Sociology and Research

Along with political science, sociology is one of the major disciplines at two other research centres:

• Centre de Sociologie des Organisations (CSO) / Centre for the Sociology of Organisations: originally known as the Ecole Française de Sociologie des Organisations, the Centre develops original theories on private and public regulation and the commercial and not-for-profit sectors, drawing from research on organisations, markets and professional groups. Founded by Michel Crozier, the Centre is run by Christine Musselin, a director of research at CNRS
• Observatoire Sociologique du Changement (OSC) / Sociological Observatory of Change: its researchers study transformations in contemporary society such as social stratification, inter-generational relations, migrations, the spatial spread of inequalities, ways of life, socialisation and deviance, and educational policies and dynamics. Founded by Henri Mendras, the Centre is directed by Alain Chenu, professor at Sciences Po.

It is one of the major disciplines in political science at two other research centers:

• The Centre for European Studies / Centre d’Etudes Européennes (CEE) whose main scientific project is based on a multidisciplinary approach to politics. Its principal areas of research are structured by three interdisciplinary axes: understanding European construction and its impact, analysing the interaction between policy and politics, investing in methodological issues.
• The Centre for Political Research / Centre de recherches politiques de Sciences Po (CEVIPOF) which analyses the major political currents that shape political forces and institutions, and the factors that contribute towards orienting political behaviours and attitudes.

 Sociology is also represented at:

• The Centre for Research and International Studies (CERI) which creates dialogue between a number of disciplines, including political sociology, anthropology, history, political economics, international relations and political philosophy. Its empirical foundations, grounded in linguistic and on-the-ground expertise, allow research at CERI to make an outstanding contribution to conceptual debates in the social sciences. The centre’s work is rooted in a comparative tradition that valorises the historical trajectories of the societies studied.
• LIEPP (Interdisciplinary Research Center for the Evaluation of Public Policies), which is a “laboratory of excellence” (Labex) chosen by an international scientific jury chosen by the Agence nationale de la recherche (ANR), and which studies and evaluates public policy from an interdisciplinary perspective. The three major research centres of the Department of Sociology (CSO, OSC and CEE) are directly involved in the research carried out by this laboratory.