ABSTRACT
Chapter One applies a sociological perspective to conceptualise the translation of Taiwan literature as a social act. Specifically, it reveals how the sociological theories of prominent French sociologists, notably Pierre Bourdieu and Bruno Latour, can be applied to conceptualise translation as a social practice that is inseparable from the translation agents’ mediation and integrally associated with the social context within which translation takes place. The chapter presents an investigation of various endeavours to translate Taiwan literature in chronological sequence, beginning in the 1960s. The argument presented here is that sociological analytical tools can facilitate not only an exploration of the social settings and apparatus that determine the process of producing a translation but also an understanding of where translators and their products are situated within a society and elucidate the interplay of power and the dynamics of the interactions among the agents.
