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Located in the Indian Ocean, Madagascar is an island with a rich natural heritage and multiple cultural influences. For over 15 years, researchers from the University of Namur have been working with a number of Madagascan universities and institutes on a variety of themes, including environmental preservation, water management and institutional capacity building. Focus on some of these projects.

It's obvious to anyone paying attention to the paths taken by a growing number of 21st century thinkers: these paths lead to the living! Whether it's called "ecophilosophy", "ecoanthropology", "ecosophy", or "ecopolitics", this thinking about the living is occupying a growing place not only in the media and publications of all kinds, but also in concrete actions in a variety of fields.Program 2024-2025 | At the Roots of the HumanTo introduce the subjectIf we were to take stock of the history of mankind, one trend would certainly stand out: that of a utilitarian relationship with the non-human that continues to grow, and consequently that of a widening gap between the human and the rest.Humanity, however, has its roots in a living environment that cultivates many other relationships than those we currently privilege, which are dominated by instrumental rationality. Sounding out these forgotten relational universes without which it is increasingly difficult to think about the human is one aim of this seminar, which this year will invite you to encounter the plant.On December 13 2024 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm (intervention, discussions and convivial moment). Quentin HIERNAUX will introduce plant philosophy and tell us about Humboldt's "Tableau physique des Andes" and his equinoctial geography of plants.Next datesOn February 28, 2025 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm (intervention, discussions and convivial moment), Jean-Baptiste VUILLEROD will address the following theme: Naturphilosophie du végétal : Goethe, Schelling, Humboldt.OnApril 11, 2025from 2:00 to 4:00 pm (intervention, discussions and convivial moment), Roland CAZALIS will share with us his biologist's point of view on the plant world. Find out more about seminars

It's obvious to anyone paying attention to the paths taken by a growing number of 21st century thinkers: these paths lead to the living! Whether it's called "ecophilosophy", "ecoanthropology", "ecosophy", or "ecopolitics", this thinking about the living is occupying a growing place not only in the media and publications of all kinds, but also in concrete actions in a variety of fields.Program 2024-2025 | At the Roots of the HumanTo introduce the subjectIf we were to take stock of the history of mankind, one trend would certainly stand out: that of a utilitarian relationship with the non-human that continues to grow, and consequently that of a widening gap between the human and the rest.Humanity, however, has its roots in a living environment that cultivates many other relationships than those we currently privilege, which are dominated by instrumental rationality. Sounding out these forgotten relational universes without which it is increasingly difficult to think about the human is one of the aims of this seminar, which this year will invite you to encounter the plant.Next dateOnApril 11, 2025from 2:00 to 4:00 pm (talk, discussions and convivial moment), Roland CAZALIS will share with us his biologist's point of view on the plant world. Find out more about seminars

Stanford University has published a prestigious ranking that highlights the most influential researchers in a wide range of scientific fields. The list, based on bibliographic criteria, aims to provide a standardized means of identifying the world's scientific leaders. It is one criterion among others for assessing the quality of scientific research. Twelve researchers from the University of Namur are among them!

This is a fine reward for Professor André Füzfa, astrophysicist in the Department of Mathematics and head of the Astronomical Observatory at UNamur. On November 21, he received the "Coup de Coeur" award from the Trophées de Matière Grise, RTBF's popular science program 2024. These trophies aim to reward the country's scientists, who mobilize to disseminate their knowledge and insights to the general public.

