The Edgar Morin Centre is a graduate teaching and research unit of the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales

École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales

The École des hautes études en sciences sociales is a leading French institution for research and higher education, a Grand Établissement. Its mission is research and research training in the social sciences, including the relationship these latter maintain with the natural and life sciences...

 and of the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

Centre national de la recherche scientifique

The National Center of Scientific Research is the largest governmental research organization in France and the largest fundamental science agency in Europe....

, Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. Currently enjoying its fifth decade of activity, the Center (named after the internationally renowned social theorist Edgar Morin

Edgar Morin

Edgar Morin is a French philosopher and sociologist born Edgar Nahoum in Paris on July 8, 1921. He is of Judeo-Spanish origin. He is known for the transdisciplinarity of his works.- Biography :...

) is part of the Interdisciplinary Institute for the Anthropology of Contemporary Societies (IIAC).

History

The Edgar Morin Center was established in 1960 at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes

École pratique des hautes études

The École pratique des hautes études is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions....

 by French sociologist Georges Friedmann

Georges Friedmann

Georges Philippe Friedmann , French Sociologist.Georges Friedmann was the founder of a human work sociology after World War II. In 1921, after studying industrial chemistry, he entered a teacher training college on the rue d'Ulm, in Paris, France. During the war, he was an intellectual Marxist...

. Initially named Center for the Study of Mass Communications, it evolved into the CETSAH in 1973. Only in 2007 it was given its current name, as a tribute to Edgar Morin

Edgar Morin

Edgar Morin is a French philosopher and sociologist born Edgar Nahoum in Paris on July 8, 1921. He is of Judeo-Spanish origin. He is known for the transdisciplinarity of his works.- Biography :...

. Under the prestigious guidance and influence of Morin and of the late Roland Barthes

Roland Barthes

Roland Gérard Barthes was a French literary theorist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. Barthes' ideas explored a diverse range of fields and he influenced the development of schools of theory including structuralism, semiotics, existentialism, social theory, Marxism, anthropology and...

, over the years the Centre has been producing research in such fields as sociology

Sociology

Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

, cultural anthropology

Cultural anthropology

Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans, collecting data about the impact of global economic and political processes on local cultural realities. Anthropologists use a variety of methods, including participant observation,...

, semiotics

Semiotics

Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...

, media studies

Media studies

Media studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly from its core disciplines of mass...

, complexity studies

Complex systems

Complex systems present problems in mathematical modelling.The equations from which complex system models are developed generally derive from statistical physics, information theory and non-linear dynamics, and represent organized but unpredictable behaviors of systems of nature that are considered...

, philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

, history

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

, political science

Political science

Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

 and social psychology

Social psychology

Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...

.

Research Activities

Transdisciplinarity

Transdisciplinarity

Transdisciplinarity connotes a research strategy that crosses many disciplinary boundaries to create a holistic approach. It applies to research efforts focused on problems that cross the boundaries of two or more disciplines, such as research on effective information systems for biomedical...

 is the main feature of research at the Edgar Morin Centre. Typical research topics offer multiple potential entries. Food

Food

Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...

, for instance, is a basic function both in physiological and social terms. As another example, the body

Body

With regard to living things, a body is the physical body of an individual. "Body" often is used in connection with appearance, health issues and death...

 can and should be considered as a historical, medical, psychosocial, political, and social construct. All the teams apply this perspective to their specific topics. The Centre currently hosts about 80 researchers, doctoral and masters students.

Research teams are organised as follows:

