Social Sciences

Contemporary Social Dynamics

The Department of Social Sciences, which was initially engaged in the study of Indian contemporaneity, is now positioned in a regional perspective. This offers a comparative dimension that sheds light on specificities and differences on a wider scale, reinforcing methodological and theoretical reflection, while retaining the dimension of application that constitutes the ethos of the Institute. Special attention is given to the processes of globalization and trans-nationalization, as expressed by the appearance and local production of ideologies of modernity, by the adaptation of, and changes in, national policies, by the emergence of socio-political movements and by the practical application of economic, social or health models considered to be universal. It should be said, however, that the research activities, localized on the micro level and exclusively Indian, are of course neither subjected to nor replaced by these developments. They make it possible to enlarge the heuristic scope of the research by conferring it with new substance.

The research activities are inherently multidisciplinary and combine in particular anthropology, sociology, economy, law, political sciences, geography, and spatial epidemiology. A close collaboration between researchers of various disciplines, motivated by the desire to study a common subject, enables of a refined conception of the social changes in the region. The fields explored here are those of new economic solidarities, of religion, health, healthcare systems, social and spatial mobility, social management of water, as well as urbanization.

Current programs :

Axis 1. Health and Societies

• The regional programme "Societies and Medicines in South Asia" examines healthcare traditions, giving particular attention to their social and political dynamics, to issues of identity and to their practical and epistemological transformations. The general objective is to understand how contemporary therapeutic spaces are constructed, identified and legitimated.

• The south Indian program "Transmission of HIV/AIDS from Mother to Child" explores the social, sociological and psychological logics of the three modes of transmission of AIDS from mother to child: pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding. The studies also concern individual, associative and governmental preventive measures.

• The programme "Spatial Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases" (malaria, dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, leptospirosis) focuses on a transect from Chennai to Pondicherry and offers a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of risk dynamics (using Remote Sensing, GIS).

Axis 2. Economy and societies

• The program "Labour, Finance and Social Dynamics" attempts to analyse the formation of new forms of service arising from a growing number of initiatives (public schemes, NGOs, grass-roots organizations) that attempt to manage, "as best as possible", decentralisation on the one hand, and poverty and inequalities on the other hand,with a focus on their legitimacy, impact and limits, as well as the discourses and ideologies within which they take place.

• The program "Urban development of Indian territory" is focused on the dynamics of Indian megalopolises, secondary metropolises and small and medium-sized towns. It examines the formidable territorial transformations that accompanied the process of economic liberalization begun some twenty years ago.

Axis 3. Environment and society

• The "Social Management Water" program analyses the impact of development policies on local water management and examines the difference of perception between farmers and developers about water issues. The underlying idea is that it is important to know how the farmers think in order to understand how policies can be effective. The program takes place within the broader issue of the sustainability of water availability.

Completed projects

  The program "Industrial Dynamics" explored the conditions that have favoured industrialization in northern Tamil Nadu and the social and spatial impacts of this economic growth in a region that remains essentially rural.

  The program "Population and Space in South India" examined social and demographic changes through micro level spatial analysis. It was centred on a variety of themes such as decline in fertility, gender discrimination, reproductive health, urbanization, etc.

Contact: Dr. Laurent Pordié, Head of Department