At the intersection of the most stimulating currents of thought, SPEAP seeks to break down disciplinary barriers and move beyond artificial divisions between art and science, theory and practice, academics and professionals, research and decision-making.
At the crossroads of the social sciences, the arts, and politics
SPEAP is the first program to combine the arts and the social sciences, in equal measure. The objective is to confront specialists in the latter field, as well as professionals in the public and private sectors, with the characteristics and methods of training programs in the arts, and conversely, to provide artists with a high level of training in the social sciences.
Yet it is not a program in the sciences, in politics, or in the arts. Indeed, these disciplines are not explored serially, one after the other. They converge, around common objects, in a range of classes, pedagogical experiences, and entirely novel modes of working, which partake of both social scientific and artistic approaches, with the two being thought not in parallel but together and collectively.
Thus, whether students or teachers, what participants already know matters less than the journey they take together. This is why the training is based on multiple interactions, moments of reflection and exchange as well as disagreement, which are all part and parcel of the SPEAP experience.
A laboratory for experimentation
SPEAP is a laboratory for scientific, artistic, and pedagogical experimentation, in the pragmatic tradition — as exemplified, in the United States, by the work of William James, Walter Lippmann, and above all John Dewey, as well as by their followers today.
Here, young professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds bring their knowledge and methods to bear on concrete issues raised by society, put their convictions to the test of reality, exchange, question, grope, discover, and think through the consequences of their interventions.
The aim is to observe, explain, and explore together ways of creating a shared public space as well as new modes of expression for political, economic, ecological and/or scientific questions, questions that are necessarily controversial.
A unique and original Master-level training program, SPEAP seeks to experiment with new ways of working that combine the arts, social sciences and politics. It proceeds according to four main ideas:
- Bringing together young professionals—social scientists, artists, and managers from the worlds of culture and politics
- Creating a set of pedagogical experiments, both theoretical and practical, pertaining to both the social sciences and the arts, drawing on the two disciplines together not in parallel
- Providing opportunities to think and engage with some of the most innovative and stimulating figures of the academic and the art worlds, both from France and abroad
- Working together on concrete projects in response to commissions, with artists and academics collaborating in the analysis of real-world social and political problems
SPEAP thus strives to explore new forms of representation of the most pressing contemporary issues, and thereby to contribute to the creation of a common world and shared public space.
SPEAP was also created based on the conviction that this kind of training will prepare participants for outstanding careers, enabling them to engage with other disciplines, broaden their skills, and make meaningful contacts.