Society today is faced with social and spatial upheavals linked to complex phenomena. The models which have been used to tackle these problems up to now are no longer appropriate. Social and historical sciences now need to develop a better understanding of the changing relationship between society and space, a challenge which the three teams of UMR CITERES aim to meet. The work of these teams is based on a knowledge-sharing, multi-disciplinary approach. Each team works on a different chrono-cultural area but with a common theme – the processes of spatialization and regionalization.

Research studies : Masters degree in social and human sciences, majoring in social sciences : towns and regions (specializing in urban and regional planning, geography, sociology, public debating, the Arab world) ; majoring in historical sciences (specializing in archaeology).

Main partners : MSH (Maisons des Sciences de l’Homme) network, spatial information network in archaeology, INRAP, Ministries of Culture, the Environment, and Public Works, DATAR (Delegation for Regional Development and Action), ORATE. European research laboratories and organisations.

Experimental methods : Geographical information systems, data bases, animal bone libraries, specialist documentary collections (the Arab World, urban planning, etc.)

Key words : regional development, anthropology, archaeology, geography, history, sociology, urban planning

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EMAM

Equipe Monde Arabe et Méditerranée (The Arab and Mediterranean World Team)
emam@univ-tours.fr, tel.02 47 36 15 35

This team gives a central role to the Mediterranean in the history of the relationship between Europe and the Arab-Muslim countries. The consequences today are looked at from a dynamic perspective emphasizing the notion of organizational systems, both at the level of structures (nation, town, etc.) and communication. Research themes :

• Urban fabric and practices in the Arab World
• Modern architecture in the Mediterranean
• Construction of inter-cultural relations, the Arab World and the Mediterranean

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LAT

Laboratoire Archéologie et Territoires (Archaeology and Regions Laboratory)
lat@univ-tours.fr, tel. 02 47 36 15 08

This team brings together archaeologists and historians from the CNRS (National Scientific Research Centre), Tours University, the Institut National de Recherches Archéologiques Préventives, the Ministry of Culture and regional authorities. It conducts research into the relationship of pre-industrial societies with their environment and the many and varied regions in which their activities were carried out. Research topics :

• Habitat and landscape dynamics from Prehistory to the pre-contemporary era
• Architecture, urban planning and fabric of the pre-industrial town
• Movement, communication and cultural zones.