Françoise Héritier's research and teaching have focused primarily on the analysis of kinship systems and the functioning of marriage alliance structures, as well as on the study of the symbolism of the body in the definition of individual and collective identities.
The symbolic anthropology of the body, and more specifically the symbolism of the body, notions of fertility and sterility, humours, the interplay of fluids, substances, marriage alliance strategies and diet are among the many themes addressed during his teaching.
Thanks to this chair, the African continent was, for the first time, at the heart of teaching at the Collège de France.