Bourdieu’s trajectory concept as an approach to microhistorical research in translation

Abstract

This article explores the potential of Bourdieu’s trajectory concept as an approach to microhistorical research, using the life history of Egypt’s late Minister of Culture Tharwat Okasha as a case study. The focus throughout is on Okasha’s multipositionality throughout his trajectory as a military officer and then as a military attaché in France between 1939 and 1956. Through a close reading of memoirs, translations and writings, the article investigates how he traversed different fields (the military, psychology, history and journalism) and the effect of this movement on his translation practices. In so doing, the article integrates this analysis into a sociological examination of the politics of the Free Officers, who led the 1952 coup, and argues that the relational concept of trajectory allows the reconstruction of history at the intersection between the lived experience of an individual and the network of agents engaged in the same fields.