Agora des Savoirs

As part of the first cycle of conferences [Agora des Savoirs 2026-2027.](https://www.montpellier.fr/campagnes/agora-des-savoirs) The medievalist Marc Bloch (1886-1944) is perhaps better known to the general public for his heroic journey and commitment against the Nazi occupation than for his scientific work, which has profoundly renewed historical studies. A brilliant graduate of the École Normale Supérieure, co-founder with Lucien Febvre of the journal Annales d’histoire économique et sociale (1929), a fervent republican of Alsatian Jewish origin, an atheist and patriot, a fighter in both World Wars, a resistance member, he embodies a major figure of the engaged intellectual, to the point of sacrificing his life as he was brutally murdered by the Nazis in 1944. The historian of Les Rois thaumaturges (1924) and La Société féodale (1940) also exerted considerable influence in the field of knowledge, inaugurating a new way of doing history, open to social sciences and engaged with his time. Marc Bloch's entry into the Panthéon on June 16, 2026, provides an opportunity to showcase the inextricable scholarly, political, and moral alliance embodied by his journey, his works, and his posthumous life. History, as an intellectual approach, a matter for personal reflection, and a source of collective engagement, was for him, throughout his life, a form of resistance. Free entry subject to availability. Author Biography Yann Potin is the chief curator at the National Archives and an associate lecturer in legal history at the University of Paris-Nord. He co-directed with Jean-François Sirinelli, Générations historiennes (19th-20th centuries) (CNRS, editions 2019).

As part of the first cycle of conferences [Agora des Savoirs 2026-2027.](https://www.montpellier.fr/campagnes/agora-des-savoirs) Celebrated as the temple of knowledge, the University was initially, for men, a formidable tool for reinforcing male dominance, allowing them for seven centuries to access lucrative professions, positions of power, honors, and prestige exclusively. It is within this fortress that Julie-Victoire Daubié opens the first breach in 1861, when she manages to pass the baccalauréat. From then on, as a disgruntled contemporary puts it, "it’s the gears turning": driven by feminist struggles, monopolies fall one by one. By the end of the 20th century, another decisive step is taken. The constitutional revision favoring "equal access for women and men to electoral mandates and elective functions" opens a new horizon for women: the conquest of 50% of all goods and powers. Tracing the inexorable progression of gender equality in our country, Éliane Viennot also documents the energy, inventiveness, cunning, bad faith, and violence of those who opposed it. They did everything in their power to block it, from the passage of "scélérate laws" to the writing of History, including the maneuvers of boys' clubs and the promotion of what is now called the culture of rape. Free entry subject to availability. Author Biography Éliane Viennot is an agrégée of letters and a historian of power relations between the sexes. She is a professor of French literature and a historian of the Renaissance at the University of Saint-Étienne, and a member of the Institut universitaire de France.

As part of the first cycle of conferences [Agora des Savoirs 2026-2027.](https://www.montpellier.fr/campagnes/agora-des-savoirs) Screening of the documentary Tardigrade, the Indestructible Animal (Raphaël Hitier, 2024, 52 min), followed by a discussion Resistant to extreme temperatures (from -270 to over 100 °C), X-rays, the vacuum of space, dehydration… Do you know about tardigrades, those tiny, almost immortal animals? While they fascinate millions of curious minds around the world, they also intrigue scientists who are trying to uncover the secrets of their superpowers. Dive into the incredible story of these fascinating creatures that live all around us and have, despite their microscopic size, survived all the mass extinctions on Earth. Discover the astonishing abilities of these "water bears," their way of life, and the mysteries of their genetics, at the heart of promising innovations in medicine, pharmacy, cosmetics, or astrobiology… which could very well revolutionize our future. Free entry, subject to availability. Authors' Biography Simon Galas is a professor at the University of Montpellier (Faculty of Pharmacy) and a researcher at CNRS, specializing in genetics and molecular biology. His work has contributed to the understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of cancer and the development of modern anticancer therapies. Molecular and cellular biologist Myriam Richaud is a lecturer at the University of Montpellier. She regularly gives public lectures and participates in science popularization journals (Epsiloon, Science et vie, Science & Vie Junior, La recherche, Pour La Science...) as well as events (Fête de la Science, Pint of Science…).

As part of the first series of conferences [Agora des Savoirs 2026-2027.](https://www.montpellier.fr/campagnes/agora-des-savoirs) Spain, July 1936. A coup attempts to overthrow the Republic. The assassination of democracy by military, monarchists, and fascists was long premeditated. The intensity of the popular reaction and the regime's resistance, less expected, transforms this conflict into a bloody war lasting nearly three years. A war that is both political and social, civil and international: Mussolini and Hitler support General Franco's troops, while the USSR sides with the Republicans, and liberal democracies abstain. The world watches Spain and mobilizes for this war that results in over 500,000 deaths and just as many exiles. Today, numerous research and archives, as well as testimonies, allow for a new history of the Spanish Civil War to be written. This history reveals the long-term undermining of democracy by reactionary forces and the Spanish far-right, well before 1936. It shows the deep mechanisms of Franco's dictatorship and finally examines the day-to-day experiences of the actors in this major episode of 20th-century Europe. Free entry, subject to availability. Author Biography François Godicheau is a history professor at the University of Toulouse Jean-Jaurès. He has published around fifteen works, including several books on the Spanish Civil War.