معرفی
Laurent Vidal is a Professor of contemporary history at the University of La Rochelle and serves as Deputy Director of the Research Center for International and Atlantic History (CRHIA). He is also a research director at the Institute of Advanced Latin American Studies (University of Paris III).
His educational background includes a doctorate in history from IHEAL - Paris III (1995) and a graduate degree from the Grenoble Institute of Political Studies (1987). He completed his Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches in 2005 with the thesis "Un historien aux marges de la ville: du Brésil en particulier et du Nouveau Monde en général."
Vidal's research focuses on the history of Brazil, the founding of cities, the relationship between city and politics, France-Brazil migrations, and more broadly, the history of American Atlantic societies with particular attention to cultural circulations, displacements, and rhythms of waiting and slowness. His work combines urban history with transnational perspectives, examining how cities evolve through cultural exchange and political transformation.
His scholarly contributions demonstrate a consistent focus on urban development in the Atlantic world, with particular expertise in Brazilian history and Franco-Brazilian relations. Vidal's publications reveal an evolving interest from specific urban case studies toward broader theoretical considerations of urban mobility, waiting as a social phenomenon, and the circulation of urban models across the Atlantic.
Among his notable recognitions:
- Elected foreign corresponding member of the Institute of History and Geography of Brazil (2012)
- Recipient of the Prix France Culture "La ville à lire" (2006)
- Prime d'Excellence Scientifique (PES) and Prime d'encadrement doctoral et de recherche (PEDR) from the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research (since 2010)
- Finalist for prix du Sénat du livre d'histoire and prix Augustin Thierry (2014)
Vidal has directed significant research projects including the ANR Terriat on "Mobilities, societies, displacements: The territories of waiting in the American worlds" and currently coordinates the Franco-Brazilian project BALNEOMAR on seaside space production in coastal cities. He has served as Director of the Rochelle pole of the CRHIA since January 2008 and has held various leadership roles including responsibility for the International Relations and Atlantic World History master's program (2007-2012).
As part of the CRHIA (Centre de Recherche en Histoire Internationale et Atlantique), Vidal works within a research team of 25 faculty-researchers and 35 doctoral students with an annual budget of approximately 120,000 euros. His international collaborations include extensive work with Brazilian institutions, having served as visiting professor at multiple universities in Brazil.
