Gianluca MANZO

Professeur des Universités

Professor of Sociology (Sorbonne Université)
Director of the Master Program in Sociology (Sorbonne University)
Deputy Director of the Doctoral School “Concepts & Languages” (Sorbonne University)
Fellow (& Secretary) of the European Academy of Sociology
Editor of L’Année Sociologique
President of the RC45 (International Sociological Association)

CV & Citations

If you are in hurry, then please simply glance at my CV [in French] [in English]
and/or at my Google Scholar Profile.
If you have more time, then you may want to play around with resources in the menu “Short Portrays” (below on your right).
Finally, if you have an entire day, then I would rather advise to explore the various sections structuring this page. You can jump from one to another by using the hyperlinks in the menu on your right. These sections provide a selected tour through my trajectory and activities with the aim to help you better to understand the kind of sociologist I think I am.
Enjoy and please do not hesitate to contact me for any feedback and/or questions!

Bio

Before joining the department of sociology of Sorbonne University as professor in September 2021, I was a research fellow in sociology at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) from October 2007 to August 2021 as a member of GEMASS (Groupe d’Etude des Méthodes de l’Analyse Sociologique de la Sorbonne), a research unit for which I served as deputy director between 2018 and 2019, where I still lead the research axis “Mechanisms, Networks, and Inequality”.

I earned a B.A. in Sociology (2001) and a Ph.D in Epistemology and Methodology of Social Sciences (2006) from the University of Trento (Italy), as well as a M.Phil in Social Sciences and Philosophy of Knowledge (2002) and a Ph.D in Social Sciences (2006) from the University of Paris-Sorbonne. I obtained the “Habilitation à diriger des recherché” (HDR) in Social Sciences in July 2019 at Sorbonne University.

I held visiting positions and/or taught at the University of Oxford (Nuffield College) (2009 & 2010), University of Oslo (2010), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (2010), University of Roma-La Sapienza (2011), Columbia University (2012), University of Mannheim (2013), Instituto de Filosofía y Ciencias de la Complejidad (Santiago of Chile) (2013), University of Cologne (2014), European University Institute (2015 & 2021), and University of Trento (2019). In France, I taught as an external faculty at Sorbonne University between 2006 and 2020, at EHESS (in collaboration with Ivan Ermakoff) from 2016 to 2018, and at Science Po (Saint-Germain-en-Laye) in 2023 and 2024; since 2018, I teach on a regular basis at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi (SUAD). From 2011 to 2014, I also was an “international research affiliate” at the Institute for Futures Studies (Stockholm), and, from 2014 to 2021, at the Institute for Analytical Sociology (IAS) at Linköping University.

I am the author (in French) of La spirale des inégalités (PUPS, 2009), and of Agent-based Models and Causal Inference (Wiley & Sons, 2022); I am also the editor of Analytical Sociology: Actions and Networks (Wiley, 2014), and of the Research Handbook on Analytical sociology (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2021). My work has appeared in several internationally well-established sociological journals including Sociological Methods and Research, European Sociological Review, Journal of Mathematical Sociology, European Journal of Sociology, Quality and Quantity, Comparative Social Research, and Revue Française de Sociologie. I also published in interdisciplinary journals, like Social Science Information, and outside sociology, my research appeared in the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory and the Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation.

My article « Educational Choices and Social Interactions: A Formal Model and a Computational Test » published in Comparative Social Research (2013) received in 2014 the Mathematical Sociology Outstanding Article Award by the American Sociological Association (Mathematical Sociology Section). My article « Analytical sociology and Its Critics » published in European Journal of Sociology (2010) was awarded in 2012 a “special mention” (for the Best Junior Theorist Paper) by the International Sociological Association (Sociological Theory Research Committee).

At Sorbonne University, I am the director of the Master program in Sociology since 2022 as well as the deputy director (for sociology) of the doctoral school “Concepts and Languages” (ED433); from 2012 to 2016, and again from 2021 to 2025, I was a member of the scientific committee for sociology and law (section 36) of the CNRS.
I served as vice-president of the International Network of Analytical sociology (INAS) from June 2011 to June 2018, as well as as chair-elect, chair, and past-chair of the section “Decision-making, Networks, and Society” of the American Sociological Association in 2021, 2022, and 2003 respectively; since July 2023, I am the president of the RC45 (Rational choice) of the International Sociological Association. In October 2021, I was elected as a fellow of the European Academy of Sociology; since 2024, I serve as the Academy’s secretary.

I seated on the board of Sociological Theory (2010-2014) and Social Science Information (2014-2017); since 2023, I am part of the editorial board of the Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation; since January 2023, I am the editor of L’Année Sociologique.

A full list of my activities falling in the various chapters that characterize the typical life of an academic can be found in my CV (please see the links above). The present page rather selects, and, in some cases, comments on aspects of my trajectory and activities with the aim to help curious students and colleagues better to understand the kind of sociologist I think I am.

I hope you will enjoy the content! Please do not hesitate to contact me with feedback.

Research Style

Generally speaking, I am interested in how social interactions surrounding actors shape their beliefs, choices and strategies. I am not interested in actors and social interactions per se, however. My real focus is the macroscopic consequences of actors’ embeddedness in social interactions. It is the dynamic of the micro-to-macro link mediated by social networks that fascinates me.