Constitutionalism, understood as a means of establishing a political autonomous from society, is seen as having constructed the opposition between the State and society. At the same time, the concept of constitutionalism is increasingly being used to describe other forms of social power and normativity – such as the economy, finance, digital, technologies, media, environment – even though the concrete and theoretical implications of these shifts have not always been fully clarified. More recent trends have emerged within the framework of socio-constitutionalism or societal constitutionalism to challenge the reduction of constitutional issues to state-individual relations, acknowledging the complexity of power. Despite their heterogeneity in assumptions, as well as in their descriptive, normative, and theoretical dimensions, these approaches have contributed to renewing the inquiry into the relationship between constitution and society. The purpose of the conference is to assess the current boundaries of constitutionalism and to explore theoretical proposals seeking to overcome them. These approaches raise several fundamental questions: What role should be granted to social actors and sectors within constitutionalism? How can their normative autonomy be acknowledged while also regulating their private power and expansionist tendencies? To what extent do these transformations challenge traditional forms of politics? At what cost might the relationship between constitution and society be reconsidered today?  Program January 299:00 a.m. Welcome9:30-10:00 Introduction: Manon Altwegg-Boussac (Paris-Est Creteil University/IUF) and Sabina Tortorella (MSCA/University of Namur)From State to Society: New Challenges for ConstitutionalismChair: Isabelle Aubert (Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne University)10:00-10:30 Thomas Boccon-Gibod (Grenoble Alpes University): Relationships between Constitution and Society10:30-11:00 Simone Mao Zhenting (Harvard University): Constitutionalizing Society in an Age of Fragmented Authority: From State-Centrism to Social Constitutional Norms11:00-11:30 Discussion11:30-12:00 Coffee Break12:00-12:30 Angelo Jr Golia (Luiss Guido Carli): Societal Constitutionalism and General Theory of Law (beyond the State): Norm, Order, Interpretation12:30-12:45 Discussion12:45-14:30 LunchMoving Beyond the Nation-State: Theoretical PerspectivesChair: Eleonora Bottini (Sciences Po)2:30-3:00 p.m. Jean-François Kervégan (Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne University): Politics below and beyond the State: Schmitt and Kojève in Comparative Perspective3:00-3:30 p.m. Paul Linden-Retek (University at Buffalo School of Law): Postnational Society and its Law3:30-4:00 Discussion4:00-4:30 p.m. Coffee BreakNew Conceptual Tools: Alterity and DerogationChair: Eleonora Bottini (Sciences Po)4:30-5:00 p.m. Horatia Muir Watt (Sciences Po): On the Borderline (and beyond the State): Ontologizing Alterity on the Terms of the Law5:00-5:30 p.m. Raffaele Bifulco (Luiss Guido Carli): Derogation as Legal Response to Social Differentiation5:30-6:00 p.m. Discussion6:00 p.m. DinnerJanuary 309:00 a.m. WelcomeMapping Sectoral Constitutions: Case StudiesChair: Sabina Tortorella (MSCA/University of Namur)9:30-10:00 Francesco Martucci (Panthéon-Assas University): Trust and Distrust. State, Society, and Money in the Digital Era10:00-10:30 Nefeli Lefkopoulou (Sciences Po): Exploring Constitutional Narratives in Meta’s Oversight Board: Replicating or Renewing Traditional Constitutionalism?10:30-11:00 Discussion11:00-11:30 Coffee Break11:30-12:00 Manuela Niehaus (University of Administrative Sciences Speyer): Global Climate Constitutionalism beyond the State?12:00-12:30 Mathilde Laporte (Pau University): The Debated Protection of Constitutional Rights within Social Orders beyond the State. The Example of Gated Communities12:30-1:00 p.m. Discussion1:00-2:30 p.m. LunchCritical Insights: Take the Leap?Chair: Manon Altwegg-Boussac (Paris-Est Creteil University/IUF)2:30-3:00 p.m. Chris Thornhill (University of Birmingham): The Military in Sociological Constitutionalism3:00-3:15 Discussion3:15-3:45 p.m. Coffee Break3:45-4:15 p.m. Jörn Reinhardt (Fulda University of Applied Sciences): Regression and Progress in Constitutionalism beyond the State4:15-4:45 p.m. Martin Loughlin (LSE): The Concept of Constitution4:45-5:15 Discussion5:15 p.m. Cocktail 

After a presentation of the book, Déborah V. Brosteaux will be interviewed by Thibault De Meyer and Vivien Giet.Free admission. Everyone is welcome.Book presentationFaced with the wars in which European countries are involved, we constantly oscillate between numbness and frenzy. Some war situations give rise to emotional heatedness, a "renewed" psychic and social energy, while others are barely mentioned, relegated to the background. This philosophical investigation delves into the ambivalence of our relationship to war, which is at the heart of the sensitive history of modernity.Inspired by the writings of Walter Benjamin, W. G. Sebald, and Klaus Theweleit, the book explores these warlike emotions throughout the 20th century and questions their legacy: the coldness of distancing, the denial of the ruins after 1945, the desire to intensify the experience of self, which mobilized the imagination in 1914-1918 and was swallowed up in the trenches... even mutating into fascist passions that actively fed on the devastation.Déborah V. Brosteaux takes these desires seriously, including their appeal. And she asks: what emotional transformations can be activated to resist the mobilization of war?  More information about the ARCADIE Center

Are we prisoners of our genetic heritage? Can filiation be reduced to genes alone? Can we escape our destiny? Existential questions we all ask ourselves, and to which Gaëlle Pontarotti, lecturer and researcher in the Department of Sciences, Philosophies and Societies at UNamur, sheds new light in her book Par-delà les gènes. Une autre histoire de l'hérédité, published last October by Gallimard.

