Opening symposium 2020-2021
The term "civilization" entered the vocabulary of Western Europe in the 18th century, denoting a stage of material, social and cultural evolution towards which humanity was striving. Without completely losing the teleological dimension of its emergence when used in the singular, the plural term came to designate human communities historically determined by characteristics held to be specific. Lucien Febvre, Émile Benveniste and Fernand Braudel have made the Collège de France a place of reflection on this notion, and next autumn will see the inauguration of the new "Institute of Civilizations" building.
The opening symposium at the Collège de France in October 2020 will focus on the current scope and relevance of the term "civilization" (singular and plural). The questions raised by this word concern both the concepts mobilized in the various fields of research and the various contents it conveys in terms of human identity and diversity. The October symposium will bring together researchers in biology, paleontology, history, cultural anthropology, law, medicine, philosophy and sociology, in order to shed as much light as possible on a theme that the health crisis has just made particularly topical.
Organizing committee
Patrick Boucheron, Anne Cheng, Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge, Lluis Quintana-Murci, Philippe Sansonetti, Thomas Römer.
Speakers
Thomas Römer (Collège de France), Céline Spector (Sorbonne-Université), Francesco D'Errico (Université de Bordeaux), Henry Laurens (Collège de France), Aparecida Vilaça (Museu Nacional de l'Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro), François Héran (Collège de France), Étienne Patin (Institut Pasteur & CNRS), Jean-Jacques Hublin (Collège de France), Anne-Marie Moulin (CNRS), Anne Lafont (EHESS), Anne Cheng (Collège de France), Raphaëlle Chaix (CNRS-MNHN), Jean-Pierre Poulain (Université Jean-Jaurès, Toulouse), Dario Mantovani (Collège de France), Samantha Besson (Collège de France), Pap Ndiaye (Sciences Po, Paris), Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge (Collège de France), Lluis Quintana-Murci (Collège de France)...