The Commons Chair welcomes a group of three people for a period of three months, or one person for a period of nine months, wishing to reflect on the notion of the commons in the current global situation.
The project will be hosted by the Institut d'études avancées de Nantes from September 2025.
Topic
The aim of setting up the Commons Chair at the Institut d’études avancées de Nantes is to create a space dedic ated to the study and analysis of practices and knowledge related to the commons.
The projects developed within the Chair are intended to add to the reflections and interactions around the concept of non-appropriability of certain goods, knowledge or resources considered to be common and shared by communities, ecosystems or territories. In this sense, the Chair is open to different interpretations of the concept of the commons and its issues, extending its application to the intangible economy (knowledge, science and technology).
The Institute is interested in this perspective, which questions the very notion of property and places at the centre of the discussion values of political significance such as solidarity, cooperation, listening and exchange, and respect for oneself, others and the environment. The aim is to understand the commons as those resources and knowledge that must remain available to society as a whole.
The commons can be approached as a study of the ways in which communities are organised, as a set of democratic practices of resistance or as regulatory and/or modifying institutional practices. These practices stem from a critical reading of the rise of individualism, capitalism and the logic of private property, accentuated by a globalisation that is poorly regulated and dependent on an extractivist and financialised economy based on the supply and demand of raw materials. In the second half of the twentieth century, increasing demographic pressures alerted some researchers to the limits of natural resources and a possible ‘tragedy of the commons’, but these theories were undermined by their maximalist, Eurocentric bias.
Applications
The Institute would like to welcome people who are able to explore knowledge in an alternative, creative, disruptive way that complements or parallels that of the academic world. The call is open to people with proven research experience (applied, artistic, literary or scientific) in an academic and/or civil context. As such, a doctorate or academic background is not a prerequisite. Applicants who have developed professional, activist or militant expertise in an organisation defending rights (human or non-human), or who have a high level of recognition from a community (e.g. aboriginal) are also eligible.
Group applications
The Commons: Knowledge, Power and Crises Chair can be offered as a three-person residency. Three people apply as a team with a collective project and are hosted simultaneously at the Institut d'études avances de Nantes for a period of three months, between January and May 2026 (an arrival as early as September 2025 is conceivable). The trinomials must represent diversity in terms of nationality, country of residence, discipline, gender and professional background.
Individual applications
The Commons: Knowledge, Power and Crises Chair may be offered as an individual residency. In this case, the period of residence is nine months, from September 2025 to June 2026.
Within the framework of the Chair, we welcome all proposals for projects that go off the beaten track, that are difficult or impossible to carry out under other conditions, and that question dogmas in a direct way. The institute will pay particular attention to projects originating in the South, driven by minorities and taking account of ongoing international and global struggles.
For both group and individual applications, projects led by women, people representing sexual and gender minorities or from communities that are particularly vulnerable in the context of the globalisation of risks are strongly encouraged.
Selection procedure
1 October - 31 December 2024 | Submission of applications
Applications must be submitted on the platform between 1 October and 31 December 2024. We strongly advise you to create an account on the platform as soon as possible (we will send you further information) and to consult the application form.
1 January - 7 February 2024 | Selection
20 January - 24 January 2025 | Interviews
3 February - 7 February 2025 | Communication of results
Selection of the successful candidate and notification of the results. Selected candidates have until 21 February 2025 to communicate their decision.
Spring 2025 | Administrative implementation of the residence.
September 2025 - June 2026 | Residence in Nantes
Location
The Institut d'études avancées de Nantes is housed in an exceptional building on the banks of the Loire, designed specifically for its needs.
