Towards a Sociology of Translation Book Translations as a Cultural World-System
TL;DR: The authors argued that the translation of books may be seen as constituting a cultural world system, and that the working of this system, based on a core-periphery structure, accounts for...
Abstract: This article argues that the translation of books may be fruitfully understood as constituting a cultural world-system. The working of this system, based on a core-periphery structure, accounts for...
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TL;DR: The authors analyzes the effects of globalization in the book market from the standpoint of linguistic diversity, as assessed by the number of books translated from and into different languages, using Bourdieu's theory of the field of publishing.
157 citations
01 Jan 2008
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the degree, direction, and diversity of the international orientation of arts journalism for each country and cultural genre, finding that international arts and culture coverage has increased in Europe but not in the United States.
Abstract: textThis article charts key developments and cross-national variations in the coverage of foreign culture (i.e., classical and popular music, dance, film, literature, theater, television, and visual arts) in Dutch, French, German, and U.S. elite newspapers between 1955 and 2005. Such coverage signals the awareness of foreign culture among national elites and the degree and direction of "globalization from within." Using content analysis, we examine the degree, direction, and diversity of the international orientation of arts journalism for each country and cultural genre. Results denote how international arts and culture coverage has increased in Europe but not in the United States. Moreover, the centrality of a country in the cultural "world-system" offers a better explanation for cross-national differences in international orientation than do other country-level characteristics, such as size and cultural policy framework. Recorded and performance-based genres differ markedly in their levels of internationalization, but the effect of other genre-level characteristics, such as language dependency and capital intensiveness, is not clear. In each country, international coverage remains concentrated on a few countries, of which the United States has become the most prominent. Although the global diversity of coverage has increased, non-Western countries are still underrepresented.
157 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the degree, direction, and diversity of the international orientation of arts journalism for each country and cultural genre, concluding that international arts and culture coverage has increased in Europe but not in the United States.
Abstract: This article charts key developments and cross-national variations in the coverage of foreign culture (i.e., classical and popular music, dance, film, literature, theater, television, and visual arts) in Dutch, French, German, and U.S. elite newspapers between 1955 and 2005. Such coverage signals the awareness of foreign culture among national elites and the degree and direction of "globalization from within." Using content analysis, we examine the degree, direction, and diversity of the international orientation of arts journalism for each country and cultural genre. Results denote how international arts and culture coverage has increased in Europe but not in the United States. Moreover, the centrality of a country in the cultural "world-system" offers a better explanation for cross-national differences in international orientation than do other country-level characteristics, such as size and cultural policy framework. Recorded and performance-based genres differ markedly in their levels of internationalization, but the effect of other genre-level characteristics, such as language dependency and capital intensiveness, is not clear. In each country, international coverage remains concentrated on a few countries, of which the United States has become the most prominent. Although the global diversity of coverage has increased, non-Western countries are still underrepresented.
154 citations
Cites background from "Towards a Sociology of Translation ..."
...The Netherlands occupies a semi-peripheral position in the international cultural arena (Heilbron 1995), while Germany has not been in a central position since before World War II (Sassoon 2006), except perhaps in classical music (Applegate and Potter 2002) and the visual arts (Quemin 2006)....
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...Some things “travel” more easily than others (Gerhards and Rössel 2000; Moretti 2001), and some places, countries, and cultures seem more open to cultural import than others (Heilbron 1995)....
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...Whether we consider trade, telecommunication traff ic, scientif ic cooperation, or cultural exchange, actors in countries with smaller populations are, ceteris paribus, more internationally oriented than their counterparts in larger countries (Heilbron 1995; Katzenstein 2003)....
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...Another factor determining the level of a country’s international orientation is centrality: the extent to which a country’s cultural production interests foreign producers, experts, and audiences (Heilbron 1995; Held et al. 1999)....
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...While a country’s political system (the Soviet Union) or level of prosperity (India) may mediate the effect of size, a country’s demographic base generally constitutes an independent factor, promoting or hampering international cultural exchange (Heilbron 1995)....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an historical interpretation of how transnational exchange in the social sciences has evolved, and explore the "globalization" of social sciences, and present an analysis of the role of transnational exchanges in this process.
Abstract: Exploring the ‘globalization’ of the social sciences, this article first presents an historical interpretation of how transnational exchange in the social sciences has evolved. Earlier forms of int...
114 citations
Cites background from "Towards a Sociology of Translation ..."
...About 60% of all book translations worldwide are made from English, while book translation into British and American English represents 2–3% of the national book production in the US and the UK, which is among the lowest translation rates in the world (Heilbron, 1999; Heilbron and Sapiro, 2007; Sapiro, 2008)....
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...…all book translations worldwide are made from English, while book translation into British and American English represents 2–3% of the national book production in the US and the UK, which is among the lowest translation rates in the world (Heilbron, 1999; Heilbron and Sapiro, 2007; Sapiro, 2008)....
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References
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Book•
01 Jan 1991
TL;DR: In this article, the economy of language exchange and its relation to political power is discussed. But the authors focus on the production and reproduction of Legitimate language and do not address its application in the theory of political power.
