Presentation of the book Governing the Territories of the North – Capitalism, Race and Poverty, edited by Clément Barbier, Vianney Schlegel and Janoé Vulbeau. Based on research conducted in Northern France, this volume offers a localized analysis of the transformations of (post-)industrial territories, focusing on economic restructuring, the (re)production of racial boundaries, and the governance of poverty. It sheds light on the actors — elected officials, professionals, activists, and residents — who shape, endure, or challenge these contemporary reconfigurations.

Delphine Serre, Professor of Sociology at Université Paris Cité (Cerlis), will present her book Ultime recours (Ultimate Recourse). Drawing on an original investigation, she examines the often invisible legal struggles surrounding workplace accidents and occupational diseases, pitting employees against employers in court. The book highlights inequalities in access to social rights and questions their effective enforcement in the context of an overburdened and constrained justice system.

As part of the SSAs seminar series, we will welcome Marc-Olivier Deplaude (UMR Moisa) for a presentation entitled “Doing Like Firms”, focusing on the emergence of pig producers’ groups in France during the 1960s. Drawing on the first major statistical surveys conducted by the French Ministry of Agriculture, this talk offers a socio-historical perspective on the pig farming sector prior to the modernization plans of the 1970s. It highlights farm structures, farmers’ technical choices, and the transformations shaping the agricultural world at that time.