Understanding careers as translations: the importance of Bruno Latour for the study of careers

Abstract

PurposeThis paper argues that Bruno Latour’s work on translation provides an alternative to dominant anthropocentric, individualistic and managerial approaches in career studies by considering careers as precarious effects of networks instead of the implicit assumption of individual strategic career actors in extant career research paradigms.Design/methodology/approachThe article first compares the three main current approaches to studying careers – structural functionalist, interpretivist and critical – illustrated by three exemplary empirical studies. Subsequently, three concepts from the sociology of translation that are relevant for the study of careers are introduced: career making as translating interests, careers as effects of networks and career action as dislocated and overtaken. Taken together, these three concepts allow us to conceive of careers as practices performed by human and nonhuman actors. Finally, an example from an ethnographic case study in the field of contemporary art illustrates how a Latourian approach can be used.FindingsLatour’s work on translation provides conceptual and methodological tools to investigate career processes and practices in an era of unpredictability.Originality/valueThe paper introduces Bruno Latour’s work on translation to the study of careers.