From this perspective, I inquired various social phenomena like educational inequality, relative deprivation, status hierarchies, technological innovations, and viruses by always asking the same question: how do the features, and the structures, of the social interactions in which actors behave drive the emergence of the observed macroscopic distribution (and/or its temporal changes, and/or its variation across social groups) of the actor-level outcome at hand, this outcomes having in turn been “choosing a given educational path”, “being satisfied or dissatisfied”, “being deferent or snobbish”, “adopting a given novelty”, or “getting contaminated”.

In each of these pieces of work, to answer the question, I designed a theoretical model guessing on the mechanisms linking social interactions to actors’ behaviors. Inputs for the model construction came from previous models, and, when available, from individual-level and social network data. I employed agent-based computational simulations as a tool to generate the model’s quantified theoretical implications, and statistical analysis both to analyze the inner functioning of the simulation and to compare its outcomes with real-world data describing the macroscopic regularities of interest to be explained.

I like to devote part of my time also to reflect upon the research style that informs my work. This led me to raise questions about the notion of mechanism, and the development of the perspective labeled “analytical sociology”; about the virtues and limitations of rational action theories in sociology; and, about the premises of agent-based computational models, and the connection between this tool and more traditional approaches to causal reasoning.

Selected Articles & Book Chapters

The full list of my publications can be found in my CV (see the link above). For those who like bibliometrics, Google scholar (among other devices) will tell you which of my pieces of work others (seem to) like (or think they may/should like without reading because others seemed to have liked those pieces before them).

Below I suggest instead a selection of papers that I do like; I think they illustrate well my trajectory as well as my research style, topics and methods. I organized the selection by following the order of the short presentation above: first, substantive works (1. Models of Mechanisms), than meta-theoretical works (2. Analytical Sociology; 3. Rational Action Theory; 4. Agent-based computational models).

Should you have hard time to get any of the following pieces, please feel free to contact me.

1. Models of Mechanisms

G. Manzo (2009). “Boudon’s Model of Relative Deprivation Revisited”, in M. Cherkaoui & P. Hamilton (eds.) Raymond Boudon: A Life in Sociology, Oxford, Bardwell Press, vol. 3, part 3, ch. 46, 91-121.
G. Manzo (2011). “Relative Deprivation in Silico: Agent-based Models and Causality in Analytical Sociology”, in P. Demeulenaere (ed.), Analytical Sociology and Social Mechanisms, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, ch. 13, 266-308.
G. Manzo (2013). “Educational Choices and Social Interactions: A Formal Model and A Computational Test”, Comparative Social Research, 30, 47-100.
G. Manzo, D. Baldassarri (2015). “Heuristics, Interactions, and Status Hierarchies: An Agent-based Model of Deference Exchange”, Sociological Methods and Research, 44, 3, 329-387.
G. Manzo, S. Gabbriellini, V. Roux, F. Nkirote M’Mbogorihttp (2018). “Complex Contagions and the Diffusion of Innovations: Evidence from a Small-N Study”, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 25, 4, 1109-1154
G. Manzo, A. van de Rjit (2020) “Halting SARS-CoV-2 by Targeting High-contact Individuals”, Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, 23, 4 (10).

2. Analytical Sociology

G. Manzo (2007) “Comment on Andrew Abbott/2”, Sociologica, 2/2007
G. Manzo (2010). “Analytical Sociology and Its Critics”, European Journal of Sociology, 51, 1, 129-170.
G. Manzo (2011). “The Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts: Some Remarks on The Oxford Handbook of Analytical Sociology”, European Sociological Review, 27, 6, 829-835.
G. Manzo (2014). “Data, Generative Models, and Mechanisms: More on the Principles of Analytical Sociology”. In Manzo, G. (2014) (ed.) Analytical Sociology: Actions and Networks, Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, 4-52.
G. Manzo (2021). “Does analytical sociology practice what it preaches? An assessment of analytical sociology through the Merton award”, in G. Manzo (ed.) Research Handbook on Analytical Sociology, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar (Research Handbooks in Sociology Series), pp. 1-47.
G. Manzo (2024), “Antecedents of generative thinking in analytical sociology: the contribution of Tom Fararo”. The Journal of Mathematical Sociology, 49, 4, 247-268.

3. Rational Action Theory

G. Manzo (2012). “Full and Sketched Micro-Foundations. The Odd Resurgence of a Dubious Distinction”, Sociologica, 1/2012 (doi: 10.2383/36900)
G. Manzo (2012). “Reason-based Explanations and Analytical Sociology. A Rejoinder to Boudon”, European Journal of Social Sciences, 50, 2, 35-65
G. Manzo (2013). “Is rational choice theory still a rational choice of theory?”, Social Science Information, 52, 3, 361-382
G. Manzo (2015). “Macrosociology-Microsociology”, In: James D. Wright (editor-in-chief), International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2nd edition, vol. 14. Oxford: Elsevier, pp. 414-421.
G. Manzo (2019). “Gianluca Manzo interviewed by Wojtek Przepiorka”, Agora (Newsletter of the Rationality and Society Section of the American Sociological Association and the Research Committee 45 on Rational Choice of the International Sociological Association), Winter 2018/Spring 2019, 6-8.

