[pt] A presente Tese elabora, fundamenta e apresenta estudo sobre as representações sociais da androginia em anúncios de moda, veiculados na revista VOGUE Brasil no período de 1975 a 2018, com o objetivo de investigar a capacidade disciplinadora do discurso publicitário em apresentar e representar a fluidez de identidades contemporâneas, nesse caso, a androginia - união do masculino e feminino num mesmo indivíduo – e como ela vem sendo tratada pela cultura midiática. A pesquisa realizada é de natureza qualitativa, com análise de conteúdo, por meio de pesquisa documental. O estudo propõe uma análise interpretativa, histórica, sobre a construção social da androginia por meio dos estereótipos publicitários exibidos na mídia. Foram analisadas, nessa perspectiva, as construções de estereótipos, signos e significados, relacionando-os com a contextualização histórica, política e sociocultural de cada década. Os meios de comunicação estão diante de homens e mulheres contemporâneos, atores sociais que vivem momentos de transição em relação a modelos anteriores e que, por consequência, questionam os papéis de gênero e identidades, construídos e normatizados, com base no binarismo masculino / feminino. Com a riqueza de possibilidades e desconfiando de certezas, lançamos uma questão interessada à publicidade: Como o imaginário atravessa os preceitos sociais pautados na normatização cultural para a representação social da androginia na publicidade brasileira? Qual o espaço das identidades não binárias em uma sociedade ocidental ancorada no binarismo de gênero? Como são construídos os estereótipos publicitários para moldar a identidade ambígua? A trajetória de algumas sociedades ocidentais, como no caso do Brasil, traz, desde o início de sua constituição, a dominação masculina, transformando as relações de gênero, sociais e afetivas, por meio de métodos de submissão e poder. Nossas principais instituições, fora do lar, têm sido concebidas e operadas primordialmente por homens, funcionando conforme determinados tipos de princípios, atitudes e comportamentos que costumam ser chamados de masculinos e, dentro de casa, princípios, atitudes e comportamentos que costumam ser chamados de femininos. A compreensão das relações de gênero implica que sejam entendidas como as construções sociais identitárias, baseadas na diferenciação biológica de sexos e expressas por meio de relações de subordinação e poder, as quais definem as atividades, normas e condutas esperadas para homens e mulheres. O ponto de partida para esta pesquisa, portanto, sustenta-se, principalmente, nos estudos sobre a pós-modernidade de Stuart Hall, e sobre A distinção e A dominação masculina, de Pierre Bourdieu. Pôde ser observado ao longo das últimas quatro décadas que as mudanças em identidades foram significativas, deslocando-se de identidades para identificações. Na primeira década, entre os anos de 1975 e 1988, a androginia esteve ancorada na moda unissex. De 1989 a 1998, na segunda década, foi representada como ilustre, fantasiosa, luxuosa, com base no consumo conspícuo. A terceira década, compreendida entre 1999 a 2008, sua representação deu-se por meio da juvenilização de modelos, de estereótipos angelicais. A quarta e última década, entre os anos de 2009 a 2018, a representação social da androginia tornou-se fluida. Tais transformações abriram espaço para novas representações sociais não binárias. / [en] The present Doctoral Thesis elaborates a study on the social representations of androgyny in fashion ads published in VOGUE Brazil magazine between 1975 and 2018, with the objective of investigating the disciplinary capacity of the advertising discourse in presenting and representing the fluidity of contemporary identities, in this case, androgyny - the combination of feminine and masculine characteristics in one individual - and how it has been treated by the media culture. The research carried out is of a qualitative nature, with content analysis, through documentary research. The study proposes an interpretative historical analysis on the social construction of androgyny through the advertising stereotypes shown in the media. The construction of stereotypes, signs and meanings were analyzed under this perspective, relating them to the historical, political and sociocultural contextualization of each decade. The media are faced with contemporary men and women, social actors who are experiencing a time of transition in relation to previous models and who, consequently, question gender roles and identities which were constructed and standardized based on male/female binarism. With the present wealth of possibilities and a mistrust of certainties, we question the media: How does perception traverse social precepts based on cultural norms for the social representation of androgyny in Brazilian advertising? How much room is there for non-binary identities in a Western society anchored in gender binarism? How are advertising stereotypes built for ambiguous identity? The trajectory of some western societies, as is the case in Brazil, has, since the beginning of its constitution, been under male domination, transforming gender relationships, be they social or emotional, through methods of submission and power. Our main institutions, outside the home, have been conceived and operated primarily by men, functioning according to certain principles, attitudes and behaviors that are usually considered as masculine and, at home, principles, attitudes and behaviors that are usually considered as feminine. The understanding of gender relations implies that they are understood as the social constructions of identity, based on the biological differentiation of the sexes and expressed through relations of subordination and power, which define the activities, norms, and behaviors expected of men and of women. The starting point for this research is based mainly on Stuart Hall s studies of postmodernity and on Pierre Bourdieu s Distinction and Masculine Domination. It has been observed over the last four decades that changes in identities have been significant, shifting from identities to identifications. In the first decade, between the years 1975 and 1988, androgyny was anchored in unisex fashion. From 1989 to 1998, during the second decade, it was represented as illustrious, fanciful, luxurious, based on conspicuous consumption. During the third decade, comprised between 1999 and 2008, its representation took place through the jovialization of the models, of angelic stereotypes. In the fourth and final decade, between the years 2009 and 2018, the social representation of androgyny has become fluid. Such transformations have made room for new non-binary social representations.