Abstract: Preface Editor's Introduction General Introduction Part I The Economy of Linguistic Exchanges Introduction 1. The Production and Reproduction of Legitimate Language 2. Price Formation and the Anticipation of Profits Appendix: Did You Say 'Popular'? Part II The Social Institution of Symbolic Power Introduction 3. Authorized Language: The Social Conditions for the Effectiveness of Ritual Discourse 4. Rites of Institution 5. Description and Prescription: The Conditions of Possibility and the Limits of Political Effectiveness 6. Censorship and the Imposition of Form Part III Symbolic Power and the Political Field 7. On Symbolic Power 8. Political Representation: Elements for a Theory of the Political Field 9. Delegation and Political Fetishism 10. Identity and Representation: Elements for a Critical Reflection on the Idea of Region 11. Social Space and the Genesis of 'Classes' Note Index
9,970 citations
Book•
18 May 1995TL;DR: This is an expanded and slightly revised version of the book of the same title which caused quite a stir when it was first published (1995), and reflects an additional step in an ongoing research project which was launched in the 1970s.
Abstract: This is an expanded and slightly revised version of the book of the same title which caused quite a stir when it was first published (1995). It thus reflects an additional step in an ongoing research project which was launched in the 1970s. The main objective is to transcend the limitations of using descriptive methods as a mere ancillary tool and place a proper branch of DTS at the very heart of the discipline, between the theoretical and the applied branches. Throughout the book, theoretical and methodological discussions are illustrated by an assortment of case studies, the emphasis being on the need to take whatever one wishes to focus on within the contexts which are relevant to it. Part One discusses the pivotal position of the descriptive branch within Translation Studies, and Part Two then outlines a detailed rationale for that positioning. This, in turn, supplies a framework for the case studies comprising Part Three, where a number of exemplary issues are analysed and contextualized: texts and modes of translational behaviour are situated in their cultural setting, and textual components are related to their texts and then also to the cultural constellations in which they are embedded. All this leads to Part Four, which asks what the knowledge accumulated through descriptive studies of the kind advocated in the book is likely to yield in terms of both the theoretical and the applied branches of the field. All in all: an innovative, thought-provoking book which no one with a keen interest in translation can afford to ignore.
2,621 citations
01 Jan 1994
TL;DR: The Handbook of Economic Sociology as discussed by the authors is a collection of sociologists, economists, and political scientists from the field of economic sociology with a focus on how economic institutions work and how they are influenced by values and norms.
Abstract: During recent years social scientists have come to reaffirm that understanding almost any facet of social life requires a simultaneous understanding of how economic institutions work and how they are influenced by values and norms. Sociology, and especially economic sociology, is well equipped to be of assistance in this endeavor. Neil Smelser and Richard Swedberg bring together leading sociologists, economists, and political scientists in The Handbook of Economic Sociology, the first comprehensive view of this vital and growing field. "This excellent volume is a compilation of some of the best writing in this field over the past decade, including basic works like Oliver Williamson's transaction cost theory of the firm, and [is] a helpful comparison of economic sociology to mainstream economics." —Francis Fukuyama, Foreign Affairs "This is the first comprehensive theoretical and empirical account of the burgeoning field of economic sociology. The scholarship is consistently strong. . .. The book will be greeted warmly and read by serious scholars throughout the social sciences." —Robert K. Merton "This is a bold, ambitious, almost daunting project. ... It will surely become the standard reference book for the field—the sort of text every scholar will have to know-, consult, and cite." —Viviana Zelizer
2,344 citations
Book•
21 Dec 1994TL;DR: Invisibility as mentioned in this paper, the authors present a call to action for the preservation of Invisibility in the Canon and its Canonical Canon, including the following sections: 1. InVISibility 2. Canon 3. Nation 4. Dissidence 5. Margin 6. Simpatico 7. Call to Action
Abstract: Introduction 1. Invisibility 2. Canon 3. Nation 4. Dissidence 5. Margin 6. Simpatico 7. Call to Action
2,093 citations
TL;DR: The Handbook of Economic Sociology as mentioned in this paper provides a comprehensive view of this vital and growing field, including sociologists, economists, and political scientists, as well as a survey of economic sociology.
Abstract: During recent years social scientists have come to reaffirm that understanding almost any facet of social life requires a simultaneous understanding of how economic institutions work and how they are influenced by values and norms. Sociology, and especially economic sociology, is well equipped to be of assistance in this endeavor. Neil Smelser and Richard Swedberg bring together leading sociologists, economists, and political scientists in The Handbook of Economic Sociology, the first comprehensive view of this vital and growing field.During recent years social scientists have come to reaffirm that understanding almost any facet of social life requires a simultaneous understanding of how economic institutions work and how they are influenced by values and norms. Sociology, and especially economic sociology, is well equipped to be of assistance in this endeavor. Neil Smelser and Richard Swedberg bring together leading sociologists, economists, and political scientists in The Handbook of Economic Sociology, the first comprehensive view of this vital and growing field.
1,638 citations