RJS2021 - Call for papers [PDF]

Improbable is an uncommon sociological concept.

However, it is the sole correlate of the probable. The tension between closed and open, between determinism and unexpected is central to human life, both individual and collective. No human system exists within a closed scope and according to stable and inclusive determinisms. What was true in the 20th century, the age of national corporations, is more so today as areas of human activity are multiplying, interweaving and transnationalising.

The failures in social reproduction are known to sociology, and cannot be treated as failures of sociology itself. The objective of the ten RJS meetings is to precisely focus on articulating the probable and the improbable in studying youth, on tensions between social conditions and creativity of the actors, on the ensuing pathways/ situations for young people: crossing categorical and territorial borders, emerging social types characterised by what they are no longer, without being qualified by what they have become: those who are sometimes incorrectly referred to as defectors.

To this end, the ten RJS encourage examination of connections between social and institutional conditions, logic and results of social action; without exception, in compliance with the customary theoretical and methodological openness of our Meetings. The conceptual vocabulary of the action may be used: mobilisation, mobility, bifurcations, obstacles and sanctions, resources, partners and opponents, re-composition of identities (Brubaker, Cooper, 2000), institutional testing (Lagroye, Offerlé, 2011).

There's no denying the influence of social reproduction, particularly through familial and school socialisation (Bourdieu, Passeron, 1970; Lahire, 2019; Peugny, 2013). Today in France, to use an example, almost half of the children of executives become executives themselves; however, for children of workers, that figure is less than ten percent (Insee, FQP Survey, 2014-2015). This is frequently attributed to a "breakdown of the social ladder" [1]which assumes that it properly functioned in the first place, that merit and determination are the keys to climbing the social hierarchy.

However, downward or upward social mobility is a reality. Bourdieu himself was the son of a postman father and a mother of peasant origins, but pursued a career path that was non-traditional for his background. Non-reproduction, a blind spot in the theory of social reproduction, raises the issue of transition from one social class to another by questioning statistical irregularities. These individual cases do not verify the general rule, but neither validate nor deny the theory of social reproduction. These unlikely pathways allow for better understanding of the status and scope of these exceptions, and to question or establish the regularities.

For the expression "class defector", which surfaced in early 20th century sociology and often abbreviated as "defector", we, like Chantal Jaquet (2014), lean toward "trans-class", where the trans prefix describes movement, transition, "crossing to the other side". Trans-class refers to individuals who, alone or in groups, unconventionally migrate between social classes and see their economic, cultural and/or social capital change, in whole or in part (Eribon, 2009): a working-class child who becomes an entrepreneur, an intellectual, a high-performance athlete, a famous artist, etc. or, conversely, someone from a privileged class who becomes a worker, labourer, or who works in a low-paying job.

Aside from trans-class social mobility, non-reproduction can also manifest as derogations or even transgressions of educational (Olivier, 2015), professional, sexual (Beaubatie, 2017), migratory etc. norms,...

The ten RJS will explore the margins, transitions to another social environment, another country, another profession, another genre... it is essential to study the progress as well as the stages and accidents throughout. What social, historical, economic, political, generational factors and other contexts make it possible to overcome barriers or even escape assigned identities?

These issues specifically concern four areas of focus: education, work and employment, migration, gender. These areas are not entirely clear-cut or defined. Thus, we also expect to see works that question the issue of trans and the improbable in terms of family, culture, religion... or that take a cross-disciplinary approach to different dimensions.

Education: This involves questioning the role of schools as a vector for social advancement. If its selective function has long been singled out (Durkheim, 1922, Sorokin, 1927, Bourdieu and Passeron, 1964), does it allow certain people to cross social boundaries? For example, what about diversification measures for recruitment pools for preparatory classes to prestigious universities? Do they genuinely encourage social diversification of elites, or do the long-term practices and recruitment continue unchanged? (Lambert, 2010; van Zanten, 2010). Do the young people involved undergo any identity-related adjustments? (Pasquali, 2014). Conversely, what about children from privileged backgrounds with uneven or failing academic trajectories? (Henri-Panabière, 2011)

Work and employment: Despite the connections that persist between social origins and professional positions, it seems that in France, these ties have loosened over the past 20 years and upward mobility is more common (Goffette and Vallet, 2018), while downward trajectories tend to take root (di Paola and Moullet, 2018). How can we measure these phenomena and their evolution? What about the different social strata elsewhere in Europe and in the Mediterranean? It will also identify the determinants and obstacles to social mobility and explore its individual and collective consequences (de Gaulejac, 2016).

