Le concept de frontière en sciences sociales : vers de nouvelles acceptions

The concept of border in the social sciences : towards new definitions. This review of recent conceptions of the border in the social sciences looks at how a new examination of a notion can lead to the renewal of a field. This is the case with anthropology, which in the sixties opened an avenue for the study of cultural and symbolic borders. The introduction of this innovative approach has strongly influenced the field of social sciences, and we can see its legacy in the emergence of cultural history or geography. These two disciplines actively use and work with the notions of borders and borderlands. The process of border formation has recently been the topic of many studies that incorporate and combine geographic, human, and political parameters. Such studies enable us to expand our understanding of the concept. Furthermore, they contribute to the development of interdisciplinary research and they inform us about state and nation building.