Cultural partnerships Collège de France

Collège de France - Leçons inaugurales

2018

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Inaugural lessons proposed by the Collège de France.

Collège de France - Leçons inaugurales

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Episode 1 64 min

The evolution of genomes and development

Lecture given by Denis Duboule, holder of the international chair in Evolution of Genomes and Development, on 8 February 2018. The study of the development of a living organism, from its conception to its birth or of the pathway followed by its embryo as it evolves, has made an incredible leap forward in recent years, notably thanks to the tools provided by genetics and genomics. These advances have opened a wide perspective not only in terms of understanding the mechanisms of living organisms, but also the possibilities of repairing or modifying them, even to the point of imagining genetically augmented humans. And yet, our understanding of the way in which our genetic heritage is actually implemented still remains very partial.

The evolution of genomes and development

Episode 2 62 min

The inequality of lives

Lecture given by Didier Fassin, guest lecturer for the 2019-2020 annual chair in Public Health, on 16 January 2020. Conducted on three continents, the anthropological works by Didier Fassin cover moral and political questions in contemporary societies. His ethnographic method is based on a close understanding of the experience lived by those suffering from aids, those in detention, asylum-seekers and illegal immigrants, together with the questions raised by maternal mortality, lead poisoning in infancy, psychological trauma and humanitarian action.

The inequality of lives

Episode 3 65 min

Epidemiology, or the science of assessing public health risk

Lecture given by Arnaud Fontanet, guest lecturer for the 2018-2019 annual chair in Public Health, on 31 January 2019. Through its history and the challenges it faces, epidemiology remains a demanding discipline, capable of developing and refining our knowledge of the causes of diseases, notably the new pandemics (aids, viral hepatitis, Zika, MERS, SARS, etc) where a new emergence is expected to occur every five years. The adventure of working towards a more precise medicine and a public health system with its emphasis on prevention has only just begun.

Epidemiology, or the science of assessing public health risk

Episode 4 65 min

Symmetry and Gravitation

Marc Henneaux's research is dedicated to the study of theoretical models that describe the fundamental physical interactions (electromagnetism, weak and strong nuclear forces, gravitation), paying particular interest to their symmetries and to gravitation. An inaugural lecture offered by the Collège de France, given on 5 March 2020 by Marc Henneaux, professor at the Collège de France, holder of the chair in Fields, Strings and Gravity.

Symmetry and Gravitation

Episode 5 73 min

Soft matter and biophysics

Lecture given by Jean-François Joanny, holder of the chair in Soft Matter and Biophysics, on 14 February 2019. The term "soft matter" designates all intermediary forms of matter, between solid and liquid states, that include not only liquid crystals and polymers but also colloid structures. Because they are sensitive to the slightest disruption, their physical characteristics are totally unique. A question of scale, the physics of soft matter largely involves statistical physics, the laws of hydrodynamics and thermodynamics, and applies fully to biological systems. An inaugural lecture offered by the Collège de France, given on 14 February 2019 by Jean-François Joanny, professor at the Collège de France, holder of the chair in Soft Matter and Biophysics.

Soft matter and biophysics

Episode 7 64 min

Law, Culture and Society in Ancient Rome

Lecture given by Dario Mantovani, holder of the chair in Law, Culture and Society in Ancient Rome, on 17 January 2019. Any law constitutes a technique for shaping society, but a technique that, in turn, is shaped by society. This was particularly true of Rome. As private individuals, legal experts gave impartial advice to their fellow citizens, which brought them social prestige. Law thus evolved in the form of a debate, a vast collective discourse. Rhetoric without guile, guided by shared values, within which law was not only order and organisation, but also reasoning.

Law, Culture and Society in Ancient Rome

Episode 8 76 min

Living in the World Library

Lecture given by William Marx, holder of the chair in Comparative Literatures, on 23 January 2020. It is almost impossible for a singular work to exist on its own: it always stands out from a background, more or less perceptible, of other works, other texts, amongst which it makes sense and which direct our understanding. The purpose of this chair will be to open the door to this world library and explore some of its shelves in order to make us readers without limits, able to read beyond the literature, by freeing ourselves from our own historicity.

Living in the World Library

Episode 9 65 min

The European Central Bank and the Euro Crisis

Lecture given by Lucrezia Reichlin, 2018-2019 guest lecturer for the European Chair, on 29 November 2018. The European Central Bank is a unique institution in that it is a central bank established at the heart of a group of nineteen countries, each endowed with national responsibilities in terms of budget policy and, until recently, banking regulations.