Migration: Youth migration takes very different forms in the Europe-Mediterranean region. It frequently involves difficulty and hardship (Bontemps et al., 2018; Arab, 2009; Lorcerie, 2010), but not always (Bidet, 2017). It can be south-north or east-west, but not exclusively (Le Houérou, 2007). An entire body of work focuses on how individuals apply their skills in cross-border activities (Tarrius, 2002). Young descendants of migrants also retain transnational habits, which are described in more detail (Beauchemin et al., 2015; Crul et al., 2012). Whether they migrated or were born in France, these young people diversely experience the social and socio-spatial borders that confront them: adoption of nationality of the country of residence and dual nationality (Ribert, 2006), distance from the HLM district (Santelli, 2007), social mobility and identity (Beauchemin et al., 2015).

Gender: Primary socialisation allows children to acquire, at a very early age, the knowledge, skills and know-how corresponding to the definition of masculine and feminine (Duru-Bellat, 2017). In the family, at school, and later at work, in love and sex, most will follow sexually defined destinies. But what about those who violate gender norms? Do young girls and boys who study or work in male or female bastions (Couppié and Epiphane, 2017, 2018; Lemarchand, 2017 ; Olivier, 2015), who reject heterosexuality or gravitate towards trans-identity...pay for their gender category? Are they subject to practical or symbolic penalties or sanctions (Alessandrin et al, 2014; Beaubatie, 2017 ; Buisson-Fenet and Kerivel, 2019; Butler and Fassin, 2005)?

Along with the key topic, these Meetings will also offer opportunities to combine workshops from various fields of social science (sociology, economics, history, demography, philosophy, etc.) devoted to recurring RJS topics since their beginning (training, access to employment, professional socialisation, social networks, poverty, social inequality, citizenship, political relations and collective expressions).

[ References ]

ALESSANDRIN A., ESPINEIRA K., THOMAS M.Y. (2014), Tableau noir : les transidentités et l'école. Éditions L'Harmattan.

ARAB C. (2009), Les Aït Ayad: La circulation migratoire des Marocains entre la France, l'Espagne et l'Italie. Rennes, PUR.

BEAUBATIE, E. (2017). Transfuges de sexe. Genre, santé et sexualité dans les parcours d'hommes et de femmes trans' en France.

BEAUCHEMIN C., HAMEL C., SIMON P., dirs. (2015), Trajectoires et Origines. Enquête sur la diversité des populations en France. Paris, INED, Préface de François Héran.

BIDET J. (2017), « ‘Blédards’ et ‘immigrés’ sur les plages algériennes. Luttes de classement dans un espace social transnational », Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales, n° 218, p. 64-81.

Bontemps V., Makaremi C., Mazouz S., Bernard H., Carolina B., et al. (2018). « Entre accueil et rejet. Ce que les villes font aux migrants », Le passager clandestin, dir. Agier M.; Le Courant S., pp.159.

BOURDIEU P, PASSERON J-C. (1964), Les Héritiers. Les étudiants et la culture. Paris, Les Editions de Minuit.

BOURDIEU P, PASSERON J-C. (1970), La Reproduction, Eléments pour une théorie des systèmes d’enseignement, Paris, Les Editions de Minuit.

BUISSON-FENET H., KERIVEL A. (2019), Des jeunes à la marge ? Transgressions des sexes et conformité de genre dans les groupes juvéniles. Presses universitaires de Rennes.

BUTLER J., FASSIN E. (2005), Trouble dans le genre (Gender Trouble) : pour un féminisme de la subversion. Paris: Ed. La Découverte.

BRUBAKER R., COOPER F. (2000), “Beyond Identity”, Theory and Society (29), p. 1-47.

COUPPIE T., EPIPHANE D. (2017), « Les jeunes hommes dans les professions très féminisées : quelles destinées professionnelles ? », in Rendement éducatif, Parcours et Inégalités dans l’insertion des jeunes, Céreq Echanges, pp. 351-366.

