Olivier Pilmis

Olivier Pilmis’ current research is on “economic forecasting markets: countering uncertainty with knowledge, careers, and devices.”
This work is a continuation of his PhD research on “ markets ” for state-subsidized freelance workers in show business (intermittents du spectacle) and freelance journalists, which he then pursued in his post-doctoral work, some of which was conducted at the CSO.
His analysis incorporates approaches from the sociologies of risk, labor, and professions. The underlying question is: how do individuals deal with uncertainty?

Within this framework, forecasting offers itself up as a discourse both on the economy and the future, in order to reduce risk and uncertainty, or, even better, to transform uncertainty into risk. Pilmis takes forecasting as an object for sociological study and looks at it from the perspective of both its production and reception. His research is thus organized around a series of questions:
What is a discourse on the future? How is it produced? How does it manage to become a legitimate forecast? What are, in the end, the social conditions necessary for these discourses to be effective?

During 2013-2014, Olivier Pilmis was visiting researcher at the Max-Planck Institute für Gesellschaftforschung.

Teaching Activities

2014-
Lecturer for Classiques de la Sociologie, M1 Sociologie, at Sciences Po

2016-
Lecturer for Sources écrites, M2 Sociologie, at Sciences Po

2017-
Lecturer for Fabrique de la recherche, M2 Sociologie, at Sciences Po

2011-2013
Lecturer for the Economic Sociology seminar (Master’s) at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales

2010-2011
Lecturer for the Introduction to Sociology seminar (1st year undergraduate) at Sciences Po-Paris

2006-2007, 2009-2010
Teaching assistant (ATER) at the University of Paris Diderot-Paris 7, UFR SHS:
Introduction to Sociology (1st year undergraduate)
Sociology of Culture (last year undergraduate and master’s)
Research Methods (Master’s)
Preparation for the oral exams of the public education accreditation exam (agrégation externe) (Master’s)

2007-2009
Teaching assistante (ATER) at the University of Paris 12 Val-de-Marne, UFR SESS-STAPS:
General Sociology (2nd year undergraduate)
Sociology of Education (2nd year undergraduate)

Other Activities

2015-
Co-responsible of doctoral seminar at CSO

2006-2012
Member of the Bureau for Thematic Network 20 (“Methods”) of the French Sociological Association.

2009-2013
Member of the jury for the written sociology exam for the entrance exams at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Cachan

Education

2008
PhD in Sociology at the EHESS “L''Organisation de marchés incertains. Une sociologie des mondes de la pige et de l''art dramatique” (“The organization of uncertain markets. A sociology of the worlds of freelance journalism and the dramatic arts”), advisor: Pierre-Michel Menger, 2008.

2002-2003
Accredited high school teacher (Agrégation) in economic and social sciences.

2002
Master’s in Sociology, École des Hautes Études en Sciences sociales (EHESS).

2001
Bachelor’s degree from Sciences Po-Paris