The European Central Bank and the Euro Crisis

Episode 10 79 min

Cultural history of European artistic heritage, 18th to 20th centuries

Lecture given by Bénédicte Savoy, holder of the international chair in Cultural History of Artistic Heritage in Europe, 18th-20th Century, on 30 March 2017. To take pleasure in the beauty and knowledge that has accumulated in our towns and cities over the centuries, but to enjoy that pleasure in full awareness of the facts and of the spirit in which the objects were collected in different and asymmetric economic, military and epistemological contexts. To render visible and thus easier to grasp, the internal contradictions and blatant tensions involved in the very idea of a museum, from its very origins. Given this context, particular attention is paid to the views and voices of the dispossessed.

Cultural history of European artistic heritage, 18th to 20th centuries

Episode 11 52 min

The Europe of images: texts, textures, images

Lecture given by Victor Stoichita, 2017-2018 guest lecturer for the European Chair, on 25 January 2018. According to a purely Greek etymology "Eurôpè" came from two Greek words respectively meaning broad and eye. Eurôpè "[that which has] large eyes" became a feminine first name, given to several figures, perhaps most notably to the famous daughter of Agenor, abducted by Zeus whilst disguised as a bull. There is no doubt of the symbolic value of this etymology. It questions the place of perception, of image and indeed of art itself, in the creation of the European identity. An inaugural lecture offered by the Collège de France, given on 25 January 2018 by Victor Stoichita, guest lecturer for the 2017-2018 European Chair.

The Europe of images: texts, textures, images

Episode 12 64 min

Cellular and Molecular Oncology

Lecture given by Hugues de Thé, holder of the chair in Cellular and Molecular Oncology, on 8 January 2015. The biology of cancer is living a veritable revolution: the genetic approaches have enabled the identification of the cellular deregulations involved in tumours and the development of targeted treatments. Trail-blazing work has demonstrated how the combined action of arsenic and retinoic acid act on the protein responsible for promyelocytic leukaemia. This treatment raises the hope that understanding the mechanisms of carcinogenesis will soon lead to new therapies that can be applied to other areas.

Cellular and Molecular Oncology

Episode 13 67 min

Written Culture in Late Antiquity and Byzantine Papyrology

Lecture given by Jean-Luc Fournet, holder of the chair in Written Culture in Late Antiquity and Byzantine Papyrology, on 7 January 2016. Papyrology, which truly took off in the 19th century with the discovery of thousands of papyri in Egypt, is the study of ancient writing on a transportable medium (papyrus, clay potsherds, wood tablets or parchment). While inscriptions and literary sources can render a normative, idealized and sometimes deformed image of individuals, papyri take us into their everyday lives, thus making possible an archaeology of their cultural practices.

Written Culture in Late Antiquity and Byzantine Papyrology

Episode 14 63 min

Greek Polytheism as a Historical Object

Lecture given by Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge, holder of the chair in Religion, History and Society in the Ancient Greek World, on 7 December 2017. Polytheism is one of the ways in which the overwhelming majority of ancient civilisations negotiated a means to represent a complex world. An analysis of their modus operandi can not only enable us to better understand these ancient societies, but also to reflect on the diverse ways in which we can in turn negotiate "the religion of others". The renewed study of Greek polytheism has turned it into a pertinent subject for a clearer understanding of ancient societies through both a historical and anthropological perspective.

Greek Polytheism as a Historical Object

Episode 15 64 min

Software, between mind and matter

Lecture given by Xavier Leroy, holder of the chair in Software Science, on 15 November 2018. The same computer equipment is able to fulfil innumerable different functions simply by changing the software it is running. This extraordinary plasticity has enabled the computer to leave specialised computing centres and become widespread; today they are found everywhere, from everyday objects to city infrastructures. What fundamental concepts underpin this technical prowess? How can we master the incredible and often frightening complexity of software? And how can we avoid programming "bugs" and resist cyber attacks?

Software, between mind and matter

Episode 16 69 min

Lessons from the History of Africa

Lecture given by François-Xavier Fauvelle, holder of the chair in History and Archaeology of African Civilizations, on 3 October 2019. The African historian knows that his work is in opposition to the clichés to which the continent is subjected, whether it is the question of a denial of historicity, a fascination for origins or for an "ethnic" way of reading the past and present. Room must also be allowed for the diversity of African civilisations in order to observe the way in which African societies have, over the centuries, taken diverse historical pathways in terms of political organisation, techniques and types of economy.

