Contenu du sommaire

André Regnier : Can one turn the social sciences into a mathematical form? The representation of phenomena by mathematical models provides powerful means for logical reasoning, but it implies that certain conditions are fulfilled, the kind of conditions which are generally a requirement for all analytic thinking. The first of these is the possession of concepts having a theoretical value. If the applied social sciences require models, that may stay at a semi-empirical level, such is not the case for theoretical social sciences that may very well reach a high level of accuracy without using models nor mathematics. « Generant » models give us the hope that, in the future, those questions will be put into a radically new form.

Claude Durand : The political meaning of syndicalist action. The author deals here with two of the most politically-oriented kinds of syndicalist action, that is, class-conscious trade-unionism and trade-unionism focusing on management. He tries to find out the political meaning of this type of action by studying it in terms of its economic framework (consumption or equipment market) on the one hand, and in terms of its institutiomal framework (both private and governmental) on the other. ? In the governmental or nationalized field, as well as in the equipment industries, the writer understands that class -conscious trade-unionism is most likely to appear : this is due to the politically-oriented view according to which political action is more efficient than purely syndicalist action. ? But, in a broad sense, the political orientation of trade-unionism focusing on management seems to be stronger in the private than in the governmental sector. His analysis leads to the following distinction between two kinds of orientations towards politics of action : 1) ? a leaning towards political action, in its precise meaning, that of class-conscious trade-unionism. Here, the crucial success of syndicalist action is to follow the political action that takes place simultaneously with the purely syndicalist action. 2) ? a leaning towards political action, in its broadest sense, that is characteristic of syndicates focusing on management. In that case, the goal is to transform the economic structure through syndicalist action.

Marcel Jollivet : Agrarian structures and economic change in agriculture. Within the frame of a comparative study of the evolution of French rural societies, the author seeks to evaluate the influence that agrarian structures have upon the evolution of the agricultural economy. A comparison of three case-studies makes it clear that this influence rests on the agrarian class that possesses the economic power and on the system of agricultural production. It thus seems that under today's conditions of technological progress cattle-breeding adapts itself to family-type of agricultural exploitation, and may even favor this kind of development. But cultivation requires quite the opposite, that is, large exploitation with powerful and expensive machines. The evolution of the agricultural economy in a given area varies with the technical, economic and financial exigencies of a production system, and with the nature of the social classes bound to the agrarian structures. The study of the inter-relationship between a system of production and the agrarian class holding the economic power is the main task of a sociology of agricultural change.

Guy Vincent: The teaching of French and the educational system. The important role that is characteristic of the French language tests for the selection and orientation of secondary school students leads us to ask ourselves a few questions about the unequal verbal capabilities due to the students' social backgrounds, and having also something to do with the academic and social definition of those capabilities. This definition cannot be understood unless we refer to the social functions of the educational system. A vocabulary test, especially constructed to take into account the school's exigencies in that matter, allows us to perceive what really separates some categories of students, how the school accepts and, may be, even re-inforces language differences, and finally, it gives us a general idea of what an educational reform might be like in France, in terms of its contents, of its means and ends.

Christian De Montlibert and Michel Morin : Problems of teaching psycho-sociology and sociology to managers and administrators of firms. Many problems are raised when one teaches social sciences to adults having their own experiences, habits and beliefs. The authors describe three of these difficulties encountered while teaching psycho-sociology to some engineers and managers : 1) the structuration of the contents to be taught ; 2) the pedagogical methods, and 3) the resistances raised by the teaching. The authors analyse especially the resistance, the oppositions. According to them, they stem from pre-conceptions held by the students, from the ideologies that they profess and from the scientific status given to psychology and sociology by our contemporaries. To attempt to overcome those oppositions that could prevent an efficient training from taking place, the authors recommend a most adaptive pedagogy calling for a great variety of methods.

Michel Conil-Lacoste : Twenty years of UNESCO activities in the field of social sciences. Back in 1946, the Committee preparing the program decided to devote a special chapter to the social sciences. This article reviews the experiences and the doings of UNESCO in this program.