Situational analysis as a theory-methods package for the sociology of translation: the production system of literary translation

Abstract The study introduces the sociology of translation as a research area and explores the potential and limits of using situational analysis (SA) as a theory-methods package for examining the production, distribution, and consumption of book translations of literary texts as a specific type of cultural production. Drawing on constructivist assumptions, SA emphasises the constructing of the research situation; this informs the concept of the production system of literary translation (from English to Czech) and a methodological procedure for research into it that are presented. The procedure is illustrated with some Czech data, but may be worth testing further on (literary) translation and possibly on other types of cultural production in different cultural-geographical areas. It is also potentially beneficial for SA itself, as it demonstrates its applicability to cultural work, international cultural exchanges, and the effects of globalisation. By exploiting these possibilities, SA could contribute to uncovering the complex relationships between social and economic-political aspects of cultural production at the local and global levels.