Lessons from the History of Africa

Episode 17 66 min

A Genetic Tale: Our Diversity, Our Evolution, Our Adaptation

Lecture given by Lluis Quintana-Murci, holder of the chair in Human Genomics and Evolution, on 6 February 2020. The study of the genetic diversity of humanity enables us to follow the evolutionary history of our species and to better understand the phenotypical variability of populations. The innumerable migrations that took place throughout our evolution have contributed to shaping this genetic diversity. Having a better grasp of the way in which natural selection has influenced the variability of the human genome enables us to identify the biological functions that played a major role in the adaptation and survival of our species.

A Genetic Tale: Our Diversity, Our Evolution, Our Adaptation

Episode 18 60 min

Data science

Lecture given by Stéphane Mallat, holder of the chair in Data Science, on 11 January 2018. In recent years the algorithms for analysing data and artificial intelligence have made a remarkable leap forward in terms of performance. Yet we continue to have a relatively poor understanding of the mathematical principles that enable these techniques to function and we still do not always know how to correctly qualify their results. Stéphane Mallat is a specialist in the study of the mathematical properties of learning algorithms and deep artificial neural networks for data with large numbers of variables.

Episode 19 67 min

Migrations and Societies

Lecture given by François Héran, holder of the chair in Migrations and Societies, on 5 April 2018. International migrations, beyond the spectacular episodes that polarise attention and stir up emotion, are an ordinary part of social dynamics but continue to be the subject of strongly contradictory views. If demographic analysis enables us to define the amplitude of such migrations, other disciplines must also be involved in order to fully understand their geopolitical, historical, anthropological and economic dimensions together with the legal and ethical issues concerned.

Migrations and Societies

Episode 23 65 min

Chemistry of materials and energy. Examples and future of a millennial science

Lecture given by Jean-Marie Tarascon, holder of the chair in Chemistry of Materials and Energy, on 23 January 2014. Chemistry, the science of the synthesis and transformation of materials, is certain to play a crucial role in the answers that science will have to bring to humanity's new concerns, notably those encompassing environmental issues.

Chemistry of materials and energy. Examples and future of a millennial science

Episode 24 62 min

The grandeur and misery of the social state

Lecture given by Alain Supiot, holder of the chair in The Social State and Globalization: A Legal Analysis of Forms of Solidarity (2012-2019), on 29 November 2012. The legal history of the construction of the welfare state gives us an idea of its greatness. But this easy-going sovereign, that tolerates protest and is answerable for its subjects' well-being, seems today to be struck by misery. Inaugural lecture offered by the Collège de France, given on 29 November

The grandeur and misery of the social state

Episode 25 58 min

Of microbes and men. War and peace on the mucosal surfaces

Lecture given by Philippe Sansonetti, holder of the chair in Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (2007-2020), on 20 November 2008. Our bodies contain ten times more bacteria than cells. Their activity is essential for our organism and a true symbiosis exists between humans and microbes. But these bacteria can also cause infectious and parasitic diseases.

Of microbes and men. War and peace on the mucosal surfaces

Episode 26 75 min

Philosophy of language and mind

Language and Mind, on 12 December 2019. Author of a rich body of work, François Recanati has contributed to consolidating a field of research that is today very active internationally, at the crossroads between the philosophy of language and mind, linguistics and cognitive sciences.

Philosophy of language and mind

Episode 27 68 min

Difference, competition and disproportion

Lecture given by Pierre-Michel Menger, holder of the chair in Sociology of Creative Work, on 9 January 2014. Work creates and transforms the social world. Its least predictable and most admired embodiment, artistic and scientific invention, seems to defy causal analysis and statistical regularities. Far more than the exploration of the conscious and infraconscious processes of individual inventiveness, it is the social ecology of creative work that gives rise to sociological analysis.

Difference, competition and disproportion

Episode 28 59 min

Biology of culture

Lecture given by Jean-Jacques Hublin, holder of the international chair in Palaeoanthropology, on 8 October 2014. Palaeoanthropology has rapidly developed over the course of the last two decades and accomplished major progress in terms of methodology. However, our era continues to produce evolutionary models and representations of the past strongly influenced by the ideological ambiance of the moment.

Biology of culture

Episode 29 55 min

Epigenetics and cellular memory

Lecture given by Édith Heard, holder of the chair in Epigenetics and Cellular Memory, on 13 December 2012. Considerable progress has been made over the past century to help us to better understand the molecular basis of heredity together with the processes that enable our genetic information to be stored, read and reproduced by our DNA.