Solomon Islands along with other Pacific Islands nations is adopting legislation designed to protect traditional knowledge and expressions of culture from misappropriation, attrition and loss of economic opportunity for owners. These developments require the state to engage across a highly pluralistic customary and social landscape. Ethnographic studies have shown that owing to such plurality unintended consequences may arise from attempts to rationalise indigenous conceptualisations such as customary laws to render them accessible to outside interests. The preservation of intangible cultural heritage requires understanding of the communicative processes that maintain its significance and value and which are involved in its continuation, transformation and transmission. This study approaches this challenge from the perspective of social knowledge; the common-sense and empirical reality experienced by the owners of a representative aspect of the culture. The case chosen for this research is the ritual taukuka tattooing practice of the Bellonese people of Solomon Islands. Social representations theory is used to show that the field of representation of this cultural practice is heterogeneous with consensual and non-consensual features. Whilst revival of the taukuka is unlikely due to prerequisite religious ontology, its preservation as significant heritage where ownership remains with the lineages and families may best be assured through cultural education and artistic representations.

El fenómeno del envejecimiento viene provocando cambios significativos en el individuo, el entorno familiar y la comunidad en su conjunto, convirtiéndose en un reto de grandes magnitudes que el mundo tendrá que enfrentar, dado que, en el panorama a escala global para los próximos años es considerado como una de las nueve megatendencias de la pós modernidad. El apoyo social es vital ante la vulnerabilidad de los adultos mayores, exacerbada por la pandemia de COVID-19. Por lo tanto, resulta esencial caracterizar los elementos representacionales del apoyo social desde la perspectiva del adulto mayor usuario del Programa Nacional Pensión 65. Metodología: cualitativo, con datos cuantitativos, obtenidos a través de una entrevista de tipo semiestructurada, utilizando un enfoque procedimental fundamentado en la teoría de las Representaciones Sociales de Moscovici. Los datos fueron tratados a través del software ALCESTE. Resultados: El dendograma determinó tres clases, sintetizados en dos bloques y tres dimensiones con elementos representacionales. Se concluye como principal elemento emergente a la familia, representada desde dos aspectos polares: primero, la representación positiva donde la familia es el centro de su vida. Y el segundo extremo la representación de familia vista negativamente por el desamparo y olvido hacia los adultos mayores. Las hijas y nietas mujeres como recursos de apoyo social, para cuidar de su vejez. Además, se evidencia la presencia de dos funciones esenciales del apoyo social: Instrumentales y expresivas. Destacaron al personal de salud como apoyo social y el confinamiento por temor al COVID-19. / The phenomenon of aging is causing significant changes in the individual, the family environment and the community as a whole, becoming a challenge of great magnitude that the world will have to face, given that, in the global outlook for the coming years, it is considered one of the nine megatrends of post-modernity. Social support is vital in the face of the vulnerability of older adults, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is essential, therefore, to characterize the representational elements of social support from the perspective of the older adult user of the Pensión 65 National Program. Methodology: qualitative, with quantitative data, obtained through a semi-structured interview, using a procedural approach based on Moscovici's theory of Social Representations. The data were processed using ALCESTE software. Results: The dendogram determined three classes, synthesized in two blocks and three dimensions with representational elements. We conclude that the main emerging element is the family, represented from two polar aspects: first, the positive representation where the family is the center of their life. And the second extreme, the representation of the family seen negatively because of the neglect and forgetfulness towards the elderly. The female daughters and granddaughters as resources of social support, to take care of their old age. In addition, the presence of two essential functions of social support is evidenced: instrumental and expressive. They highlighted health personnel as social support and confinement due to fear of COVID19.

