Yannick Lacroix

Please tell us about your research project.

Broadly speaking, my research falls within the field of philosophy of economics and focuses on how capitalism can be conceptualised from an existentialist perspective, drawing in particular on the works of Beauvoir, Sartre and Fanon. In particular, it addresses the issue of economic power and the nature of capitalism: is it, for example, as is commonly presented, an objective economic system that affects individuals? Or is it something that belongs more to the realm of ontology? What interests me is understanding what is specifically capitalist about our everyday experience – which involves a whole conceptual process of definition – and how this affects our relationship with the world, in the way we determine our ends, our means, our aspirations, our desires, our values, and so on.

At Oxford, I am working more specifically on Frantz Fanon in order to understand how his thought incorporates a unique conception of economic power in the context of colonisation and decolonisation.

Could you please tell us a bit more about your scholarship/exchange programme?

I am a Lecturer (Professeur agrégé) in Social Sciences at the University Grenoble Alpes and a PhD student in Economics at the Centre for Economic Research in Grenoble (CREG), co-supervised in Grenoble (Prof. Virgile Chassagnon) and in Oxford (Dr Kate Kirkpatrick). Being awarded the UGA GATES-MaCI Scholarship is an extraordinary opportunity as it allows me to come and work at the MFO in Oxford under excellent conditions, but also at Regent’s Park College and the University of Oxford with my supervisor and her PhD students, as well as to attend her doctoral seminars and those of the University of Oxford more broadly, whilst meeting with professors. This interdisciplinary environment is excellent as my work lies at the intersection of philosophy, economics and sociology. Indeed, there is a great vitality in existentialist philosophy, critical phenomenology and the theorisation of capitalism at an international level: the majority of the works I refer to are written in English and are unfortunately inaccessible in France. This stay therefore allows me to access them directly.

First impressions of Oxford/the University?

There is something magical about Oxford that truly makes it a scholar’s sanctuary: everything is deeply conducive to research, with plenty of spaces to work, discuss and converse, but also to rest, stroll and run in the large surrounding parks. The size of the city makes it fairly easy to find your way around, do your shopping or get from one place to another, which is quite handy, as the bus is the only form of public transport. I think what fascinates me most are the Bodleian libraries, each one more beautiful and magnificent than the last, and equipped with resources that are out of the ordinary: the working conditions are clearly exceptional. Every book waiting to be read promises a wonderful experience, and the resources are almost limitless.