Understanding the Social Dynamics of Online Fansubbing Networks in China: A Bourdieusian Perspective

Lu, Sijing (2021) Understanding the Social Dynamics of Online Fansubbing Networks in China: A Bourdieusian Perspective. PhD thesis, University of Liverpool.

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Abstract

The advent of new technologies has had a profound impact on translation practices. One of the practices that has arisen at the forefront of translation among others is the emergence and ongoing development of amateur subtitling, known as fansubbing. Fansubbing community refers to a community of fans who subtitle works for other fans. These virtual communities have stable memberships, constantly subtitle videos from one language into another, and distribute their works on the Internet for other fans to download freely. With the rise of participatory culture, fansubbing has transformed the traditional understanding of passive information consumers to active media producers and has re-identified many social relations, such as relations between consumers and producers, between individuals and collectives, and between amateurs and professionals. These new relations have also inspired a shift of research interest from the textual aspect of fansubbing to the contextual one. Informed by French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s sociological theory, this thesis provides a new perspective through focusing on the interplay among different power struggles in Chinese fansubbing and revisits Bourdieu’s traditional sociology within a new digital context. Methodologically, I devise an innovative method of reflexive netnography to focus on three Chinese fansubbing communities to explore how and to what extent social factors have shaped the mechanism and various organisational activities in constructing and sustaining online fansubbing networks in China. Findings are used to present a better understanding of Chinese fansubbing in relation to ideological and social contexts. I hope that this thesis can provide new insights into our awareness of amateur translation, and further shed light on how translation practice develops with the convergence of technology in the globalised era.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Divisions:	Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Histories, Languages and Cultures
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	16 Dec 2022 09:52
Last Modified:	18 Jan 2023 21:05
DOI:	10.17638/03152557
Supervisors:	Shaw, Lisa
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3152557