Institut d'Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po)

This course introduces performance studies and provides the analytical and methodological tools necessary for research on the ways various performance practices constitute public spaces. It introduces the concept of performance understood as an embodying practice, including everyday performances (self-representations, individual activities, daily interactions), civic performances (speech acts, protests, social movements), and artistic performances (theatre, dance, music, artivism), and the concept of public space, including a smooth public space (a space of peace, harmony, consensus) and a striated public space (a space of confrontation, disharmony, dissensus). The course studies how different performances are constructed, how they constitute public spaces, and, consequently, how they produce social, political, and cultural effects. In providing insight into various performance practices, performance theory, political theory, and art studies, this course appeals to students interested in developing the theoretical tools necessary for the study of the significance of performance practices in shaping public actions, discourses, representations, and opinions. Through a combination of close reading of texts, lectures, discussions, video projections and assignments, the course analyzes selected performances both in group and individually. Reflective discussions about selected texts and performances are designed to maximize student input and participation. Equipped with analytical skills, students learn to assess how performances can challenge and reshape public space.

At an empirical level, this course provides a solid knowledge in Lebanese history, mainly in the major violent episodes of its trajectory: the civil war (1975-1990), Israeli occupation (1982-2000), and Hezbollah's intervention in Syria (since 2013). It also presents a specific understanding of a practice of power far removed from what can be observed in Western democracies. Without being an authoritarian regime, the Lebanese political staff has always had a particular definition of ruling, a special understanding of democracy, that goes beyond the usual features shared by consociational systems everywhere else in the world (Switzerland, Belgium, Bosnia). This course is hence thought-provoking in political science, as it introduces models of ruling usually unfamiliar, models that are more frequent than typically imagined. By doing so, the course also triggers a shared reflection on theoretical concepts of political science, and a questioning of the universality of some of what Western political sociology sees as basic elementary truths and rules of the game in politics-in-practice. The course addresses Lebanese contemporary history; the notion of militancy in contexts of violence; a critical notion of foreign intervention, peacemaking, peacebuilding, state building, reconciliation, and transitional justice; and a good command of a particular case of consociational politics.

This course introduces the concept of public space not only from a theoretical point of view but also through uses and behaviors taking place in urban public spaces, including gender inequalities. Methods of urban ethnography are considered for this purpose. All along the course, specific attention is paid to questioning links between theories and practices. Public space is a topical issue which plays a major role in our society and in our everyday lives. The course focuses on different disciplinary approaches (such as political philosophy, sociology, and urban studies) in order to identify the many meanings the concept can carry. It develops arguments to engage in the current debate around the supposed end of public space.

Set as a new objective of the European Union (EU) by the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam, the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ) has since proven to be one of the most dynamic EU policy-making domains. It now encompasses key individual policies addressing fundamental concerns of European citizens: police cooperation, judicial cooperation in criminal and civil matters, border management, visa and asylum policies etc. This course analyzes the progressive development of the AFSJ by providing insights on three main considerations: who are the individual and collective actors contributing to that policy domain; which theories and concepts help us to understand the creation and evolutions of the AFSJ; and what are the key reforms, debates, and controversies of the individual AFSJ policies. 

This course is devoted to the notion of freedom as it is thought of in philosophy. The first part of the course focuses on the ancient idea of freedom as opposed to slavery, or as free will (as in Saint Augustine) to provide the sources from which modern reflections on freedom have been drawn, especially in German idealism. The course then follows the evolution of theories of freedom from Kant, Hegel, and Schelling to Isaiah Berlin, Sartre, Butler, and Axel Honneth, and to the re-emergence of the question of slavery in contemporary thought. An important part of the course is devoted to an in-depth study of F.G.J. Schelling's PHILOSOPHICAL INVESTIGATIONS INTO HUMAN FREEDOM (1809) to confront a seemingly difficult text with the keys to understanding the complex intellectual edifices that underpin our modern vision of freedom.

This course considers the role of journalism in today’s landscape where most people use social media to engage with news content and share information. It discusses the important role of journalism in democracy and the target from autocratic leaders who point to press – and significantly, female journalists – as the enemies of the people. The course also discusses the impact of Artificial Intelligence on journalism and what it means for the future of media. It covers the key elements of journalism to become acquainted with gathering news from different parts of the world and platforms for comparison.

The intellectual challenge and historiographical novelty of this course lie in the change of perspective it proposes: a contemporary history of France seen from its extra-European extensions, which are the overseas territories of the Republic. It revisits significant social, political, economic, and cultural moments in order to gain a different perspective on the history of nation-building. In this sense, this course is part of the abundant renewal of a history of France, thought beyond the limits of the Hexagon and linked to a history of the colonial and imperial fact. A basic knowledge of French history is an essential prerequisite.

This course discusses the issues European migration policies seek to address, from curbing irregular migration and increasing migrant returns, to attracting talents and making asylum systems work. It explores the range of actors who shape this agenda and how policies at EU and EU Member State levels are intertwined. The course critically assesses the main migration issues in Europe, examines the trade-offs faced by European policymakers, analyzes how migration policies are designed and implemented, and outlines the effects European migration policies have on countries of origin and transit.

This course is an introduction to the study of religion in the social sciences. It examines what people do with religion and what religion does to people. The guiding thread of this course is to investigate how “religion” itself as a category is debated and contested, what counts as religion, and who gets to decide. The course is divided into three parts. The first part explores the definitions of religion that have been provided by classical authors. The second part analyzes the intersections of religion with other social categories such as class, gender, and race. The third part interrogates the politics of religion and how States, international organizations, political actors, and citizens grapple with religion, seek to regulate it, or use it to further political ends. The course is interdisciplinary and exposes students to various approaches of religion rooted in political science, sociology, history, and anthropology. It provides the theoretical and methodological tools to best appraise the place of religion in contemporary societies and discuss such complex and debated issues as secularism, fundamentalism, religious freedom, and religious discrimination.

This course examines the ambivalent role of digital technologies in our societies and questions our future by questioning their relevance. It first considers where we come from and how the pre-web world prepared us for this new reality, notably through science fiction. It then invites us to understand what is happening in our daily lives by deciphering the announced technological advances and their effects on reality. Finally, the course imagines a horizon that seems most desirable for all.