Interviews

The “California dream” does not date back to the Gold Rush of the 19^th century, but only to the 20^th, and is more a matter of criticism than enthusiasm. Louis Warren invites us to put this myth into perspective, and to be wary of the tendency to see California as the laboratory of the United States.

Rachel St. John explores the diverse range of nation-building projects that vied for legitimacy and land across the continent during the XIXe century, illuminating the diversity of North American political history and the contingency of national growth and definition.

Quotas in India contribute to the emancipation of lower castes while producing perverse effects that are difficult to control. Rohini Somanathan questions the right balance between targeted positive discrimination policies and public policies with a universal vocation.

How did African-Americans attempt to overturn the relations of racial domination in the United States? From the post-war period onwards, by creating cultural and educational institutions specific to their community, which are still useful today in the fight against discrimination.

What traces have colonial enterprises left behind? By confronting the public history of colonialism in the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe with that of his own family, Simukai Chigudu reveals the repressed part of the colonial legacy and how it continues to fuel the cycle of violence.

While mental health is usually assessed using objective health indicators, these measurements fail to address the intricate impact of persistent violence on Palestinians’ lives.

At the Vincennes Cartridge Factory, as part of the Paris Autumn Festival, the Théâtre du Soleil company plays Our Life in Art, a new play by American playwright Richard Nelson.

Whether at work, at school, or in personal relationships, implicit gender biases are still very much alive and well. What is more, despite numerous attempts to prevent stereotypes and their effects, they continue to affect people’s performance, preferences, and opinions.

Conducting free and long-term research on China and collaboration with Chinese researchers is crucial to understanding the second world power. German China scholar Thomas Heberer shares his insights into China’s complex relationship with Russia, the repression of the Uyghurs, entrepreneurs and the social credit system.

Laurence Ralph’s ethnography explores the various systems of punishment that injure black and brown Americans’ bodies and that contribute to maintain social hierarchies that rely on the vestiges of slavery. These injuries call for healing and overcoming trauma, and also for reparative justice.

Hakeem Jefferson argues that the United States is experiencing a democratic backsliding. He calls for deep institutional reforms that aim at better reflecting the American public, such as expanding the number of judges in the Supreme Court or having a US Senate apportionment based on state population.

Despite the rise of far-right parties and the adaptation of dictatorships to international pressures, political scientists Helen Milner and Daniel Treisman are confident in the future of Democracy, the only political model suited to accommodate the fast-paced innovations that are driving capitalism.

The digital world is the product of mutual transactions between technologies and humans. It produces innovations and knowledge gains that empower citizens and their ability to contribute to a more egalitarian science.

The digital world is the result of the accumulation of centuries of scientific and organizational progress. Virtuality is further enabled by the materiality of computers, objects that are themselves the product of economic exchanges and labor.

The existence of a digital panopticon in the hands of a small number of democratically unaccountable companies is an affront to human dignity and self-determination. The new technologies’ risks and benefits must be harnessed by adequate social technologies.

Technological change has outstripped existing law, creating a governance vacuum. The pressing need towards a renewal of regulations will likely lead to closed autonomous systems and further increase the fragmentation of the world order.

Digital products are changing how we live. Growing up in a hyper-connected world, the new “Generation Z” has developed different behaviors, attitudes, and values.

The invasion of Ukraine can seem to resurrect the images of the past: conquering armies, cities under siege, widespread destruction. The references to the Second World War abound, but they should not obscure the fact that this conflict, with all its complexity and tragedy, belongs firmly to the present.

As Russia sets out to invade Ukraine, eight years after the Maidan Revolution and Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Ukrainian economist Volodymyr Vakhitov looks back at the transformations Ukraine has undergone since 2014, and its relationship with Russia and Russians.

Fernand de Magellan’s “circumnavigation of the globe” in 1519-1522 conceals a whole fascinating and little-known universe: crews, kings, peoples, plants, peaceful or bloody encounters, hopes and fears. But, come to think of it: did Magellan really circumnavigate the globe?

