Les mondes de Fernand Braudel

November 27–28, 2025 | International Conference
Thursday
27
Nov.
2025
Friday
28
Nov.
2025
Les mondes de Fernand Braudel
On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Fernand Braudel’s passing, the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme pays tribute to its founder by organizing an exceptional international conference on November 27 and 28, 2025. The event will bring together renowned scholars from around the world to revisit the key themes of Braudel’s work in light of contemporary issues in the humanities and social sciences.

Titled Les mondes de Fernand Braudel. Histoire globale, histoire connectée (The Worlds of Fernand Braudel. Global History, Connected History), the conference will offer a critical exploration of several core dimensions of his work. Discussions will focus especially on his conceptions of time and space, as well as his use of multiple scales of analysis — approaches that have profoundly reshaped the way research is written in the human and social sciences. The conference will also examine dynamics of connection, domination, and transformation across the world’s major regions. Particular attention will be given to the continuing relevance of Braudel’s thought in a changed global context, shedding light on its legacies, limitations, and potential reconfigurations in an increasingly interconnected world.

The conference will be held at the “Maison” founded by Fernand Braudel, under the auspices of an international scientific committee chaired by Professor Sanjay Subrahmanyam (University of California, Los Angeles).

PROGRAMME
Thursday, November 27

9:30 AM | Participant Welcome

10:00 AM | Durations, Spaces, Events

Christian Grataloup (Université Paris Cité)
L’histoire, l’œil de la cartographie

Marie-Vic Ozouf-Marignier (EHESS)
Espaces urbains et économies-mondes : une géohistoire qui s'ignore ? 

Cyprian Broodbank

12:30 – 2:00 | Lunch Break

14:00 PM | The Mediterranean: Past and Present

M’hamed El Oualdi (European University Institute)
Les esclaves maghrébins dans l'Europe du XVIIIe siècle. Quelle histoire de la Méditerranée par le sud ?

Guillaume Calafat (Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne)
Une histoire toujours recommencée : la Méditerranée de Fernand Braudel

Derin Terzioğlu (Boğaziçi University) 
Whither the social and political history of religion in the early modern Ottoman world?

 

Friday, November 28

9:30 AM : Participant Welcome

10:00 AM | The Ocean and Its Connections

Mihoko Oka (University of Tokyo) 
The Image and Reality of African Mercenaries in Pre-Early Modern East Asia

François Gipouloux (CNRS)
Méditerranée asiatique : pertinence et limites du concept

Mike O’Sullivan (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
An Anti-Mediterranean? Ottoman Functionaries and Entrepreneurs in Indian Ocean Trade, 1650-1800

12:30 – 2:00 PM | Lunch break

2:00 PM | What Is Global History?

Giuseppe Marcocci (Oxford University)
A Global Historian avant la lettre ? Fernand Braudel the Problem of the Global

Ousmane Traoré (Pomona College)
L’art politico-religieux de la pratique diplomatique entre les mondes méditerranéen, atlantique et africain depuis le XVe jusqu’au XVIIIe siècle.

Íris Kantor (University of São Paulo)
L'économie-monde sur la carte et au-dessus : hiérarchies visibles et logiques cachées

Charlotte de Castelnau-L'Estoile (Sorbonne Université)
Fernand Braudel et l’histoire du Brésil 

4:30-5:00 Break

5:00 PM | Roundtable: Forty Years Later

Sanjay Subrahmanyam (University of California Los Angeles), Gábor Czoch (Eötvös Loránd University), Mercedes García-Arenal (Spanish National Research Council) et Ian Merkel (University of Groningen)

Les intervenants et membres du comité scientifique
Portrait de Maurice Aymard
Mr Maurice
Aymard
Directeur d'études, EHESS
Mr Maurice Aymard
Portrait de Guillaume Calafat
Mr Guillaume
Calafat
Maître de conférences, Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne
Mr Guillaume Calafat
Portrait de Charlotte de Castelnau-LEstoile
Charlotte
Castelnau-L'Estoile
Professeure, Sorbonne Université
Charlotte Castelnau-L'Estoile
Portrai de Gábor Czoch
Mr Gábor
Czoch
Professeur, Université Eötvös Loránd de Budapest
Mr Gábor Czoch
Portrait de M’hamed El Oualdi
Mr M’hamed
El Oualdi
Professeur, Institut Universitaire Européen
Mr M’hamed El Oualdi
Portrait de Mercedes García-Arenal
Mrs Mercedes
García-Arenal
Professeur, Conseil supérieur de la recherche scientifique espagnol
Mrs Mercedes García-Arenal
Portrait de François Gipouloux
Mr François
Gipouloux
Directeur de recherche émérite, CNRS
Mr François Gipouloux
Portrait de Christian Grataloup
Mr Christian
Grataloup
Professeur émérite, Université Paris Cité
Mr Christian Grataloup
Portrait de Masashi HANEDA
Mr Masashi
HANEDA
Professeur émérite, Université de Tokyo
Mr Masashi HANEDA
Portrait de Íris Kantor
Mrs Íris
Kantor
Professeure, Université de São Paulo
Mrs Íris Kantor
Portrait de Giuseppe Marcocci
Mr Giuseppe
Marcocci
Professeur, Université d'Oxfort
Mr Giuseppe Marcocci
Portrait de Ian Merkel
Mr Ian
Merkel
Maître de conférences, Université de Groningue
Mr Ian Merkel
Portrait de Mike O’Sullivan
Mr Mike
O’Sullivan
Maître de conférences, Université de Caroline du Nord
Mr Mike O’Sullivan
Portrait de Mihoko Oka
Mrs Mihoko
Oka
Maître de conférences, Université de Tokyo
Mrs Mihoko Oka
Portrait de Marie-Vic Ozouf-Marignier
Mrs Marie-Vic
Ozouf-Marignier
Directrice d'études, EHESS
Mrs Marie-Vic Ozouf-Marignier
Portrait de Sanjay Subrahmanyam
Mr Sanjay
Subrahmanyam
Professeur, Université de Californie à Los Angeles
Mr Sanjay Subrahmanyam
Portrait de Derin Terzioğlu
Mrs Derin
Terzioğlu
Professeur, Université du Bosphore
Mrs Derin Terzioğlu
Portrait de Ousmane Traoré
Mr Ousmane
Traoré
Maître de conférences, Université Pomona
Mr Ousmane Traoré
International scientific committee

President

Sanjay Subrahmanyam, professor, Irving & Jean Stone Chair, University of California Los Angeles, USA

Members

• Maurice Aymard, Emeritus Director of Studies, EHESS, France

Mercedes García-Arenal, Honorary Research Professor, CSIC, Spain

• Giuliana Gemelli, Professor Emerita, University of Bologna, Italy

Iris Kantor, professor, University of São Paulo, Brazil

• Giuseppe Marcocci, professor, Oxford University, United Kingdom

Masashi Haneda, Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo, Japan

Marie-Vic Ozouf-Marignier, Director of Studies, EHESS, France

Ousmane Traoré, Associate Professor, Université Pomona, USA

Published at 17 June 2025