Michel Wieviorka (born 23 August 1946, Paris) is a French sociologist, noted for his work on

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or Power (social and p ...

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

social movement A social movement is a loosely organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a social or political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to resist or undo one. It is a type of group action and may ...

s and the theory of social change. He was the 16th president of

International Sociological Association The International Sociological Association (ISA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to scientific purposes in the field of sociology and social sciences. It is an international sociological body, gathering both individuals and national sociolo ...

(2006-2010).

Biography

Michel Wieviorka is the son of a

Polish Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...

family of

Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Axis powers, its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no unive ...

. His siblings are psychiatrist Sylvie Wieviorka, historian Annette Wieviorka, and historian Olivier Wieviorka. A former student of

Alain Touraine Alain Touraine (; born 3 August 1925) is a French sociology, sociologist. He is research director at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, where he founded the ''Centre d'étude des mouvements sociaux''. Touraine was an important ...

, he is now one of the most renowned sociologists and public intellectuals in France and abroad. A number of his books have been translated into different languages. Wieviorka received some international media attention as an expert following the

2005 civil unrest in France The 2005 French riots (french: Émeutes de 2005 dans les Banlieues Françaises), was a three-week period of riots in the suburbs of Paris and other French cities, in October and November 2005. These riots involved youth in violent attacks, and t ...

, and was elected in Durban as the 2006-2010 President of the

. Together with Touraine and , Wieviorka developed the method of ''intervention sociologique'' and employed it to the study of militant social movements, in particular French

anti-nuclear The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, natio ...

activism and student leagues, but also the famous trade union

Solidarność Solidarity ( pl, „Solidarność”, ), full name Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity" (, abbreviated ''NSZZ „Solidarność”'' ), is a Polish trade union founded in August 1980 at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland. Subseq ...

in Poland. Following

Max Weber Maximilian Karl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German sociologist, historian, jurist and political economist, who is regarded as among the most important theorists of the development of modern Western society. His ideas profo ...

's classic concept of interpretative sociology ''(verstehende Soziologie)'', ''

intervention sociologique Intervention, Interventions, The Intervention or An Intervention may refer to: Entertainment Film and television * ''Intervention'' (1968 film), a Russian film * ''Intervention'' (2007 film), a British film * ''The Intervention'', a 2008 film ...

'' aims at understanding the subjective rationale of actors in the context of larger social conflicts. This concept was opposed to

Raymond Boudon Raymond Boudon (27 January 1934 – 10 April 2013) was a sociologist, philosopher and Professor in the Paris-Sorbonne University. Career With Alain Touraine, Michel Crozier and Pierre Bourdieu, Raymond Boudon is one of the leading French soci ...

's failed attempt to establish a strict

rational choice Rational choice theory refers to a set of guidelines that help understand economic and social behaviour. The theory originated in the eighteenth century and can be traced back to political economist and philosopher, Adam Smith. The theory postula ...

approach in French sociology. Wieviorka is the director of the ''Centre d'Analyses et d'Interventions Sociologique'' (CADIS) at the

École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (french: École des hautes études en sciences sociales; EHESS) is a graduate ''grande école'' and ''grand établissement'' in Paris focused on academic research in the social sciences. The ...

, which was established by Alain Touraine in 1981. Wieviorka is the founder and editor of the sociological journal ''Le Monde des Debats'' and was, with Georges Balandier, co-edited the ''Cahiers internationaux de sociologie'' until its publication was stopped at the end of 2010 (Avant-propos, Cahiers Internationaux de Sociologie, Vol. 128-129, 2010). In 1989, he was the first scholar to receive the Bulzoni Editore Special Award of the

European Amalfi Prize for Sociology and Social Sciences The European Amalfi Prize for Sociology and Social Sciences ''(Premio Europeo Amalfi per la Sociologia e le Scienze Sociali)'' is a prestigious Italian award in the social sciences. Established in 1987 on the initiative of the Section for Sociolog ...

, for his book ''Société et terrorisme'' (1988, English edition ''The Making of Terrorism'' 1993).

Works

*1977: ''L'Etat, le patronat et les consommateurs''. Paris: PUF. *1978: ''Justice et consommation''. Paris, La Documentation française. *1978 (with Bruno Théret): ''Critique de la théorie du capitalisme monopoliste d'Etat''. Paris: Maspéro. *1978 (with