Alexandre Mauroy has been a professor and researcher in the Department of Mathematics for almost 10 years, working in the field of dynamical systems. He is also Director of the naXys Research Institute, which puts its expertise in complex systems at the service of UNamur researchers from all disciplines. Aware of the sometimes austere reputation of maths among the general public, Alexandre Mauroy works to demonstrate that this discipline is at the heart of today's technological and scientific challenges..

At a time when misinformation, post-truths and conspiracies are undermining confidence in science, UNamur welcomes SPiN (Science & Philosophy in Namur), a new interdisciplinary research center that questions the place of science in society. Founded last September by Olivier Sartenaer, Professor of Philosophy of Science at UNamur, SPiN brings together philosophers and scientists around a common vision: to develop a critical and accessible reflection on science in all its diversity..

As part of its seminar, Centre Arcadie will be pleased to welcome Igor Krtolica for a session devoted to his book Romain Gary. De l'humanisme à l'écologie, Gallimard, 2025.Maître de conférences en philosophie à l'Université de Picardie Jules-Verne, junior member of the Institut universitaire de France, Igor Krtolica is the author (in addition to the work to be discussed) of Gilles Deleuze (PUF, coll. "Que sais-je? ", 2015), of Gilles Deleuze et Félix Guattari : Une philosophie des devenirs-révolutionnaires(Éditions Amsterdam, 2024) and of a commentary on an extract from Romain Gary's Les Racines du ciel entitled Antifascism, humanism and ecology (PUF, coll. "Classiques de l'écologie", 2025).After a presentation of the work, Igor Krtolica will be interviewed by Jean-Baptiste Vuillerod and Thibault De Meyer.Free admission. All welcome.Book presentation 1956: the Prix Goncourt is awarded to Racines du ciel, a novel whose hero, Morel, fights against the extermination of elephants in an Africa struggling for independence. Romain Gary described it as the first ecological novel. Ecology enabled him to resolve the unbearable political contradiction in which the post-war West finds itself: the impossibility of believing in man, the impossibility of giving up believing in man. How can we continue to give meaning to the idea of civilization? If we are to maintain the humanist ideal, we need to wage a battle in which man is no longer at the center. Such is the paradox explored here. This literary and philosophical essay reveals the complexity of Romain Gary's thought, his constant irony and humor, his contradictions, his rejection of dogmatism. And its modernity: ahead of his time, the novelist anticipated the controversies driving contemporary ecological thinking, where the human being is only a part of nature, but where nature itself becomes inseparable from history, society and politics. This previously unpublished synthesis of Romain Gary's work is an original analysis of the tension between humanist commitment and ecological cause.. Toutes les activités du Centre Arcadie

As part of its seminar, Centre Arcadie will be pleased to welcome Jeanne Etelain for a session devoted to her book Zones. Terre, sexes et science-fiction, Flammarion, 2025.Jeanne Etelain, PhD from New York University and Université Paris-Nanterre, teaches philosophy and contemporary theory at the École supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Montpellier.After a presentation of the book, Igor Krtolica will be interviewed by Jean-Baptiste Vuillerod and Thibault De Meyer.After a presentation of the book, Jeanne Etelain will be interviewed by Ludovic Dubois, Nathalie Grandjean and Sébastien Laoureux.Free admission. Welcome to all.Book presentation Zone: this ubiquitous term nevertheless remains elusive. In a stunning conceptual investigation at the crossroads of geography, psychoanalysis and science fiction, Jeanne Etelain explores how "zone" has become central to understanding space, in the contemporary context of a crisis in the planet's conditions of habitability. The zone thus emerges as a spatial modality that defies habitual categories, confronting us with space's power to act, whether it's nature, the Earth or the body. All Centre Arcadie activities