Director: Florence Hulak and Thomas Brisson (2024)
Deputy directors: Celia Bense Ferreira Alves (CSU), Cornelia Möser (GTM), Florence Hulak (LabTop)
Created on January 1, 2009, the CRESPPA (Center for Sociological and Political Research in Paris) is the research unit UMR 7217 of the CNRS, of University Paris 8 Vincennes Saint-Denis and of University Paris Nanterre. It groups together the CSU (“Urban Societies and Cultures”), the GTM (“Gender, Labor, and Mobility”) and the LabTop (“Political Theories Laboratory”).
Since January 1, 2014, a third team has integrated the Cresppa research group (Center for Sociological and Political Research in Paris): indeed, the original teams – CSU (Urban Societies and Cultures) and GTM (Gender, Labor, and Mobility) – have been joined by the LabTop (Political Theories Laboratory). The LabTop team, which currently consists of 20 tenured researchers (8 University Lecturers – 12 Associate Professors), brings renewed balance and solidity to our research unit (UMR).
In this way, the Cresppa has markedly reinforced:
– its involvement in the fields of sociology and political science, as well as its interdisciplinary potential, with a recognized political philosophy department
– its capacity to develop new themes: research on culture and health
– its presence and visibility within national and international research programs
– its capacity to supervise PhD students
– its capacity to submit proposals to affiliated universities (Paris 8 and Paris Nanterre)
In addition to promoting a collegial internal model that includes every category of staff as well as colleagues receiving individual training, the three teams share a common and strong interest in the study of different social forms of domination and mobilization, and in the divisions and categorizations linked to social relations.
A comparative perspective is clearly present in each of our research programs. Comparisons at an international level, insofar as they encourage relativization, help establish the explicative models based on field research with greater precision. Indeed, our unit has decidedly opted for an empirical approach. This has led, among other things, to paying careful attention to research training based on research itself and to the participation of PhD students in all team activities. Finally, we show great interest in epistemological issues in most of our approaches.