4. Agent-based Computational Models

G. Manzo (2007) “Variables, mechanisms, and simulations: can the three methods be synthesized? A critical analysis of the literature”, Revue Française de Sociologie, 48, 35-71.
G. Manzo (2014). “Potentialities and Limitations of Agent-based Simulations: An introduction”, Revue Française de Sociologie, 55, 4, 653-688.
G. Manzo (2020). “Agent-based models and methodological Individualism: are they fundamentally linked?”, L’Année Sociologique, 70, 1, 197-229.

(Very) Early Papers

I gather here two papers that I still like very much! Both deal with the description of the structure and/or the temporal trends of educational inequality by socio-economic groups; both rely on methods that one may consider as not very common in the early 2000s.

1. Artificial Neural Networks

The paper summarizes the research dissertation (“tesi di laurea”) that I defended in September 2001 at the University of Trento to obtain my Bachelor in sociology; it studies Italian (and Swedish) large-scale survey data through artificial neural networks, in particular back-propagation multi-layer perceptrons (MLPs).

C. Corposanto, G. Manzo (2003) “Disuguaglianze educative e loro trasformazioni nel tempo: problemi tecnici e metodologici di un’analisi compiuta mediante reti neurali artificiali”, Sociologia e Ricerca sociale, XXIV, 70, 43-69.

2. Multi-matrices log-linear topological models

The paper was written during the earlier stages of my PhD dissertation when I was looking for “alternatives” to implement the notion of mechanisms as neatly as possible; it studies French large-scale survey data, and relies on multi-matrices log-linear topological models.

G. Manzo (2006). “Generative Mechanisms and Multivariate Statistical Analysis. Modeling Educational Opportunity Inequality by Multi-Matrix Log-Linear Topological Model: Contributions and Limits”, Quality & Quantity, 40, 5, 721-758.

The two papers had a different trajectory. The 2006 paper using multi-matrices log-linear topological models –a method that does not seem more frequently used now than it was twenty years ago or so – accumulated a small amount of (citational) visibility. In contrast, the 2003 paper using artificial neural networks –a technique that is everywhere nowadays– went entirely unnoticed! Sure: the paper was published in Italian, and in a confidential journal. Still: Given that, to the best of my knowledge, this seems one of the first papers in sociology using “deep learning” techniques to study a traditional, well-defined, empirical sociological phenomenon, I allow myself to give it some new digital visibility!

Books and Journal Special Issues

In the two previous sections, I gave priority to journals’ articles and/or book chapters to illustrate my research style and interests. Book-length treatment of a given topic are probably less frequently read in (some quarters of) our discipline today but I still believe that a book is important to make a full statement on a research perspective and/or on a research domain. Books collecting contributions from a selected set of authors as well as journal special issues are also important to make a topic more visible and to consolidate research fields. Below then is a selection of materials related to my books, edited books and journal special issues.

1. Books

G. Manzo (2022) Agent-based Models and Causal Inference, Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons (Wiley Series in Computational and Quantitative Social Science)

Publisher’s Page | Critical Acclaim (by Christopher Winship, Ivan Ermakoff, Andreas Flache & Daniel Little) | A post by Daniel Little related to preparatory work for the book

(Much) Shorter statements based on the book:
Causality (2021, with Lucas Sage, The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology)
Perspectives on Causality (2024, with Lucas Sage, Wiley StatsRef: Statistics Reference Online)

G. Manzo (2009). La spirale des inégalités. Choix scolaires en France et en Italie au XXe siècle, Paris, Presses de l’Université Paris-Sorbonne (coll. L’intelligence du sociale)

Publisher’s Page | Book’s Flyer (In French) | Proofs

Reviews: European Journal of Sociology (Elise Tenret, 52, 3, 2011) | Revue Française de Sociologie (Marion Selz, 52, 1, 2011), Sociologie du Travail (Annick Kieffer, 54, 2, 2012) | Mathématiques et Sciences Humaines (Marc Barbut, 188, Hiver, 2009) | Bulletin de Méthodologie Sociologique (106, 1, 2010) | Revue Française de Science Politique (Vincent Tiberj, 60, 4, 2010) | Rassegna Italiana di Sociologia (Carlo Barone, 51, 1, 2010) | Sociologica [In English] (Flavio Ceravolo, 1, 2010) | European Journal of Geography (Zoé Boularan, 2013) | Sciences Humaines (Clément Lefranc, 5 novembre 2009) | Liens Socio (Pauline Gandré, 12 janvier 2010)

2. Edited books

G. Manzo (2021) (ed.) Research Handbook on Analytical Sociology, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing (Research Handbooks in Sociology Series)

Publisher’s Page | Critical Acclaim (by Delia Baldassarri, Richard Breen & Arnout van de Rijt)

Reviews: Soziologische Revue (Josef Brüderl, 45, 3, 2022)

G. Manzo 2014 (ed.). Analytical Sociology: Actions and Networks, Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons (Wiley Series in Computational and Quantitative Social Science)

Publisher’s Page | Critical Acclaim (by Paul diMaggio) | Interview with the author in Stats & Data Science Views | A post by Daniel Little

Reviews: Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation (Edmund Chattoe-Brown, 17, 4, 2014) | European Journal of Sociology (Paola Tubaro, 55, 3, 2014) | European Journal of Social Sciences (Carmelo Lombardo, 53, 1, 2015) | Soziologische Revue [In German] (Andreas Tutic, 40, 2, 2017)

2a. Edited books (Festschrift)

Academic life also requires to devote time to pay tribute to those who contributed to our own intellectual and academic trajectory. Mohamed Cherkaoui was my PhD supervisor between October 2002 and the end of 2005. He continued to trust and encourage me warmly and friendly during many other years. I tried to express my gratitude for this by orchestrating, for about a couple of years between 2013 and 2014, the Festschrift below.
Peter Hamilton (see here a modest tribute to him, too) and Toby Matthews of Bardwell Press provided a great editorial support to this initiative.