[pt] Esta tese se propõe a discutir as representações sociais da loucura e do lugar social do louco, cujo objetivo se articula à avaliação de Paulo Amarante (2007) sobre a importância da dimensão sociocultural relativa aos desdobramentos da Reforma Psiquiátrica Brasileira para o processo de desinstitucionalização, que prevê a reinserção social das pessoas com transtornos mentais. A Teoria das Representações Sociais por sua abordagem processual, com Serge Moscovici, Denise Jodelet e Angela Arruda, dá suporte para o entendimento e para a aproximação do objeto trabalhado. A Cartografia de Deleuze e Guattari, também acessada através da leitura de Virgínia Kastrup e Roberta Romagnoli, e a Análise de Conteúdo de Bardin (2011) são as ferramentas teórico-metodológicas utilizadas para o acompanhamento do processo e a análise do material produzido pelos 29 entrevistados nos dois campos da pesquisa. A análise de conteúdo mostra as representações sociais do louco com características simultâneas e polares de agitação e agressividade ou tranquilidade e docilidade, e também como alguém que não é normal. A casa e a família foram apontadas como lugar social a ser ocupado pelo mesmo, e não os hospitais psiquiátricos. A loucura foi representada como doença, distúrbio, necessitando de medicação para seu controle e facilitação do convívio social, mas também as terapias foram apontadas como parte essencial do tratamento. A comunidade ainda oferece resistência à convivência com as pessoas com transtornos mentais por medo de violência e de perdas materiais, pedindo a internação das mesmas. A internação foi representada como necessária nos momentos de crise ou surto dos loucos. Os contornos mais finos e/ou singulares relacionados ao mapeamento das representações sociais podem ser identificados no exercício cartográfico a partir de três entrevistas escolhidas, e, na expressão das imagens produzidas pela pesquisadora, utilizando a linguagem visual para abordar aspectos do objeto e do processo como um todo. / [en] This thesis proposes to discuss the social representations of the madness and the social place of the individual with a mental disorder, whose objective is articulated with the evaluation of Paulo Amarante (2007) on the importance of the sociocultural dimension related to the developments of the Brazilian Psychiatric Reform for the process of deinstitutionalization, which provides for the social reintegration of people with mental disorder. The Theory of Social Representations for its procedural approach, with Serge Moscovici, Denise Jodelet and Angela Arruda, supports the understanding and the approximation of the object worked. The Cartography of Deleuze and Guattari, also accessed through the reading of Virginia Kastrup and Roberta Romagnoli, and the Content Analysis of Bardin (2011) are the theoretical-methodological tools used to follow the process and the analysis of the material produced by the 29 interviewees in the two fields of research. Content analysis shows the social representations of the individual with a mental disorder with simultaneous and polar characteristics of agitation and aggressiveness or tranquility and docility, and also as someone who is not normal. The house and the family were pointed out as a social place to be occupied by the same, and not the psychiatric hospitals. Madness was represented as a disease, disorder, requiring medication for its control and facilitation of social interaction, but also the therapies were pointed out as an essential part of the treatment. The community still offers resistance to living with people with mental disorder for fear of violence and material loss, asking them to be hospitalized. Institutionalization was represented as necessary in times of crisis or outbreak of the individual with a mental disorder. The finer and / or singular contours related to the mapping of social representations can be identified in the cartographic exercise from three chosen interviews and, in the expression of the images produced by the researcher, using the visual language to approach aspects of the object and the process as one all.

