Description: California occupies a central position in American studies and has inspired countless papers and books from its admission to statehood up to the present. While other U.S. cities and regions have in the past attracted the attention of social scientists on the occasion of international symposiums—such as the international conference on the Rust Belt held at Université Paris-Est Créteil in 2019, or the “France-Louisiana: A Special Relationship” symposium at Université Bordeaux Montaigne in 2023, in light of the bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase and the tricentennial founding of New Orleans by the French—few other states have commanded similar attention in recent years. This renewed interest in California prompted the “California in Questions” seminar at Université Paris Sorbonne in 2022-2023, foregrounding anglophone studies on the State. At least two special journal issues were also dedicated to California (“California, at America’s Vanguard,” Politique américaine, 2007; “California,” Pouvoirs, 2010). French and U.S. funding policies have further highlighted the links between France and California, with the establishment of the Institut des Amériques’ branch at UCLA and the France-Berkeley and France-Stanford research funds in the late 1990s.
Often seen as a forge of liberalism since the late 1960s and a catalyst for new forms of social and political protest, California has become a true laboratory for the social sciences. Researchers have been keen to highlight its innovative and experimental social and environmental policies, many of which later spread to other regions, both nationally and internationally. Scholars have also emphasized the new epistemologies emerging from California in fields as diverse as gender studies, critical race theory, and queer and LGBTQ+ studies. With Silicon Valley’s technological leadership and the state’s pioneering efforts in ecological transition (Sims, 2022), California stands as a land of contrasts as well as a stage for social and political protest, especially regarding petroleum dependence, decarbonization, and the extractive economy of lithium mining (Slatery et al., 2023).
California has likewise pioneered new immigration policies, such as Proposition 187 or SB54 in 2017, which designated it as a “sanctuary State.” Proposition 54 was the first law of its kind in the field of racial classification, while the state also broke new ground in voting redistricting with the creation of a citizens’ committee that later inspired a similar model in Michigan, as well as in primary vote reform through its Top-Two primaries of 2010.
While its innovative character is beyond dispute, it is worth examining the specificity and singularity of studies on California today, however diverse they may be. This research has explored rural spaces as well as the urban and suburban landscapes emblematic of the Los Angeles megalopolis (Le Goix, 2016). In this context, studies on Los Angeles hold particular significance. Where Chicago once symbolized an epistemological renewal in the social sciences—particularly with the Chicago School’s approach to urban ecology through Burgess’s concentric zone model (Rea, 2021)—Los Angeles has become a new field of inquiry, inspiring socio-historical approaches to urban transition.
Active since the 2000s, the Los Angeles school offers a new analytical model that examines how urban sprawl shapes activities at the city center (Sénécal, 2007). The Los Angeles megalopolis, with its unique characteristics, has attained the status of both model and exception, much as Chicago did in the early 20th century. A city of renewal but also one marked by enduring socio-spatial inequalities, Los Angeles remains a constantly evolving field of study for French scholars (Talpin, 2015; Le Moigne, 2016; Le Moigne, 2017; Coppolani, 2003; Devienne, 2015; Devienne, 2020; Edwards-Grossi, 2020; Edwards-Grossi, 2024).
Due to its proximity to the Mexican border (Lestage, 2019) and its role as a North-South interface, California wields significant influence over national debates on border security (Fortuné, 2022) and demographic changes, particularly in Los Angeles, where non-Hispanic whites have lost numerical dominance. More broadly, the deeply multicultural and multiracial makeup of California’s major urban areas today encourages an approach to ethnoracial issues emphasizing interethnic relations rather than reductive white/non-white binaries (Kurashige, 2007; Pulido, 2006). California also embodies a transborder regional perspective, highlighting bilateral relations with Mexico, particularly since President Nieto’s 2014 visit.
California, as fertile ground for renewed research questions, has been studied from multiple perspectives through archive-centered and qualitative approaches: Mexican California (Perez Tisserant, 2019; Perez Tisserant, 2023); the reintegration of the West into the Union during Reconstruction (Barreyre, 2002); the history of ethnic studies at San Francisco State College and UCLA (Rolland-Diamond, 2012); the student movements of the 1960s (Rolland-Diamond, 2018); higher education policies (Sabbagh, 2008); resistance to public transit (Bénit-Gbaffou et al., 2007); community organizing (Talpin, 2016); the subprime crisis (Lefebvre, 2013); environmental policies on water conservation (Thoyer et al., 2004) and environmental injustice; the history of the railroad (Payen-Variéras, 2008); the reception of Foucault’s ideas (Lamy, 2022; Godet and Edwards-Grossi, 2022); the history of national parks such as Yosemite (Figueiredo, 2007); leisure practices and theme parks (Clément, 2017; Clément, 2018); consumption practices in San Francisco (Ortar, 2015); popular initiatives (Peretz, 2017; Richomme, 2011); the music industry (Martin, 2001); political institutions such as the California Supreme Court (Grivet, 2016); and the political representation of ethno-racial minorities and redistricting practices (Richomme, 2020; Richomme, 2019; Richomme, 2013).
These works resonate with major U.S. publications on varied topics, such as the socio-history of the Black Panther Party in Oakland and Los Angeles (Nelson, 2013); gentrification processes in Los Angeles neighborhoods such as Venice (Deener, 2007); the history of prisons in Los Angeles (Hernandez, 2015); environmental racism in Southern California (Pulido, 2000); the history of sterilization and eugenics in California’s medical institutions (Braslow, 1996; Stern, 2015); social movements for environmental justice and against environmental racism (Carter, 2016; Morello-Frosch et al., 2005; Kim, 2021); and the rights and activism of Indigenous populations (Forbes, 1982, 1993; Dunbar-Ortiz, 2015). Additionally, there have been numerous works on environmentalism, the founding of national parks such as Muir Woods (Nash, 1967), scientific and technological innovation, and California’s role in World War II, especially on the Pacific front (Linn, 2000).
This international symposium aims to gather and unify the various strands of social science research—including American studies, sociology, social anthropology, history, political science, and geography—whose methodologies (archival work, oral history, ethnography, participant observation, semi-structured interviews, etc.) allow for an intersectional examination of territorial, social, and racial inequalities and policies. It will offer a forum for field insights into the challenges and difficulties faced by France-based scholars in applying these methodologies to distant research fields (Le Moigne, 2022).
Aiming to foster international dialogue, we welcome submissions from scholars beyond France and encourage participation from researchers at all career stages and in all positions. In doing so, this symposium seeks to contribute to the vitality of research on California both in France and internationally.
- Proposals should be submitted as 300-word summaries by January 15, 2025, to the following address: ca**********************@gm***.com. Contributors are also asked to include a brief 150-word bio. English will be the preferred language of the symposium.
Submission guidelines: for more information, click here.
