Books & ideas

A Maoist Enigma in Post-May France

David Copello — 2025-11-25T08:30:00Z

In post-May Paris, a mysterious Maoist activist, Fernando, brings about a dozen of people to form a revolutionary group. Studying this charismatic-led organization allows Julie Pagis to deepen our understanding of Weberian domination through sociological enlightenments.

A religion without institutions?

Kheloudja Amer — 2024-06-27T07:00:00Z

Pentecostalism, a rapidly growing movement, is a paradoxical religion: it denies its status as a church, leaving individuals in a one-to-one relationship with God, yet in a way that allows dominated groups to acquire a degree of social legitimacy.

Domination Among the Auditors

Gaëtan Flocco — 2019-11-04T08:00:00Z

How do we account for the “voluntary servitude” that reigns in auditing firms? A survey of their employees shows the cause can be found in the spirit of competition and the cult of elitism.

A Call to Arms

Fanny Bugnon — 2018-10-08T07:00:00Z

When groups defined as minorities take a political stand, those in a dominant position often see it as a threat. In a genealogy of power viewed through the prism of resistance, Elsa Dorlin analyses the political self-defence traditions these groups employ.

The Corporate Dictatorship

Léna Silberzahn — 2018-06-21T07:00:00Z

In the 18^th century, the free market emerged as a vehicle for equality, giving people freedom from managers' authority. However, as Elizabeth Anderson explains, this is no longer the case: corporations' power over their employees is now entirely dictatorial.

On Linguistic Imperialism

Emmanuelle Loyer — 2016-06-09T09:31:01Z

After the domination of French in the 18^th Century, English is now the new world language. As a sociologist, Pascale Casanova shows that using the world language gives authority to those who master it. But what other solution is there, given that a world language is necessary for universal communication?

Secularization and its Other: the French Problem

François Dubet — 2015-06-15T06:00:00Z

Does secularist rhetoric secretly lend itself to a discourse on social order and the exclusion of formerly colonized peoples? François Dubet argues that it is important to recognize French secularism's rigid and conservative turn. But he also believes that we must qualify this claim if we are to find alternative secularities.

Feminism as Political Practice

Mathieu Trachman — 2014-12-25T09:00:00Z

Starting with a discussion of three related but distinct ideas – sex, gender and sexuality – Elsa Dorlin summarizes forty years of feminist theories. She also traces these three categories back to practices that are inseparable from a context of domination.

Plutocracy in America

Isaac William Martin — 2013-02-25T08:48:08Z

Is American democracy controlled by a rich minority of plutocrats? Has it drowned in money in the past thirty years? Studying the behavior of rich Americans in politics, three recent books answer these questions and prove that, yes, plutocracy has become a real threat in America.

Explanation Explained

Matthieu de Castelbajac — 2012-08-30T09:27:30Z

The quality of an explanation depends much on the relationship between the sociologist and her informants. The more unequal it is, the more she will resort to “third person” explanations—a tendency most visible among the fathers of the discipline. Yet listening to the actors does not necessarily mean turning to a “soft” sociology—because actors are able to map and explain the social space in which they live.