Prof Connor's class was very enjoyable. The field of Translation Studies is very new but he still manages to raise interesting issues throughout the semester. That being said I felt the class was kind of wishy-washy. I enjoyed it and thought it was a great class, and I don't regret taking it, but that being said, if you're looking for more practical, hands-on application, you might be a bit disappointed with this course. There is only one required translation assignment, though it is an option for the final. Given that it's a large lecture (100+ students) with only four TAs, it makes sense that there aren't many assignments.
The lectures are often just Professor Connor discussing what he thought was important, and him trying (and sometimes failing) to solicit class participation. Sometimes certain readings were never discussed at all, though it is usually helpful to read them. Usually every week we'll have three or four readings (no more than 20 pages, usually they're very short) and Professor Connor will pick one or two and extensively discuss them. You may nor may not appreciate this approach.
Even though Professor Connor runs a great class about an interesting topic, I felt his lecture style is pretty standard for a college course. His lectures aren't fabulously engaging though they are very informative. He tries his best to engage with students but he is very much the stereotypical "ivory tower" academic, and it comes across in his class. Most of what we do is dedicated to theory though I suppose his spring seminar on translation would be more dedicated to practice. I haven't taken it though, so I can't comment.
All that being said he genuinely cares about us and he wants to see us do well. He calls us all aspiring translators (which I guess we are) and always has nice things to say about us, just for taking the class. He wants us to learn, and he seems to enjoy teaching, which is more than you can say for other professors at Barnard or Columbia. So all that said, if you have fulfilled the language requirement, you should definitely take this class. It is a very fun class in a subject that everyone is interested about since it really is everywhere nowadays.
My TA was Valeria Luiselli. I am very glad to have been able to get her comments on my work. She was very approachable by email and after class, and very knowledgeable about the course material. She would also participate in the lecture with relevant information. All you could want from a TA. The other TAs were equally helpful, from what I could tell.