Solemnly pronounced in the presence of colleagues and a large audience, the opening lecture is an opportunity for each new professor to situate his or her work and teaching in relation to those of his or her predecessors, and to the most recent developments in research.
These opening lectures have been published since 1949 by the Collège de France and, since 2003, in partnership with Fayard for the printed version.
Since 2010, the new lessons have also been systematically published in digital form, with a preface, on the OpenEdition Booksportal (full text available online in open access as soon as the digital book is published). Some are also published in English or other languages. Older lessons have been digitized and are gradually being put online on the same portal.
