Dinámicas de confluencia y confrontación en el campo de la interpretación: una aproximación narrativa

In this chapter, I present and apply a model of analysis for exploring the sociology of translation and interpreting. Such model, grounded on narrative theory, accounts for the ways in which profession, research and training in T/I are dynamically organised and structured, (a) by interrogating the conceptualisation of T/I in time and in space, and (b) by examining the ways in which these views (or the narratives they construct) overlap and differ in and across communities of individuals (activist networks of translators and interpreters, professional organisations, etc.). To show how this model may be applied, I will report on a case study already carried out on the sociology of conference interpreting. Rather than outlining binary positionings, the picture that emerges out of the analysis is a network-like constellation of positionings upon which the field structures itself as a relational network whereby communities and individuals as well as their narratives may enjoy different degrees of centrality and marginality. I argue that analysts should pay particular attention to narratives that locate themselves at the margins of academia, the profession and society, as the networks of solidarity marginal narratives neat among them may well prefigure the ways in which conference interpreting might be performed, taught and investigated by future generations of conference interpreters. In conclusion, I return to the potential of a socio-anthropological approach for a Sociology of Translation and Interpreting.