Historical sociology - Session 2. The construction of notions: analytical operators, comparatism and singular concepts
If interdisciplinarity is a buzzword within the academic bureaucracy, it's hard to conclude that it exists in practice. Embracing a slogan does not an epistemology make, and claiming progress is no guarantee of it. To prevent the interdisciplinary approach from being reduced to avant-gardism, it is necessary to define the practical conditions for bringing together the different social sciences, going beyond the encounter between academic disciplines or the eclectic taste for the exotic. The eight sessions of the course presented below will seek to provide both a method for the construction of analytical notions by young researchers in history and sociology, and a set of tools favoring the objectification of scientific work in the social sciences.Session 2 - The construction of notions: analytical operators, comparatism and singular conceptsAs the division of labor between sociology as a producer of notions and history as a source of examples constitutes one of the main epistemological obstacles to a consistent practice of historical sociology, it is necessary to define a method for the elaboration of notions that can serve as analytical operators. In this context, the question of comparatism, a term covering diverse and sometimes contrary practices, appears central.Possibility of following the seminar online via Teams
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21 new F.R.S.-FNRS grants for research at UNamur
The F.R.S.-FNRS has just published the results of its various 2024 calls. Equipment calls, research credits and projects, FRIA doctoral grants and Mandant d'Impulsion Scientifique (MIS), there are many instruments to support fundamental research. Find out more about UNamur's results.
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FNRS 2024 calls: Focus on the PaTHs Institute
Two researchers from the Institut Patrimoines, Transmissions, Héritages (PaTHs) have just been awarded funding from the F.R.S - FNRS following calls whose results were published in December 2024. The PaTHs institute is a federation of research centers and groups that have sprung up in and around the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters. The institute is distinguished by its emphasis on critical analysis of the "traces" of the past (written, material, monumental, landscape, visual, sound...), to the point of placing the "trace" itself at the heart of scientific questioning.
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Katrien Beuls
Bruno Dumas
Elise Degrave
Laurent Schumacher
Benoît Frenay
New impetus for the humanities and social sciences at UNamur
A new platform dedicated to research in the humanities and social sciences (SHS) is being launched at UNamur. The aim? To offer SHS researchers methodological support tailored to their needs and strengthen SHS excellence at UNamur. This platform, SHS Impulse, will provide various services such as financial support for training, consultancy, access to resources, or co-financed software purchases.
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With AI, it's all about putting the user in control
For Bruno Dumas, computer science fits in with the principles of applied psychology Artificial intelligence (AI) is interfering in our professional as well as our private lives. It both seduces and worries us. On a global scale, it is at the heart of major strategic, societal or economic issues, still being debated in mid-February 2025, at the AI World Summit in Paris. But how can we, as users, avoid being subjected to it? How can we gain access to the necessary transparency of its workings? By placing his research prism on the user's side, Bruno Dumas is something of a "computer psychologist". An expert in human-computer interaction, co-president of the NaDI Institute (Namur Digital Institute), he defends the idea of a reasoned and enlightened use of emerging technologies.
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The Department of Physics welcomes a delegation from CERN
In May 2025, the Department of Physics welcomed two special visitors: Serge Mathot and François Briard from Namur, both alumni of UNamur and members of CERN. Several activities were on the program, ranging from a visit to the particle accelerator, to science popularization and thematic seminars, particularly in heritage sciences. The aim? To identify areas or activities in which UNamur and CERN could strengthen their collaboration.
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EMCP Faculty: three researchers receive awards - #1 Floriane Goosse receives double award for her research with societal impact
The NaDI-CeRCLe research center has distinguished itself brilliantly on the international scene in recent weeks. Three young researchers from the EMCP Faculty have received prestigious recognition at leading international events for their research in service management: they are Floriane Goosse, Victor Sluÿters and Florence Nizette. This summer, let's discover the work of these PhD students and their significant contributions to the advancement of knowledge and practice in this field.
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