Contemporary Social Sciences 3

This course deals with contemporary social sciences facing extreme topics such as violence, mass violence, war and crisis. How do social scientists work in extreme circumstances ? Why and how does one confront himself to violence, while it unfolds or in its aftermath ? The goal of this course is two-fold : firstly, we will study the important notions, practices and theories of research confronted to violent objects, in a multidisciplinary perspective encompassing History, Anthropology, Sociology and Psychology. This will give us the opportunity to shed light on contemporary events in an international approach. Secondly, we will consider how researchers tackle violent objects, their ethical positioning and the numerous obstacles they meet, whether political obstruction, material difficulties or moral issues.

Taught in English, this class willgive you an important overview of studies surrounding violence, from extraordinary conflicts to ordinary persecution. Every week, we will see how specific researchers facing such matters proceed and handle them. This course will give you the opportunity to reflect on how your own research can relate to those challenges, and how one can construct his own research despite its overwhelming and global nature.