The Symbolic Economy of the Nobel Prize: Its Role in the Makingof World Literature

<ns3:p>According to Bourdieu’s theory, literary prizes are specifi c authorities which in the long run contributeto the conversion of symbolic capital into economic capital. The Nobel Prize has playeda special role in the unifi cation of a relatively autonomous international literary space, as describedby Casanova. It helped create a new canon of world literature, as Nobel Prize winners were widelytranslated. But whereas Casanova places the emphasis on autonomy, this article underscoresa relative heteronomy that the award conveys. Literary authorities balance autonomous and heteronomouscriteria, be they ideological or economic. This article examines how the symbolic capitalof the Nobel Prize has served to reinforce modes of domination. The intersectional and Westerndomination, with its biased selection of laureates, slowly evolved into a greater diversity and inclusiveness.However, the last three decades, which correspond to the globalization era, showthat despite the growing inclusion of non-Western authors, it is the Western cultural intermediaries(publishers and literary agents) who mostly capitalize the symbolic and economic value of theprize. These research results are based on a quantitative analysis of the publishing histories of the33 laureates since 1990 in three languages: English, German and French.</ns3:p>