Epigenetics and cellular memory

Episode 30 74 min

Life and the computer: the challenge of a science of organisation

Lecture given by Walter Fontana, holder of the chair in Informatics and Computational Sciences (2019-2020), on 24 October 2019. Professor Walter Fontana conducts research, mainly in the USA and Europe, to demonstrate that the theories forming the basis of informatics and of biology have much in common, and that confronting different points of view and approaches can improve and modify our understanding of life.

Life and the computer: the challenge of a science of organisation

Episode 31 61 min

Experimental medicine

Lecture given by Alain Fischer, holder of the chair in Experimental Medicine (2013-2020), on 15 May 2014. Founded by Claude Bernard in the 19th century, experimental medicine gave decisive direction to medical research and above all to modern biology. It is notably experimental medicine that revealed the role of the immune system.

Experimental medicine

Episode 32 63 min

Experiments, science and the fight against poverty

Inaugural lecture given by Esther Duflo, holder of the annual international chair in Knowledge Against Poverty (2008-2009), on 8 January 2009.

Experiments, science and the fight against poverty

Episode 33 57 min

How and why the world is becoming digital

Lecture given by Gérard Berry, holder of the chair in Algorithms, Machines and Languages (2007-2019) on 17 January 2008. Digitization enables us to free ourselves from the age-old dependence on information according to the media on which it is provided: paper for writing, vinyl records for sound, traditional film for image, etc. Once digitized, all information takes on a single unique form, that of a series of numbers.

How and why the world is becoming digital

Episode 34 68 min

What history can do

Lecture given by Patrick Boucheron, holder of the chair in History of the Powers in Western Europe, 13th to 16th centuries, on 17 December 2015. We need history because we need to be able to take a break. A pause to rest our consciousness, so that the possibility of a consciousness can remain, not only as the seat of thought, but also of practical reason, allowing full latitude to our action. Saving the past, saving time from the frenzy of the present. And for this we must work to weaken ourselves, to allow ourselves to do nothing, to make inoperative this endangering of temporality that lays waste experience and despises childhood.

What history can do

Episode 35 65 min

Atoms and radiation

Lecture given by Jean Dalibard, holder of the chair in Atoms and Radiation, on 18 April 2013. The interaction between atoms and radiation played a central role in the development of science and technology. Cooling atomic gasses using the light produced by a laser produces "quantum matter" with radically different properties from those of ordinary fluids. These cold atoms are the basis of a new metrology of time and space, with applications in a wide range of different fields.

Atoms and radiation

Episode 36 61 min

Dark matter in the universe

Françoise Combes is a specialist in the formation of galaxies, their dynamics and their evolution since the Big Bang, but also in dark matter whose nature needs to be determined in order to better understand the evolution of our universe and the formation of the major galactic structures. Inaugural lecture offered by the Collège de France, given on 18 December 2014 by Françoise Combes, professor at the Collège de France, holder of the chair in Galaxies and Cosmology.

Dark matter in the universe

Episode 37 61 min

How to be an Assyriologist?

Lecture given by Dominique Charpin, holder of the chair in Mesopotamian Civilisation, on 2 October 2014. Specialist in the "Old-Babylonian" period, Dominique Charpin is recognised as a leading Assyriologist. His works have profoundly changed our knowledge of Mesopotamia in the second millennium BC.

How to be an Assyriologist?

Episode 38 63 min

The horns of Moses. Setting the bible in its historical context

Lecture given by Thomas Römer, holder of the chair in The Hebrew Bible and its Contexts, on 5 February 2009. Developments in literary methodologies and archaeology have led scholars to question the traditional conception of biblical chronology and historiography. Maximalists start from the idea that the biblical story can simply be taken as read. Scientifically however, this position is untenable. Inaugural lecture offered by the Collège de France, given on 5 February 2009 by Thomas Römer, professor at the Collège de France, holder of the chair in the Hebrew Bible and its Contexts.

The horns of Moses. Setting the bible in its historical context

Episode 39 62 min

Where is medieval philosophy going?

Lecture given by Alain de Libera, holder of the chair in History of Mediaeval Philosophy (2013-2019), on 13 February 2014. Where is medieval philosophy going? It is going where philosophy is. It became medieval, past the Middle Ages. It was only philosophy when the Middle Ages were still saeculum modernorum, "the century of the Moderns", for those who lived in it. Today, it goes wherever must go he or she who wants to relate, in other words link their history.

Where is medieval philosophy going?

