Philippe Corcuff, born in 1960, is a French

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

, full professor in political science at the

Institut d'études politiques de Lyon The Institut d'Études politiques de Lyon (or Lyon Institute of Political Studies) also known as Sciences Po Lyon, is a grande école located in Lyon, France. It is one of ten Institutes of Political Studies in France, and was established in 194 ...

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", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * L ...

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

anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...

, 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 m ...

and

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

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

Charlie Hebdo ''Charlie Hebdo'' (; meaning ''Charlie Weekly'') is a French satirical weekly magazine, featuring cartoons, reports, polemics, and jokes. Stridently non-conformist in tone, the publication has been described as Anti-racism, anti-racist, sceptica ...

'' 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 can be 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 ...

s, through

railroader Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

s’

trade unionism A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

and, wider, the

workers' movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

. He offers then a reading of the

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 influence i ...

’s critical

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

, emphasizing on the “

post-marxist Post-Marxism is a trend in political philosophy and social theory which deconstructs Karl Marx's writings and Marxism itself, bypassing orthodox Marxism. The term "post-Marxism" first appeared in Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe's theoretica ...

” 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, 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 in the new "pragmatic ...

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 mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...

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

language games A language game (also called a 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 to conceal their c ...

taken from the philosopher

Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is considere ...

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, an ...

'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 philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily address the relationship between power and knowledge, and how ...

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 influence i ...

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 philosopher and gender theorist whose work has influenced political philosophy, ethics, and the fields of third-wave feminism, queer theory, and literary theory. In 1993, Butler ...

''/''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 ( es, decolonialidad) is a school of thought used principally by an emerging Latin American movement which focuses on untangling the production of knowledge from a primarily Eurocentric episteme. It critiques the perceived universali ...

'', 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 Danielle Cohen-Levinas (born 21 April ...

. ''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