Philippe Corcuff (born 15 April 1960) is a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

, full professor in political science at the

Institut d'études politiques de Lyon The Institut d'Études politiques de Lyon (, ''Lyon Institute of Political Studies'') also known as Sciences Po Lyon (), is a grande école located in Lyon, France. It is one of eleven Institutes of Political Studies in France, and was establis ...

since October 1992 and member of the CERLIS laboratory (Centre de Recherche sur les Liens Sociaux, Université de Paris / Université Sorbonne Nouvelle / CNRS) since October 2003. Politically committed to the

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * ''Left'' (Helmet album), 2023 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relativ ...

, with a trajectory that took him from social democracy to pragmatic

anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

, via the ecologists and the New Anti-Capitalist Party, he defines himself as an “

anti-globalization The anti-globalization movement, or counter-globalization movement, is a social movement critical of economic globalization. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalist ...

and

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

activist”. He was a columnist for the French satirical weekly ''

Charlie Hebdo ''Charlie Hebdo'' (; ) is a French satirical weekly magazine, featuring cartoons, reports, polemics, and jokes. The publication has been described as anti-racist, sceptical, secular, libertarian, and within the tradition of left-wing radicalism ...

'' from 2001 to 2004. Sociologically speaking, he had started in study with a socio-ethnographic approach, within the scope of his thesis, the building of

social group In the social sciences, a social group is defined as two or more people who interact with one another, share similar characteristics, and collectively have a sense of unity. Regardless, social groups come in a myriad of sizes and varieties. F ...

s, through

railroader Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

s’

trade unionism A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

and, wider, the

workers' movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of Working class, working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It ca ...

. He offers then a reading of

Pierre Bourdieu Pierre Bourdieu (, ; ; ; 1 August 1930 – 23 January 2002) was a French sociologist and public intellectual. Bourdieu's contributions to the sociology of education, the theory of sociology, and sociology of aesthetics have achieved wide influ ...

’s critical

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

, emphasizing the “

post-marxist Post-Marxism is a perspective in Critical theory, critical social theory which radically reinterprets Marxism, countering its association with economism, historical determinism, Antihumanism, anti-humanism, and class reductionism, whilst remai ...

” aspect of his social criticism, while pointing out several contradictions. He did so especially in the book ''Bourdieu autrement'' (2003, non-translated, in English: “Bourdieu, differently”). In this perspective, he linked the critical sociology of

, the pragmatic sociology of

Luc Boltanski Luc Boltanski (born 4 January 1940) is a French sociologist, born in Paris. He is Professor at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (Paris), and founder of the Groupe de Sociologie Politique et Morale, known as the leading figure ...

and the philosophy of emancipation of

Jacques Rancière Jacques Rancière (; ; born 10 June 1940) is a French philosopher, Professor of Philosophy at European Graduate School in Saas-Fee and Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Paris VIII: Vincennes—Saint-Denis. After co-authoring ...

to build a new critical theory, particularly in his book ''Où est passée la critique sociale?'' (2012, non-translated, in English : "Where is the social criticism?"). The re-evaluation of the place of individuality has been one of the axes of this new critical thinking. To explore this new critical theory, he also analyzed products of

popular culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art

f. pop art F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distributi ...

or mass art, sometimes contraste ...

(detective novels, films, TV series, songs...), using the notion of

language games A language game (also called a Cant (language), cant, secret language, ludling, or argot) is a system of manipulating spoken words to render them incomprehensible to an untrained listener. Language games are used primarily by groups attempting t ...

taken from the philosopher

Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. From 1929 to 1947, Witt ...

and drawing on

Stanley Cavell Stanley Louis Cavell (; September 1, 1926 – June 19, 2018) was an American philosopher. He was the Walter M. Cabot Professor of Aesthetics and the General Theory of Value at Harvard University. He worked in the fields of ethics, aesthetics, ...

's philosophy of cinema. From the 2010s onwards, he has been interested in a critical political theory of the extreme right-wingisation of public spaces in France and how the confusion of ideas on the left contributes to it, with his book ''La grande confusion. Comment l'extrême droite gagne la bataille des idées'' (2021, non-translated, in English: "The great confusion. How the far right is winning the battle of ideas"). To do this, he uses the notion of "discursive formation" borrowed from the philosopher

Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault ( , ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French History of ideas, historian of ideas and Philosophy, philosopher who was also an author, Literary criticism, literary critic, Activism, political activist, and teacher. Fo ...

Selected works

* 1995: ''Les Nouvelles Sociologies'', Paris, Nathan (coll. "128"), 128 p. (ISBN 2-09-190748-0); 3e ed. en 2011 : Paris, Armand Colin, coll. « 128 », 128 p. (ISBN 978-2-200-25985-3) * 2002: ''La Société de verre. Pour une éthique de la fragilité'', Paris, Armand Colin, coll. "Individu et société", 269 p. (ISBN 2-200-26436-4) * 2003: ''

Bourdieu Pierre Bourdieu (, ; ; ; 1 August 1930 – 23 January 2002) was a French sociologist and public intellectual. Bourdieu's contributions to the sociology of education, the theory of sociology, and sociology of aesthetics have achieved wide influ ...

autrement. Fragilités d’un sociologue de combat'', Paris, Textuel, coll. "La Discorde", 143 p. (ISBN 2-84597-074-9). * 2012: ''Où est passée la critique sociale ? Penser le global au croisement des savoirs'', Paris, La Découverte, coll. "Bibliothèque du MAUSS", 320 p. (ISBN 978-2-7071-7328-7) * 2014: ''Domination et émancipation. Pour un renouveau de la critique sociale'', presentation of the debate between

and

Nancy Fraser Nancy Fraser (; born May 20, 1947) is an American philosopher, critical theorist, feminist, and the Henry A. and Louise Loeb Professor of Political and Social Science and professor of philosophy at The New School in New York City.Jadžić, Milo ...

