Ancient Competencies

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 independent Algeria

Abdelmalek Sayad

Sayad_Abdelmalek.jpg

Sociologist, CNRS Research Director

École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), France

Pioneer in the Sociology of Immigration

(1933-1998)

Origins & Education

Abdelmalek Sayad was born on November 24, 1933, in Beni Djellil, a small village in Kabylia, Algeria. He grew up in a traditional Berber society, an experience that would profoundly shape his understanding of cultural and social dynamics. This Kabyle origin would give him a unique perspective on questions of identity, uprooting, and belonging that would traverse his entire sociological work.

Initial training: Studies at the lycée in Béjaïa, then at the École normale de Bouzareah in Algiers, an institution for training teachers in colonial Algeria

He began his career as a primary school teacher in Algeria, a profession that brought him into direct contact with the social and educational realities of his time. This pedagogical experience developed in him a keen sense of social observation and listening capacity that would enrich his future sociological method.

At the University of Algiers, he met Pierre Bourdieu, a decisive encounter that would definitively orient his intellectual trajectory. Bourdieu, then a young sociologist conducting his first research in Algeria, immediately recognized Sayad's exceptional qualities and associated him with his work on Algerian society in transformation.

Founding influence: The collaboration with Pierre Bourdieu marked the beginning of a fruitful intellectual partnership that would last their entire lives, based on rigorous methodology and a critical approach to sociology.

Scientific Career

Research fields: Sociology of immigration, rural sociology, economic anthropology, post-colonial studies, sociology of exclusion.

1963: Settlement in France, marking the beginning of his personal experience of immigration that he would study scientifically

Arriving in France in 1963, Sayad began as a part-time lecturer at the European Sociology Center of EHESS, where he developed his first research on Maghrebi immigration. This position allowed him to observe from within the social mechanisms he analyzed, combining personal experience and scientific distance.

1977: Integration into CNRS as research director, official recognition of his scientific expertise

His specialization in migration studies allowed him to develop a revolutionary theoretical approach. He conceptualized immigration as a "total social fact" in the Maussian sense, that is, a phenomenon that simultaneously mobilizes the economic, political, cultural, and psychological dimensions of society.

Methodological innovation: Sayad developed a comprehensive sociology that gave voice to migrants themselves, breaking with the dominant statistical approaches of the time.

His research focused particularly on the living conditions of immigrant workers, family migration strategies, integration and exclusion processes, as well as transformations of origin societies under the effect of emigration.

Awards & Recognition

Abdelmalek Sayad is today recognized as the founder of French sociology of immigration:

  • International academic recognition as a precursor to the scientific study of migrations
  • "La Double Absence. Des illusions de l'émigré aux souffrances de l'immigré" (1999) - Major posthumous work, synthesis of his research
  • "L'Immigration ou les Paradoxes de l'altérité" (1991-2006) - Collection of fundamental articles
  • Major theoretical influence on contemporary migration studies in Europe
  • Essential reference for immigration public policies
  • School of thought: Training of numerous researchers specialized in migrations
"The immigrant, before being the one who is missing from his society of origin, is first the one who is not in his place in the host society." - Abdelmalek Sayad, highlighting the double absence constitutive of the immigrant condition

Impact & Influence

Abdelmalek Sayad's work has profoundly transformed the sociological understanding of immigration and continues to influence contemporary research.

Concept of "double absence": His central theory describes the immigrant as absent from his society of origin while not really being present in the host society, a situation that generates psychological and social suffering.

Methodological revolution: He introduced an ethnographic approach to migration studies, privileging life stories and participant observation. This method allows grasping the complexity of migration experiences beyond statistics.

Critique of "biographical illusion": Sayad denounced simplistic discourses on integration and revealed the subtle mechanisms of exclusion that perpetuate the marginalization of immigrant populations.

Influence on public policies: His work contributed to a better understanding of immigration issues, influencing political debates and reception mechanisms in France.

International school: His approach inspired researchers worldwide, particularly in Europe and the Maghreb countries, creating a true school of thought on migrations.

Scientific legacy: Sayad established immigration as a legitimate object of sociology, creating an autonomous disciplinary field with its methods, concepts, and specific questions.

Learn More

Discover Abdelmalek Sayad's work and intellectual legacy:

"Pioneer in the sociology of immigration, thinker of the human condition in movement"