The École pratique des hautes études (EPHE) is a public scientific institution with sections for Historical and Philological Sciences, Religious Sciences and Life and Earth Sciences. It is part of the Université Paris Sciences et Lettres university network (PSL).
Religious Studies at the EPHE – PLS cover all cultural areas, from antiquity to the contemporary world within and outside Europe. To cover this diversity, the department brings together numerous disciplines such as anthropology, art and archaeology, law, history, philosophy and sociology. The Section for Religious Studies, with more than 60 researchers and lecturers, investigates religious issues from a secular perspective. Its research examines the practices, discourses and attitudes of religious manifestations and phenomena as such, as well as from the point of view of their integration into the political, economic, material, intellectual and linguistic life of societies.
The École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) was established on 31 July 1868 by Victor Duruy to integrate practical research methods into higher education, countering the era’s academic conformism. Renowned scholars like Louis Pasteur and Claude Lévi-Strauss have been associated with EPHE. Despite the widespread adoption of practical approaches, EPHE remains committed to its founding principle of “research in progress.” Today, it offers advanced degrees in various fields, maintaining its tradition of accessible education.
EPHE – PSL offers comprehensive studies of civilisations from antiquity to the present, covering diverse fields such as history, philology, archaeology, art history, linguistics, and religious studies. Unique in France, EPHE – PSL provides training in ancient scripts and languages, and all aspects of Mediterranean antiquity. Its high-level teaching extends to Latin, Byzantine, and Hebrew palaeography, history of science, cultural and intellectual history, and hagiography. In Life and Earth Sciences, the focus is on practical and fieldwork in areas like health biology, neuroscience, ecology, anthropology, environment, and evolution.
EPHE – PSL continually adapts to the evolving scientific landscape, embracing fields like digital humanities and cognitive sciences. Its research addresses major societal issues such as ethics, secularism, and religion. The school fosters strong ties with civil society, welcoming auditors for over 150 years and sharing knowledge through its three institutes. With around 270 professors and lecturers, it contributes to interdisciplinary research programmes. EPHE joined the prestigious University Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL) and became a founding member of Campus Condorcet, aiming to meet the educational and scientific challenges of the 21st century.
(Photo by Frédéric Labrouche.)
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