This qualitative study examines the relationship between professional group belonging and what individuals deem valuable within the creative partnership projects they carry out together in schools. There were three consecutive stages to the research. The first stage was the phenomenographic analyses of interview transcripts from twenty three teachers and twenty three creative practitioners who partnered each other to run year long projects. The second stage was the aggregation of the resulting forty six analytic outputs into formats permitting inter-group comparisons to be made. This stage included three separate analyses: not only was an individual's professional group belonging shown to impact on what they deemed valuable, but partnership type, i.e. new versus established, also had a substantive impact. The influence of school type was examined and shown to have a lesser effect. The third stage was the use of formal, academic theories to interrogate trends appearing in the results: social identity theory and social representations theory, alongside discursive psychology and readings of identity from cultural studies, were mobilized as consecutive lens on the analytic outcomes. These theories were found to be apposite and a deeper comprehension of creative partnership dynamics was arrived at. This study evidences not only a difference between what teachers and creative practitioners respectively value, but shows how the application of theory is a valuable aid in understanding the variations. This represents a major contribution to the field as the use of formal academic theories does not, as yet, feature in the discourses underpinning creative partnership work.

Pendant longtemps, l’assimilation a été la manière privilégiée par le gouvernement canadien pour intégrer les communautés autochtones à la société canadienne. Les pratiques des intervenants sociaux non-autochtones se situaient alors principalement dans cette idéologie et, par conséquent, ils ont contribué à opprimer les Autochtones. En raison de ces événements historiques, l’intervention sociale non-autochtone n’a pas très bonne réputation dans les communautés autochtones du Canada. En effet, bien que l’intervention sociale s’actualise dans le présent, elle est teintée d’une histoire et réinterprétée à partir des mémoires collectives et individuelles. Cette recherche s’inscrit alors dans une réflexion sur les fondements et la nature du travail social non-autochtone en milieu autochtone au Canada. L’objectif de ce mémoire est donc de comprendre comment des intervenants sociaux non-autochtones se perçoivent dans le contexte de leur pratique auprès des populations autochtones au Canada. Les données furent recueillies lors d’entrevues semi-dirigées réalisées auprès de onze intervenants sociaux allochtones pratiquant dans des contextes différents, mais tous auprès des Premières Nations ou Inuits au Canada. La théorie des représentations sociales nous a guidée dans l’analyse qualitative des données collectées. Au terme de cette recherche, nous avons constaté que les intervenants sociaux non-autochtones rencontrés ont des représentations assez critiques envers le travail social non-autochtone en milieu autochtone. Cela les amène à se percevoir différemment, voire plus positivement, par rapport à leurs perceptions de leur profession dans les contextes autochtones. Leur univers de représentations professionnelles influence donc le développement d’une pratique qui se situe en marge des approches occidentales dominantes actuelles. / For a long time, assimilation was the government’s method of choice when integrating Indigenous communities into Canadian society. Non-native social workers’ practices figured predominantly within this ideology, and consequently, they contributed to the oppression of the Natives. Due to these historic events, non-native social intervention has a poor reputation in Indigenous communities in Canada. In fact, even though social intervention is presently evolving, it is still tainted by its history and reinterpreted by the collective and individual memories of the oppressed. It is therefore deemed important to study the way in which non-native social workers situate themselves with regards to these issues. This paper focuses primarily on the fundamentals and the nature of non-native social work in an indigenous context in Canada. The purpose of this research is to understand how non-native social workers situate and perceive themselves during their work with Natives. The data were collected during semi-structured interviews with 11 non-native social workers in various social environments, but all with First Nations people or Inuits of Canada. The social representation theory guided this research to a qualitative analysis of the data collected. During this research, it was found that social workers have a critical representation of social work in a non-native context. This brings them to perceive themselves differently, even more positively, compared to the perceptions they have of their professions in this Indigenous context. Their professional representations therefore influences the development of a practice situated on the periphery of current dominant Western approaches.

