Face-to-face , first term, 30 hours of theory.

First term
Thursday from 15:45 to 17:45 at 109 Marais 312

French

This course in the BAS3 program aims not only to present and discuss in depth the question of the symbolic, central in sociology and anthropology (and more broadly in the humanities and social sciences), but also to consider applications and possible benefits of this question, through contemporary issues, addressed for a part through classical questions (the symbolic function and the role of language, culture and the imaginary, the study of myths and rites, symbolic efficiency and its conditions, the question of belief and illusions, etc.), but also on the other hand through original issues. Indeed, rather than proposing exclusively a theoretical and systematic course around the question of the symbolic, this teaching will privilege an entry based on research programs in progress or in preparation. Thus, it will be possible to refer, on the one hand, to the work around a socio-anthropology of playing and the devices of "putting into play" (illusio), opening on the double question of the modes of implication or of investment, and commitment schemes; and on the other hand, to the study of some issues related to the "psyche" and mental health in today's societies, particularly the conflicts of legitimization in the field of psychology, based on the assumption (Weberian) according to which the symbolic stakes within this field correspond to expectations, demands or needs stemming from logics and social positions (in other words, the symbolic stakes, formulated through the language games of psychology, as as correlates of social life).

For the Bachelor in History :

For the Bachelor in Information and Communication :

For the Bachelor in French and Romance Languages and Letters : General :

For the Bachelor in Modern Languages and Letters: German, Dutch and English :

For the Bachelor in Philosophy :

For the Bachelor in Political Sciences: General :

For the Bachelor in Sociology and Anthropology :

None

As indicated in the learning objectives, it will be a question of approaching the classic question of the symbolic through issues and questions both original and having a current repercussion. Some themes that may be discussed (accentuations may vary from one year to another) :

- Lights on the question of the symbolic.
- Elements for a socio-anthropology of the play (this notion being heard here as playing, putting into play, "illusio", implication, rather than "game" or conventional game).
- The classic concepts of belief and rituals revisited in the light of contemporary contributions and questions.
- Contribution to an anthropology of practices that can be described as therapeutic, in a large perspective including "self-techniques" (see H. F. Ellenberger, E. Ortigues, A. Zempleni, M. Foucault, P. Hadot, P. Vesperini, M. Houseman ...).
- Socio-political issues of beliefs, rituals and therapies: a reading of Max Weber's sociology of religions.
- Weber's sociology of religions transposed and applied to the study of the field of mental health and psychology at present.

The theoretical course is completed by readings of texts that the student must perform on his own (implicit activity). The knowledge of the subject of the theoretical course and that of the complementary texts are the subject of an evaluation during the same examination (see below).

In the course of the lecture, the professor exposes the theoretical aspects and the elements of problematization. It introduces students to the conceptual development exercise, using illustrations, and taking empirical objects as analyzers and outlets for the analysis models that are proposed.
The teacher also gives keys to read and adapt more easily the texts that are part of the reading portfolio (see below).
Students are invited to ask questions and to debate, the small size of the audience allowing an interactive pedagogy.

The theoretical course is completed by a text portfolio.
It is expected that students read these texts thoroughly, understand them and appropriate them (it is strongly advised to make a personal synthesis of them).
Knowledge of compulsory reading is assessed on the examination.

Oral exam.
The EU evaluation has two components whose weight in the overall score is calculated as follows:

- knowledge of the subject of the theoretical course: 60% of the overall mark (12/20)
- knowledge of additional texts: 40% of the overall score (8/20).

Note that the part relating to the reading of texts will be taken into account only if the student obtains at least one third of the points for the part of the examination corresponding to the theoretical course (4/12, on basis of minimum 2 Questions). Indeed, the part of the exam on the theoretical course evaluates basic skills which, if they are not acquired, do not allow to consider to take into account the reading part of texts. In other words, it is considered that a deficiency that is too serious in terms of basic skills (less than 4/12) can not be compensated by knowledge of texts with a complement status. The principle applied here refers to a logic of learning outcomes and not an arithmetic logic. If the text reading part is not taken into account at the evaluation level, the score out of 12 is adjusted in score out of 20 according to a rule of proportionality: 1/12 = 1.66 / 20 rounded to 2/20; 2/12 = 3.33 / 20 rounded to 3/20; 3/12 = 4.99 / 20 rounded to 5/20.

The evaluation method is unchanged in the second examination session.

- Emmanuel Belin, Une sociologie des espaces potentiels. Logique dispositive et expérience ordinaire, Bruxelles, De Boeck, 2002.
- Jean-Pierre Delchambre, «Autour de la socio-anthropologie du jeu», Recherches sociologiques et anthropologiques, Vol. XL, n° 1, 2009.
- Gunter Gebauer et Christof Wulf, Jeux, rituels, gestes. Les fondements mimétiques de l'action sociale, Paris, Anthropos, 2004 (traduit de l'allemand).
- Roberte Hamayon, Jouer. Une étude anthropologique, Paris, La Découverte, 2012.
- Michael Houseman, «Qu'est-ce qu'un rituel ?», L'Autre, Vol. 3, n° 3, 2002, pp. 533-538.
- Octave Mannoni, «"Je sais bien, mais quand même..."», in Clefs pour l'imaginaire, ou l'autre scène, Paris, Seuil, coll. Points-essais, 2001 (éd. orig. : 1969), pp. 9-33.
- George Herbert Mead, L'esprit, le soi et la société, Paris, P.U.F, 2006 (traduit de l'anglais).
- Edmond Ortigues, «Qu'est-ce qu'une guérison rituelle ?», in Le temps de la parole, Rennes, Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2012, pp. 97-102.
- Donald W. Winnicott, Jeu et réalité. L'espace potentiel, Paris, Gallimard, 1975 (traduit de l'anglais; éd. orig. : 1971).

- Emile Durkheim, Les formes élémentaires de la vie religieuse, Paris, P.U.F., coll. Quadrige, 1990 (1ère éd. : 1912).
- Max Weber, Sociologie des religions, Paris, Gallimard, 1995 (traduction par Jean-Pierre Grossein).
- Max Weber, Sociologie de la religion, Paris, Flammarion, coll. Champs, 2006 (traduction par Isabelle Kalinowski).

French.