California occupies a central position in American studies and has inspired countless papers and books from its admission to statehood up to the present. This international symposium aims to gather and unify the various strands of social science research—including American studies, sociology, social anthropology, history, political science, and geography—whose methodologies (archival work, oral history, ethnography, participant observation, semi-structured interviews, etc.) allow for an intersectional examination of territorial, social, and racial inequalities and policies in California. It will offer a forum for field insights into the challenges and difficulties faced by France-based scholars in applying these methodologies to distant research fields.

Argument

California occupies a central position in American studies and has inspired countless papers and books from its admission to statehood up to the present. While other U.S. cities and regions have in the past attracted the attention of social scientists on the occasion of international symposiums, few other states have commanded similar attention in recent years. This international symposium aims to gather and unify the various strands of social science research—including American studies, sociology, social anthropology, history, political science, and geography—whose methodologies (archival work, oral history, ethnography, participant observation, semi-structured interviews, etc.) allow for an intersectional examination of territorial, social, and racial inequalities and policies in California. It will offer a forum for field insights into the challenges and difficulties faced by France-based scholars in applying these methodologies to distant research fields.

Aiming to foster international dialogue, we welcome submissions from scholars beyond France and encourage participation from researchers at all career stages and in all positions. In doing so, this symposium seeks to contribute to the vitality of research on California both in France and internationally.

Organizing committee

• Thibaut Clément (HDEA, Sorbonne Université & IUF fellow),
• Elodie Edwards-Grossi (IRISSO, U. Paris Dauphine-PSL & IUF fellow),
• Olivier Richomme (Triangle, U. Lyon 2)

Programme

Jour 1 / 16 octobre 2025 / October 16, 2025

9:30-10:30 : Keynote : Nadia Y. Kim, A&M Texas (titre communiqué ultérieurement)

10:45-12:15 : Politiques Environnementales et Transition Écologique

• Christophe Roncato Tounsi, U. Grenoble “Riding in the margins: tapping the untapped potential of bicycle mobility to accelerate California’s sustainable transition”
• Grégory Salle, CNRS, U. Lille « ‘California spillin’ Une marée noire entre intrigue judiciaire et affaire sociologique (Baie de San Francisco, 2007-2011) »
• Joan Cortinas Muñoz, U. Bordeaux et Franck Poupeau, CNRS, University of Arizona, « L’improbable écologisation des politiques hydriques en Californie. Éléments pour une étude de champ »

14:00-15:00 : Marginalités et inégalités (1) : ségrégations et exclusions urbaines

• Alexandre Pires, U. Paris Cité, “Los Angeles, a Model for Segregating Bodies?” 
• Sonia Lehman-Frisch, U. Nanterre, “Unequal childhoods in San Francisco” 

15:00-16:30 : Marginalités et inégalités (2) : Histoires des groupes et populations minorisés

• Emmanuelle Perez Tisserant, U. Toulouse Jean Jaurès, « Los Tulares » before Reclamation–Écrire l’histoire de la Californie intérieure au XIXe s. : sources, méthodes, disciplines (années 1830-années 1860)
• Lisa Bratton, Tuskegee University, “Lofas-Lakeside Manor: Documenting Lives from the First Neighborhood in California Built by African Americans for African Americans”
• Emilie Cheyroux, Institut National Universitaire Champollion, “What is the 2.0 conversation we want to be having?”: the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) and the debate over representation in the film industry 

16:45-18:15 : La Californie, fabrique des sciences sociales

• Michael Stambolis, U. Toulouse Jean Jaurès, “The California Method: State-Based Case Selection in Comparative Sociological Research”
• Llora Israël, EHESS, « Tensions au coeur du renouveau des études interdisciplinaires sur le droit : de la naissance du Center for the Study of Law and Society (Berkeley, 1961) à la création du Jurisprudence and Social Policy Program. »
• Gérôme Guibert, Sorbonne Nouvelle, « When people ‘make the scene’ A propos du travail sociologique de John Irwin.  

Jour 2 / 17 octobre 2025 / October 17, 2025

9:00-9:30 : accueil, café

9:30-10:30 : Marginalités et inégalités (3) : Policing and Disciplining

• Yohann Le Moigne, U. Angers, “From South Central Los Angeles to Pelican Bay, California as an emerging laboratory for the study of racialized gang conflict resolution”
• Thomas Chevallier, U. Louvain, « Los Angeles à l’avant-garde du mouvement ‘Defund the police.’ Sur les politisations de l’argent public à travers la lutte contre l’incarcération de masse

10:45-11:45 : Gouvernance et participations

• Cynthia Boyer, Institut National Universitaire Champollion, “California Referendums: Citizenship and Polarization in a Direct Democracy” 
• Piero Tellerias Melgarejo, Panthéon Sorbonne, “Urban Transformations, Emergencies, and Disasters in Los Angeles: Constructing Civilian Unpreparedness as a Public Policy Issue (1940-1980)”

13:45-15:15 : Résistances, coalisations et mobilisations

• Soukayna Mniai, U. Nanterre, “Addressing campus sexual violence in California: the key role of grassroots student mobilizations, feminist organizations and lawmakers (1987-2014)”
• Eric Doidy, U. Dijon, “Peaceniks, rednecks, and farmers. Unusual coalitions in the Bay Area, 2000s”
• Guillaume Marche, UPEC, “Infrapolitical Interventions in Public Spaces in San Francisco: Centrality and Periphery in Fieldwork-based Social Science Research”  

15:30-17:00 : Aménagement et politiques publiques

• Mathieu Schorung, Sorbonne Université, « Des politiques d’aménagement au service de la revitalisation urbaine ? Le cas du centre-ville de San Francisco, entre crise économique, gentrification et inégalités socio-territoriale »
• Isabelle Bruno, U. Lille, From “Sand Rush” to “(Un)Managed Retreat”: California as the Epicenter of a Sea-Change in “Coastal Capitalism”?
• Marine Dassé, U. Perpignan, « Espaces postfordistes et villes du spectacle : De la 'Disneyfication' à la marchandisation de l’espace urbain en Californie du Sud »