Notre travail interroge les relations entre l’action culturelle et l’hôpital psychiatrique au sein du programme « Culture à l’hôpital ». Ce dernier s’inscrit dans la politique culturelle menée en direction des « publics empêchés ». Porteur d’enjeux multiples, tant du côté des ministères, des directions hospitalières, du personnel que des artistes, ce programme interroge, bouscule l’institution hospitalière et peut parfois être source de conflits. Son étude permet de mettre en évidence l’originalité d’un dispositif particulier : l’atelier culturel. Prenant en compte la logique de projet dans laquelle l’atelier s’intègre, nous interrogeons les effets que ce dispositif peut avoir sur l’institution hospitalière et ses acteurs.Notre étude s’est déroulée sur trois terrains (hôpital du Vinatier, Fondation Bon Sauveur d’Alby et hôpital de Montfavet). Nous avons mobilisé différents corpus : des entretiens, des conventions ainsi que des documents internes aux établissements hospitaliers (projets d’établissement, projets de service, documents de travail d’artistes).Les principaux résultats de la recherche concernent deux axes, l’un relatif au champ hospitalier, l’autre à celui de la médiation culturelle. L’atelier culturel est un nouveau dispositif communicationnel au sein de l’hôpital, il est l’élément tiers dans l’acte de médiation. L’objet artistique y est moins finalité que support de la relation dans la triade patients-soignants-artistes. Le sens donné à l’intervention artistique est redéfinit, le partage d’une expérience esthétique importe plus que la réalisation de l’oeuvre.Pour les personnes hospitalisées, l’atelier culturel représente un en-dehors dans le temps d’hospitalisation, un nouvel espace d’expression bénéfique tant sur le plan social qu’identitaire. L’atelier culturel permet de contrebalancer la rigidité du cadre institutionnel. Les rapports entre participants (patients, soignants) se voient « redistribués » le temps de l’atelier. Une fois ce dernier terminé, les retombées de ce dispositif perdurent au travers d’une modification des représentations sociales sur la maladie mentale, l’institution psychiatrique et ses acteurs. On assiste également à une réappropriation de l’expérience vécue par le personnel. Pour ces professionnels du soin, ce qui s’est déroulé en atelier peut être repris au sein des services, dans la perspective d’améliorer la prise en charge globale des patients. Par la même, il s’agit d’une quête de légitimité tant sur le plan identitaire que professionnel / Our work questions the relationship between cultural action and the psychiatric hospital within the programme “Culture in Hospital”. This programme is part of the cultural policy aimed at the “prevented public”. It carries multiple challenges for the relevant ministries, the hospital administrators, the staff and the visiting artists. It questions, examines and perhaps disturbs the institution, sometimes even becoming a source of tension. This study has highlighted the originality of the specific and recurring device used : cultural workshops. Taking into account the logic of the project behind the workshops, we examine the effects that this device can have on the medical institution and its various actors.To answer these questions, our study took place in three different locations (The Vinatier Hospital, the Bon Sauveur Foundation of Alby and the Montfavet Hospital). We used different corpus : interviews, collective agreements as well as in-house documents related to medical establishments (institution projects, ward projects, work documents for the visiting artists).The main results concerned two separate axes: the one related to the medical field, the other to cultural mediation. The cultural workshop is a new device within the hospital world, it is the “third element” within the act of mediation. The artistic object is less a finality than a means to relate within the triangle of “patient-medical carer-artist”. The meaning given to the artistic action is redefined, the sharing of an aesthetic experience is more important than the finished work. For the patients, the cultural workshop represents “time-out” during their stay in hospital, a new space of expression that is beneficial on both a social level and a self-identity level. The cultural workshop allows a counterbalance to the strictness of the institutional framework. The relationships between the participants (patients and carers) changes during the time of the workshops. Once the workshop is over, the effects of this device continue through a modification in social representations of mental illness, the psychiatric hospital and its actors. We also see a re-appropriation of the experience by the staff who participated. For these professional health-carers, what took place in the workshops could perhaps be repeated within the wards so as to improve the overall care of the patients. Equally, it is a search for legitimacy on both an identity and professional level

