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Denis Vidal

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Denis Vidal
Born (1954-07-04) July 4, 1954 (age 70)[1]
NationalityFrench[2]
OccupationAnthropologist
Academic background
EducationDoctor of Philosophy
Alma materInstitut de recherche pour le développement
ThesisLe Culte des Divinités Locales dans une Région de l'Himachal Pradesh (November 1981)
Doctoral advisorCharles Malamoud [fr]
Academic work
DisciplineAnthropology
Sub-disciplineSocial anthropology
InstitutionsAssociate professor at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences
Research director at Institut de recherche pour le développement

Denis Vidal (born 4 July 1954) is a French anthropologist with a doctorate degree from the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes and the Université de Nanterre. He is an associate professor at the EHESS School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences and a senior research fellow (Directeur de recherche) at the Institut de recherche pour le développement.[3]

Education and career

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Vidal completed his Ph.D. in 1983 at the EPHE and the University of Nanterre, under the supervision of Charles Malamoud [fr], with a doctoral thesis titled 'Le Culte des Divinités Locales dans une Région de l'Himachal Pradesh (The Cult of Local Divinities in a Region of Himachal Pradesh)'.[4][5]

Research

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Vidal is a social anthropologist.[3] He is serving as a research director at the Institut de recherche pour le développement,[6][7] and as the assistant director at the Paris branch of the Migrations and Society Research Unit (URMIS).[8]

Vidal has been exploring India since his doctoral studies. Some of his research works on India include the "archival exploration" of Sirohi State and his studies on the "economic organisation of the bazaar", the social and religious anthropology of the Himalayas, and "visual culture of the old city of Delhi".[9] He delved into the disputed contest over the patent rights of Basmati rice between India and the United States.[10] Vidal has also explored "new ways of approaching technology from an anthropological perspective".[3] In 2019, Vidal, along with D. Balasubramanian, carried out a study on the building of wooden cargo ships in India's Tamil Nadu.[9]

Berenson (Robot)

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Vidal and Philippe Gaussier co-developed a "robot art critic" dubbed Berenson (after the art critic Bernard Berenson). Berenson can take note of the reactions of people to art works and employ its neural network to learn from their reactions in order to develop its own aesthetic preferences and to express them through facial expressions.[11]

Museum exhibitions

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Vidal has been one of the curators of the exhibition Persona (Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, January - October 2016,[12] and of the permanent exhibition on robotics at the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, Paris (opening in April 2019) [13]

Films

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OF WOOD AND WIND.Sustainable cargo ships in France and in India. DE BOIS ET DE VENT. Deux alternatives pour un transport maritime responsable Co-produit par l'IRD et l'ADEME, avec le soutien de l'Institut français de Pondichery

Written work

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Vidal's Violence and Truth: A Rajasthani Kingdom Confronts Colonial Authority (1995)[note 1] was a study of history of the Sirohi State, focusing mainly on the influence exerted by British values and legal system on politics and society in Sirohi during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, providing "a vivid picture of caste-specific protest repertory". Vidal's study shed light on the relationship between the rulers of Sirohi and the Jain merchants with regard to the "colonial idea of economy"; inquired into the relationship between violence and mutineers in Rajasthan and how it was "remade through the colonial encounter"; and explored the Gandhian thought in apropos of the British colonial laws in India.[14][15]

for various reviews of this book, see Norbert Peabody [16] ,Christophe Jaffrelot,[17] Frank de Zwart,[18] Ajay Skaria Skaria(August 1999).[19] And for an indepth study of it see Lawrence Babb, 2004[20]

Works

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Books authored

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  • Vidal Denis, Balusubrumaniam D, Sricandane G. (collab.). (2024). Boat Builders of the Coromandel: A craft and its makers  ; Tara Books, Chennai, 164 p. ISBN 978-93-90037-07-0
  • Vidal Denis, Balusubrumaniam D, Sricandane G. (collab.). (2023). Wild craft : wooden cargo ships of South india. Marseille (FRA) ; Pondichéry : IRD ; IFP, 369 p. ISBN 978-81-8470-249-1. https://www.ifpindia.org/bookstore/wild-craft/,https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/2023-11/010090498.pdf
  • Laumond J.P., Vidal Denis, Boutin A.L. (ill.). (2018). Robots : le livre de l'exposition Robots : the exhibition book. [Paris] : Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, ISBN 978-2-86842-197-5.
  • Vidal, Denis (2016). Aux Frontières de l'Humain: Dieux, Figures de Cire, Robots et Autres Artefacts [At the Human Frontiers: Gods, Wax Figures, Robots and Other Artifacts]. Essai. Histoire. Anthropologie (in French). Paris, France: Alma. ISBN 978-2362791741. OCLC 936547857. S2CID 165948940.
  • Vidal, Denis (1995). Violences et Vérités: Un Royaume du Rajasthan Face au Pouvoir Colonial [Violence and Truth: A Rajasthani Kingdom Confronts Colonial Authority]. Recherches d'Histoire et de Sciences Sociales, Volume 62 [Studies in History and the Social Sciences, Volume 62] (in French). Paris, France: EHESS. ISBN 978-2713210181. LCCN 95204209. OCLC 407004217.
  • Vidal Denis,Le culte des divinités locales dans une région de l'Himachal Pradesh Paris, ORSTOM, 1989, 320p.[21]

