Béatrice Milard

Béatrice Milard is Professor of Sociology at the University of Toulouse Jean Jaurès (UT2J), serving as Director of the Labex 'Structuring Social Worlds' within the Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Solidarity, Societies, Territories (LISST). Her research spans sociology of social networks, sociology of science, and territorialization of research and higher education. She teaches general sociology, sociology of social networks, sociology of science, and research methodology.

Her research interests focus on the intersection of social relations and scientific production, examining how scientific citations create social circles, how territorial contexts shape research activities, and how personal networks influence knowledge creation. Milard investigates the dynamics between scientific communities and their social environments, with particular attention to the organization of scholarly publications and citation practices. Her work demonstrates how scientific activities are embedded in social relations and territorial contexts.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals a strong focus on network analysis in sociology, particularly examining social networks during the COVID-19 pandemic, citation patterns in scientific literature, and gender representation in digital knowledge platforms. Her work combines quantitative network analysis with qualitative sociological approaches, producing insights about how social structures shape scientific production and how scientific practices influence social relations. Recent trends show increasing attention to digital methodologies and contemporary social challenges.

Milard's academic leadership extends to directing the Laboratory of Excellence for Structuring Social Worlds (LabEx SMS), where she oversees interdisciplinary research connecting sociology with spatial analysis and network theory. Her work bridges theoretical sociology with practical applications for understanding knowledge production systems.