The Genesis of Drama Translation Field in Iran: A Sociological Approach

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the gradual genesis of drama translation field in Iran within the context of a sociological approach to translation. The theoretical framework of this study is based on Bourdieu’s social theory. The study covers a historical and social review of Qajar period in Iran to trace the genesis of drama translation field. Understanding the early phases of the genesis of the field depends on understanding a number of socio-cultural factors which this research has tried to cover by means of a macro-structural investigation. The data in this study indicates that such socio-cultural developments as the rise of literacy rate, the translation movement, the press, the rise of new intellectual class, and the establishment of political institutions like Parliament during Qajar period reshaped Iranian society. From the Constitutional Revolution onwards, Iran saw the progressive genesis of different fields (political, cultural, literary, journalistic, criticism) and also the emergence of new cultural agents (drama translators, playwrights, critiques, theatrical groups, theater magazines). Accordingly, all these socio-cultural factors and the interactions among the agents made the genesis of drama translational field possible.