As literary concepts, “utopia” and “dystopia” have functioned as powerful tools of social and political critique, as they propose alternative visions of the future gone good or wrong. Gregory Claeys explores this dual nature, and its potential for imagining social change, while tracing back the historical roots and uses of utopianism.

The way nightlife has been affected by the recent Covid-19 restrictions invites us to think back on the value and features of the night as we have known it for most of our lives. A pioneer in the burgeoning field of night studies, Will Straw sheds light on the history of the night and the issues related to its loss.

As the European border control agency is being criticized for its violent methods, the European Commission is working on a reform of the European Union migration policy. In this interview, the legal scholar Elspeth Guild explores the relation between decision making and the reality of migrations.

How did Hip-Hop Studies emerge as a legitimate field of study? This interview with Murray Forman, who has contributed to the development of this field in the United States, shows the links between the recognition of rap and related art forms and the rise of academic analyses.

According to Isabelle Thireau, there is a political realm in authoritarian regimes, where citizens voice their expectations and evaluate the legitimacy of decisions, public policies and leaders, thus contributing to the assessment of what is acceptable and what is good government.

The employment structure has changed since the 1970’s. For Daniel Oesch, this means we need new models to describe today’s labour markets and new class schemes to move beyond industrial-based categories. We also need to understand the political consequences of the collapse of the industrial working class in Europe.

Bolsonaro’s policy focuses on the destruction of social protection, science and political pluralismo. A coalition of actors, comprising national and local leaders, has emerged to limit its disastrous results in the context of the current Covid-19 pandemic.

Chinese society has been thoroughly transformed by digital tools, which private companies have developed for people to shop, chat, entertain themselves. The central and local governments have tried to keep up to date. Jesper Schlæger explains the intricacies of Chinese eGovernment.

With China’s regained power on the world stage, making accessible and studying the way intellectuals reflect on their country and contribute to the global conversation has become indispensable.

The Brexit vote, welcomed with dismay in Scotland, has prompted the Scottish National Party to present itself as the only sound alternative to Westminster’s policies, viewed as damaging to Scottish interests. F. Simpkins analyses the SNP’s strategies and outlines the many political challenges ahead.

For the first time, the Pléiade collection is publishing the work of a contemporary historian. This event celebrates the centennial of the birth of this great mediaevalist, a historian of mentalities who found a way to make historical knowledge accessible to a wider audience. Felipe Brandi, an expert on Duby, edited and annotated the book.

With electronic music comes the possibility of hacking instruments. How does hacking affect musical instruments and the ways of playing them? In this interview, Nic Collins, a pioneer in musical hacking, describes his journey at the crossroads of experimental music, computer music and sound art.

Nationalist discourses take the lion share of politics-related discussions on the Chinese Internet. In the context of intense struggles over the interpretation of the Hong Kong protests, this interview with Florian Schneider sheds light on the complexity of online political and identity expression in China and elsewhere.

Over the past twenty years, a new field of study has developed: metal studies. The scholars in this field are often also music enthusiasts, investigating their own passion. How can fandom be articulated with academia?

Why has authentic blackness been conflated with “being cool” in Northern American inner cities? Thomas C. Williams, an African-American writer living in Paris, is exploring other ways to authenticity and masculinity.

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.

As Brexit looms, some predict that protectionism will once again haunt Britain. In this context, historian David Todd reassesses the significance of an ideology which has profoundly impacted British history from the Empire up to the present day, thus reflecting on the deep bonds between politics, economy and national identity.

Flames, disbelief, dread. A cathedral burns and tears flow. But why does our architectural heritage and its disappearance move us so greatly? The sociologist Nathalie Heinich offers some answers.

By insisting on the need to consider philosophical works as interventions in the general, ongoing political debates of their time, Quentin Skinner has profoundly renewed the history of ideas. In this interview, he revisits the main themes of his work.

How do refugees experience everyday life in the United States? Anthropologist Catherine Besteman investigates the trajectories of Somalian refugees in Lewinston, Maine, from their application for resettlement to their struggles in a world that disrupts their social organization and their way of living.