G. Manzo (2015) (ed.), Theories and Social Mechanisms: Essays in Honour of Mohamed Cherkaoui, Oxford, UK: The Bardwell Press (2 volumes).

Book Flyer | Proofs [vol. 1] [vol. 2] | Introductory Chapter [Why Read Cherkaoui? A Road Map To His Work] | Closing Interview [A Conversation with Mohamed Cherkaoui]

Reviews: European Societies (Adriana Mica, 20, 4, 2018)

Book Launch Reception Invite | Short Talks at the Book Launch Reception

Book Launch Reception’s Pics (from upper left to bottom right): Olivier Galland (Gemass Director, 2010-2018); Jacques Lautman (ENS Deputy Director, 1993-1996); Toby Matthews (Bardwell Press’ Deputy Director); Gianluca Manzo (Festschrift’s Editor); Mohamed Cherkaoui (Gemass Director, 1999-2018) receiving the Festschrift by Gianluca Manzo; Peter Hamilton (Bardwell Press’ director, first, on the left) with Gianluca Manzo, Mohamed Cherkaoui and his wife.

3. Journal Special Issues

G. Manzo (2024). Ethique de la recherche et méthodes en sociologie, L’Année Sociologique, 74, 2.

Guest Editor’s Introduction [in French]

V. Roux, G. Manzo (2018). Social Boundaries and Networks in the Diffusion of Innovations, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 25, 4.

Guest Editors’ Introduction

P. Hedström, G. Manzo (2015). Agent-bases Modeling: Advances and Challenges, Sociological Methods and Research, 44, 2.

Guest editors’ Introduction

G. Manzo (2014). La simulation multi-agents: principes et applications aux phénomènes sociaux, Revue Française de Sociologie, 55, 4.

Guest editor’s article [English] [French] | Review : Lien Socio (Pablo Jensen, June 16, 2015)

Teaching at SU & SUAD

Since my recruitment as professor at Sorbonne University in September 2021, the amount of time I devote to teaching has enormously increased. I list here the classes that I teach on a regular basis in the Bachelor and the Master of sociology at Sorbonne University (SU), and in the double Bachelor of Philosophy and Sociology and the Master in Applied Sociological Research at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi (SUAD). Please note that I constantly revise and adjust classes’ syllabi. The versions posted here thus must be considered as work-in-progress. Please do not hesitate to write to me if you have any questions and/or suggestions.

1. Bachelor SU

(3rd year) Social Stratification: Surveys (1.5 hours x 13 weeks) and models (2 hours x 13 weeks) on actors’ subjective perceptions of social structure.

Syllabus (in French): SU | SUAD

2. Master SU

(1st year) Sociology of social networks: Ego-centered and complete network research designs (1.5 hours x 13 weeks); Data import, visualization and analysis with R (2 hours x 13 weeks).

Syllabus (in English)

(1st year) Logic of Social Research: Fundamental notions to design a research project (2 hours x 13 weeks).

Syllabus (in French)

(2nd year) Computational Sociology: Designing and programming agent-based computational models with NetLogo (2 hours x 13 weeks).

Syllabus (in English)

4. Master SUAD

Networks and Society: History, principles and techniques for designing micro-macro models of social life focusing on social interactions (20 hours [4 hours x 5 days] per year)

(1st year) Syllabus (in English)
(2nd year) Syllabus (in English)

5. Analytical Sociology Class

For a number of years, in particular in 2014, 2015, 2020, 2022 and 2023 at Sorbonne University, and in 2016, 2017 and 2018 at EHESS (in collaboration with Ivan Ermakoff) I taught a class at Master (2nd year) level titled, depending on the year, and the institution, “Interactions & Social Dynamics”, “Interactions & Social Processes” or “Analytical Sociology”. While I am not teaching it anymore, this is class that I especially liked to teach and to which I devoted a considerable amount of time. That is why I want to keep a trace of it here.

(2nd year) Syllabus (in English)

Teaching on Agent-based Modelling & NetLogo

My initial training in computer programming was in Java, first, in 2004 and 2005, during my PhD, and, then, in 2008 after my recruitment at the CNRS. The very first version of my agent-based model of educational choices actually was programmed in Java (my 2009 book was still based on that version of the model).
Early 2008, I also started exploring NetLogo; the more I learned about it, the more I liked the language. I definitely shifted to it for my own research between 2009 and 2010. Versions after versions (my first published paper using NetLogo was based on NetLogo 4.0.2!), I got progressively convinced by the great compromise achieved by this language between simplicity (implying relatively low entry-costs) and programming power. This motivated me to share my (constantly in-progress) skills with other sociologists, especially doctoral and/or post-doctoral students, computer programming not being yet a usual pillar of Master programs in sociology.
Below is a selection of events that I had the great chance to organize or, more often, where I had the honor of having been invited to deliver lectures and/or short courses on how to design, programming and studying agent-based models with NetLogo.