Episode 40 68 min

Complexity of linguistic structures, simplicity of language mechanisms

Lecture given by Luigi Rizzi, holder of the chair in General Linguistics, 5 November 2020. Researchers from all around the world are collaborating on a vast undertaking to describe human languages within generative linguistics, with the aim of understanding their invariant core and fundamental properties. Drawing on an immense body of linguistic data, they seek to capture not only the general properties of language and the parameters of variation between languages, but also the capacity of speakers to produce new utterances.

Complexity of linguistic structures, simplicity of language mechanisms

Episode 41 66 min

Rebuilding the International Institutional Order

Lecture given by Samantha Besson, holder of the chair in International Law of Institutions, 3 December 2020 Samantha Besson belongs to a generation of researchers endeavouring to breathe new life into philosophical thinking on international law and its institutions. For many years she has been exploring not only the multiple facets of the question of the legitimacy of international law, but also the questions surrounding the sources and subjects of international law and of the international responsibility of States and international organisations.

Rebuilding the International Institutional Order

Episode 42 62 min

Combinatorics

Lecture given by Timothy Gowers, holder of the chair in Combinatorics, 21 January 2021. A somewhat paradoxical field, combinatorics presents itself as being both simple and complex, poor and rich, easy and difficult, pure and applied. Today it occupies an almost central place in mathematics, notably due to the multiplicity of its interactions with other fields of research.

Episode 43 75 min

Biodiversity and ecosystems through time and space

Lecture given by Chris Bowler, holder of the annual chair in Biodiversity and Ecosystems, 4 February 2021. Specialist in understanding the response of marine plants and diatoms to environmental signals, Chris Bowler is also one of the scientific coordinators for the Tara Ocean project that aims to explore the biodiversity, ecology and evolution of plankton in the world's oceans. He possesses an exceptional understanding of the global stakes of biodiversity.

Biodiversity and ecosystems through time and space

Episode 44 50 min

From statistical physics to social sciences

Lecture given by Jean-Philippe Bouchard, holder of the annual Liliane Bettencourt Technological Innovation chair (2020-2021), 25 February 2021. Jean-Philippe Bouchaud sees his work as part of a more general rapprochement between statistical physics and social sciences, with the aim of shedding light on the nature of the collective phenomena that come into play in systems composed of a very high number of variables and whose consequences are at the heart of public policies.

From statistical physics to social sciences

Episode 45 59 min

Immune system and brain dynamics

Lecture given by Sonia Garel, holder of the chair in Neurobiology and Immunity, 4 March 2021. For the last twenty years, a large number of studies have demonstrated the real contribution made by the immune system to the construction and functioning of the brain, together with the development of neurological and psychiatric pathologies. This is the case, for example, during the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, notably that of Alzheimer's disease.

Immune system and brain dynamics

Episode 46 53 min

Quantum algorithms

Lecture given by Frédéric Magniez, holder of the annual chair in Informatics and Computational Sciences, 1 April 2021. All computer calculations are currently executed on computers constrained by Newton's laws of physics. A quantum computer could, however, benefit from the phenomena of superposition and entanglement found in quantum physics in order to speed up its calculations.

Quantum algorithms

Episode 47 100 min

Europa: the myth as a metaphor

Inaugural lecture by Alberto Manguel, holder of the annual chair on The Invention of Europe Through Languages and Cultures (2021-2022), given on 30 September 2021. Through the myth of Zeus and Europa and its evolution down the ages, the writer Alberto Manguel suggests that its content can perhaps be considered to constitute the touchstone that provides the peoples of Europe with an intuitive common identity.

Europa: the myth as a metaphor

Episode 48 65 min

Revolution, a hope

Inaugural lecture by Yadh Ben Achour, holder of the annual Francophone Worlds chair (2019-2020), given on 4 November 2021. The hope of a more just society is the common element shared by all revolutions. In the ancient world, revolutions took on a religious expression. Modern revolutions have neither the same language nor the same philosophical conception. Yadh Ben Achour examines the Tunisian revolution of 2010/2011, its reverses and crises that turned hope into uncertainty, before ending with a general reflection on revolution in the Arab world of today.

Revolution, a hope

Episode 49 69 min

Between the end of the month and the end of the world: the economy of our respon

Inaugural lecture by Christian Gollier, holder of the annual Common Sustainable Future chair (2021-2022), given on 9 December 2021. Future generations will be subjected to climate change of an intensity that will depend on the sacrifices we agree to make. How to respond to the climate emergency yet still support people's purchasing power? How far can we go in maintaining our confidence in economic and scientific growth? Christian Gollier replies by analysing two tools: the discount rate and carbon value.

