Abstract

In this study two strands of theoretical reflection will contribute to the
framework for the analysis of empirical narrative-based material. Research is
focused on exploring the reality-framing aspects of the work of translators in a
highly centralized, bureaucratic international institution through: approaching
their workplace activity via theoretical insights regarding the nature of
translation (1); exploring the experiential framework of their professional [and
to some extent private] life (2); and analyzing the materiality of the workplace
itself to gain insight into the networked processes (3). These research paths
will be informed by Derridian and Benjaminian insights into the philosophy of
translation; existent literature on emotional labour, sanitization and carnival;
and sociomaterial analysis, respectively. The above framework will enable to
critically explore the qualitative data gathered for this study and offer a reconceptualization
of translation as a heterogonous notion encompassing
multiple practices underpinned by potentially incommensurable set of
assumptions including the nature of communication and social interaction.