Nathalie Le Bouëdec

Nathalie Le Bouëdec is a University Professor of German Civilization at the University of Burgundy, where she has served since September 2021. She currently directs the Department of German, a position she has held since September 2020, after previously serving as Deputy Director from 2011 to 2017. Her distinguished academic career began with studies at the École Normale Supérieure Lettres et Sciences Humaines in Lyon (1999-2004), followed by obtaining the German aggregation in 2003. She earned her PhD in Germanic studies in December 2007 and completed her habilitation to supervise research at Sorbonne University in December 2020 with her thesis "From Weimar to Bonn: justice, law and democracy in Germany in the 20th century" under Hélène Miard-Delacroix.

Professor Le Bouëdec's research specializes in German legal and political history throughout the 20th century, with particular emphasis on the relationship between judicial systems, democracy, and media representations. Her work spans critical historical periods including the Weimar Republic, Nazi Germany, and the formation of West Germany, examining how legal institutions navigate political pressures and constitutional challenges. She has developed significant expertise in analyzing judicial independence within democratic frameworks and responses to political extremism.

Her recent publications (2022-2024) reveal a consistent scholarly trajectory examining tensions between constitutional loyalty requirements for judges, media-judiciary relations in post-war Germany, and historical perspectives on contemporary German legal debates. This research demonstrates how historical analysis of Weimar-era legal challenges informs current discussions about democratic resilience and judicial ethics in Germany.

As an academic leader, Professor Le Bouëdec serves as educational manager for the German LLCER degree program (since 2015) and coordinates the German component of the integrated Dijon-Mainz curriculum in humanities and social sciences, fostering important Franco-German academic collaboration and educational exchange.