Éditions of the MSH

Founded in 1970, Éditions de la MSH is the publishing branch of the Fondation Maison des Science de l’Homme (FMSH), embodying the foundation’s scientific mission. Its catalogue of original works in the humanities and social sciences now boasts over 1,200 publications. Adopting a critical stance and breaking down the boundaries between different disciplines, these works advance knowledge about the changes occurring in today’s world.

Éditions de la Maison des sciences de l’homme was founded in the early 1970s as an extension of the MSH (later to become the FMSH). The field of humanities and social sciences has undergone profound changes that have left their marks on the institutional landscape of France and Europe; changes that have been documented by Éditions de la MSH since its very inception. The scientific, disciplinary, and methodological transformation prompted or advocated by prominent figures closely associated with or belonging to the FMSH—such as Fernand Braudel, Edgar Morin, Alain Touraine, Pierre Bourdieu, and Clemens Heller, amongst others—has given rise to a great bubbling up of ideas, radical changes, and fearless insights.

Through frequent connections or confrontations with hard sciences, from mathematical approaches in social sciences modelling and the extensive use of statistics to delving into structuralism or the historiography methods of the Annales school, Éditions de la MSH has brought out an unprecedented and unique range of publications over the past three decades. In this rich and diverse biotope of knowledge, Éditions de la MSH’s original collection has grown to include over 1,200 titles.

Today, Éditions de la MSH continues to perpetuate the FMSH model. Taking a critical stance and breaking down the boundaries between disciplines, Éditions de la MSH advances knowledge on the natural or artificial evolutions of our contemporary world (environment, artificial intelligence, information and communication technologies, sustainable economy, the human brain and society, etc.). In collaboration with various French and international institutions, Éditions de la MSH publishes eleven collections and around ten groundbreaking journals that reflect the disciplinary debates and concerns of our times.

At present, Éditions de la MSH are expanding their catalogue to better tackle three main challenges:

• To foster understanding of social phenomena and rapidly changing geopolitical situations, addressing these at local and national scales by incorporating them into integrated and comprehensive approaches (migrations, power dynamics, violence, cities, globalization, etc.). The goal is to widen the field of humanities and social sciences such that it may include aspects of life sciences and natural sciences.
• To stimulate the emergence of new authors, support young researchers, and unearth original approaches. Social transformations are giving rise to innovative paradigms that can improve our understanding of these changes (gender, religion, coexistence, access to healthcare, etc.).
• To open up geostrategic and interdependent fields by prioritizing translation: the new “Afrique(s),” “Amérique(s),” and “Asie(s)”  collections broaden the editorial range, allowing French-speaking communities to access important texts that were previously unavailable in French.