Books edited

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  • Emmanuel Grimaud, Yann Philippe Tastevin, Denis Vidal. dossier : Low tech ? Wild tech !. France. Techniques et culture, 1 (67), Éditions de l'EHESS, 288 p., 2017.[22]
  • Vidal, Denis; Meyer, Eric; Tarabout, Gilles, eds. (1994). Violences et Non-violences en Inde [Violence and Non-violence in India]. Puruṣārtha, Volume 16 (in French). Paris, France: EHESS. ISBN 978-2713210143. LCCN 94168835. OCLC 300439786.[23]
  • Denis Vidal. Dufrêne T. (ed.), Grimaud E. (ed.), Taylor A.C. (ed.), Vidal Denis (ed.). Persona : étrangement humain [exposition, Musée du quai Branly, Paris, 26 janvier-13 novembre 2016]Paris : Musée du Quai Branly ; Actes Sud, 2016, 271 p. ISBN 978-2-330-03801-4 . France. Musée du Quai Branly ; Actes Sud, 271 p., 2016.[12]
  • Grimaud E., Houdard S., Vidal Denis. (2006). Artifices et effets spéciaux : les troubles de la représentation. In : Grimaud E. (ed.), Houdard S. (ed.), Vidal Denis (ed.). Effets spéciaux et artifices. Terrain, 46, p. 5-14. ISSN 0760-5668.[24]
  • Dupont Véronique (ed.), Tarlo E. (ed.), Vidal Denis (ed.). (2000). Delhi : urban space and human destinies. New Delhi : Manohar, 261 p. ISBN 81-7304-366-3.[25]
  • Denis Vidal, Philippe Cadene. Webs of trade : dynamics of business communities in western India. India. CHS ; Manohar, 196 p., 1997.Webs of Trade, ISBN 9788173041877 [26]
  • Vidal, Denis; Cadène, Philippe, eds. (1987). L'Inde dans Les Sciences Sociales [India in the Social Sciences] (Les Communications et les Débats de la Journée Consacrée à "l'Inde dans les Sciences Sociales" Qui a eu Lieu le 12 Juin 1987 à l'ORSTOM à Paris). Bulletin de Liaison, No. 13. France: ORSTOM. OCLC 489929612.

Selected papers

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Notes

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  1. ^ Originally published in French in 1995; translated in English in 1997.