1. Organized Training

2021 CNRS Winter School (Fréjus, France).

2. Invited Short Courses

2021 European University Institute
2019 Università di Trento
2015 European University Institute
2014 University of Cologne
2013 University of Mannheim
2013 University of Milano
2012 Columbia University (Robert Wood Johnson Health & Society Scholars Program)
2011 University of Roma, La Sapienza

3. Keynotes

2024 Toulouse School of Economics (Empirically-Calibrated Agent-Based Models for Mechanism-Based Research)
2023 Arènes, Maison des Sciences de l’Homme en Bretagne (MSHB), Rennes (Summer School on Mixed Methods for Social Sciences)
2022 Institut Polytéchnique de Paris (Summer Institute in Computational Social Science, SICSS-Paris)
2021 University of Milan (BEHAVE School on Agent-based Modelling)
2016 Sorbonne University (SMART School on Computational Social and Behavioral Sciences)

Call for Students

Master or PhD students who would like to work on topics and/or methods that do not fall within those covered by my classes (see the “Teaching” section), or that are outside my main areas of expertise (see the “Research style” section) are invited to contact me AS LONG AS they see sociology as a scientific activity oriented towards explaining clearly identified macroscopic facts on the basis of well-defined research designs allowing to identify mechanisms that explain how we can move from the micro to the macro-level of analysis (and vice-versa).

I appreciate students who reach me out with a specific research article in mind and/or specific questions to ask. Here are some resources that I advise students to glance at before approaching me for supervision:

Introduction to Sociology (2020)
Research Handbook on Analytical Sociology (2021)
Handbook of Sociological Science: Contributions to Rigorous Sociology (2022)

Students who see sociology as a political activity where facts and answers are known before doing research are invited to check the following book before approaching me for supervision:

Societal Problems as Public Bads (2019)

Contrary to what some students seem to believe, I am not “against” qualitative methods. I am skeptical instead towards students who hope to find in qualitative methods a strategy to escape rigorous reasoning, data collection and analysis. I invite students who may fall in that temptation to read the following book. Once this is done, I am ready to start a discussion about a possible supervision.

Qualitative Literacy (2022)

Supervisees

The defence in (July) 2019 of a diploma called “Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches” (HDR) –without which autonomous PhD supervision is not allowed in French academia –, plus the move to university in September 2021, gave me the opportunity to increase the frequency of students’ supervision both at the Master and PhD levels. Below is a selection of my past and current supervisees. These were all great human experiences that taught to me one main lesson: students’ supervision is a serious responsibility that should never be taken lightly!

1. PhD (completed)

Pasquale di Padova (2011 – 2015) | “A Computational Model of Social Mobility” | University of Rome (La Sapienza) | Co-supervisor: Carmelo Lombardo | Defence: June, 22 2015 (Rome)
Website | Google Scholar

Lucas Sage (2017 – 2022) | “So Similar but So Different: Explaining within group wage dispersion” | Sorbonne Université & University of Trento | Co-supervisor: Stefani Scherer | Defence: June, 24 2022 (Paris)
Website | Google Scholar

2. PhD (in-progress)

Marco Venturini (2022 – ) “Exploring Bitcoin with computational social science methods” | Sorbonne Université & University of Milan | Co-supervisor: Flaminio Squazzoni
Website

Sofiane Mazière (2023 –) | “Dynamics of change in green consumption perception and behaviors in France. An agent-based model study with generative agents” | Sorbonne University
Website | Portrait | LinkedIn

3. Master Students (selection)

2025 Claire Lequipe | Master in Contemporary Sociology | Sorbonne University
2025 Ella Gauthié | Master in Contemporary Sociology | Sorbonne University
2024 Pamela Bazan Ramirez | Master in Quantifying in Social Sciences | ENS-ULM & EHESS
2024 Ondine Vignol (1st year) |Master in Research Analyst (Chargé d’études)| Sorbonne Université
2023 Joseph Pelham | Master in Quantifying in Social Sciences | EHESS
2023 Julie Gatelier | Master in Contemporary Sociology | Sorbonne University
2022 Nowf Mohamed AlQarni | Master in Applied Sociological Research | Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi
2022 Xinmiao Zhang | Master in Economic Policies for the Global Transitions | University of Technology of Compiegne (UTC)
2008 Nicolas Berger (1st year) | Master in History and Philosophy of Science | University of Paris-Diderot

Selected Fellowships & Talks

Over the years, I had the great privilege to receive various types of fellowships at various places across the (Western) world; I also was lucky enough to have the great chance to present my research at a variety of venues. Below is a selection of places where I benefited from invaluable feedback from colleagues and accumulated fond memories of the best that academic life can provide us with. Please feel free to contact me if you want to get slides from any of the talks listed below.

