Face à l'immigration. Le savant et le politique

he Fondation Maison des Sciences de l'Homme is organising an evening presentation of the book Face à l'immigration, le savant et le politique (Facing immigration: scholars and politicians), to be published by Éditions du Collège de France.

This ‘Livres en dialogue’ session will welcome the author of the book, François Héran, in conversation with journalist Julie Gacon.

At the end of the session, you will have the opportunity to ask your questions to our guests.

Can scholars remain above the fray when studying such a hot-button issue as the place of immigration in our societies? In a public sphere saturated with apocalyptic discourse on ‘migration overload’ or ‘the great replacement,’ scholars, focused on the objective search for truth, inevitably clash with politicians, who pursue their own interests. It is therefore incumbent upon them to confront the assertions of non-specialists with data and analyses produced by scientific methods.

François Héran takes up the challenge and takes stock, with figures to back him up, of the current reality of migration, but also of the tough battle that must be fought to establish it.

François Héran is a professor of philosophy, holds a PhD in anthropology from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and a doctorate from Paris-Descartes University. His main areas of research focus on sociability, couple formation, educational efforts within families, language transmission and immigration.

Research Director at INED, where he was Director for more than ten years (1999-2009), former Director of Demographic Surveys and Studies at INSEE, François Héran was President of the European Association for Population Studies from 2008 to 2012.

Since 2014, François Héran has headed the Humanities and Social Sciences Department at the French National Research Agency. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Museum of the History of Immigration and a member of the Scientific Committee attached to the Research Department.