Silvia Sebastiani

Silvia Sebastiani is a Research Professor at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris, affiliated with the Center for Historical Research (CRH) and leading the GEHM and Histoire du Genre research groups. Her work bridges Enlightenment historiography, Atlantic world studies, and critical analyses of race and gender.

• Research Focus: 18th-century racial theories, gender in Scottish Enlightenment, animal studies, and colonial knowledge systems.
• Key Publications: Recipient of the Istvan Hont Prize for The Scottish Enlightenment: Race, Gender and the Limits of Progress (2013). Co-editor of Simianization: Apes, Gender, Class, and Race (2015).
• Teaching: Leads doctoral workshops like Atelier doctoral d'études animales and seminars on Enlightenment historiography.
• Academic Leadership: Directed the GEHM group since 2013 and co-edits journals like Modern Intellectual History.
• Digital Humanities: Collaborates with CRH's digital research collective on data-driven historical projects.

Her recent articles analyze primate symbolism, Enlightenment encyclopedism, and intersections of gender and racial discourse in Atlantic contexts. She explores how digital tools transform historical source analysis and trains doctoral students in methodological innovation.