For a teacher-researcher, joining the Academic Institute of France (IUF) is an acknowledgement of the extent of their work in teaching and research. Beyond its honorific aspect, it is also a unique opportunity to forge partnerships with international counterparts. Below is a joint interview with two female scientists from Université Gustave Eiffel, appointed to membership of the IUF in 2020 for 5 years: Nacima Baron, teacher-researcher and co-founder of the City Mobility Transport Laboratory (LVMT) in 2002, and Juliette Azoulai, a young lecturer in French Literature at LISAA.
Spotlight: two teacher-researchers join the IUF
What are your respective specialisations?
Juliette Azoulai: My thesis led me to work on the relation between medicine and literature and to explore issues of animality and life. I then delved further into this link between biology and literature and tried to understand the development of a cultural imagery common to both literature and life science in the 19th century.
Nacima Baron: My research combines geography and urban studies. I work in particular on the relation between the city and its natural and technological environments, from a geographical perspective. In the last ten years, I’ve been focusing on specific urban objects, i.e., mobility sites (transit points, major hubs, etc.).
Which works specifically led to your appointment to the IUF?
Juliette Azoulai: My project examines the referencing of underwater life in the second half of the 19th century, when the field of oceanography was at its beginnings. The idea is thus to present the various values of living beings and life associated with the knowledge and imagery of the underwater world, from a philosophical, anthropological, political and aesthetic perspective.
Nacima Baron: My research consolidates ongoing studies around metropolitan centres and their outskirts. I work on the setting-in-motion of urbanism, in other words, the way, which is always unique and conditioned by local issues, in which institutional and private players as well as users collectively adopt resources to drive change.
What new perspectives has the IUF opened up for you?
Juliette Azoulai: I’m going to avail of more time for my research, in addition to new forms of funding (for study trips, travel to scientific conferences, etc.). In particular, I’ll be able to organise scientific events, make progress compiling my body of work and prepare my upcoming book.
Nacima Baron: This appointment is an opportunity to consolidate international partnerships that are already well under way. In addition, I hope to organise conferences and seminars with players in the field. I’m also very keen to put forward innovative teaching initiatives for Master and PhD levels.
How do you feel about this appointment?
Juliette Azoulai: I’m delighted, honoured and very grateful to Université Gustave Eiffel. Without the encouragement and support of my colleagues in the Literature Department, I would never have had the idea nor the courage to apply.
Nacima Baron: I was very touched to learn of this appointment. I carried out all my studies and my subsequent career at this university. I’ve been on this campus for thirty years. It’s an acknowledgement of a life devoted to study and research.