8 | 2024 - Les sciences sociales entre universalisme et différentialisme : le retour des écoles nationales ?

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1. Introduction : universelles, décentrées, différentialistes ? Les sciences sociales face au défi renouvelé de la contextualisation et de la politisation des savoirs

Delphine Allès.

Ce numéro de Sociétés plurielles est le produit d’un appel à contributions portant sur « Les sciences sociales, entre universalisme et différentialisme : un retour des “écoles nationales” ? ». La proposition invitait à interroger la résurgence, paradoxale, de la référence à des « écoles » ou « traditions » nationales au sein de disciplines conçues pour penser le pluralisme des sociétés et des cultures au prisme de paradigmes, de concepts ou de méthodes aspirant sinon à l’universalité, du moins à saisir le monde social en dépassant la description de situations particulières.

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2. Des théories de la modernisation au débat sur les valeurs asiatiques : l’invention d’une science sociale différentialiste à Singapour (années 1970-1990)

Thomas Brisson.

Singapore offers an interesting puzzle for the study of differentialist science policies.How can we understand that the city-state, which had long adopted a modernising and universalist scientific stance, came to reverse this agenda in the 1970s, in order to promote an endogenous and particularist conception of the social sciences? This reversal, which saw Singapore oppose the Euro-American scientific establishment, is particularly counterintuitive as it occurred precisely when the island was completing its integration into the circuits of the Western capitalist economy. To understand this, the article proposes to analyse in detail the relations between Singaporean political and scientific circles, in order to identify the configurations in which the differentialist hypothesis gained credibility. In doing so, it shows both the multiplicity of actors and scales involved in this transformation, as well as the still contested and unfinished nature of differential science policies.

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3. Une expérience française : À propos de Fei Xiaotong 费孝通 et de la publication en français de Xiangtu Zhongguo 乡土中国 (1948), sous le titre « Aux racines de la société chinoise » (2021)

Catherine Capdeville-Zeng.

Fei Xiaotong (1910-2005) is considered in China as one of the founding fathers of Chinese anthropology and sociology. His most important theoretical work, Xiangtu Zhongguo 乡土中国, published in 1948, was translated into English and published in 1992 as From the Soil: The Foundations of Chinese Society. In 2021, to re-specify certain anthropological notions and put them within the reach of French-speaking readers, including in particular that of chaxu geju 差序格局 “(social) order based on status distinctions” which characterizes Chinese society according to the author, the work is published for the first time in French by Presses de l’Inalco under the title The Roots of Chinese Society.After a presentation of the author and his thinking anchored in the anthropological discipline, a reflection is proposed here on the academic debates between thinkers from different societies. A short biography of Fei Xiaotong precedes the exposition of the main concepts developed in his work, and the questions encountered regarding their translations. The old but complex links between Fei Xiaotong and French anthropology are then addressed, then his conceptions are compared to those of the French anthropologist Louis Dumont. The actual experience of publication and translation into French, involving Chinese and French collaborators, and the discussions about the preface written for this French edition are then recounted. A questioning concludes around the forms of censorship […]

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4. Construire la nation avec les sciences sociales : le « projet russien » et ses protagonistes

Jules Fediunin.

This article examines the idea of the civic nation, known as rossiiskii project, and its intellectual roots in post-Soviet Russia. After exploring the intertwined careers of its leading theorists and promoters, the article analyzes the ways in which social science expertise has been deliberately placed at the service of a political cause, i.e., Russian nation-building. Finally, the article shows the lack of consensus around this project, as well as the reluctance of the Putin regime to impose it.

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5. L’Indo-Pacifique comme objet d’études en relations internationales : lectures comparées sur la production scientifique aux États-Unis et en Chine

Gauthier Mouton.

This article consists of a comparative analysis of social science production on the Indo-Pacific as an object of study, specifically in the field of International Relations (IR), between two countries: the United States and China, central players in this region. The aim is therefore to identify and define the main thematic orientations in the American and Chinese national academies over the last fifteen years, with scientific production on the Indo-Pacific understood as a political narrative. Thus, by using data from academic work in these two countries, focusing on IR articles, the aim is to highlight the scientific frame of reference of the 'national traditions'. At the end of this article, it appears that the distinctions between these 'traditions' remain blurred, with different approaches running through them. The relationship between the scientific community and the political world can vary considerably depending on the contexts studied. However, while there are fundamental differences in the way researchers analyse cross-cutting challenges in the Indo-Pacific, a comparison of the scientific literature and expertise produced in universities in the United States and China sheds relevant light on the mutual influences of national academies of social sciences, specifically in International Relations.