"Thèse présentée à la Faculté des études supérieures en vue de l'obtention du grade de docteur en droit (LL.D.)". Cette thèse a été acceptée à l'unanimité et classée parmi les 10% des thèses de la discipline. / La liberté de tester au Québec a longtemps été qualifiée de « illimitée ». Dans les faits, une telle liberté signifiait que le de cujus pouvait ne rien laisser à son ou sa conjointe ni à ses enfants. Or, depuis l'introduction des dispositions législatives sur la prestation compensatoire et, plus particulièrement, de celles sur le patrimoine familial et sur la survie de l'obligation alimentaire, l'étendue de cette liberté n'est plus la même. Bien que les Québécois soient toujours libres de déterminer par testament à qui ils souhaitent léguer leurs biens, leur liberté est désormais limitée par ces dispositions législatives impératives qui permettent au conjoint survivant et à la famille immédiate du défunt de réclamer certaines sommes à la succession, et ce, quelles que soient les dernières volontés du de cujus. Ainsi, le patrimoine sur lequel s'exerce la liberté du testateur n'est plus forcément celui sur lequel le défunt pouvait exercer sa volonté pendant sa vie et son mariage. Il n'est donc plus possible de parler de liberté « illimitée» de tester des Québécois. Ce constat quant à l'émergence de restrictions à la liberté testamentaire dans le Code civil nous conduit à nous interroger sur les raisons et les fondements de cette transformation de la liberté de tester et, incidemment, sur la question plus générale de la production et de l'évolution du droit de la famille dans la société. Pour répondre à ce questionnement, cette thèse repose sur une approche socio-juridique selon laquelle il faut rechercher les fondements de l'évolution du droit à l'intérieur des représentations sociales valorisées dans une société et une époque données. Partant du postulat que ce sont les changements dans les représentations sociales qui contribuent à expliquer le passage d'une rationalité sociale à une rationalité juridique, cette thèse dégage par quels acteurs, suivant quelles logiques et dans quels buts ces restrictions à la liberté de tester ont été introduites dans le droit québécois. Une telle façon d'aborder l'évolution du droit à partir de l'évolution des représentations sociales contribue ainsi à « éclairer» l'idée communément véhiculée selon laquelle le droit reflète l'évolution des moeurs. Grâce à une étude des représentations sociales inscrites et retracées dans le discours des acteurs sociaux - mémoires déposés à l'Assemblée nationale, Journal des débats, commissions parlementaires, jurisprudence, doctrine, textes de loi - cette thèse montre que les changements qui ont conduit à restreindre la liberté de tester au Québec ne dépendent pas que des perceptions relatives à la famille et au patrimoine, tel qu'on le rapporte généralement. L'introduction de restrictions à la liberté de tester dans le Code civil semble plutôt résulter d'un compromis entre l'évolution des représentations sociales sur les rapports familiaux et l'évolution des représentations sociales sur le droit, plus précisément quant aux fonctions du droit dans la société et aux conditions de sa cohérence. L'analyse de cette évolution permet enfin d'observer que si le droit des successions a longtemps été une « composante » du droit des biens, il constitue désormais, surtout, une « composante» du droit de la famille. / Formerly the freedom of wiIling in Quebec was considered to be "unlimited", which meant that its scope was such that the deceased could refrain from bequeathing any property at aIl to his or her spouse or children. Following the introduction of legal measures on compensatory allowance and, more particularly, provisions concerning the family patrimony and the survival of the obligation of support, the scope of this freedom is no longer as alI-inclusive as it once was. Although Quebeckers remain free to determine via their last wiIls and testaments to whom they wish to bequeath their property, henceforth their margin of freedom is limited by the preceding legislative changes which entitle the surviving spouse and immediate family of the deceased to claim to certain amounts from the succession, whatever the last will of the deceased may have been. As such, the patrimony upon which the testator now exercises freedom has ceased necessarily to be that which the deceased had control over during his or her life and marriage. It is thus no longer possible to refer to Quebeckers' "unlimited freedom" of wiIling. The emergence of limitations in testamentary freedom in the Civil Code invites us to question the reasons and foundations for this shift in the freedom of willing and, incidentaIly, the more general issue of the reform and evolution offamily law in society. To address these issues, this thesis is founded upon a socio-Iegal approach according to which it is essential to seek out the basis of the evolution of law from within the social representations valued in a society at a given time in its history. Beginning from the postulate that it is the changes in social representations that help to explain the transition from a social rationality to a legal rationality, this thesis illustrates by what actors, foIlowing which lines of logic and to what end these limitations in the freedom of wiIling were introduced into Quebec law. Such an approach to the evolution of the law on the basis of social representations thereby helps "to enlighten" the commonly expressed idea whereby law is a mirror image of mores. Based upon an analysis of social representations recorded and retrieved in the discourse of different social actors, including briefs tabled before the National Assembly and proceedings in the Journal of Debates, parliamentary committees, as weIl as decided cases, doctrine and statutory texts, this thesis seeks to demonstrate how the changes which led to the restriction in testamentary freedom in Quebec extend far beyond perceptions evoking family and patrimony as is generaIly claimed. The introduction of limitations in the freedom of willing in the Civil Code seems rather to result from a compromise between the evolution in social representations regarding family relationships and the evolution in social representations regarding law, more specifically with regard to the functions of law in society and the conditions underlying the law's systemic coherence. Lastly the analysis of this evolution makes it possible to observe that while the law governing successions was for a long time a "component" of property law, henceforth it has specifically gravitated to being a "component" of family law.

