68

This article studies the department of sociology at the University of Paris Nanterre, from its creation in 1965 until the aftermath of the “May ‘68” events, during which time the intellectual field underwent strong politicization. This period was a founding moment, both for this local institution and for the academic development of the discipline, and its study brings to light the logics and tensions that led to the establishment of a teaching curriculum. The analysis of the actors, professors, and teachers, and of the effects of their interactions and power relations on the establishment of curriculums, must be understood not only at a local scale but also within the larger morphological and political context of the “’68 years,” as well as part of the history of the discipline.