Socio-cultural Perspectives on Translation Activities in Saudi Arabia: A Bourdieusean Account A thesis submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2012 Abdullah M. Alkhamis School of Arts, Languages, and Cultures Table of Contents List of Figures...................................................................................................5 List of Tables....................................................................................................6 Abstract...........................................................................................................7 Declaration......................................................................................................8 Copyright Statement........................................................................................8 Note on Transcription of Arabic.......................................................................9 Dedication.....................................................................................................10 Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................11 1. Research Context ............................................................................................13 2. Research Questions.........................................................................................19 3. Data..................................................................................................................20 4. Organisation of the Thesis...............................................................................21 Chapter 2: The Sociology of Pierre Bourdieu..................................................24 1. The Roots of Bourdieu’s Theory……………………………………………………………….....24 2. Bourdieu’s Central Concepts: The Notion of Field…………………………………….....26 3. Bourdieu’s Notion of Habitus……………………………………………………………………….34 4. Interdependence of Field and Habitus…………………………………………………………40 5. Capital: Determining Agents’ Positions………………………………………………………..43 6. Homology…………………………………………………………………………………………………….46 7. Doxa, Orthodoxy, and Heterodoxy……………………………………………………………….46 7.1 Doxa: the Self-evident Dispositions………………………………………………….47 7.2 Orthodoxy vs. Heterodoxy……………………………………….………………………49 8. Conclusions…………………………………………………….…………………………………………...52 Chapter 3: Analysing the Field of Translation in Saudi Arabia: Academic and Literary Institutions........................................................................................53 1. The Trajectory of Academic and Literary Institutions in Saudi Arabia; a Socio- Political Account..................................................................................................56 2. Translations by Governmental Institutions: Part of the Field of Translation?.........................................................................................................62 2.1 King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives.......................63 2.2 The Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States..............................64 2 2.3 Other Governmental Institutions........................................................67 2.4 Governmental Translation Practice and the Concept of Illusio....................................................................................................................68 3. Structure of the Sub-Field of Translation and Available Positions: Academic and Literary Institutions.......................................................................................71 4. The Agents and their Production.....................................................................74 4.1 King Saud University Translation Centre.............................................74 4.2 Institute of Public Administration.......................................................81 4.3 King Abdulaziz University....................................................................83 4.4 Other Universities...............................................................................84 4.5 Jeddah Literary and Cultural Club.......................................................86 5. Capital: Logics of Struggle................................................................................88 5.1 The Academy.......................................................................................88 5.1.1 The Macro Level....................................................................88 5.1.2 The Micro Level.....................................................................92 5.2 JLCC.....................................................................................................93 6. Conclusion........................................................................................................94 Chapter 4: Analysing the Field of Translation in Saudi Arabia: The Publishing Industry: Private Sector..................................................................................97 1. The History of Publishing and Printing in Saudi Arabia....................................98 2. Structure of the Field and Available Positions...............................................100 3. The Agents and their Production...................................................................103 3.1 Jarir...................................................................................................103 3.2 Obeikan.............................................................................................127 3.3 Dar al-Mareekh.................................................................................132 4. Capital: Logics of Practice..............................................................................134 5. Conclusion......................................................................................................139 Chapter 5: Obeikan’s translation of Niall Ferguson’s Colossus: The Rise and Fall of the American Empire...............................................................................141 1. Niall Ferguson’s Colossus: The Rise and Fall of the American Empire (first edition, Allen Lane, 2004)..................................................................................142 2. The Agents.....................................................................................................147 2.1 Obeikan.............................................................................................148 2.2 The Translator: Mo’en al-Emam.......................................................148 2.3 Mohammed al-Ahmary.....................................................................149 3. Textual Interventions.....................................................................................150 3.1 The State’s Politics vs. Religious Politics............................................152 3.2 Political Doxa Expressed in Religious Terms......................................162 3.3 The Historic Suspicion towards the US..............................................171 4. Conclusion......................................................................................................173 3 Chapter 6: Findings and Conclusions............................................................174 1. A Field in its own Right?.................................................................................177 2. The Sub-field of Academic Translation..........................................................179 3. The Sub-field of Translation within the Publishing Field................................180 4. Capital............................................................................................................186 5. Homologies....................................................................................................188 6. Suggestions for Future Research...................................................................190 Bibliography.................................................................................................192 Appendix 1...................................................................................................206 Appendix 2...................................................................................................208 Appendix 3...................................................................................................211 Word Count: 63351 4 List of Figures Figure 1: Number of universities established throughout Saudi history........................59 Figure 2: Screenshot of ABEGS list of published books and translations.......................66 Figure 3: Most active agents among academic institutions...........................................72 Figure 4: Screenshot of the list of translators and their production on KSUTC website...........................................................................................................................77 Figure 5: Screenshot of the sample of publications available on KSUTC website...........................................................................................................................78 Figure 6: Screenshot of a sample of information provided about each translated book by KSUTC.........................................................................................................................79 Figure 7: Chart of the number and subjects of translations in the showcased sample on the website of KSUTC.....................................................................................................80 Figure 8: Screenshot of the IPA’s website list................................................................82