Academic seminars announced at French and Belgian universities

Two distinct academic seminars have been announced for the 2026-2027 period.

In France, the seminar ‘Situated Knowledge: The Spatial Inscription of Knowledge (Modern and Contemporary Eras)’ will begin on November 25, 2026. Hosted in a hybrid format by the University of Avignon and Paris-Est Créteil University, the program explores the intersection of the history of science, geography, and historical anthropology. It focuses on the material conditions, spatial logics, and power dynamics involved in the creation and diffusion of knowledge.

In Belgium, a historical sociology seminar titled ‘Weberian Readings: Symbolic Revolutions and Charisma’ will be held at the ENS. Led by Isabelle Kalinowski, Alexis Fontbonne, and Paul Slama, the eight-session series examines Max Weber’s theory of charisma. The curriculum covers the concept within Protestant theology, its relationship to bureaucracy in the works of Hannah Arendt and Jürgen Habermas, and its application to Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of ‘symbolic revolution’.