Between the end of the month and the end of the world: the economy of our respon

Episode 50 69 min

Homo sapiens, an invasive species

Inaugural lecture by Jean-Jacques Hublin, holder of the annual Palaeoanthropology chair (23021-2022), given on 13 January 2022. Has recent progress in the field of Palaeoanthropology changed our vision of the evolution of our species? And what if our social skills, responsible for our evolutionary success, had also contributed to the disappearance of innumerable other species? Is it in our nature, as Homo sapiens, to be an invasive species?

Homo sapiens, an invasive species

Episode 51 68 min

Photovoltaic solar power and energy transition

Inaugural lecture by Daniel Lincot, guest lecturer for the annual Liliane Bettencourt Technological Innovation chair (2021-2022), given on 20 January 2022. The abundance of the solar resource and its global distribution give solar power a considerable potential for development. Beyond the technological and scientific aspects and a deeper analysis of the cycles of life, it is also the cultural element that will determine the success or otherwise of our recourse to photovoltaic energy for energy transition.

Photovoltaic solar power and energy transition

Episode 52 65 min

Dynamics of biodiversity and evolution

Inaugural lecture by Tatiana Giraud, holder of the annual Biodiversity and Ecosystems chair (2021-2022), given on 17 February 2022. The sciences of ecology and evolution are essential to understanding the amplitude of the current biodiversity crisis. For Tatiana Giraud, climate change, together with habitat destruction, pollution and invasive species, is responsible for the rapid decline in biodiversity which itself will have important consequences for human society.

Dynamics of biodiversity and evolution

Episode 53 59 min

Reimagining our interactions with the digital world

Inaugural lecture by Wendy Mackay, holder of the Informatics and Computational Sciences chair (2021-2022), given on 24 February 2022. How to imagine the digital world in a different way? To focus solely on technology itself is to miss the essential: our interactions with this technology. Human-machine interaction raises a fundamental question: how to guarantee that computers meet the needs of those who use them?

Reimagining our interactions with the digital world

Episode 54 66 min

The external causes and conditions of illnesses and health

Inaugural lecture by Rémy Slama, holder of the annual Public Health chair (2021-2022), given on 31 March 2022. Rémy Slama paints a chronological picture of the risks that weighed, or continue to weigh, on human health, from the epidemic-war-famine trilogy, that has partially and progressively been replaced to so-called lifestyle factors (tobacco, alcohol, poor eating habits, sedentarity) and to physico-chemical agents. He also talks about the contribution made by genetic polymorphism and lifestyle factors in the arrival of chronic diseases, together with changes to our environment.

The external causes and conditions of illnesses and health

Episode 1 65 min

A cultural dream: Europe in the plural

Inaugural lecture by Mieke Bal, guest professor for the annual "The Invention of Europe through Languages and Cultures" chair (2022-2023), created in partnership with the French Ministry of Culture. Sharing, exchanging, interacting: what we share is not what makes us different. The variety of European languages and cultures demands respect for its diversity, but such differences should not be allowed to become barriers. It is these engaging features that make interaction and dialogue so fascinating. It is integration rather than comparison that counts, without erasing differences...

A cultural dream: Europe in the plural

Episode 2 63 min

A new art

Inaugural lecture by Benoît Peeters, writer, scenarist and publisher, Hergé specialist, guest professor for the annual "Artistic Creation" chair (2022-2023). "The comic book in the year 2000? I hope [...] that it will have become a form of expression in its own right, like literature or film": Hergé, 1969. A hope that has been more than realised. And yet, for decades, neither the comic book nor the graphic novel even had a name, they were simply described as illustrated or picture stories. Something for children, for fun, published on ephemeral media.

Episode 3 66 min

Experiments, science and the fight against poverty (almost) fifteen years on

Inaugural lecture by Esther Duflo, professor at the Collège de France, holder of the "Poverty and Public Policies" chair. The last three decades present a surprising paradox: the wealthiest have seen their fortune multiplied many times over, their share of global revenue becoming increasingly overwhelming; yet the world's poorest, have also seen remarkable progress. The number of people living in extreme poverty has been halved with innumerable advances made. Results produced by policies that have been better planned and more efficient in many areas of the planet.

