Contenu du sommaire

Olivier Galland : Adolescence, post-adolescence, youth : a re-appraisal on a number of interpretations. Adolescence, post-adolescence, youth are terms which are often used in similar ways to refer to the period of time between childhood and adulthood. However the exact choice of term can sometimes implicitly involve a distinct sociological interpretation, an aspect which this article will attempt to clarify. To initiate this reflection is an article by Parsons who, in 1942, put forward one of the first sociological analyses of « youth culture », defining adolescence as a one of irresponsibility. Later this idea was to be prolonged with the appearance of the post adolescence theme. Further work proposed, on the contrary, to differentiate clearly between adolescence and youth, the latter being defined as « a new age of life ». A critical reading of this particular thesis however leads to the reinterpreting of two important points : firstly, « youth », if clearly distinguished from adolescence, as defined by Parsons, does not represent, to the extent that was once imagined, a phase in life, clearly separate from those around it ; its main characteristic is rather to provide a continuity between the different phases. Secondly, comparative work carried out on an international basis has since shown that the cultural tendencies as well as the institutional setup which influence this phase of life show a very wide diversity among the different countries.

Marco Giugni : The impact of green, anti-nuclear and peace movements on public policy. The situation in the United States, Italy and Switzerland between 1975 and 1995. The main interest of this article is the political impact of the green, anti-nuclear and peace movements. After a rapid review of the current status of research on the consequences of social movements, more particularly on the works relating to the effects of various movements on state policy, and by putting forward some of the major variables to explain what must be taken into account when studying the impact of social movements on state policy, we take a quick look at the various movements on the themes of the environment, nuclear energy and peace in the United States, Italy and Switzerland. To conclude, we propose both a comparative and longitudinal study which systematically examines the impact of social movements on public policy. Following this approach, the impact can hardly be autonomous, but is often the result of a combination of protest with three other factors : the structure of political opportunity (in particular of political alliance), the position of public opinion in relation to the undertakings of these movements and the prominence of these undertakings. Our theoretical arguments are confronted with the empirical results obtained for green, anti-nuclear and peace movements in the three countries over the period 1975 to 1995. Our analysis shows the impact of these three factors in a decisive way, but differently, depending on the movement, so as to modify the relation between protest and public policy.

Agnès Villechaise-Dupont, Joël Zaffran : Resisting feelings of social inferiority for people in situations of illiteracy. The principal remarks concerning illiteracy refer to the suffering and « global language distress » to which is sometimes added the image of an illiterate person in a world of « social isolation ». Must one accept this representation of illiteracy ? Circumspectly, our sociological position is to turn the problem around, no longer considering the « illiterate » person solely from the point of view of his/her deficit but also from that of his/her capacity to act and to integrate socially. Consequently, the aim of this article is to show that illiteracy is not synonymous with violence or exclusion, but a situation where two social elements are engaged : that of a handicap where there are risks of inferiority or social indignity, and that of practical resources where the illiterate person develops a resistance to this stigmatization. To support this hypothesis, we encountered those concerned in order to examine how illiteracy is conceived, thought and spoken about and experienced. During the study which took place in the Bordeaux region, 69 people in a situation of illiteracy were interviewed. As a conclusion to this article it can be observed that illiteracy is not always felt to be a major handicap by those identified as such and that their experience is not limited to a feeling of disgrace crossed with guilt.

Philippe Steiner : Religion and the economy. Mauss, Simiand and the Durkheim programme. The aim of this article is to show that the works of Durkheim contain two research programmes on sociology and the economy. The first programme is concerned by the appreciation of economic categories and by the institutions which allow the market system to function. The second programme, barely outlined in "Les formes élémentaires de la vie religieuse" suggests there is a relation between religion and the economy. Both programmes were developed by other Durkheimians : Simiand (and Halbwachs) for the first, and Mauss for the second. It is however important to observe that in the 1930s, both programmes came together to work on donation and currency issues. To finish, the article puts forward the idea that the Durkheim perspective could serve to prolong Weberian questioning on the relation between religious ethics and the modern economy.

Alain Testart : Exchange of commodities and others forms of exchange. Following previous works, the present paper starts by offering a clear definition of the category of gift as opposed to that of exchange. It is argued that social anthropology has generally confused the two categories, describing as « gift » what is in reality exchange. But in Melanesia as in some traditional societies of Africa or America, the exchanges take specific forms, different from those known in modern societies. The particular aim of this article is to define this kind of exchange which is neither an exchange of gifts nor an exchange of commodities.