anthropology of life
Research Team
The “Anthropology of Life” team is part of the Social Anthropology Laboratory of the Collège de France
Our research
A team led by Perig Pitrou
What is the anthropology of life?
The anthropology of life studies the organization of human societies by analyzing the techniques invented to interact with living beings.
All over the planet, the members of our team carry out ethnographic surveys to compare the diversity of conceptions of life and reflect on the impact of biotechnologies on the contemporary world. The interdisciplinary dialogue with other sciences helps us to consider human lives as a phenomenon at the interface between the social and the biological.
Methodological rigor and the effort to understand cultural differences are at the heart of our collective approach, which values cooperation, the dissemination of knowledge and affirms the ability of science to contribute to the development of social projects.
Project
Humans in the living world
Awareness of the threat weighing on ecological and social balances leads humans to wonder about the means of ensuring a better coexistence with the living world. These interactions are organized through conceptions of life, material cultures and institutions (religious, political, economic, legal, etc.).
An anthropological fact
In addition to the life sciences necessary for a better understanding of environments, anthropology is essential for reflecting on the diversity of techniques and forms of social organization invented by humans to live on our planet.
In this context, the “Anthropology of Life” team seeks to understand what life does to humans and what humans do to life.
What life does to humans
How are human societies built around interactions with vital processes (birth, growth, reproduction, illness or health, aging, death), which manifest themselves in human bodies or in animals, plants, microorganisms ?
What humans do to life
How do human societies develop knowledge about life and technical knowledge to exercise an action on organisms and ecological systems? What are the forms of social organization associated with practices such as animal husbandry, agriculture, medicine or biotechnology?
Life in society
The anthropology of life studies, from a comparative perspective, the techniques that humans develop to interact with living beings and natural environments. A specific reflection is devoted to the role of artefacts and images in these interactions.
Anthropological comparison
We seek to establish the links between conceptions of life and forms of social organization, by observing a wide range of activities: domestication of living things, hunting, fishing, ritual techniques, biomedicine, biobanks, biomimicry, bioart, robotics, life modeling.
Methods
We adopt a broad theoretical framework: anthropology of techniques, Science & Technology Studies, anthropology of life forms and biopolitics, anthropology of nature and living environments, anthropology of art and image, linguistic anthropology, historical anthropology.
We conduct participant observations by applying a plurality of ethnographic methods: semi-directive interview, creation of operational chains, speech transcription, ethogram, image analysis, film ethnography, analysis of material culture, etc.
We promote interdisciplinary dialogue between the natural sciences, the humanities and social sciences, the humanities and artistic practices.
Themes
On very diverse survey sites, the anthropological study of the links between life and technology is based on major research themes: treatment of plants, interactions with animals, exploration of ecological systems, ritual practices and collective organizations, laboratories science, artistic creation, curating exhibitions, collections and museums, historical anthropology and anthropology of contemporary knowledge.
Our news
Upcoming publication of the book “Anthropologists and life” by Perig Pitrou
The “Anthropologie de la vie” team is pleased to announce the publication, in September 2022, of the book Les anthropologues et la vie de Perig Pitrou La prize
An Ethnographic Approach to Forensic Medicine in India: BOOK PRESENTATION by Dr. Fabien Provost
Abstract: Based on a year-long ethnographic survey in the morgues of North Indian hospitals and on work on judicial archives, my book Les mots de
Workshop Ordinary Life in Philosophy and Anthropology
Ordinary Life in Philosophy and Anthropology Theories, Practices, Methods June, 16 & 17 2022 Paris, Collège de France “Anthropology of life” team Anthropology laboratory
Publications of the Cahiers d'Anthropologie Sociale
Reconfiguring the living From organisms to artefacts See the summary and summaries of articles House posts where the presence of ancestors,
Science Fair at the College de France
Created in 1991, the Science Festival is organized each year by the Ministry for Higher Education, Research and Innovation
Cyrille Jeancolas presents his research
The origins of life and the production of life in the laboratory! These are the research objectives of Cyrille Jeancolas, doctoral student at the Laboratory of
The team
directed by Perig Pitrou
Around the senior members, the team intends to promote the integration of young researchers in the research professions.
