Zhengchao Li
Thesis Title (PhD)
HABITUS, CULTURE AND GENDER: A CASE STUDY OF WILT L. IDEMA AND HIS ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF CHINA’S FOUR GREAT FOLKTALES
With the “cultural turn” in Translation Studies during the 1990s, the notion of “fidelity” is no longer the most imperative principle, creating space for Sociological and Feminist Translation Studies. In Sociological Translation Studies, Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory (1977) has been widely employed to study the field, habitus, and capital of the translator. In 1998, Simeoni extended the notion of habitus into “translatorial habitus”, referring to a translator’s set of dispositions, inclinations, and ways of approaching translation that are influenced by their individual background, education, cultural context, and various professional roles and habitus from disciplines beyond translation. Since then, much research has been conducted to investigate the translatorial habitus of renowned translators (e.g. Howard Goldblatt). However, a notable translator’s translatorial habitus has often been neglected in this field, despite his unique translational style and the potential embedded in his works for fostering feminist ideologies, which is less common in the works of male translators. This translator is Wilt L. Idema, a distinguished sinologist and translator renowned for his comprehensive expertise in Chinese traditional drama, women’s literature, and narrative ballads. He holds the title of Emeritus Professor of Chinese Literature at Harvard University and has received translation awards in the Netherlands and China. This research will particularly focus on the formation and diachronic development of Idema's distinctive translatorial habitus, the translational shifts and strategies he employed when translating culture-loaded items and gender-related contents in Chinese folktales, and his extensive use of paratexts that enhance the academic and social significance of translated works, along with the potential implications and insights he might offer the folk literature translation field. By studying Wilt L. Idema’s translatorial habitus, this project aims to enrich Translator Studies and broaden the definition of Feminist Translation Studies.