Gerbert et la pédagogie des arts libéraux à la fin du dixième siècle

The pedagogy of the liberal arts in France at the close of the tenth century is studied here on the basis of the testimony of the monk Richer about the teaching of his master Gerbert. The equipment and methods employed by Gerbert in his teaching of the trivium and quadrivium are analysed. The pedagogic innovations of this master are closely examined, especially in astronomy with the construction of various spheres, and in arithmetic with the use of the abacus and the introduction of characters made of horn.This approach to education, as conceived by Gerbert when he was scholaster of the archbishopric of Rheims, permits us to conclude that he did not fail to associate teaching with research.     

Voyages,mobilités,lumières

For a very long time and still today, travel stories have fascinated a vast public. It is important to debate their role and the model for intellectual and sensitive construction they propose. An essential link for the European elite's acculturation, they cannot for as much be separated from a much wider circulation which concerns society as a whole. In relation to the social morals of our past, the concept of mobility allows us to appreciate the totality of social practices and to confront the notions of movement and localization. The main cultural categories of space, time, sociability, social constraints and freedoms, are thus creating a structure for our understanding of change.     

La genèse des concepts mathématiques

Counter to the standard viewpoint which tends to dismiss history and intersubjectivity when dealing with mathematical cognition, the article shows that taking them into account is the only way to overcome a certain number of aporias related to mathematical objectivity, especially psychologism and relativism. Resting upon the conceptual framework devised by Ernst Cassirer under the name «symbolic form», the article shows that the fictional and the scientific stance must be located along the same meaning continuum and that it is only the collective elaboration of individual representations which can account for cultural productions.     

Ludovico Geymonat le Problème de L’épistémologie Historique

The study of the various inspirations of Ludovico Geymonat's epistemology (positivism and neopositivism, neorationalism, historicism and dialectical materialism) illustrates the way in which for the Italian philosopher the problem of objectivity of knowledge remains inseparable from the historicity of the sciences. Geymonat's epistemological approach associates scientific progress to its objectivity.     

La Dissuasion nucléaire française: Genèse et actualité

This article reviews three recent books on the history of the late nineteenth-century French anarchist movement—one by the French historian Vivien Bouhey and the other two by American scholars, Alexander McKinley and John Merriman. It replaces these works in the context of a renewed interest in the study of the anarchist movement, as an early example of transnational terrorist organisation, and as a relevant field of application for the historiographic concepts of network and transnationalism. In conclusion, it highlights the differences between French and US approaches to the study of anarchism, and evidences the limits of the ‘transnational turn’ in this particular historical field.     

Sur l'expertise anthropologique territoires et identités indigènes au Brésil

Is it possible for an anthropologist to decide whether an individual or a collectivity can or cannot be characterized as « indigenous », and then proceed to establish the limits of the territory which should be assigned (or recognized) by the state? Does his role as a scientist furnish him with the conceptual and methodological instruments necessary for such a task? In epistemological and ethical terms, is this something which he should endeavour to do? The purpose of this paper is to discuss how these questions are being put to Brazilian anthropologists since the 1980s. Torn between an « indianist » and an « indigenist » discourse, between romanticism and political mediation, the anthropologist must define an appropriate posture for dealing with policy-making; one which will simultaneously safeguard the scientific quality of his work while addressing the specific demands of each situation.     

Unions et désunions monétaires en Europe du Gold Standard au Système Monétaire Européen

La naissance de la Banque centrale européenne a suscité une discussion soutenue à propos des critères de convergence, de l'objectif d'inflation et de la flexibilitédes taux de change de l'euro par rapport aux autres monnaies-clés (dollar, yen). Un détour par les arrangements et unions/désunions monétaires passés s'avère pertinent en termes d'information à propos des conditions essentielles pour l'établissement et la gestion des politiques monétaires, non seulement du point de vue économique mais également du point de vue politique. Les lec¸ons principales qu'apporte l'Histoire indiquent que: inflation et taux de change constituent deux 'ancres', parmi d'autres, choisies en fonction d'une orientation idéologique plus marquée qu'il n'apparâ L t au premier abord; qu'àla fois les créditeurs et les débiteurs nets doivent être responsabilisés pour organiser un système durable; que l'intégration du marchéa toujours précédél'union monétaire; enfin, qu'un lien solide entre pays apporte une meilleure protection contre les chocs extérieurs qu'un ensemble de réactions individuelles non coordonnées. Néanmoins, une question importante reste en suspens: est-il possible pour une union monétaire de supporter la présence de parasites monétaires dans sa périphérie, hôtes indésirables qui ne participent pas au partage des coûts engendrés par l'union monétaire, mais qui s'invitent au sein du système et en profitent àtravers des alignements tacites sur la politique appliquée àla monnaie unique?     

Sur les traces de Cortés: L'expédition du Mexique d'après Le Monde illustré

Unlike L'Illustration, with which it competed under the Second Empire, the weekly Le Monde illustré, which first appeared in 1857 and which was protected by the imperial government, did not count among the political newspapers overtaxed under Napoléon the Third's repressive regime. For this reason, it made great strides thanks to its blind allegiance to a French imperialism that had asserted its authority during the Crimean war, but which spent itself during the war against Juárez and his republican partisans in Mexico. While the French liberal press criticized the Second Empire foreign policy, Le Monde illustré persisted in turning the Mexican war into an antijuarist pacification favorable to a new Latin colonial empire, as well as to an application of the Saint-Simonian doctrine on Mexican industry and economy. In order to achieve this, the illustrated reports on the expeditionary force, military operations, and French victories were a warmongering that aimed to place this campaign in the afterglow of the conquistadors' era, as well as to idealize the imperial army as a symbol of the French nation.     

La concession familiale Bamiléké: un exemple d'architecture endogène au Cameroun

This paper addresses the issue of vernacular or endogenous architecture and design in Cameroonian cities. More precisely, we study the traditional Bamiléké family estate as a specific type of housing and property structure within the community of Pète-Bandjoun. According to our research, these estates usually involve the following spatial units: green spaces, a delineating structure, a courtyard, the family landfill, the magico-religious place, the family cemetery, the dwelling itself, and the dwelling's main functional units (kitchen, toilets, attic, etc.). We suggest the idea that the Bamiléké family estate is in itself an important source of endogenous knowledge related to architecture and planning. Moreover, it is a tangible and intangible cultural heritage which should be preserved in Cameroon despite widespread urbanization.     

Médecine et Discours sur L’Homme dans la Première Modernité

In the 16^th and 17^th centuries, medical knowledge was anthropological in so much as it produced a discourse on man whose ambition and legitimacy needed no justification. Underwritten by the belief that the body was an object of science, the epistemic horizons of a doctrina de homine emerged from the interaction of medical practice, particularly anatomy, with philosophy and theology in a specific framework - the reorganization of knowledge in Europe over the “long 16^th century”.