CSOC 23A11 - What does it mean to be politically radical ?

This sociology course will deal with the meaning of radical political engagement in contemporary regimes both in liberal and illiberal. In the first example, the opposition has its own political territory: how is it possible to differentiate opposition and political radicalism? In the second example, we will be interested in the process by which central authoritarian powers design political radicalism, especially by the means of repressive laws. This comparison, fueled by other European and international examples will lead us to consider not only radicalism as a political affiliation in itself, but as the result of power struggles involving labels and denominations for the conquest of public space. At this step, the analysis will be centered on the "mainstream" political communication, on the role of medias and of social networks in the definition both of public space and of radicalism. We will also mobilize new scientific methods such as the quantitative analysis of the web. Finally, the third part of the course will be devoted to the study of key themes to understand political radicalism such as the use of violence, the political discourse of the artistic and aesthetic vanguard, the revival of fascism… This course, even if tools from political science and from history of ideas will be borrowed, is a sociology course. It will be based both on historical examples of militant organizations, and on conceptual analysis and great texts from social sciences.

Benjamin TAINTURIER

Séminaire

English

Spring 2024-2025

1°) Group presentation (50%) 20 minutes With classmates, choose a contemporary radical group and present it: history, political positioning, resources, networks... Remember that this is a sociology course and not a course about the history of ideas! 2°) Individual memo (50%) → Choose a text from the following list and present it as follows: summarize the main conclusions (1 page), then explain how this text seems relevant to you today (3 pages).