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.

A historical cruise through Paris' rivers

Pauline Guéna — 2026-03-17T11:00:00Z

Between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, as the monarchy established its authority across French territory, the rivers of the Paris Basin continued to be managed by various actors through negotiations aimed at coordination.

Capitalism: the great transition

Quentin Badaire — 2026-03-10T09:00:00Z

Is it possible to identify the origin of the shift from feudalism to capitalism? Such a transition cannot be reduced to the expansion of trade or a linear evolution. It implies a transformation of social relations, work, and production.

Raised Among the Ruins

Charlotte Canizo — 2026-03-05T09:00:00Z

By adopting a child's perspective, Camille Mahé shows that younger children perceived the Second World War differently than adults.

A Panopticon for All

Julien Le Mauff — 2026-02-19T08:30:00Z

The rise of surveillance technologies is redefining the approach to security amid economic pressures. Wherever it is implemented, this surveillance, boosted by new technologies, raises the question of abuses that threaten civil liberties.

Marilyn Monroe does not exist

Élisa Goudin — 2026-02-12T08:30:00Z

From Salomé to Lolita, representations of “temptresses” haunt male fantasies. They entail a woman who has said “yes” before she has even been asked anything. And women who “fire up” men's desire must pay the price.

Unrepresentative images

Fabien Lacouture — 2026-02-03T14:22:25Z

In this collection of essays, Jean-Claude Schmitt continues his examination of medieval images. Considering the topic from a semantic, historical, and artistic perspective, he explores how the medieval West thought about images and, at times, through images.

The Many Voices of Civil Rights

Ana Artiaga — 2026-01-20T08:00:00Z

The American civil rights movement was more complex than is generally realized. Olivier Mahéo reconstructs its story by considering the marginalized voices and internal conflicts that are often overlooked.

Two Centuries of Alternation, 1

Michel Offerlé — 2025-12-18T10:48:00Z

Julia Cagé and Thomas Piketty's economic history of political conflict in France is a defense of bipartition: The Left-Right divide, which is the foundation of our democracy, has enabled social progress. We must therefore work to restore it.

Two Centuries of Alternation, 2

Michel Offerlé — 2025-12-18T10:47:00Z

In his academic reading of Julia Cagé and Thomas Piketty's book, Michel Offerlé provides a critical analysis of the selected indicators, followed by a comparison with works of electoral sociology and electoral history.