, , Zsuzsa Hegedus): ''Lutte étudiante''. Paris: Seuil. *1978 (with Alain Touraine, François Dubet, Zsuzsa Hegedus): ''La prophétie antinucléaire''. Paris: Seuil. *1981 (with Alain Touraine, François Dubet, Zsuzsa Hegedus): ''Le pays contre l'Etat''. Paris: Seuil. *1982 "A Social Movement: Solidarity"
''Telos''
53 (Fall 1982). New York: Telos Press. *1982 (with Alain Touraine, François Dubet, Jan Strzelecki): ''Solidarité''. Paris: Fayard. *1984: ''Les Juifs, la Pologne et Solidarnosc''. Paris: Denoël. *1984: (with Alain Touraine, François Dubet): ''Le mouvement ouvrier''. Paris: Fayard.
(English translation ''The Working-Class Movement'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987) *1987 (with ): ''Terrorisme à la une : Média, terrorisme et démocratie''. Paris: Gallimard. *1988: ''Sociétés et terrorisme''. Paris: Fayard.
(English translation ''The Making of Terrorism''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993, ) *1989 (with Sylvaine Trinh): ''Le modèle EDF. Essai de sociologie des organisations''. Paris: La Découverte. *1991: ''L'espace du racisme''. Paris: Seuil.
(English translation ''The Arena of Racism''. London: Sage. ) *1992 (with Philippe Bataille, Daniel Jacquin, Danilo Martuccelli, Angelina Peralva, Paul Zawadzki): ''La France raciste''. Paris: Seuil *1993: ''La Démocratie à l'épreuve : Nationalisme, populisme, ethnicité''. Paris: La Découverte. *1993 (ed.): ''Racisme et modernité''. Paris: La Découverte. *1994 (with Philippe Bataille, Kristin Couper, Danilo Martuccelli, Angelina Peralva): ''Racisme et xénophobie en Europe. Une comparaison internationale''. Paris: La Découverte. *1995: ''Face au terrorisme''. Paris: Liana Levi. *1995: ''Laïcité et démocratie''. (Pouvoirs). Paris: Seuil *1998: ''Le Racisme : une introduction''. Paris: La Découverte. *1996 (with Alain Touraine, François Dubet, Farhad Khosrokhavar, Didier Lapeyronnie): ''Le grand refus''. Paris: Fayard. *1996 (with François Dubet, Françoise Gaspard, Farhad Khosrokhavar, Didier Lapyeronnie, Yvon Le Bot, Danilo Martuccelli, Simonetta Tabboni, Alain Touraine, Sylvaine Trinh): ''Une société fragmentée? Le multiculturalisme en débat''. Paris: La Découverte. *1997: ''Commenter la France''. La Tour d'Aigues: l'Aube. *1998 (with

Serge Moscovici Serge Moscovici (June 14, 1925 in Brăila, Romania as ''Srul Herş Moscovici'' – November 15, 2014 in Paris) was a Romanian-born French social psychologist, director of the '' Laboratoire Européen de Psychologie Sociale'' ("European Laboratory ...

, Nicole Notat, :fr:Pierre Pachet, Michelle Perrot): ''Raison et conviction. L'engagement''. Paris: Textuel. *1998: ''Le racisme : une introduction''. Paris: La Découverte. *1998 (with Alexis Berelowitch): ''Les Russes d'en bas. Enquête sur la Russie post-communiste''. Paris: Seuil. *1999 (with Philippe Bataille, Karine Clément, Olivier Cousin, Farhad Khosrokhavar, Séverine Labat, Eric Macé, Paola Rebughini, Nikola Tietze): ''Violence en France''. Paris: Seuil. *2001: ''La différence : Identités culturelles : enjeux, débats et politiques''. Paris: Balland. *2001 (with Jocelyne Ohana): ''La différence culturelle. Une reformulation des débats''. Paris: Balland. *2003 (ed.): ''L'avenir de l'islam en France et en Europe. (Les Entretiens d'Auxerre)''. Paris: Balland. *2003 (ed.): ''Un autre monde... Contestations, dérives et surprises de l'antimondialisation''. Paris: Balland *2004: ''La violence''. Paris: Balland. *2004 (ed.): ''L'Empire américain? (Les Entretiens d'Auxerre)''. Paris: Balland. *2005: ''La différence : Identités culturelles : enjeux, débats et politiques''. La Tour-d'Aigues: L'Aube. *2005 (with Philippe Bataille, Clarisse Buono, Sébastien Delsalle, Damien Guillaume, Farhad Khosrokhavar, Emmanuel Kreis, Jocelyne Ohana, Alexandra Poli, Svetlana Tabatchnikova, Simonetta Tabboni, Nikola Tietze, Fiammeta Venner): ''La tentation antisémite. Haine des juifs dans la France d'aujourd'hui''. Paris: Robert Laffont. *2005: ''L'antisémitisme''. Paris: Balland. *2005 (ed. with

Jean Baubérot Jean Baubérot (born 26 July 1941 in Châteauponsac, Haute-Vienne), is a French historian and sociologist specializing in sociology of religions. He is the founder of the sociology of secularism. After holding the chair of "History and Sociology ...

): ''De la séparation des Eglises et de l'Etat à l'avenir de la laïcité (Les entretiens d'Auxerre)''. La Tour d'Aigues: l'Aube. *2006 (with Julien Ténédos): ''Sociologue sous tension. Entretien avec Julien Ténédos'', 2 volumes, Paris: Aux lieux d'être. /

References

External links

Review of ''Le Racisme''
in the

Canadian Journal of Sociology The ''Canadian Journal of Sociology'' publishes research and theory by social scientists on Canadian and world culture. The journal is hosted by the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta. Abstracting and indexing ''Canadian Journal of Soci ...

(English)
Wieviorka's page at the CADIS, includes a comprehensive bibliography
(French)

(Italian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wieviorka, Michel Writers from Paris 1946 births Living people ESCP Europe alumni Academic staff of the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences French sociologists Urban sociologists French people of Polish-Jewish descent Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Presidents of the International Sociological Association