References

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  1. ^ Denis Vidal. Paris, France. Retrieved 25 May 2021. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  2. ^ Quack, Johannes (2012) [Composed 2011]. "Object of Inquiry: Indian Rationalists, Modes of Unbelief and Disenchantment". Disenchanting India: Organized Rationalism and Criticism of Religion in India (illustrated ed.). New York, USA: Oxford University Press. pp. 7–46. ISBN 978-0199812608. LCCN 2011005851. p. 17: Further articles that engage directly with the Indian rationalist movement were written by the French anthropologist Denis Vidal (1998) and the scholar of religion Nehring (2008).
  3. ^ a b c Kaur, Raminder; Dave-Mukherji, Parul, eds. (2020) [First published 2014]. "Notes on Contributors". Arts and Aesthetics in a Globalizing World. London, UK: Routledge. ISBN 978-1000189650. OCLC 1155638013. p. 9: Denis Vidal is a social anthropologist, a Senior Research Fellow at IRD (URMIS-Paris Diderot) and an Associate Professor at the Musée du Quai Branly and at Hautes études en Sciences Sociales, Paris. His current research focuses on visual culture and on new ways of approaching technology from an anthropological perspective.
  4. ^ Vidal, Denis (November 1988). "Inventaire des thèses de doctorat Trouvé à l'intérieur – Page 73 ( 1983 ) . Th . 3e cycle : Ethnologic : E.H.E.S.S. : 1983 . 951. VIDAL ( Denis ) . - LE CULTE DES DIVINITES LOCALES DANS UNE REGION DE L'HIMACHAL PRADESH: and he published it at the Institut Français de Recherche Scientifique pour le Développement en Coopération in 1988, Volume 38" (PDF) (in French). France: ORSTOM. OCLC 462316096. S2CID 126554106.
  5. ^ Gaenzle, Martin; Höfer, András; Graner, Elvira; Hutt, Michael; et al., eds. (2006). "Notes on Contributors" (PDF). European Bulletin of Himalayan Research, 29–30. French National Centre for Scientific Research (France); Social Science Baha (Nepal). ISSN 0943-8254 – via University of Cambridge, UK. p. 6: He worked in Himachal Pradesh in the 1980's and his Phd thesis (1989) is about the cult of local divinities in Himachal Pradesh.
  6. ^ "SÉANCE ANNULÉE / Mythes et Machines - Robotique et Intelligence Artificielle : Penser la Technologie Aujourd'hui". French Academy of Sciences. Paris, France. 31 March 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  7. ^ "Journée d'Étude de la Chaire L'Humain au Défi du Numérique: Numérique et Diversité Culturelle" (PDF). Collège des Bernardins. Paris, France. 23 February 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Staff". Migrations and Society Research Unit. France. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Heritage, Communities, Sustainability: Methodological and Theoretical Approaches in Social Sciences Research" (PDF). Social Sciences Winter School in Pondicherry (5th ed.). Pondicherry, India: French Institute of Pondicherry. December 2019. Bios of Trainers and Coordinators. p. 57: He has been researching on India since his doctoral thesis on the worship of local deities in Himachal Pradesh. His works include an ethnohistorical exploration on a small kingdom of Rajasthan (Sirohi), an anthropology of feuds in the Himalayas, studies about local markets, the economic organisation of indian bazaars and the visual culture of the old city of Delhi. Currently, he is conducting research in collaboration with Dr. Balusubramanian (IFP-Pondicherry) on the artisanal construction of wooden cargo ships in Tamil Nadu.
  10. ^ Assayag, Jackie; Fuller, Christopher John (2005). "Introduction". Globalizing India: Perspectives from Below. Anthem South Asian Studies (illustrated ed.). London, UK: Anthem. pp. 1–14. ISBN 978-1843311959. LCCN 2005031966. OCLC 742639689.
  11. ^ Wolfe, Hannah (July 2016). "Related Work: Robots in Media Arts – Contemporary Robotic Art" (PDF). ROVER: The Reactive Observant Vacuous Emotive Robot (M. A.). Santa Barbara, California, USA: University of California, Santa Barbara. p. 28: Berenson, named after Bernard Berenson, is a robot art critic by anthropologist Denis Vidal and robotics engineer Philippe Gaussier. (see Figure 2.9) The critic observes viewers' reactions to art and learns what is "good" and "bad" art. Then he moves toward art works that are "good" and smiles at them, and frowns at "bad" art. This robot uses a neural network to learn. (Pangburn 2016)
  12. ^ a b "Persona, étrangement humain | Actes Sud".
  13. ^ Laumond J.P., Vidal Denis, Boutin A.L. (ill.). (2018). Robots : le livre de l'exposition Robots : the exhibition book. [Paris] : Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, ISBN 978-2-86842-197-5.
  14. ^ de Zwart, Frank (November 1998). "Reviewed Work: Violence and Truth: A Rajasthani Kingdom Confronts Colonial Authority". American Journal of Sociology. 104 (3). University of Chicago Press: 909–911. doi:10.1086/210095. JSTOR 10.1086/210095.
  15. ^ Skaria, Ajay (August 1999). Yang, Anand A.; Walter, Ann; Walthall, Anne; Haboush, JaHyun Kim; et al. (eds.). "Reviewed Work: Violence and Truth: A Rajasthani Kingdom Confronts Colonial Authority by Denis Vidal". The Journal of Asian Studies. 58 (3). Association for Asian Studies: 884–885. doi:10.2307/2659188. JSTOR 2659188.
  16. ^ Violences et verites: un royaume du Rajasthan face au pouvoir colonialby Denis Vidal Review by: Norbert Peabody The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute DOI: 10.2307/3034949 Date: September, 1996
  17. ^ Vidal (Denis). Violences et vérités. Un royaume de Rajasthan face au pouvoir colonial [compte-rendu] Christophe Jaffrelot Archives de sciences sociales des religions Année 1996 94 pp. 106-107
  18. ^ de Zwart, Frank (November 1998). "Reviewed Work: Violence and Truth: A Rajasthani Kingdom Confronts Colonial Authority". American Journal of Sociology. University of Chicago Press. 104 (3): 909–911. JSTOR 10.1086/210095.
  19. ^ Yang, Anand A.; Walter, Ann; Walthall, Anne; Haboush, JaHyun Kim; et al. (eds.). "Reviewed Work: Violence and Truth: A Rajasthani Kingdom Confronts Colonial Authority by Denis Vidal". The Journal of Asian Studies. Association for Asian Studies. 58 (3): 884–885. JSTOR 2659188
  20. ^ Lawrence A Babb · 2004 · Myths of Identity and the Life of Trade in Western India Lawrence A Babb. Sage , New-Delhi
  21. ^ Le culte des divinités locales dans une région d'Himachal Pradesh. Éd. de l'ORSTOM. 1988. ISBN 9782709909358.
  22. ^ Grimaud, Emmanuel; Tastevin, Yann Philippe; Vidal, Denis, eds. (2017). "67 | 2017 Low Tech ? Wild Tech !". Techniques & Culture (67). doi:10.4000/tc.8260.
  23. ^ Grimaud, Emmanuel; Tastevin, Yann Philippe; Vidal, Denis, eds. (2017). "67 | 2017 Low Tech ? Wild Tech !". Techniques & Culture (67). doi:10.4000/tc.8260.
  24. ^ Grimaud, Emmanuel; Houdart, Sophie; Vidal, Denis (2006). "Artifices et effets spéciaux". Terrain (46): 5–14. doi:10.4000/terrain.3948.
  25. ^ "Manohar Books".
  26. ^ "Manohar Books".
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