The Matter of Politics. History of science, technology, and environments

Research theme: Humanities | Lives, materialities, representations

Science, technology, and ecology are at the center of today's interlocking crises, from climate disruption to plastic pollution, from dependence on fossil fuels to the collapse of biodiversity. As such, they are increasingly central to politics in every realm and at every scale, from social movements to international diplomacy.This seminar aims to explore this multifaceted “matter” of politics at the intersection of the history of science, the history of technology, and environmental history. 

Throughout modern history, science, technology, and ecology have determined the organization of humans, living organisms and things; they have been the target of public action and institutions; they have become objects of controversy and conflict between social groups, states and empires. By shedding light on this, environmental history, the history of science and the history of technology can thus contribute to renewing our understanding of history and politics as thoroughly material and ecological processes.

This seminar aims to provide a forum for recently published contributions and ongoing projects that contribute to this renewal, while fostering new research on these topics at the Center for History at Sciences Po. Every year, the seminar focuses on one particular theme which offers the opportunity to explore a diversity of approaches, methods and research questions on the “matter of politics” in modern history. This year's seminar will explore these questions by focusing on agriculture, at the intersection of knowledge-making, technological and ecological change, and the politics of feeding a growing world.

Provisional Calender 2023-2024

  1. 29 septembre 2023, 12h30-14h30
    Séance coordonnée par Giacomo Parrinello
    Alain Chatriot (Sciences Po, CHSP), "Nourrir la France en guerre (1914-1920) : une histoire politique"
  2. 13 octobre 2023, 12h30-14h30
    Séance coordonnée par Giacomo Parrinello
    Emelyn Rude (Sciences Po, CHSP), "Fertilizer, Fish, and Farming: Industrial Adaptation to the 1879 Menhaden Collapse" 
  3. 10 novembre 2023, 12h30-14h30
    Séance coordonnée par Evan Bonney
    Moritz von Brescius (Université de Berne), "The Battle of Materials: Rubber "Research and Propaganda" and the Road Towards Immoderate Consumption, 1900-1980"
  4. 8 décembre 2023, 12h30-14h30
    Séance coordonnée par Michel Sollai
    Yi-Tang Lin (Université de Zurich), "La politique de l'alimentation : Les sciences agronomiques et alimentaires entre la Chine, Taiwan et l'Afrique de l'Ouest (1950-70)"

    Second semestre

  5. 9 février 2024, 12h30-14h30
    Séance coordonnée par Guillaume Lachenal
    Samir Boumediene (IRHIM, CNRS-ENS de Lyon), "The politics of incorporation. Food, energy and landscapes in the 18th century".
  6. 1er mars 2024, 12h30-14h30
    Séance coordonnée par Corentin Gruffat
    Corinna Unger (EUI), Amalia Ribi-Forclaz (Geneva Graduate Institute), "International organizations and the use of pesticides in agriculture: A study in reluctant regulation
  7. 29 mars 2924, 12h30-14h30
    Séance coordonnée par Léa Delmaire et Tiphaine Lours
    Delphine Berdah (UR EST-Université Paris Saclay), "Santé publique et pharmacie vétérinaire après 1945, France - Royaume-Uni"
  8. 26 avril 2024, 12h30-14h30 (EN)
    Séance coordonnée par Thomas Tari
    Clémence Gadenne Rosfelder (EHESS), "And Britanny became Pigland. A Social, Zootechnical, and Environmental History of Pig Farming in Britanny (1950s-1990s)"
  9. 14 juin 2024
    Journée d'étude
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