Men and their Waste

• Understand the challenges of waste production, management, and recovery today in France and in the world.
• Acquire a critical view in social sciences on the object of waste thanks to the contributions of multidisciplinary research (sociology, economics, law, history, philosophy, geography, anthropology, political science, etc.). Understand that waste is first and foremost a social status of matter, and that it plays a central role in the functioning of contemporary societies and economies.

The course will cover, among other things, the following topics:

• Waste in France and around the world: data and trends; ecological and health issues; waste and the Anthropocene
• Waste management in France: public and private actors; regulation; public policies; extended producer responsibility; technologies and infrastructure; industrial risks; waste prevention
• Waste economics: business models; sectorial and territorial stakes; regulatory issues; international waste economy; social and solidarity economy; informal and illegal economy
• The specific nature of contemporary waste: food waste; plastic waste; electronic waste
• The circular economy: pillars (eco-design, industrial ecology, functionality economy, etc.); history of the concept; critical approaches
• The civilization of waste: historical and anthropological perspectives on the evolution of the relationship to residuals; waste and social norms
• Waste, at the heart of contemporary economies: consumer society; obsolescence; disposable products
• Waste and politics: power relations between actors; local and global inequalities; waste workers