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A Delicate Transition

Thierry Gervais
Cet article est une traduction de :
Transition délicate [fr]

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1There are developments that come as welcome news in the world of scholarly research. Among them, the establishment of a research seminar on the history of photography, led by Dominique de Font-Réaulx, at the École du Louvre, for work linked to France’s national collections;1 the announcement by De Montfort University in Leicester, at the dynamic Photographic History Research Centre, and under the direction of Elizabeth Edwards and Kelley Wilder, of a doctoral grant for theses that explore the relationship between photography and science;2 and the creation of research grants by the Ryerson Image Centre in Toronto for the 2012–13 academic year.3

2On an equally celebratory note, the web portal OpenEdition, which distributes Études photographiques online, has just been selected as an Equipex project by France’s Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche – an award of seven million Euros to support the platform’s stature and international profile.4 Based on this team’s accomplishments over the course of the last ten years, there is no doubt the publications that supply it with content will benefit from this long-term investment – or they will if they survive the transition underway in the Ministry’s administration of research projects. Indeed, one of the consequences of such large-scale investments is the elimination of more modest forms of support: for the first time since 2004, Études photographiques has been denied assistance from the Centre National de la recherche scientifique’s aid to journals program, with no alternative source of funding proposed. The situation is difficult for all involved. It cannot be an easy decision to issue a negative verdict – in the face of two ‘very favourable’ evaluations – because of budgetary constraints: the budget for 2012 and 2013 includes 140,000 Euros to be shared by all journals. But for us, this is a twofold loss, both symbolic and economic.

3 Maintaining the financial equilibrium of our journal has always been a delicate exercise, a balance sustained by our invaluable partnerships. Since 1996, our publisher, the Société française de photographie (SFP), has provided us each year with the funding that we need to exist. The Centre National du Livre and, more recently, the Fondation d’Entreprise Neuflize Vie and Ryerson University have also offered continued support, enabling us to publish in French and English, bringing to a broader readership the historical perspective that distinguishes our articles.5 But you who read Études photographiques are our most important partners. You, and particularly you who subscribe, help ensure that today’s best research in visual history is available to an ever expanding audience. New financial realities make our current subscribers all the more important, but we need more. The SFP’s new website6 features an online store supporting secure payments where you can purchase subscriptions and individual issues to complete your Études photographiques collection. Our journal will also soon be available for online purchase in PDF and EPUB formats, so that you can read our texts on your tablet. When it comes to funding research, there are no small contributions. Everything counts.

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Notes

1 A description of the partnership between the École du Louvre and the Fondation d’Entreprise Neuflize Vie, which made this initiative possible, is available online at http://www.ecoledulouvre.fr/ecole-louvre/soutenir-ecole/mecenat/fondation-neuflize-vie.

2 See Michael Pritchard, ‘PhD Studentship: Practising Photography in the Sciences,’ British Photographic History, March 29, 2012, http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/phd-studentship-practising-photography-in-the-sciences.

3 See Doina Popescu’s welcome speech at the conference About Photographic Collections: Definitions, Descriptions, Access,’ Ryerson Image Centre, Toronto, January 19, 2012, a video of which is available online at https://ryecast.ryerson.ca/48/watch/1656.aspx.

4 See ‘OpenEdition lauréat des Équipements d’excellence (Equipex),’ the Revues.org editorial of February 23, 2012 (http://www.openedition.org/10221).

5 Michel Poivert, ‘La photographie en France: Une affaire d’État,’ Revue de l’art, no. 175 (January 2012): 5–10.

6 http://www.sfp.asso.fr/index.php.

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Référence électronique

Thierry Gervais, « A Delicate Transition »Études photographiques [En ligne], 29 | 2012, mis en ligne le 05 février 2013, consulté le 19 mars 2024. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/etudesphotographiques/3345

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Thierry Gervais

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