Georges Vigarello

Research director with the School of the high studies in social sciences, Georges Vigarello is deputy manager of CETSAH. He is specialist in the history of hygiene, health, the body practices or of the representations of the body

Biography

Born the June 16th 1941 with Monaco, Georges Vigarello is graduate in physical education (CAPEPS) aggregate in Philosophie. He is today Professor with the Université of Paris-V. Director of studies at the School of the high studies in social sciences (HESS) and deputy manager of the Center of Transdisciplinaires Studies, Sociology, Anthropology, History (CETSAH).

Member of the Academic institute of France and President of the Scientific advice of the National library of France, it is however known of more many people through the diffusion of his works. The Vigarello specialist knew to touch the general public and its works, often preceded, were republished in collections of pocket.

Work

Its research is centered on the history of the representations of the body (history of the body practices, history of the hygiene and the practices of health, history of physical violence, history of the standards and the practices of physical appearance).

The titles of the works of Georges Vigarello betray his concerns: the body with its standards and practices intended to embellish it, maintain it (“History the practices of health - the healthy one and the unhealthy one, health and greater comfort since the Middle Ages” but also the body likely to be attacked (violence and rape with “History of the rape, XVIe-XXe centuries”).

Vigarello also offers a vision historical and thus evolutionary of the body and its representations, practices and technical physical, hygiene (“the characteristic and salts it - the hygiene of the body since the Middle Ages and health”).

Its next work, “History of the beauty: The body and art to embellish (XVIe-XXe century)” (Threshold) leave in August 2004 while “the rectified body”, published for the first time in 1978, is again republished (Armand Colin, left in October 2004).

Per hour of the Olympic Games, the titles of several of its works (“Of the old play to the sporting show, birth of a myth”, “the spectacle of the sport”, “the sport, cheating and the myth”) will challenge the observers of the sport and the media.

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