1. Fellowships

2023 Collegio Carlo Alberto, Turin (last-minute cancellation for family reasons)
2014–2021 Linköping University (Institute for Analytical Sociology)
2021 European University Institute (Department of Political & Social Sciences)
2019 University of Trento (Dipartimento di Sociologia e Ricerca sociale)
2017 Université Internationale de Rabat (Science Po Rabat)
2015 European University Institute (Department of Political & Social Sciences)
2014 University of Cologne (Institute of Sociology and Social Psychology)
2013 University of Mannheim (School of Social Sciences)
2013 Instituto de Filosofía y Ciencias de la Complejidad (Santiago de Chile).
2012 Columbia University (Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy)
2011–2014 Institute for Futures Studies (Stockholm)
2011 University of Roma (La Sapienza) (Department of Sociology)
2010 Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Department of Sociology)
2010 University of Oslo (Department of Sociology and Human Geography)
2010 University of Oxford (Nuffield College)
2009 University of Oxford (Nuffield College)

2. Talks

2024 Toulouse School of Economics (IAST) (Workshop on Empirically-Calibrated ABMs)
2024 (In Italian) Seminar SPS “Social Networks: Mechanisms and Models”, University of Milan
2022 Los Angeles (American Sociological Association, Mathematical Sociology Section)
2022 European University Institute (International Network of Analytical Sociology)
2021 (In French) Université de Montpellier (Colloque « Sciences et sens des modèles »)
2020 Boston (Eastern Economic Association)
2019 Trento University (Brown Bag Seminars)
2018 (In Italian) University Ca’ Foscari, Venice (Philosophy Research Seminar Series)
2017 Cracow University of Economics (ENPOSS, Book symposium)
2017 Utrecht University (Second International Workshop of ISA RC45 on Social Inequality)
2017 University of Oslo (International Network of Analytical Sociology)
2017 (In French) Université de La Rochelle (MARAMI Conference)
2016 University of Utrecht (International Network of Analytical Sociology)
2016 University of Linköping (Sociology Research Seminar Series)
2016 Nuffield College, University of Oxford (Sociology Research Seminar Series)
2016 Konstanz University (Sociology Research Seminar Series)
2015 University of Leipzig, Institut für Soziologie (Sociology Research Seminar Series)
2015 Harvard University (International Network of Analytical Sociologists)
2010 Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (Boudon: An Analytical Social Theorist)
2014 University of Mannheim (International Network of Analytical Sociologists)
2014 San Francisco (American Sociological Association, Rationality and Society section)
2014 Institute for Futures Studies, Stockholm (Mechanism-based Theorizing Workshop)
2014 Higher School of Economics, Saint Petersburg (Conference on School Choices)
2014 ETH, Zurich (Conference On the legacy of Raymond Boudon)
2013 University of Stockholm (International Network of Analytical Sociologists)
2013 Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago de Chile (Sociology Research Seminar Series)
2013 Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago de Chile (Sociology Research Seminar Series)
2013 Instituto de Sistemas Complejos de Valparaíso (Chile) (Research Seminar)
2013 New York (American Sociological Association, Rationality and Society section)
2013 New York (American Sociological Association, Inequality, Poverty, and Mobility section)
2013 Institute for Futures Studies, Stockholm (Research Seminar Series)
2013 ETH, Zurich, Chair of Sociology, in particular Modeling & Simulation (Research seminar)
2012 Norwegian University Centre (PhD Seminar)
2012 University of Trento (International Sociological Association, RC16 Sociological Theory)
2012 Fundacion Juan March, Madrid (“Social Mechanisms at work” Workshop)
2012 Columbia University, New York (Analytical Sociology Conference)
2011 University of Stockholm (“Recent Developments in Analytical Sociology” Symposium)
2011 Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES) (Sociology Colloquium Series)
2011 Collegio Carlo Alberto (Seminar in Politics and Society)
2011 (In French) ENS Lyon (Conférence « Réseaux Sociaux : des structures au politique »)
2010 University of Oxford (“Authors meet Critics: Analytical Sociology’s Promise and Limits”)
2010 University of Amsterdam (Equalsoc Final Conference)
2010 Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (Workshop on Social Mechanisms and Institutional Designs)
2010 Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (Analytical Sociology Conference)
2010 Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (PhD Seminar Series)
2010 Swedish Collegium for Advanced Studies, Uppsala (“Social Mechanisms” Workshop)
2009 University of Torino (Conference on Mechanisms and Analytical Sociology)
2009 EqualSoc Conference (SOCCULT Research Group Workshop), Paris
2008 Nuffield College (Sociology Seminar Series)
2007 (In Italian) Italian Association of Sociology (Methods section)

Conferences & Seminars (Organization)

Over the years I had the scientific responsibility of a number of research events that I initiated on my own or in collaboration with a variety of colleagues. They are all related to my research interests and to the type of sociology that I like and try to promote. Below is a selection of these events. Please feel free to write to me if you want to get further information of any of them.