The integration of the team into an international network is guaranteed by the presence of researchers linked to institutions in several countries: France, United Kingdom, Belgium, Italy, Russia, United States, Mexico, Brazil.
Teacher-researchers
Perig Pitrou
Research director, team leader, CNRS
Olivia Angel
Associate Professor
Joffrey Becker
Associated researcher
Teresa Castro
Lecturer, U. Paris 3
Ludovic Coupaye
Reading, UCL
Pierre-Olivier Dittmar
Lecturer, EHESS
Frederique Ildefonse
Research Director, CNRS
Leopoldo Iribarren
Lecturer, EHESS
Katarina Kerestetzi
Researcher, CNRS
Fabien Milanovic
Teacher Researcher, SupBiotech
Guilhem Olivier
Professor, UNAM
Marie Lecomte-Tilouine
Research Director, CNRS
Marie Mauze
Research Director, CNRS
Salvatore d'Onofrio
Professor, University of Palermo
Istvan Praet
Senior Lecturer, U. Roehampton
Carlos Sautchuk
Professor, U. Brasília
Wiktor Stoczkowski
Director of Studies, EHESS
Postdoctoral researchers
Rosalie Allain
U.Oxford
Camille Bellet
Wellcome Trust
Gabriela Bezerra Daly
Fyssen Foundation
David Dupuis
Quai Branly Museum
Emilie Letouzey
Fyssen Foundation
Guilherme M. Fagundes
Princeton
Cyrille Jeancolas
Durham University
Fabien Provost
Kings College
PhD students
Josemaria Becerril Aceves
ENS-EHESS
Indira Beraud
EHESS-UQAM
Lea Bernard
EHESS-IDA
Michiko Borisova
EHESS-U. Yakutsk
Giulia Cantisani
U. Sapienza-EHESS
Simon Gerard
EHESS-Labex coral
Lauren Kamili
EHESS-ADEME
Selma Lepart
EHESS-ANRT
Gabriel Roman
ULB-EHESS
Nolwen Vouiller
University of Liège-EHESS
Programs
Collective research programs
Thanks to the support of the Collège de France, the CNRS, the PSL University and the Fyssen Foundation, the members have been involved in collective research programs focusing on the relationships between living beings and artefacts, domestication and manufacturing. life, bioart and biodesign, biomimicry, life modelling, exobiology and space exploration.
Doctoral projects
The collective reflection is nourished by doctoral research funded by institutions (EHESS, CNRS, Labex Corail, ADEME, ANRT, CRI, ENS) promoting interdisciplinary approaches. Several theses are prepared within the framework of international joint supervision.
Postdoctoral projects
Thanks to the support of foundations (Fyssen, Wellcome Trust) and research institutions (U. PSL, U. Oxford, Kings College, U. Princeton), several members of the team are engaged in postdoctoral research.
Conferences, workshops, seminars
Our collective reflection is accompanied by a program of innovative scientific activities, which federates an international network around the themes of the anthropology of life, a field in full development. Symposiums, workshops and seminars are all opportunities to publicize our work, and to initiate international and interdisciplinary collaborations.
Publications
The results of our research are the subject of special issues in peer-reviewed journals, French and international, and collective works published in France, the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Japan and Australia.
Valorization of research
We ensure the promotion of research by organizing round tables, film festivals, science & art projects and by giving interviews in the media.
In connection with the activities of the “La vie à l'oeuvre” collective, the team's expertise is also sought by public and private institutions questioning the place of living systems and biotechnologies in contemporary societies.
The Social Anthropology Laboratory
The “Anthropology of Life” research team is housed at the Social Anthropology Laboratory (LAS). It thus benefits from the institutional links of the Collège de France and the influence of the University of Paris Sciences et Lettres, the EHESS and the CNRS.
