad's What Strange Paradise and Zeyn Joukhadar's The Map of Salt and Stars

Examiner

·       Ghaida Trad (2025). The Translation of Techno-Pedagogical Terms: The DigCompEdu Check-In Self-Reflection Tool as a Case Study.

·       Asma Hamza (2024). Subtitling Egyptian Colloquial Arabic into English.

·       Balqees Al-Hamouri (2024). The Translation of Technical Terminology in the Subtitles of “Interstellar” from English into Arabic.

·       Raghad Jaradat (2024). ChatGPT Translation vs. Human Translation: An Examination of a Literary Text.

·       Reem Bani-Hani (2024). Illocutionary Power in Translating Gothic Literature from English into Arabic: A Case Study of Edgar Allan Poe’s Short Stories “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Oval Portrait.”

·       Ahmad Abu-Jarour (2023). (Dis)appearance of Culture: Translating Culture and Marketing in Advertisements between English and Arabic.

·       Bara’a Shatnawi (2023). Allusion in Arabic Literature and English Translation: “Qindeel Umm Hashim” as a Case Study.

·       Leen Khwaileh (2023). English-Arabic Subtitling of Technical Terms in “The Matrix.”

·       Moataz Moumany (2023). Standard Operating Procedures as a Suggested Framework for Localizing Video Games from English into Arabic.

·       Rasha Al-Mutleq (2023). Strategies in Subtitling Jordanian Dialect on Netflix: A Case Study of “AlRawabi School for Girls.”

·       Ruwaa Al-Qudah (2023). Figurative Language between Human and Machine Translation in Literature: A Case Study of “Qindeel Umm Hashim.”

·       Sara Al-Yaseen (2023). Transnational Audiovisual Remakes: “Suits” in Arabic as a Case Study.

·       Sondos Al-Khateeb (2023). Fan Localization and Professional Localization of Video Games: A Comparative Study.