2025 ISA Forum of Sociology (RC45: Rational Choice), Rabat, July 6-11

Role: Program coordinator | Program

2025 International Network for Social Network Analysis (INSNA), Sunbelt, Paris, June 23-29

Role: Conference co-organizers (with David Chavalarias, Catherine Comet, Floriana Gargiulo, Emmanuel Lazega, Marion Maisonobe, Elise Penalva-Icher & Camille Roth) | Program

Role: Regular Session Organizer | Social Networks & Inequality

Role: Invited Plenary Panel Organizer | Social Networks & Inequality | Speakers: Carter Butts (University of California, Irvine), Emily Eirkson (Yale University), Paola Tubaro (CNRS), Eleanor Power (LSE), Beate Wölker (Utrecht University),

2024 International Symposium (« Engaging with Boudon: Insights for Contemporary Sociological Science”, Sorbonne University, June 27-29

Role: Co-organizers (with Gérald Bronner, Nathalie Bulle, Pierre Demeulenaere & Michel Dubois) | Program

2023 XX ISA World Congress of sociology (RC45: Rational Choice), Invited paper session (“What makes sociology credible?”), Melbourne, June 25-July 1.

Role: Organizer | Speakers: Emily Erikson (Yale University), Andreas Flache (Groningen University), Daniel Little (Michigan University), Clemens Kronenberg (Cologne University), Lucas Sage (European University Institute) | Program (see page 305)

2022 Seventh Joint US-Japan Conference on Mathematical Sociology and Rational Choice, Los Angeles, August 5

Role: Co-organizer (with Jun Kobayashi, Richard Edward Gardner, Kikuko Nagayoshi, Kazuhiro Kezuka) | Program (see page 4) | Detailed program

2022 American Sociological Association Annual Meeting (Rationality and Society Section), Los Angeles August 5-9

Role: Program coordinator | Program (see pages 16)

2021 IV ISA forum of sociology (RC45: Rational Choice), Regular paper session (“Social Interactions and Social Inequality”), Porto Alegre, 23-27 February.

Role: Session Organizer | Program (see page 219)

2018 XIX ISA World Congress of Sociology (RC45: Rational Choice), Paper session (“What Micro-Foundations for Agent-Based Computational Models?”), Toronto, July 15-21.
Role: Session organizer | Program (see page 352)

2016 ANR Closing Research Project International Conference (“Diffusion of Innovations: Social Boundaries and Networks”), Sorbonne University, June 16-17

Role: Co-organizer (with Valentine Roux and Blandine Bril) | Program

2016 2nd European Conference on Social Networks (EUSN), Regular paper session (“Network Science and Agent-based Models: What Cooperation? »), Science Po, Paris, June 14-17

Role: Co-organizer (with Paola Tubaro) | Program

2016 Third ISA Forum of Sociology (RC45: Rational Choice), Invited Paper Session, Vienna, July 10-14.

Role: Session organizer | Speakers: Daniel Little (University of Michigan-Dearborn), Karl-Dieter Opp (University of Leipzig and University of Washington), Andreas Diekmann (ETH Zurich), Petri Ylikoski (University of Helsinki) & Peter HEDSTROM (Linköping University)| Program (see page 257)

2012 Fifth Analytical Sociology Conference in honor of Paul F. Lazarsfled, Columbia University, NY, 8 June 8-9.

Role: Co-organizer (with Delia Baldassarri, Peter Bearman, and Peter Hedström) | Program

2011 Fourth Conference of the European Network of Analytical Sociologists (ENAS), Sorbonne University June 9-11.

Role: Organizer | Program

2008 International Conference (“Social Mechanisms and Analytical Sociology), University of Paris IV – Sorbonne, October 17-18

Role: Co-organizer (with Pierre Demeulenaere) | Program

The SPS Seminar

Between the fall of 2016 and the spring of 2019, I organized (in collaboration with Ivan Ermakoff [Wisconsin University], Etienne Ollion [CNRS], Ivaylo Petev [CNRS] & Paola Tubaro [CNRS]), the seminar on the Analysis of Social Processes and Structures (SPS) with the goal to expose PhD and junior French colleagues to a sample of research pieces where the connection between theory, data and methods seems to us especially strong. The seminar’s relative low attendance disincentivized us to continue the initiative. Below is the full set of sessions that we were able to put together during the three editions of the SPS seminar.

2016-2017 English | French
2017-2018 English | French
2018-2019 English | French

L’Année sociologique

On October 11 2022, the editorial board of L’Année sociologique did me the great honor of appointing me as the new journal’s editor. Formally, my work started in January 2023. Since then, in constant dialogue with the editorial board, I introduced a certain number of changes among which a re-organization of the journal’s table of contents.

In particular, L’Année sociologique now welcomes “State of the art” articles –presenting reviews of the literature on specific topics– as well as “Resources for research” articles –describing little-known concepts, debates, tools or databases that may benefit the community of (young) teachers and/or researchers. An extension to the “bibliographical analysis” section, entitled “Debates”, focusing on exchanges of views between authors, is also in progress.

L’Année sociologique has now the ambition to act as a pluralistic space where a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives can be expressed, and invites contributions where the precision of the theories, the explicitness of the methods, and the rigor of the empirical descriptions are the authors’ priorities.
Please feel free to contact me for any projects of research articles and/or special issues (in particular, if you are a young scholar!).

Below I post the editorials (in French) that I started to write in 2024 to introduce each journal’s issue. The publisher graciously accepted to make these editorials open access (OA). The one published in the issue 74(1) contains my views on the journal and on its possible evolutions.

