Science, Knowledge, Education, Society

Presentation

At a time when the value of science and the place of knowledge in society are the subject of recurring public debate, this Graduate School offers cross-disciplinary pathways that engage with the various analytical frameworks developed in the humanities and social sciences on these issues—from the global history of science to subject-matter didactics, as well as the philosophy or anthropology of knowledge. It also provides opportunities to explore issues related to the mediation and dissemination of scientific knowledge across different institutional and social contexts.

Located within one of France’s leading universities, where programs and research in science and biomedicine predominate, the Graduate School Science, Knowledge, Education, Society aims to bring together and promote all research and teaching within the Societies and Humanities faculty of Université Paris Cité that study science and technology through the lens of the humanities and social sciences.

It thus unites a diverse range of programs, including the history and philosophy of science, the history of technology and energy, subject-matter didactics, the anthropology and sociology of science, education sciences, the study of knowledge circulation on a global scale, as well as science communication and journalism.

Objectives

Its primary objective is to facilitate synergies between these different approaches, both in teaching and research. It aims to provide students with opportunities for cross-disciplinary training at the Master’s level by promoting transdisciplinary pathways. It also seeks to encourage interactions between Master’s programs and research activities in these fields, through the involvement of researchers in teaching and the development of research seminars open to Master’s students.

Its second objective is to strengthen exchanges, in both teaching and research, with faculty members and researchers affiliated with the science and health faculties of Université Paris Cité, thereby promoting genuine interdisciplinarity based on the co-construction of a shared culture and the exchange of perspectives in both education and research. In particular, the Graduate School aims to strengthen and develop, in synergy with these colleagues, humanities and social sciences training within these faculties.

An international dimension

The Graduate School Science, Knowledge, Education,Society is one of the few university research schools that brings together all approaches in the humanities and social sciences to study science and technology. It is at the heart of international research in science studies in the broad sense and benefits from highly diverse international partnerships, whether in Latin American countries (notably Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia), in Africa and the Maghreb (for example with Mohammed V University), in Europe (particularly Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and the United Kingdom), or in the United States.

Some of the Graduate School’s partners are also well integrated into networks such as the Alliance Française, French Institutes, or other international institutions. The Graduate School aims to strengthen and develop these partnerships in order to facilitate international exchanges for students.

Furthermore, due to its involvement in science communication and dissemination as well as in science education, the Graduate School seeks to promote initiatives that enhance the visibility and dissemination of research in the humanities and social sciences on science and technology. This is achieved through various media, the valorization of scientific heritage, and outreach activities. It therefore allows students who wish to do so to participate actively in these mediation and knowledge dissemination activities.

Research

The Graduate School Science, Knowledge, Education and Society brings together researchers and teachers working in the sociology and anthropology of science, in the history and philosophy of science and technology, in subject-matter didactics and education sciences, as well as in science journalism and communication. Cross-disciplinarity and collaboration among these fields are promoted within the research groups affiliated with the Graduate School.

At the institutional level, these teams belong to key research centers at Université Paris Cité in the humanities and social sciences. They are associated with the CNRS and collaborate with other institutions such as the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), INSERM, and IRD.

The teams of the Graduate School Science, Knowledge, Education and Society conduct cutting-edge research in the humanities and social sciences related to science, technology, and knowledge. Their work includes research in the didactics of disciplines such as biology, physics, and mathematics; the global history of science and technology; philosophy and epistemology; anthropology; sociology and the ethics of biomedical sciences; transdisciplinary research on energy; the sociology of expertise; the production and circulation of knowledge between the “North” and “South”; and scientific mediation.

The training offered by the Graduate School is grounded in a research-based approach, notably by promoting integration between the Master’s and Doctoral levels and by encouraging students to take part in the activities of the research centers through research seminars. It also aims to facilitate the transition from Master’s to Doctorate by supporting students in preparing applications to its doctoral programs.

Governance

• Claude-Olivier DORON
  Associate Professor of History and Philosophy of Science, HPS/SPHERE

• Liliane HILAIRE-PEREZ 
  Professor of Early Modern History and History of Technology, History/ECHELLES

• Marianne THIVEND 
  Professor of History of Education, Women’s History and Gender History, Educational Sciences and Training/CERLIS