Thematic session 1

Session 1: What is 'Being nomadic' at the crossroads of different disciplinary fields of the humanities and social sciences?

The discussion will focus on the different meanings of the terms "nomad" and "nomadism" according to various disciplines and fields of study (prehistory, pastoral economics, migrations, gypsy studies, etc.). What criteria define the term "nomad"? What are its limits? What is the specificity of nomadism compared to related modalities of movement (itinerancy, mobility, transhumance...)?  From what angle (economic, political, ideological, lifestyle) is nomadism considered?  The approaches to nomadism evolved, what debates did they provoke? Can there be a common definition of nomadism in disciplines that approach it from investigative materials as different as those of archaeology and sociology, taking into account, in particular, the fact that these disciplines may or may not integrate into their definition the representations of nomads in societies studied and the ways in which the populations categorized as "nomads" define themselves?