Interview with Jérôme Pélisse, Head of doctoral studies in Sociology

I studied social sciences (economics, history, sociology) in "B/L" preparatory classes, at the École normale supérieure Paris-Saclay, and at Université Paris Nanterre, developing an interest in work activities, organisations and relations that continues today. The first research I undertook was on the leader of France's main trade union in the 1980s, and my thesis focused on the policy of reduced working hours (the famous 35-hour working week). Following the adoption of two laws, in 1998 and 2000, this theme was the basis for my work on conflicts and negotiations in the workplace, as well as on the sociology of law and justice, where I helped introduce American research into the French-speaking world. These two areas of specialisation have been enriched by research contracts and collaborative research on a variety of work-related topics, including employment policies, legal expertise, occupational health and safety policies, and much more. I'm currently conducting a number of research projects on the relationship with the law in a pandemic context, expertise in tax law, remote working, trade union practices, and the working conditions and health of elected representatives. Despite their diversity, these subjects all have in common the issues of labour, organisations, and professions. They stimulate my work and allow me to discover new social worlds, which I believe is the fundamental concern of a researcher’s work.

After preparing for and obtaining the “agrégation” in social and economic sciences in 1998, I spent two years working for the Ministry of Labour on the “reduction of working time” policy. I then undertook a PhD in sociology at the Centre for Employment Studies, which I defended at the Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEM) in 2004. In 2005, I was recruited by the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne as a lecturer at the Institute of Technology (IUT) and the Faculty of Economics, Management and Social Sciences. In 2010, I was recruited by the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines to another lecturer position, with an associated CNRS Chair of Excellence, which, thanks to five years of a reduced teaching load, enabled me to really develop my research activities. In particular, I was able to organise my first several-month stay in the United States, first at MIT (Massachusetts) and then at the University of California, Berkeley. I obtained an “habilitation à diriger des recherches” (HDR) accreditation to supervise and direct research at the end of 2014, and was recruited as a professor at Sciences Po in 2015, when I joined the Centre for the Sociology of Organisations (CSO).

My work encompasses directing, co-directing, and participating in research projects which, most of the time, involve colleagues from the CSO, but sometimes involve junior researchers (students, PhD students), and researchers from other research centres. In addition, I was in charge of the CSO doctoral programme between 2016 and 2021, and was a member of the research unit's board between 2018 and 2022. I’ve supervised several PhDs and master's dissertations, and have hosted numerous post-docs and visitors at the CSO over the past 8 years.

This experience is brand new to me, since I've only been in the job since September 2023, though I've been working with my predecessor, Ettore Recchi, since last March. However, I can draw on my experience as head of the CSO’s doctoral programme and the supervision of a dozen doctoral students since I was recruited to Sciences Po. As Director of Doctoral Studies, I'm responsible for the Master's by Research programme, and the two cohorts of Master's 1 and Master's 2 students. This means overseeing a wide range of issues: admissions; changes to the curriculum; monitoring students and professors; adjustments to the M2 master’s thesis defence procedures; setting up an academic committee for the master's degree that, importantly, includes student representatives; these are just a few of my responsibilities. It also means keeping track of doctoral students and managing their re-registration, devising inter-semester courses, and working with doctoral programme managers, PhD supervisors, and doctoral students' representatives to ensure the best possible conditions exist for training, research, and the sustainability of the intense, formative work involved in a sociology doctorate at Sciences Po.

I have a few simple rules to ensure follow-up for the students that I work with in particular – those on Master’s or PhD programmes: a meeting every six weeks or so, preceded by submission of a written document from the student (from a few pages to a chapter) which provides a basis for the discussion. I encourage students to produce a written record of these exchanges, which sets things down to a certain extent. The support I provide includes bibliographical and methodological advice, discussions on the strength of arguments and proofs, and on problematisation methods. I also support the students in class because, to validate my teaching, I often ask them to do individual or group work (such as conducting an interview with a stakeholder), which requires me to clarify expectations and set out timetables, and to adapt to the groups’ or students’ individual cases.

First of all, have a subject that “speaks” to you personally, that really interests and engages you, because you're going to have to live with it (and probably dream about it) for several years. Second, you need to be both methodical and rigorous (and therefore attentive to the procedures and timetables for applying for the sources of funding you’ll need to start your PhD). Additionally, you’ll need to be inspired, imaginative and creative in terms of the type of data you'll need to produce, analyse and interpret, the methods you'll need to use to “make the data talk”, and the body of literature you'll need to explore and master. The latter – like the methods, by the way – also requires an international approach, always asking how things happen elsewhere (and similarly how they happened before). Sociology at Sciences Po has many assets with respect to this, notably researchers who are very open and knowledgeable about international research, and doing a PhD in sociology at Sciences Po means drawing on these exceptional resources. Finally, while the PhD is a solitary task – especially when it comes to writing – it is also a collective one, and can and must rely on others for the successful completion of this demanding work: the thesis supervisor of course (sometimes this is two people), but also collectives and other researchers and doctoral students who can provide essential support. Finally, you also need to know why you want to do a PhD; you may want to do one for many reasons, not necessarily because you envisage an academic career. In particular, if you want to become a researcher or teacher-researcher in the academic world, you also need to be aware that it won't be easy, and often takes a long time to find a stable position in this career sector.