Société d'émulation is a name given from the 18th century onwards to some

learned societies A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership may ...

of men in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

and

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

wishing to study together in the arts, science and letters and often to publish the results of their reflections and their works in a bulletin, review or Acts. They were also social and creative organisations formed of a province's cultural elites. The 19th century was the golden age of Sociétés d'émulation and some of them, with their social aspects and particular costumes, have survived up to the present day. Mainly made up of amateurs and local notables, these societies preferred the less ambitious term 'Société d'émulation' to the more scholarly and official title of 'Académie', partly since 'Société d'émulation' indicated their attachment to more limited research within the borders of their society's region. Their ambitions were not as universal as the academies, but their publications and works remain a mine of documentary evidence and very rich accounts of subjects often neglected by the more scholarly academies.

Bibliography

* ''Bibliographie des sociétés savantes de la France, Première partie'', Paris, Impr. nat., 1878, 83 p. *

Jean-Pierre Chaline Jean-Pierre Chaline (18 December 1939, Orléans), is a French contemporary historian, a specialist of the history of the French Third Republic. Biography The father of Olivier Chaline, a historian specializing in Central Europe in the modern era ...

, ''Sociabilité et érudition des sociétés savantes en France, XIX^e-XX^e s.'', Paris, Éd. du CTHS, 1995, 270 p. * P. Leuilliot, « Histoire locale et politique de l’histoire », Annales, Économies, Sociétés, Civilisations, 29^e année, 1974, . * ''Les sociétés savantes et la recherche'' (journées d’études organisées par le C.T.H.S., 2004, ''Bulletin de liaison des sociétés savantes'', mars 2005, no. 10 ; en particulier Martine François, « Le dynamisme des sociétés savantes pour la recherche » (),

, « Les sociétés savantes : vulgarisation du savoir ou renouvellement scientifique ? » () et Régis Bertrand, « Sociétés savantes et recherche historique aujourd'hui ». (). {{DEFAULTSORT:Societe D'emulation