The Sociology of Bourdieu and the Construction of the ‘Object’ in Translation and Interpreting Studies
- 1 November 2005
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in The Translator
- Vol. 11 (2), 125-145
- https://doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2005.10799195
Abstract
This article introduces Bourdieu’s sociological perspective and its relevance to translation and interpreting studies. It discusses Bourdieu’s key concepts – habitus, field, capital and illusio – and their contribution to theorizations of the interaction between structure and agency in sociological and philosophical debates. Considerable attention is paid to the relationship between Bourdieu’s reflexive sociology and the emergent interest in the ethnographic tradition within translation and interpreting studies, particularly the influence of the interpretive approach of Geertz and the subsequent work of Clifford and Marcus within the culturalist paradigm. The question of methodology is addressed in relation to Bourdieu’s reflexive sociology and the construction of the ‘object’ of sociological research. The article further explore show Bourdieu’s concepts may be made to work empirically within translation and interpreting research and how much this depend son embracing Bourdieu’s ontological and epistemological stance. Bourdieu’s work is briefly explored in relation to other sociological theories that have begun to emerge as relevant to translation studies, in particular the work of Latour and Luhmann, and additional future directions for research within the sociology of translation and interpreting are suggested.Keywords
This publication has 10 references indexed in Scilit:
- Postcolonial TranslationPublished by Taylor & Francis Ltd ,2012
- Ethnography After PostmodernismPublished by SAGE Publications ,2001
- An Offer One Might Prefer to RefuseEuropean Journal of Social Theory, 2000
- Siting TranslationPublished by University of California Press ,1992
- Bourdieu and Ethnography: Reflexivity, Politics and PraxisPublished by Springer Science and Business Media LLC ,1990
- Introduction: Partial TruthsPublished by University of California Press ,1986
- Writing CulturePublished by University of California Press ,1986
- Representations Are Social Facts: Modernity and Post-Modernity in AnthropologyPublished by University of California Press ,1986
- Post-Modern Ethnography: From Document of the Occult to Occult DocumentPublished by University of California Press ,1986
- Outline of a Theory of PracticePublished by Cambridge University Press (CUP) ,1977