Madlyne Samak

Madlyne Samak is a Lecturer in sociology at the Champollion National University Institute (INU Champollion) in Albi, France, and a researcher at the Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Solidarity, Societies, Territories (LISST-Cers). Since 2020, she has served as Head of the sociology degree at INU Champollion and became a member of the editorial board of the journal Socio-économie du travail in 2023. Her academic journey includes post-doctoral fellowships at CNRS (2017-2018) and Paris-Dauphine University (2015-2016), as well as doctoral studies in sociology at the EHESS (2008-2014).

Samak's research focuses on the sociology of agriculture, particularly examining social groups of farmers, professional alternatives, gender inequalities in agriculture, public services in rural areas, and relationships to employment in cultural professions. Her work spans several key areas including organic farming transitions, neo-rural migration, gender dynamics in farming, and alternative marketing systems for agricultural products. She teaches sociology of work, sociology of gender, political sociology, and sociology of rural worlds.

Her recent publications (2012-2024) demonstrate a consistent focus on agricultural sociology with particular attention to organic farming transitions, gender dynamics in agriculture, and rural employment structures. The research shows evolution from examining specific farming practices (seasonality, marketing systems) toward broader questions of social transformation in rural areas, gender inequalities, and the relationship between public services and rural populations. Her 2024 work on public service accessibility in low-density areas represents the current trajectory of her research.

Samak is actively involved in significant research projects including the Ruralmed Project (2023-2025) on healthcare access in rural areas and the Providence Project (2020-2023) on public services in low-density areas. She conducts her research within the LISST-Cers laboratory, which provides an interdisciplinary framework for studying social solidarity, societies, and territories.