Experiments, science and the fight against poverty (almost) fifteen years on

Episode 4 67 min

Enlightenment today

Inaugural lecture by Antoine Lilti, professor at the Collège de France, holder of the "History of the Age of Enlightenment, 18-19th centuries" chair. The ideas and thinking of the Age of Enlightenment are as applicable today as at the time. Extolled as the springboard of our modern values of freedom, tolerance and equality, or as the opposite, denounced as the ideology of western imperialism and the origin of an ill-considered cult of technological progress. So how does an intellectual movement, so deeply embedded in the social, cultural and political transformations of the 18th century, still continue to provoke such intense debate today?

Enlightenment today

Episode 5 58 min

Water in international law: between singularity and plurality

Inaugural lecture by Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, professor at the University of Geneva, guest professor for the "Sustainable Common Future" chair (2022-2023). A life source, freshwater is a natural resource at the heart of many of man's activities and under increasing pressure from all quarters. An equitable approach to Its access and management is essential, both on a national and an international scale. After first concentrating on international rivers, international law is now progressively turning its attention to other water sources. It must now meet the imperative of ensuring access to water for everyone, along with tackling environmental degradation and increasing vulnerability of the resource.

Water in international law: between singularity and plurality

Episode 6 62 min

The molecular mechanics of fluids, a field of innovation for water and energy

Inaugural lecture by Lydéric Bocquet, guest professor for the "Liliane Bettencourt Technological Innovation" chair (2022-2023). Water, energy. Two inextricably interconnected and essential issues in today's world. Two extraordinary challenges for our society. A struggle in which fundamental science could well have a decisive impact. Opening radically new ways to reduce the constraints hampering our move to a new and, necessarily, very different world. But do we still have the time? How to reconcile time in the world of fundamental research, with that of the technological innovation it inspires?

The molecular mechanics of fluids, a field of innovation for water and energy

Episode 7 62 min

A different view of the living world

Inaugural lecture by Virginie Courtier-Orgogozo, research director at the CNRS, associate professor at the École Polytechnique, guest professor for the "Biodiversity and Ecosystems" chair. If our senses allow us to apprehend the world around us, they also introduce bias in the way we understand biodiversity and its dynamics: bias towards species of our size, terrestrial species, those that interact with us, adults, males, morphological features... Being aware of this bias and trying to overcome it constitute essential steps in enabling us to better confront the current biodiversity crisis.

A different view of the living world

Episode 8 55 min

Women in the history of Vietnam: as seen by a historian

Inaugural lecture by Phuong Bùi Trân, guest professor for the "Francophone Worlds" chair. The history of Vietnam hasn't escaped being written in the masculine, where women have been involved so little as actors or authors. The image of the woman warrior may have travelled down the centuries, but political power has remained the prerogative of men, leaving women to manage family economics and pass on traditional values.

Women in the history of Vietnam: as seen by a historian

Episode 9 65 min

Social sciences in times of crisis

Inaugural lecture by Didier Fassin, professor at the Collège de France, holder of the "Moral Questions and Political Stakes in Contemporary Societies" chair. The world is facing a range of different crises: ecological, health, energy, democratic, social with the increase in inequality, humanitarian in war zones, frumentary in regions suffering from drought. What role do the social sciences play in this context? Can they help us to better understand these crises and provide solutions?

Social sciences in times of crisis

Episode 10 62 min

The role of nutrition in preventing chronic disease

Inaugural lecture by Mathilde Touvier, research director at Inserm, guest professor for the "Public Health" chair. Nutrition, in its widest sense, covering both food and physical activity, is today recognised as being one of the principal modifiable factors responsible for the development of some of the most widespread diseases in the industrialised world: obesity, cancers, heart disease, diabetes... At a global level, an unbalanced diet is one of the principle factors in mortality, responsible for approximately 1 in 5 deaths.

The role of nutrition in preventing chronic disease

Episode 11 62 min

Embryonic timing

Inaugural lecture by Denis Duboule, professor at the Collège de France, holder of the "Evolution of Development and Genomes" chair. Embryo development is a question of timing. How is it materialised in biological substrata, where does the embryo find it and how can it be interpreted? This inaugural lecture will discuss a new field of study along with recent technological approaches that today enable us to embrace these questions through the production and development of embryos in vitro.

Embryonic timing

Episode 1 70 min

The open roads to Egyptology

Egyptology continues to fascinate more than two hundred years after its creation by Jean-François Champollion. The lecture provides an opportunity to question the position of Egyptology on the eve of its third century of existence and notably on the challenges linked to the subject, the dynamism of Egyptian archaeology and the continuing interest it evokes in today's society. Lecture by Laurent Coulon, professor at the Collège de France, holder of the chair in Egyptian Civilisation at the time of the Pharaohs.

