Two new books by David Le Breton
David Le Breton, USIAS Chair of Anthropology of Contemporary Worlds and Emeritus professor of sociology and anthropology at the University of Strasbourg, has just published two new books.
The research of Professor Le Breton focuses on representations of the human body and the analysis of risk behaviour. He has, furthermore, worked on and written about topics such as pain, silence, and the face. Adding to his impressive list of some 40 published works, two new books were published in 2024 under the auspices of Éditions Métailié:
Cicatrices. L’existence dans la peau (Scars. Existence in the skin)
Scars are part of the unique geography of the skin. Beginning with the navel: the inaugural mark that separates a child from its mother and delivers it into its own existence. A scar crystallizes a specific clash with the world, and is embedded in the skin like a hieroglyph, the meaning of which is known only to the person who bears it. From one mark to the next, a complex biography is traced. Scars are first and foremost symbols of meaning, embodying a value that depends on how they are interpreted by their wearers, according to their life history and the circumstances in which they occurred. The scars valued by some are distasteful to others. Some are indifferent, forgotten, without history, and have no impact on self-esteem or daily life. The author approaches scars from a variety of viewpoints: the scars of adolescent scarification, torture, the sequels of terrorist attacks or accidents, the scars of women who refuse breast reconstruction after a masectomy... Each scar provides a glimpse into the intimacy of a life story.
La fin de la conversation ? La parole dans une société spectrale (The end of the conversation? Words in a spectral society)
Throughout the world, the smartphone has introduced a before and an after into social relations. In the space of some fifteen years, the widespread use of smartphones has brought about an unprecedented transformation in our relationship with the world and with others across the globe. Communication - in other words, the interposition of the screen in our relationship with others, the distance, physical absence, a distracted and unfocused attention - is taking precedence over the sensory nature of the world. Utilitarian and efficient, it calls for an immediate response or subsequent justification because it demands us to be available at all times, which also leads to the feeling that everything is moving too fast, that we have no time left for ourselves. At any given moment, a notification, call or message forces the individual to respond immediately, keeping us on constant alert. Conversation, on the other hand, is often free, a walk or meeting with someone, a sharing of words. It is simply a matter of consciously being together and engaging in dialogue without rushing. While communication does away with the body, silence and attention to the other, conversation calls for mutual presence, attention to the other's countenance, facial expressions and the nuances of their gaze.
