Books & ideas

What is the Non Take-up of Social Benefits?

Philippe Warin — 2014-06-09T07:30:00Z

The non take-up of social benefits is becoming increasingly widespread as a phenomenon, and is now a central concept within public policy analysis. Philippe Warin examines the diverse reasons for why people fail to claim the benefits they are entitled to, which range from a simple lack of awareness and entitlement to more complex issues of indifference towards and even rejection of the social security system.

What It Means to Be a Sociologist in China

Émilie Frenkiel — 2011-04-27T08:14:21Z

In this interview, sociologist and sinologist Jean-Louis Rocca describes the development of Chinese sociology since its rebirth in the early 1980s. He also discusses the changes that have taken place in Chinese society by analysing representations of the middle classes.

A Sociologist in the Ghetto

Jules Naudet — 2011-04-11T09:02:00Z

After several years of field work in a Chicago black ghetto, sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh gives a lively and thorough analysis of the survival strategies of its inhabitants. Halfway between solidarity and predation, the underground economy of the ghetto relies as much on money as on networks built on trust and exchange.

The Two Lives of Ivan Illich

Augustin Fragnière — 2011-03-18T09:51:09Z

The French literary magazine Esprit evaluates the work of Ivan Illich. It first focuses on his denouncing the perverse effects of industrial society. It also analyzes the symbolic effects of the system of modern technology. Despite the thematic and methodological eclecticism of the two periods in his life, there is one central preoccupation that runs throughout, that of man and his autonomy.

Rwanda: The Steps to Genocide

Claudine Vidal — 2011-03-16T13:00:57Z

How did it come about that by 7 April 1994 a political faction had decided on and initiated the Tutsi genocide? André Guichaoua's book investigates the Rwandan state's genocide strategy, which was carried out by an extremist government after it had eliminated the legitimate authorities.

France Against Its Gypsies

Emmanuel Filhol — 2011-03-14T08:53:28Z

Every year the public authorities wait until the end of the school year to expel France's Gypsies. Emmanuel Filhol shows us how this policy of discrimination, which runs contrary to the principles of the French Republic, was gradually established and then intensified during the 20^th century.

Profession: killer

Laurent Gayer — 2011-02-25T08:00:00Z

Nicholas Khan offers an ethnographical study of the “professional killers” of a Pakistani political party and immerses the reader in the life of these murderers. Her study opens new avenues for exploring how these killers manage to make sense of their professional activities and justify their crimes.

The Social State and Globalization

Jean-Fabien Spitz — 2011-02-11T08:30:00Z

Does the globalization of the economy inevitably imply a lowering of our social protections? As Jean-Fabien Spitz shows, this would mean considering them as a mere luxury that we must give up during a period of crisis, whereas they are really and more deeply what gives a democratic society the basis for its own legitimacy.

The 1970s: Years of Politics!

Xavier Vigna — 2011-02-02T08:02:10Z

Against the widespread view that links the post-‘68 period to hedonism, sociologist Lilian Mathieu paints a broad range of protest movements and offers an incisive political analysis. But this period is also of interest for understanding the present: a look at the recent past enables us to analyze today's social movements.

A Chinese Chronicle of Everyday Discontent

Jean-Louis Rocca — 2011-01-28T07:55:00Z

What institutional means are available to the Chinese people for expressing their displeasure with officialdom? Isabelle Thireau and Hua Linshan's book is the first Western study of the xinfang, the Administration of Letters and Visits, a government agency that currently processes in excess of 13 million complaints a year.