Couppié T. et Epiphane D. (2017), « Rien ne se perd, rien ne se crée, tout se transforme ? Les débuts de carrières des jeunes femmes diplômées des filières scientifiques sont-ils aussi prometteurs que leur réussite scolaire le laissait présager ? », A. Dupray et E. Quenson (dir.), Sept ans de vie professionnelle des jeunes : entre opportunités et contraintes, Octarès Éditions, p. 141-158.

CRUL M., SCHNEIDER J., LELIE F. (2012), The European Second Generation Compared. Amsterdam University Press.

DE GAULEJAC V. (2016), La névrose de classe, Paris, Payot, réédition.

DI PAOLA V., MOULLET S. (2018), « Le déclassement : un phénomène enraciné » in 20 ans d’insertion professionnelle des jeunes : entre permanences et évolutions, Couppié, Dupray, Epiphane et Mora (coord.), Céreq-essentiel n°1, pp. 78-84.

DURKHEIM E. (1922), Éducation et sociologie. Presses Universitaires de France, Paris.

DURU-BELLAT M. (2017), La tyrannie du genre. Presses de Sciences Po.

GOFFETTE C., VALLET L.A. (2018), « Les trajectoires d’insertion des jeunes portent-elles la marque de leurs origines socio-économique et culturelles ? » in 20 ans d’insertion professionnelle des jeunes : entre permanences et évolutions, Couppié, Dupray, Epiphane et Mora (coord.), Céreq-essentiel n°1, pp. 151-156.

HENRI-PANABIERE G. (2011), Des héritiers en échec scolaire, Paris, La Dispute.

HUGREE C. (2016), « Les sciences sociales face à la mobilité sociale. Les enjeux d’une démesure statistique des déplacements sociaux entre générations », Politix, n° 114, p. 47-72. DOI : 10.3917/pox.114.0047. URL : https://www.cairn.info/revue-politix-2016-2-page-47.htm JAQUET C. (2014), Les Transclasses ou la non-reproduction, Paris, PUF.

JAQUET C. (2014), Les Transclasses ou la non-reproduction, Paris, PUF.

LAGROYE J., OFFERLÉ M., éds. (2011), Sociologie de l’institution, Paris, Belin.

LAHIRE, B. (2019). Enfances de classe. De l'inégalité parmi les enfants. (sous la dir). Paris. Seuil.

LAMBERT A. (2010), « Le comblement inachevé des écarts sociaux. Trajectoire scolaire et devenir professionnel des élèves boursiers d’HEC et de l’ESSEC », Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales, n°183, p. 106-124.

LE HOUEROU F., dir. (2007), « Migrations Sud-Sud », Revue des Mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée, n° 119-120.

LEMARCHAND C. (2017), Unique en son genre. Filles et garçons atypiques dans les formations techniques et professionnelles, Paris, Presses universitaires de France.

LORCERIE F., dir. (2010), Pratiquer les frontières. Jeunes migrants et descendants de migrants dans l’espace franco-maghrébin. Paris, CNRS Editions.

OLIVIER, A. (2015). Des hommes en école de sages-femmes. Terrains travaux, (2), 79-98.

PASQUALI P. (2014), Passer les frontières sociales. Comment les "filières d'élite" entrouvrent leurs portes. Paris, Fayard.

PEUGNY C. (2013), Le destin au berceau. Inégalités et reproduction sociale, Paris, Seuil.

RIBERT E. (2006), Liberté, égalité, Carte d'identité. Les jeunes issus de l'immigration et l'appartenance nationale. Paris, La Découverte.

SANTELLI E. (2007), Grandir en Banlieue, Parcours et devenir de jeunes Français d'origine maghrébine. Paris, CIEMI.

SOROKIN P. A. (1927), Social Mobility, New York, London, Harper & Brothers.

TARRIUS A. (2002), La Mondialisation par le bas. Les nouveaux nomades de l'économie souterraine. Paris, Balland.

VAN ZANTEN A. (2010), « L'ouverture sociale des grandes écoles : diversification des élites ou renouveau des politiques publiques d'éducation ? », Sociétés contemporaines, n° 79, p. 69-95.

Beaubatie, E. (2017). Transfuges de sexe. Genre, santé et sexualité dans les parcours d'hommes et de femmes trans' en France.