The open roads to Egyptology

Episode 2 68 min

Teaching languages to machines

The performance of artificial intelligence systems has accelerated to a spectacular degree. At the heart of the revolution, natural language processing (NLP) plays a central role. The lecture looks back at the development of NLP (that notably enables the use of applications such as spell-checking and automatic translation), the most recent advances in the field (ChatGPT) and tackles the ethical questions raised by these developments. Lecture by Benoit Sagot, guest professor for the Informatics and Digital Sciences chair

Teaching languages to machines

Episode 3 66 min

Plant-pollinator interactions, the biodiversity crisis

The current biodiversity crisis, often described as being the disappearance of species or changes in population levels, brings with it more subtle modifications: the disappearance of interactions between living beings. One such example is the interaction between flowering plants and pollinators, a mutual interdependence for both reproduction and food supply. What are the possible solutions to reverse the trend? Lecture by Emmanuelle Porcher, guest professor for the Biodiversity and Ecosystems chair.

Plant-pollinator interactions, the biodiversity crisis

Episode 4 67 min

Determinism and stochasticity in planet formation

The recent discoveries of innumerable exoplanets have revealed an immense physical diversity in planetary systems. The lecture presents the current state of knowledge and offers an opportunity to reflect on the probability of the existence of planets similar to our own elsewhere in the galaxy, together with the possibility of the development of life in exotic worlds. Lecture by Alessandro Morbidelli, professor at the Collège de France, holder of the chair in Planetary Formation: from Earth to Exoplanets.

Determinism and stochasticity in planet formation

Episode 5 66 min

Climate change and social dynamics

Motivated by the challenge of anthropogenic climate change, the reconstruction of the Holocene climate has provided historians and archaeologists with new knowledge about our past and enabled us to learn that the instability of the Earth's system played a major role in human history. This knowledge will help inform both citizens and political decision-makers on how to assess the risks contemporary society will have to face. Lecture by Kyle Harper, guest professor for the Shared Sustainable Future chair.

Climate change and social dynamics

Episode 6 61 min

Neurotechnology: science and engineering for new therapies

Neurotechnology is an emerging inter-disciplinary field where neurosciences and technology work together to explore, understand and manipulate the nervous system. It offers vast possibilities: decoding neural mechanisms, diagnosis and treatment of neurological problems, improving cognitive capacities and man-machine interactions. Despite this incredible potential, a prudent and regulated approach needs to be adopted to ensure appropriate checks and balances between opportunities and the ethical responsibilities that accompany them. Lecture by Stéphanie Lacour, guest professor for the Liliane Bettencourt Technological Innovation chair.

Neurotechnology: science and engineering for new therapies

Episode 7 59 min

Activations in molecular chemistry, an introduction

Chemical synthesis enables the creation of non-natural organic molecules with essential properties from oil, coal and biomass (textiles, nutritional products, pesticides, drugs, etc). Nevertheless, contemporary considerations are re-directing research into molecular synthesis in order to ensure the production of molecules with properties optimised to meet the needs of an increasing global population and respect for the environment. Lecture by Louis Fensterbank, professor at the Collège de France, holder of the Activations in Molecular Chemistry chair.

Activations in molecular chemistry, an introduction

Episode 8 58 min

Population movements, language contact, linguistic evolution

The French language began to spread across the globe in the 17th century, when France established trading posts in America and Senegal. This resulted in the emergence of new colonial dialects (Quebec and Louisiana French) and French creoles. Since the 20th century, we also talk about African French languages. The lecture uses history to review the place of French language today. Lecture by Salikoko S. Mufwene, guest professor for the annual Francophone Worlds chair.

Population movements, language contact, linguistic evolution

Episode 9 61 min

The faceless continent: page-markers in the book of Europe

Since the creation of the European Union, the low turnout in European Parliamentary elections has seemed to indicate that the Europeans themselves do not adhere to this identity. The lecture develops the idea that there cannot be a common political identity whilst the Europeans remain socially enclosed within their traditional national identities and public debate is submerged by defeatist diagnoses and declinist slogans. Lecture by Peter Sloterdijk, guest professor for the annual chair in The Invention of Europe through Languages and Cultures.

The faceless continent: page-markers in the book of Europe

Inaugural lessons proposed by the Collège de France.

Réalisation :

Sous-titres : Français Espagnol Anglais Arabe

Catégories Cultural partnerships Collège de France

Casting :

Provenance : France

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