, Lyon, Presses universitaires de Lyon, coll. "Grands débats : Mode d'emploi", 76 p. (ISBN 978-2-7297-0886-3) * 2016: "Repères libertaires et pragmatiques pour des coalitions altermondialistes"/"Anarchist and pragmatist Markers for anti-globalization Coalitions", in

Delphine Gardey Delphine Gardey (born 1967, France) is a French historian and sociologist. She is a professor of contemporary history at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and director of the Institute of Gender Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences. She ...

, Cynthia Kraus (eds.), ''Politiques de coalition. Penser et se mobiliser avec

Judith Butler Judith Pamela Butler (born February 24, 1956) is an American feminist philosopher and gender studies scholar whose work has influenced political philosophy, ethics, and the fields of third-wave feminism, queer theory, and literary theory. In ...

''/''Politics of Coalition. Thinking Collective Action with

'', bilingual French/English edition, Zurich, Editions Seismo, coll. "Questions de genre/Gender Issues" (ISBN 978-2-88351-069-2) * 2009: "

(1930-2002) leído de otra manera. Crítica social post-marxista y el problema de la singularidad individual", ''Cultura y Representaciones Sociales'' (Revista electrónica de ciencias sociales, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México), vol. 4, número 7, pp. 9–26 *2020: "De ciertas desventuras de la razón decolonial y poscolonial: homenaje crítico y libertario al cuestionamiento descolonizador", in Gaya Makaran and Pierre Gaussens (eds.), ''Piel blanca, máscaras negras. Critica de la razón

decolonial Decoloniality () is a school of thought that aims to delink from Eurocentric knowledge hierarchies and ways of being in the world in order to enable other forms of existence on Earth. It critiques the perceived universality of Western knowl ...

'', México, Bajo Tierra Ediciones y Centro de Investigaciones sobre América Latina y el Caribe-Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (ISBN 978-607-98901-6-2) * 2020: ''Individualidades, común y utopía. Crítica libertaria del populismo de izquierda'', preface from José Luis Moreno Pestaña, Madrid, Dado Ediciones, coll. "Disonancias", 210 p. (ISBN 978-84-948922-9-5) * 2021: "Individuality and the contradictions of neocapitalism", in Vesna Stanković Pejnović (ed.), ''Beyond Neoliberalism and Capitalism'', Belgrade, Institute for Political Studies, coll. "International Thematic Collection of Papers", pp. 57–73 * 2021: ''La grande confusion. Comment l'extrême-droite gagne la bataille des idées'', éditions Textuel, coll. "Petite Encyclopédie critique", 672 p. (ISBN 978-2-84597-854-6) * 2021: "Domination and Emancipation in the Current Conjuncture" (with Gabriel Rockhill, cross interview by Daniel Benson) and "Renewing Critical Theory in an Ultra-Conservative Context: between the Social Sciences, Political Philosophy, and Emancipatory Engagement", in Daniel Benson (ed.), ''Domination and Emancipation. Remaking Critique'', Lanham (MD), Rowman & Littlefield International, Series "Reinventing Critical Theory" (ISBN 978-1-78660-699-0) * October 2021: "Progressism and the Challenge of Conservatism", ''Pouvoirs'' airn International n° 179 * January 2022: "Television Series as Critical Theories: From Current Identarianism to

Levinas Levinas is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Emmanuel Levinas (1906–1995), French philosopher * Michaël Lévinas (born 1949), French composer, son of Emmanuel * Danielle Cohen-Levinas (born 1959), French musicologist and phi ...

. ''American Crime'', ''The Sinner'', ''Sharp Objects'', ''Unorthodox''", ''Open Philosophy'' (Open Access Journal, De Gruyter, Berlin), vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 105–117, online since 16 December 2021 * 2022: "Sociology, Social Justice and Emancipation. Towards an Epistemological Compass, Between Fog, Dispersion and Reproblematisation", Postface to Emmanuelle Barozet, Ivan Sainsaulieu, Régis Cortesoro, David Mélo (eds.), ''Where Has Social Justice Gone? From Equality to Experimentation'', London, Palgrave Macmillan (ISBN 978-3-030-93122-3) * 2021: "Marx/Bourdieu: Convergences and Tensions, Between Critical Sociology and Philosophy of Emancipation", in Gabriella Paolucci (ed.), ''Bourdieu and Marx. Practices of Critique'', London, Palgrave Macmillan (ISBN 978-3-031-06288-9)

External links

Blog
on the ''Mediapart'' website (in French)
List
of the Philippe Corcuff's publications on the website of its research laboratory, the CERLIS (in French)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corcuff, Philippe 21st-century French essayists French sociologists Socialist Party (France) politicians The Greens (France) politicians Revolutionary Communist League (France) politicians New Anticapitalist Party politicians School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences alumni People associated with Sciences Po University of Bordeaux alumni Charlie Hebdo people French anarchists Green anarchists 1960 births People from Oran Living people