TORONTO, October 17, 2001 -- One of the world’s leading social and political theorists, Alain Touraine, will be at York University October 22-25, to discuss his latest research on the forces of social change and the fate of democracy.
A French sociologist, Touraine is best known for his pioneering work on social movements, starting with the student uprisings across Europe in May 1968, through to the rise of Poland’s Solidarity movement in 1980. His book, What is Democracy? questions the social and cultural content of democracy today in a way that is relevant to issues such as the prevention of social and racial discrimination, women’s political aims, and the integration of immigrants.
Touraine argues that in a post-communist world, democracy will survive only if we move away from particularity, and reconcile state power with transnational capital, social diversity with social unity, and individual liberty with integration. Otherwise, he warns, we will not have the means to protect the very values we believe we are fighting to uphold.
A maverick throughout his career, he has been called a bridge builder, between empirical work and social theory, between university students and university authorities, and between commitment to a political cause and fierce independence of mind and spirit. Touraine left school for a period to work in the mines and experience the plight of the miner, and spent time in Hungary to view first hand the transition to socialism. He has written more than 20 books, many of them translated into English and Spanish. His book, Can We Live Together? Equality and Difference, examines the implications of living in a truly globalized society. He rejects the idea of a global melting pot and argues that it is wrong to suggest that we live as equals. Rather, "our differences are being heightened as communities increasingly define their identities against the encroaching forces of globalization," he says.
Touraine is currently a professor at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris. He is the recipient of numerous honours, including honorary doctorates from the universities of Montreal, Bologna and Mexico, among others. He will deliver three public lectures at York, two in English and one in French:
Are the Social Sciences being Invaded by the Concept of the Subject? Monday, Oct. 22, 11:30 a.m., Founders College Senior Common Room, Keele campus, 4700 Keele St.
Les femmes comme sujets, le mardi, 23 octobre, 16h30, Salle du Sénat, Pavillon York, Campus Glendon, 2275 Bayview Ave.
From System to Actor, Thursday, Oct. 25, 1:30 p.m., Room 204, York Hall, Glendon Campus, 2275 Bayview Ave.
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For further information, please contact:
| Susan Bigelow | Guy Larocque |
| Media Relations | Affaires extérieures |
| York University | Collège universitaire Glendon |
| 416-736-2100, ext. 22091 | 416-487-6829 |
| sbigelow@yorku.ca | glarocque@glendon.yorku.ca |
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