Bourdieu in Translation Studies: The Socio-cultural Dynamics of Shakespeare Translation in Egypt (Routledge Advances in Translation and Interpreting Studies)

This book explores the implications of Pierre Bourdieu’s sociology of cultural production for the study of translation as a socio-cultural activity. Bourdieu’s work has continued to inspire research on translation in the last few years, though without a detailed, large-scale investigation that tests the viability of his conceptual tools and methodological assumptions. With focus on the Arabic translations of Shakespeare’s tragedies in Egypt, this book offers a detailed analysis of the theory of ‘fields of cultural production’ with the purpose of providing a fresh perspective on the genesis and development of drama translation in Arabic. The different cases of the Arabic translations of __Hamlet__, __Macbeth__, __King Lear__ and __Othello__ lend themselves to sociological analysis, due to the complex socio-cultural dynamics that conditioned the translation decisions made by translators, theatre directors, actors/actresses and publishers. In challenging the mainstream history of Shakespeare translation into Arabic, which is mainly premised on the linguistic proximity between source and target texts, this book attempts a ‘social history’ of the ‘Arabic Shakespeare’ which takes as its foundational assumption the fact that translation is a socially-situated phenomenon that is only fully appreciated in its socio-cultural milieu. Through a detailed discussion of the production, dissemination and consumption of the Arabic translations of Shakespeare’s tragedies, __Bourdieu in Translation Studies__ marks a significant contribution to both sociology of translation and the cultural history of modern Egypt. The 'social Turn' In Translation Studies, Bourdieu's Sociology And Shakespeare In Arabic -- Bourdieu's Sociology Of Cultural Production : What Is In A Translation 'field'? -- Genesis Of The Field Of Drama Translation In Egypt : The First Arabic Hamlet -- Translators' Agency And New Translation Products : De-commercializing The Arabic Shakespeare' -- Explaining Retranslation : The Dialectic Of Ageing' And 'distinction' -- 'breaking The Silence Of Doxa' : Iconoclastic Translations -- Towards A Methodology For A Sociology Of Translation. Sameh Hanna. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.