Maud Gonne

From Binarity to Complexity: A Latourian Perspective on Cultural Mediators the Case of Georges Eekhoud’s Intra-National Activities

This chapter aims to describe and theorize the concrete modalities of cultural mediation through a case study on the transfer activities of Belgian writer Georges Eekhoud with special reference to the collective production process of a patriotic bilingual novel (1897–1899). Three levels of mediation between French-Belgian and Flemish languages and identities are explored, with each level modifying the significance of the transfer operation. The chapter suggests that Latour’s Actor-Network theory, which has already proven to be a source of innovation for Translation Studies, is especially relevant for the study of mediators and their sometimes paradoxical multidirectional discursive activities.