Books & Ideas is the English-language mirror website of La Vie des Idées, a free online journal which has gained a large readership and established itself in France as a major place for intellectual debate since 2007.
Why do we believe that our societies are freer, more prosperous or more democratic thanks to the institution of private property rather than in spite of it?
As multilateral cooperation is increasingly under attack, Katerina Linos challenges certain misperceptions about the role of international institutions, particularly the European Union, and emphasizes their capacity for action in times of multiple crises.
By shedding light on alternative ways of life that have hitherto been kept in the shadows, Constance Rimlinger shows that ecofeminist utopias are a reality that seeks emancipation from capitalism and patriarchy.
Based on a collective survey, Christine Détrez intends to deconstruct the term ‘crush’ and explores the social meanings underlying the many ways young people aged between 12 and 25 form relationships and learn about love.
About : Julie Pagis, Le prophète rouge, La Découverte
About: Julie Madon, Faire durer les objets. Pratiques et ressources dans l’art de déconsommer, Les Presses de Sciences Po
About: Fabrice Langrognet, Neighbours of Passage: A Microhistory of Migrants in a Paris Tenement, 1882–1932, Routledge
A rumour is circulating in some African countries: the French state is organising penis thefts to offset declining fertility. The rumour, spread by Russian propaganda, has become fake news.
The American sociologist Harrison White made a vital contribution to the development of social network analysis. Besides his work in this field, his theoretical synthesis and his understanding of social formations have influenced a variety of fields such as the sociology of art and economic sociology.
Ukraine’s water networks have been mobilized since the start of the war in 2014. Infrastructure workers are some of the last to leave settlements attacked by the Russian army. Water systems and people are resisting but are reaching the limits of their capacity to adapt to violence and disruptions.
Over the past few months, Books and Ideas has been running a series of interviews with leading contemporary scholars, who took the time to discuss their particular topics of research with us. For the Christmas season, we have put together a selection of seven discussions with intellectuals across the humanities and sciences: sociology, history, comparative literature, neuro-biology, anthropology and political science.
As populism is rising on a global level, Books & Ideas offers a series on media politics in East Asian countries, to be published over the next two weeks. Though situations are extremely diverse, they can teach us a lot on the relationship between the state and journalists in authoritarian contexts. What role is left for the media to play in non-democracies?
Food is now a conspicuous topic, from culinary blogs to magazines, diet books, TV shows and contests. Yet unbeknownst to many, it often holds an underground, clandestine place in some of social science’s major works. This dossier assesses the current importance of such scholarly endeavors, known as “food studies” in the United States.
Rorty made conversation a philosophical genre in its own right, which led him to reject any distinctions he considered futile: between analytic and continental philosophy, between the Enlightenment and postmodernity, between philosophy and literature.
By asserting that structuralism is a fruitful approach to kinship relations or the difference between the sexes, Françoise Héritier radically renewed anthropological methodology. Her life’s work has also shown us that scientific commitment goes hand-in-hand with societal involvement.
Among the recipients of the 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics was Elinor Ostrom, for her analysis of economic governance, especially in relation to the commons. While this choice took many in the profession by surprise, her life-long quest for an understanding of successful common property resource management holds important lessons for our future.
Pourquoi la connaissance scientifique ne déclenche-t-elle pas l’action politique requise ? Au-delà du déni ou de l’impuissance, la cause en est peut-être plus profondément dans l’occultation structurelle de nos conditions d’existence.
L’ouvrage classique d’Annette Lareau, récemment traduit en français, éclaire la socialisation primaire d’un nouveau jour, en montrant l’importance des stratégies parentales d’éducation et les inégalités qu’elles perpétuent, entre “mise en culture concertée” et “pousse naturelle” des enfants.
Une équipe franco-allemande a analysé les photos – devenues iconiques – de l’arrivée des Juifs hongrois à Auschwitz en 1944. Il s’agit autant de documenter le meurtre de masse que de comprendre le processus de construction de l’album.
À propos de : Guillaume Blanc, La Nature des hommes. Une mission écologique pour « sauver » l’Afrique, La Découverte
Recensé : Bruno Dumézil, Charlemagne, Puf
À propos de : Jonas Pardo et Samuel Delor, Petit manuel de lutte contre l’antisémitisme. Reconnaître, décrypter, combattre, Éditions du commun