Les nanosciences et les nanotechnologies (NST) s’inscrivent dans un champ technoscientifique, le nanomonde, qui a pour socle l’hybridation autant conceptuelle que pratique entre le domaine de la nature et celui de la technique. Dans ce mémoire nous nous intéressons au basculement de la distinction entre le naturel et l’artificiel qui s’ensuit. Un retour socio-historique sur la construction du dualisme nature/artifice propre aux sociétés modernes nous aide alors à saisir les enjeux socio-culturels impliqués dans sa remise en question. La déconstruction, à travers la méthode d’analyse de discours, d’entretiens réalisés avec les principaux chercheurs en NST au Québec illustre empiriquement, tout en le systématisant, le double processus d’artificialisation de la nature et de naturalisation de la technique, pointé théoriquement comme caractéristique de la remise en cause de la distinction entre nature et artifice qu’opère le nanomonde. Nous suggérons que l’artificialisation de la nature et la naturalisation de la technique, loin d’être contradictoires, constituent des éléments d’une dynamique synergique dont le résultat est une désontologisation de la nature comme catégorie de la pensée et une déqualification du monde qui distingue l’activité humaine. / Nanosciences and nanotechnologies (NST) are part of a technoscientific field, the nanoworld, which is founded on a theoretical and practical hybridization between nature and technique. In this master thesis we are interested in the blurring of the distinction between the natural and the artificial that so follows. From a socio-historical perspective of the construction of the dualism nature/artefact typical of modern societies, we try to apprehend the socio-cultural stakes that might result from its reversal. Through discourse analysis of interviews conducted with the main researchers in NST in Quebec, we illustrate empirically, and systematize, the double process of artificialisation of nature and naturalization of technique, which is theoretically pointed out as characteristic of the blur of the distinction between nature and technique carried out in the nanoworld. We suggest that the two terms, artificialisation of nature and naturalization of technique, far from being contradictory, rather constitute elements of a synergetic dynamics that leads to a de-ontologisation of nature as a category of thought and a disqualification of the domain that distinguishes human activity. / Conseil de Recherches en sciences humaines du Canada

L’intérêt marqué porté actuellement aux recherches NBIC (nano-bio-info-cognitivo technologies) visant l’optimisation des capacités humaines augure d’un profond bouleversement dans nos représentations du corps humain et du rapport humain-machine. Tour à tour, des travaux issus des domaines du génie génétique, de la pharmacologie, des biotechnologies ou des nanotechnologies nous promettent un corps moins sujet à la maladie, mieux « adapté » et surtout plus malléable. Cette construction en laboratoire d’un corps amélioré fait amplement écho aux préoccupations contemporaines concernant la santé parfaite, le processus de vieillissement, l’inaptitude, l’apparence, la performance, etc. En vue d’analyser les transformations qu’induisent ces recherches sur les représentations du corps, nous avons construit un modèle théorique appuyé, d’une part, sur des travaux en sociologie du corps et, d’autre part, sur des travaux en épistémologie des sciences. Puis, en scrutant différents textes de vulgarisation scientifique produits par des chercheurs transhumanistes – militant ouvertement en faveur d’une optimisation radicale des capacités humaines par le biais des technosciences –, il a été observé que les représentations du corps s’organisent autour de trois principaux noyaux. Le corps humain est présenté, dans ce discours, comme étant à la fois informationnel, technologiquement perfectible et obsolète. Cette représentation tripartite du corps permet aux transhumanistes d’ériger leur modèle d’action (i.e. amélioration des capacités physiques, intellectuelles, sensitives, émotionnelles, etc.) à titre de nécessité anthropologique. À leurs yeux, l’amélioration des conditions humaines doit passer par une mutation contrôlée de la biologie (i.e. une hybridation avec la machine) du fait que le corps serait « inadapté » au monde contemporain. Ainsi, les promesses NBIC, une fois récupérées par les chercheurs transhumanistes, se voient exacerbées et prennent une tonalité péremptoire. Ceci contribue vivement à la promotion du posthumain ou du cyborg, soit d’un individu transformé dans l’optique d’être plus robuste et intelligent, de