Research Team	Team Leader(s)	Team Members
The body, the individual and society	Georges Vigarello Georges Vigarello Georges Vigarello is a French historian and sociologist. He is a Research Director at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales of Paris...	Corinne Boujot, Jacqueline Carroy, Antonio Casilli, Jean-Pierre Castelain, Jean-Jacques Courtine, Gisèle Dambuyant-Wargny, Claudine Haroche, Rafael Mandressi, Véronique Nahoum-Grappe, Marie-Christine Pouchelle, Isabelle Queval, Eliane Rothier-Bautzer, Roger Sue
Food and eating: cross-cultural studies on perceptions and practices	Claude Fischler Claude Fischler Claude Fischler is a French sociologist working as directeur de recherche for the Centre national de la recherche scientifique and codirector of the Edgar Morin Centre, part of the École des hautes études en sciences sociales. He is specialized in the anthropology of food and eating.-Books as main...	Torbjörn Bildtgård, Corinne Boujot, Antonio Casilli, Saadi Lahlou, Estelle Masson, Jocelyn Raude, Sylvie Sanchez
Memory, identity, generations	Nicole Lapierre	Claudine Attias-Donfut, André Burguière, Marina Chauliac, Daniel Friedmann, Nicole Lapierre, Alfredo Pena-Vega, Martyne Perrot, Evelyne Ribert, Steven Uran
Nature, space, and environment	Geneviève Delbos, Martyne Perrot, Martin de la Soudière	Martine Bergues, Sophie Bobbé, Corinne Boujot, Jean-Pierre Castelain, Jacques Cloarec, Gisèle Dambuyant-Wargny, Emilie Giret, Bernard Paillard, Alfredo Pena-Vega.
Transdisciplinarity and complexity	Alfredo Pena-Vega	André Burguière, Emmanuel Banywesize, Antonio Casilli, Claude Fischler, Saadi Lahlou, Nicole Lapierre, Edgar Morin, Bernard Paillard, Georges Vigarello
Common sense, social representations and social influence	Elisabeth Lage	Lucy Baugnet, Magdalini Dargentas, Maria Geka, Saadi Lahlou, Laura Lima, Béatrice Madiot, Estelle Masson, Bernard Personnaz, Marie Personnaz
Applications of audiovisual tools to field research in the social sciences	Daniel Friedmann	Marc-François Deligne, Bernard Paillard, Alfredo Pena-Vega

Teaching Activities

The Centre is hosted by the EHESS

École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales

The École des hautes études en sciences sociales is a leading French institution for research and higher education, a Grand Établissement. Its mission is research and research training in the social sciences, including the relationship these latter maintain with the natural and life sciences...

, whose advanced programs are intended to lead to research careers. Masters and doctoral students are admitted by application. The main topics include: history

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

, social psychology

Social psychology

Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...

, sociology

Sociology

Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

, ethnography

Ethnography

Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...

, media studies

Media studies

Media studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly from its core disciplines of mass...

, field methodologies, epistemology, environmental sciences.

Publishing

Since 1961, the Centre has been publishing the transdisciplinary journal Communications, which has regularly produced thematic issues featuring articles by prominent international intellectuals, social theorists and scientists. Among others: Roland Barthes

Roland Barthes

Roland Gérard Barthes was a French literary theorist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. Barthes' ideas explored a diverse range of fields and he influenced the development of schools of theory including structuralism, semiotics, existentialism, social theory, Marxism, anthropology and...

, Umberto Eco

Umberto Eco

Umberto Eco Knight Grand Cross is an Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...

, Moses Finley, Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky

Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...

, Tzvetan Todorov

Tzvetan Todorov

Tzvetan Todorov is a Franco-Bulgarian philosopher. He has lived in France since 1963 with his wife Nancy Huston and their two children, writing books and essays about literary theory, thought history and culture theory....

, Bill Viola

Bill Viola

Bill Viola is a contemporary video artist. He is considered a leading figure in the generation of artists whose artistic expression depends upon electronic, sound, and image technology in New Media...

, Paul Virilio

Paul Virilio

Paul Virilio is a cultural theorist and urbanist. He is best known for his writings about technology as it has developed in relation to speed and power, with diverse references to architecture, the arts, the city and the military....

, Raymond Boudon

Raymond Boudon

Raymond Boudon is a French sociologist.He is a Professor in the University of Paris-Sorbonne, and is a member of many important institutions: Académie des Sciences morales et politiques, Academia Europaea, British Academy, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, International Academy of Human...

, Jacques Le Goff

Jacques Le Goff

Jacques Le Goff is a prolific French historian specializing in the Middle Ages, particularly the 12th and 13th centuries....

..