Books & ideas

Roman menus

Kevin Bouillot — 2026-03-24T08:00:00Z

Ancient Roman diets were based on health concerns as well as moral and political considerations. Frugality and pleasure were not mutually exclusive. Eating was about more than filling one's stomach.

In the patient queue

Igor Martinache — 2025-11-06T09:11:00Z

Though they are presented as egalitarian, public health policies make extensive use of patient selection. As Maud Gelly demonstrates in an illuminating new book, this practice contributes significantly to health-related social inequality.

Ethic of Care or Solidarity Pact?

Marie Matignon — 2024-09-17T06:00:00Z

Since the 1980s, patient accompaniment has been considered a form of care in its own right. Yet, the “ethic of care,” now a key notion in philosophy, is also part of the solidarity pact that governs the welfare state in France.

Telemedecine: Connecting Healthcare Providers and Patients

Manon Plegat — 2024-03-05T07:02:40Z

French sociologist Alexandre Mathieu-Fritz analyzes the rise of telemedicine, which was brought to the fore by the pandemic. He examines changes in the practices of healthcare professionals, the doctor-patient bond, and delegation between professions.

Medicine and Race during the French Empire

Élodie Edwards-Grossi — 2023-05-04T06:20:00Z

Drawing on treatises by naturalists and doctors, as well as reports from colonial missions, historian Delphine Peiretti-Courtis examines how racialized bodies were belittled and dehumanized by medical professionals in the French Empire from the 19^th century onwards.

Covid-19: Chronicle of an Outbreak Foretold

Philippe Sansonetti — 2020-03-30T07:00:00Z

What are Covid-19 and the coronavirus? What are the parameters, causes and effects of this disease? What are the short and long-term prospects? Infectious disease specialist Philippe Sansonetti explains why the fate of the epidemic is in our hands.

The Politics of Antibiotics

Adrien Allorant & Jules Naudet — 2019-05-30T07:00:00Z

The growing resistance to antibiotics potentially threatens the future of mankind. Ramanan Laxminarayan suggests that this major political challenge requires as much international cooperation as the fight against global warming does.

The Label of Schizophrenia

Laure Murat — 2019-01-17T06:30:00Z

In the 20^th century, being labelled as “schizophrenic” was tantamount to a life sentence. A study based on patient records shows that schizophrenics suffered not only from their illness but also from ideological prejudice and the classificatory obsession of their time.

Medicine of the Black Body

Élodie Edwards-Grossi — 2018-10-18T07:00:00Z

The flourishing history of the relationship between race and health has recently turned to the origins of medicine in the United States and the decisive role played by enslaved Africans, both dead and alive. A history of duress, from which their voices nevertheless emerge.

The Empire of Plants

Pierre Nobi — 2018-09-27T07:00:00Z

Can one write a history of colonization through plants? This is the challenge taken up by Samir Boumediene in a book devoted to the modern-age production of botanical knowledge on both sides of the Atlantic.