moduler sa sensitivité et ses états émotifs et de vivre plus longtemps, voire indéfiniment. Enfin, situé à mi-chemin entre la science et la science-fiction, ce projet est qualifié de techno-prophétie en ce qu’il produit d’innombrables prévisions basées sur les avancées technoscientifiques actuelles et potentielles. Afin d’accroître l’acceptabilité sociale de leur modèle d’action, les transhumanistes ne font pas uniquement appel à la (potentielle) faisabilité technique; ils s’appuient également sur des valeurs socialement partagées, telles que l’autodétermination, la perfectibilité humaine, l’égalité, la liberté ou la dignité. Néanmoins, la lecture qu’ils en font est parfois surprenante et rompt très souvent avec les conceptions issues de la modernité. À leur avis, le perfectionnement humain doit s’opérer par le biais des technosciences (non des institutions sociales), sur le corps même des individus (non sur l’environnement) et en vertu de leur « droit » à l’autodétermination compris comme un droit individuel d’optimiser ses capacités. De même, les technosciences doivent, disent-ils, être démocratisées afin d’en garantir l’accessibilité, de réduire les inégalités biologiques et de permettre à chacun de renforcer son sentiment d’identité et d’accomplissement. L’analyse du discours transhumaniste nous a donc permis d’observer leurs représentations du corps de même que la résonance culturelle du projet qu’ils proposent. / The current interest in NBIC research (nano-bio-info-cognitivo technologies), which are intended to optimize human capacities, points to deep-seated change in both our representation of the human body and the human-machine relationship. Again and again, the work coming out of genetic engineering, pharmacology, the biotechnologies and the nanotechnologies promises a human body that is less subject to illness, better “adapted” and, especially, more malleable. This in-laboratory construction of an improved body echoes contemporary concern about perfect health, the ageing process, inaptitude, appearance, performance, etc. To analyze the transformations this research causes in the representation of the body, we built a theoretical framework supported by studies both in the sociology of the body and in the epistemology of the sciences. Then, examining different popularized scientific documents written by transhumanist researchers—who openly advocate a radical optimization of human capacities via the technosciences—we observed that representations of the body pivot around three main axes. The human body is presented in this discourse as being informational, technologically perfectible and obsolete. This threefold representation of the body suggests that transhumanists’ plan of action (i.e. improving humans’ physical, intellectual, sensorial, emotional, etc., capacities) is an anthropological necessity. In their view, the improvement of human conditions means a controlled biological mutation (i.e., hybridization with the machine) because the body is “unadapted” to the contemporary reality. Thus, once adopted by transhumanist researchers, the possibilities of NBIC are taken to their extreme and given a peremptory tone. This actively contributes to promoting the posthuman, also called the cyborg—an individual transformed to be more robust and intelligent, to modulate its sensitivity and emotional states, and live longer, even indefinitely. Situated half-way between science and science fiction, this project is said to be “techno-prophesy” as it generates countless previsions based on current and potential technoscientific advances. To make their action plan more socially acceptable, transhumanists not only rely on its (potential) technical feasibility, but on socially shared values, such as self-determination, human perfectibility, equality, liberty and dignity. Nevertheless, their interpretation is sometimes surprising and very frequently breaks with notions that have grown out of modernity. In their opinion, human perfection must occur through the technosciences (and not via social institutions) directly on individuals’ bodies (and not on their surroundings) and according to their “right” to self-determination, which is seen as an individual’s right to optimize his or her capacities. Similarly, they maintain that the technosciences must be made democratic to guarantee accessibility, reduce biological inequalities and allow all humans to reinforce their identity and sense of accomplishment. This analysis of transhumanists’ discourse has thus allowed us to observe their representation of the body as well as the cultural resonance of the project they put forth.