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6. Langues indigènes : usage et attitude dans les régions anglophone et francophone du Cameroun

Liliane Hodieb.

It is a truism that colonialism had a terrible impact on African indigenous languages. In Cameroon, where more than 250 of languages are spoken, the situation is more complex, as the country was shared between French and British colonial powers. The system of governing implemented during the colonial era was different from one region to the other: whereas the British opted for an “Indirect rule” under which indigenous people were encouraged to govern themselves, while following to the letter the instructions given by British authorities, the French system was stricter, promoting assimilation. Under such conditions, personal as well as collective attachment to indigenous languages was significantly diminished especially in the Francophone part of the country. After independence was proclaimed in 1960, the two Cameroons reunified in 1961, having English and French as their official languages. However, even more than half a century later, the colonial wraith remains. Two surveys were carried out (2019 and 2020) among both young Anglophone and Francophone Cameroonians, on language use and language attitude. They reveal a clear dichotomy that reflects the colonial pattern. As a matter of fact, the surveys show a much greater attachment to indigenous languages among the Anglophones, which is evident in the vigorous upholding of indigenous languages in the family circle, whereas they are alarmingly giving way to the French language in Francophone homes. The results of the […]

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7. Déplacer le curseur de l’Histoire ? Une critique de « Au commencement était…, Une nouvelle histoire de l’humanité », par David Graeber et David Wengrow

Walter Scheidel ; Christophe Darmangeat.

La nouvelle et volumineuse histoire de la liberté de Graeber et Wengrow possède des atouts considérables mais elle souffre également de graves lacunes.

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8. Une nouvelle nouvelle histoire de l’humanité. Une lecture de « Au commencement était… » de David Graeber et David Wengrow

Thibaud Lanfranchi.

À la fois réaction à une sur-spécialisation des sciences humaines et sociales en général, et réponse à un désir du public, les grandes fresques de l'histoire humaine se sont multipliées ces dernières décennies. La parution en 2021 du livre “Au commencement, était…” de David Graeber et David Wengrow est venue s'ajouter à ces productions en prétendant déconstruire les grands récits existants et proposer une approche radicalement neuve des origines de nos sociétés.

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9. Iulian Bocai, « Filologii. Instituționalizarea studiului literar în Europa » [Philologies. L’institutionnalisation des études littéraires en Europe]: Bucarest, Editura Tracus Arte, 386 pages, 2020, en roumain

Alexandru Bumbas.

Le volume que présente Iulian Bocai tente de répondre à une question vertigineuse : quel type de pensée est la pensée philologique ?

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10. Vladimir Crețulescu, « Ethnicité aroumaine, nationalité roumaine : la construction discursive d’une identité nationale (1770-1878) »: Paris, L’Harmattan, 2021

Nicolas Pitsos.

Dans cet ouvrage, Vladimir Crețulescu s’attelle à étudier une des questions centrales du champ des études aroumaines, en rapport avec l’identité nationale des Aroumains.

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11. William A. Ewing et Holly Roussel, « Civilization : Quelle époque ! », 2021

Madalina Vartejanu-Joubert.

The Way We Live Now : tel est le sous-titre original de l’exposition Civilization qui a donné lieu à ce catalogue. L’objectif poursuivi est de rendre visibles les travers majeurs de notre civilisation et notamment l’incapacité de l’humanité à « appuyer sur le frein ».

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12. Badrinathan Vasumathi, Pejoska-Bouchereau Frosa, Racine Odile, Szende Thomas (dir.), « Médier entre langues, cultures et identités : enjeux, outils, stratégies. Mediating between languages, cultures, identities: challenges, tools, strategies »: Éditions des archives contemporaines (Coll. Plidam), 2022

Olivera Mladenov.

Cet ouvrage propose des approches riches et nuancées de la médiation interculturelle et linguistique. Il met en lumière le rôle fondamental des médiateurs dans notre monde de plus en plus divers et connecté.

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13. Pecqueux Anthony, Poupin Perrine et Vuillerod Jean-Baptiste (coord.), « Tracés », hors-série no 22 : « L’interdisciplinarité “en effet” : sciences sociales, sciences naturelles »

Camille Robert-Boeuf.

Ce numéro, structuré autour d'une introduction écrite par les coordinateurs du numéro, de cinq articles interdisciplinaires et de deux entretiens, propose une analyse riche et essentielle portant sur l'interdisciplinarité entre les sciences sociales et les sciences naturelles et la manière dont cette interdisciplinarité fait « face à la question écologique ».

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