2024, 74 (2): TOCs | OA Editorial
2024, 74 (1): TOCs | OA Editorial

Main Services

Although regularly and variously criticized, competition is strong in academic life. The quality of the research outcomes that one can produce is typically portrayed as the best means to achieve better positions and honors. Producing high-quality research, however, is not only a matter of individual talent; it is also a matter of the quality of the institutional environment in which each of us teaches and searches. But producing this environment also requires time and energy, resources that one is supposed to devote primarily to his/her own research. While everyone is strongly incentivized to write high-quality papers, we are weakly incentivized to create high-quality research environments. Good academic institutions are public goods: one can benefit from them once in place without, or only marginally, having contributed to producing them. And the time one devotes to build good institutions cannot be devoted to one’s own research! Over the years I tried to do my best to solve this trade-off by taking part to a variety of activities that I believe constitute important services to the community at its different levels of organization. Below is a selection of them.

1. International Organizations

2024 – Secretary, European Academy of Sociology
2023 – President, RC45 (Micro-Macro Modelling), International Sociological Association
2021–2023 Chair-elect, Chair & Past-Chair, Section « Decision-making, Networks & Society« , American Sociological Association
2012–2018 Vice-president, International Networks of Analytical Sociologists (INAS)

2. National Institutions

2021–2025 CNRS National Scientific Committee (section 36, Sociology & Law)
2018–2019 Deputy Director, GEMASS (UMR 8598, CNRS & Sorbonne University)
2012–2016 CNRS National Scientific Committee (section 36, Sociology & Law)

3. Teaching

2022 – Director, Master program in Sociology, Sorbonne University
2021 – Deputy Director (for sociology), Doctoral School “Concepts & Languages” (ED433), Sorbonne University

4. Prize Committees

2024 “Mathematical Progress Award”, American Sociological Association (Mathematical Sociology Section)
2022 “Leo Goodman Career Award”, American Sociological Association (Methodology section)
2022 “Paul F. Lazarsfeld Career Award”, American Sociological Association (Methodology section)
2022 “Pedagogy award”, American Sociological Association (Methodology section)
2022 “James S. Coleman Award for Lifetime Achievement in Mathematical Sociology”, American Sociological Association (Mathematical Sociology section)
2021 “Graduate Student Paper Award”, American Sociological Association (Mathematical Sociology section)
2018 (chair) “Robert K. Merton Award in Analytical Sociology” (International Network of Analytical Sociology)
2018 “Theory Prize (book)”, American Sociological Association (Theory Section)
2016 “Outstanding Article Publication Award”, American Sociological Association (Mathematical Sociology Section)
2014 “Graduate Student Paper Award”, American Sociological Association (Mathematical Sociology section)

5. Peer-reviewing

2024 (Chair) Italian Fund for Science (FIS2 –SH3, Social Sciences and Humanities), Italian Ministry for universities and research (MUR)
2022 (Chair) “Strengthening and creation of Research Infrastructures” Program (Social and Cultural Innovation area), National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Italian Ministry for universities and research (MUR)
2018 (Referee) PRIN projects, Italian Ministry for universities and research (MUR)
2016 (Referee) ANVUR – VQR 2011-2014 (Evaluation of the quality of the Italian academic scientific production)
2013 (Referee) ANVUR – VQR 2004-2010 (Evaluation of the quality of the Italian academic scientific production)

Journals’ articles (selection)

Acta Sociologica, American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review, British Journal for Philosophy of Science, British Journal of Sociology, European Journal of Sociology, European Sociological Review, Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Journal of Computational Social Science, Journal of Mathematical Sociology, Journal of Theoretical Biology, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Philosophy of Science, Physica A, PlosOne, Poetics, Quaderni di Sociologia, Rationality and Society, Research in Social Mobility and Stratification, Revue Européenne des Sciences Sociales, Revista de investigation sociologica, Revue Française de Sociologie, Social Forces, Sociological Methods and Research, Social Networks, Sociological Science, Social Science History, Sociological Spectrum, Socius, Social Science Information, Sociological Theory.

6. Editorial Resposibilities

2023 – Editor, L’Année Sociologique
2023 – Board, Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation (JASSS)
2014 – 2017 Board, Social Science Information
2010 – 2014 Board, Sociological Theory

Academic Honors

In many instances of social life, actors have control on their own actions more than on others’ actions. Science is not an exception. While we can (partly) decide our level of investment in research (and in teaching), we cannot force others to recognize the quality, if any, of this investment and of its outputs. Peers decide whether and when our work is worthy of attention. In a highly competitive world where everyone strives for visibility and is overwhelmed by tasks and commitment, it is a privilege to receive others’ attention and signs of scientific estime. Below are examples of these signs that I was lucky enough to receive over the years; I am deeply grateful to colleagues who took time to consider my works and paid attention to it.

2021 Elected Ordinary Fellows of the European Academy of Sociology

2014 Mathematical Sociology Outstanding Article Award, American Sociological Association (Mathematical Sociology Section)

The awarded paper | Pics (on the left: Kate Stovel delivering the prize at tha ASA annual meeting in San Francisco, 2014; on the right: the Award certificate)

2012 Best Junior Theorist Paper (Special mention of the jury), International Sociological Association (RC16 Sociological Theory).

The awarded paper | Prize’s Reception Speech at ISA forum (Trento, 2012) (Theory)

Award Certificate (ISA forum, Trento, 2012)