Michel Maffesoli, founding member of the FEDE’s Academic Council, a sociologist specialised in the imaginary, a professor emeritus at the Sorbonne, and an internationally recognised author, has just published his latest book. A socio-philosophical enquiry in 190 pages, it is entitled L’ère de soulèvements [the age of revolt]. 30 years after the publication of Maffesoli’s prophetic political work Le temps des tribus [the time of tribes], this new book conceptualises what he calls ‘soft totalitarianism’. In explaining and justifying the meaning of this term, Professor Maffesoli argues that the totalitarianism he is referring to, which is an informed reworking of what common knowledge calls ‘politically correct,’ is set to undergo attack from various directions. Michel Maffesoli’s analysis should inform our understanding of the gilets jaunes [‘yellow vests’] movement in France [lire plus]

A member of the FEDE’s Academic Council, Francois Bernard Huyghe is also Director of Research at IRIS (French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs) and President of OSI (Observatoire stratégique de l’information), formerly known as the Observatoire géostratégique de l’information, which analyses how information influences countries socially and politically. He will be taking part in this year’s annual Influence Day on 22 April. The event, which is dedicated to media intelligence, corporate communications and influence communication, is organised by the French Ecole de guerre and will take place at 196 rue de Grenelle in Paris’s seventh arrondissement. The focus will be on rethinking global communication and influence strategies: why should they be rethought, how should we do so, and who should be involved? The event brings together a number of [lire plus]

Patrick Vieu: ‘We should build rather than undergo globalisation’ A graduate of the ENA ("Léon Gambetta" class of 1991-1993) and Sciences Po Paris, Patrick Vieu also has a PhD in philosophy. Among his various posts, from 2012-2014 he was the French President’s Advisor on the Environment and the Regions, focusing on transport and sustainable development. A member of the FEDE’s Academic Council, in this interview he shares his views on globalisation. ‘We should build rather than undergo globalisation’… Nice phrasing, but what does it mean?  We can manage the demographic, environmental and migration-related challenges of globalisation if we are able to produce, collectively, a representation of the world that the majority of people can approve. Rather than a globalisation based on forced interdependencies, we need a globalisation based on active [lire plus]

Michel Maffesoli : ‘Today’s modern democratic ideal has expired’ Michel Maffesoli, honorary professor at the Sorbonne and a founding member of the FEDE’s Academic Council, is a leading figure in European intellectual circles. While his analyses tend to stir up and unsettle his audience, hey are always full of sense. Read on to find out his views on the recent French municipal elections. What’s your reaction to the results of the recent elections? What’s striking is not so much the rise of the greens (a few groups of would-be green, power-starved yuppies have capitalised on the trend for green) but rather the tremendous lack of interest for the local elections amongst ordinary people. Nobody – be it the traditional parties, the pseudo-new forms of representation (the ‘neither left-wingers nor right-wingers’ of [lire plus]

Jean-Michel Quillardet (PhD in literature), a well-known lawyer and long-term member of the FEDE’s Academic Council, has just published his latest work at Editions Dervy. Pour un humanisme universel : Force, beauté et sagesse de la république laïque [Universal Humanism: the Strength, Beauty and Wisdom of the Secular Republic] is both profound and accessible, arguing that humanism is as relevant today as it ever was. For the author, 21st-century humanism means inscribing ourselves in a history and an intellectual heritage and, on the basis of these traditions, contributing to the development of a social project. In an increasingly dehumanised world in which mass crimes are committed before our very eyes, the humanist project – a form of optimism based on faith in humankind’s natural capacities – is as pressing as ever. 21st-century [lire plus]

Rector of the Vasile Goldiş University (UVVG) in Arad, Romania, Coralia Cotoraci is a medical professional and renowned teacher. She has just joined the FEDE’s Academic Council. In addition to a PhD (thesis title ‘Morphological and Evolving Clinical Aspects of Myelodysplastic Syndromes’), Coralia Cotoraci also has a master’s in psychology and psychotherapy. Well known in the medical sector in Romania, she specialises in internal medicine (haematology) and teaches haematology, bioethics and medical ethics at the faculties of medicine, pharmacy and dental surgery of the University of Arad. A participant in numerous international research projects, Coralia Cotoraci has completed her professional profile with experience in team and general management. She currently heads the haematology department of the Arad Regional Emergency Hospital, where she manages a large team of medical and administrative [lire plus]

Cathy Leblanc has a PhD and post-doctoral degree in philosophy. In addition to teaching at Lille-3 University, she is also a musician. A proud new addition to the FEDE’s Academic Council! Can you tell us more about your studies? I have a DEUG, a bachelor’s, a master’s and a DEA in English (Lille-3 University, 2001). I also have a bachelor’s and master’s in philosophy (Lille-3 University, 1997). I obtained my thesis (2007) and post-doctoral degree in philosophy (2009) at the Institut Catholique, Paris. What have been the highlights of your career? I have been teaching British civilisation at Lille-3 University since 1998. I initially worked with musicology students (I taught in English on Shakespeare and music), then economics and management students (globalisation) and history students (civilisation: invasions, the British constitution, [lire plus]

The FEDE is delighted to count the lawyer Victor Towo Kamga amongst the members of its Academic Council. A senior staff member at the French Directorate General of Public Finances, Victor Towo Kamga will provide the FEDE’s existing experts with specialist knowledge on African issues, public finance and law. What and where did you study? In September 1993 I obtained an advanced degree (French DEA) in contentious law, graduating top of my year. In 2005 I completed a PhD in law at the University of Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne. Since then I have not stopped learning: on 5 December 2013, after undergoing the necessary professional ethics review in Paris, I obtained a professional lawyer’s certificate and was sworn in by the Bar of Beauvais. What have been the highlights of your career? As temporary [lire plus]

Vincenzo Susca earned his PhD in sociology. A former lecturer at the University of Milan, he is currently MacLuhan Fellow at the University of Toronto, lecturer in sociology at Paul-Valéry University in Montpellier and a researcher affiliated with the CEAQ research centre at the Sorbonne in Paris. He is the author of À l’ombre de Berlusconi (Milan 2004, Paris 2006), Ai confini dell’immaginario (Milan 2006, Porto Alegre 2006), Joie Tragique (Milan 2010, Paris 2011, Barcelone 2012), Transpolitica (Milan 2008, co-authored with D. de Kerckhove) and Récréations (Milan 2008, Paris 2009, co-authored with C. Bardainne). He also co-wrote a play Angelus Novissimus (2014) with Alain Béhar and, along with Claudia Attimonelli, curated exhibitions of Madame (2014) and Karin Andersen at the Traffic Gallery in Bergamo. His most recent works are Les [lire plus]

Professor Jean-Louis Bischoff holds a doctorate in Philosophy (Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes) and is authorised and empowered to oversee research at the University of Artois. He is also the director of research of the FEDE As an international specialist in trends, he is pleased to offer a new work, his 10th, which aims to determine the notion of encounter. In this work he explores the notion of encounter, not as something that we do, but rather an experience that makes us, transforms us, gives us that which we will become. It is an experience that allows us to find, to discover and to receive. Here we find a good echo of the values ​​of education carried by the project of the FEDE. Here, we meet Professor Bischoff who responds [lire plus]