Hello, I am Philippe Cadene
I am a Professor at Université de Paris, France, teaching Geography and Development Studies. I am the Head of the GHES School (Geography, History, Economy and Society) from October 2019. I conduct research at the CESSMA, Centre d’études en sciences sociales sur les mondes africains, américains et asiatiques (Centre for social sciences studies on the African, American and Asian worlds). I am also the director of the Master program Dynped, (Dynamique des pays émergents et en développement), gathering international students in social-sciences interested by research, expertise and governance issues in emerging or developing countries.
I began my advanced studies at the University of Toulouse, where I have summited my PhD (D.Lit.) in 1985 under Prof. Bernard Kayser. My thesis dissertation focused on the evolution of suburban areas in France. During these early years of research, I also started my first field works in India, where I was affiliated at the Centre for Study of Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.
Then, I was Junior Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex University, England, following with a post-doctoral work at the South Asian Institute, Heidelberg University, Germany. I joined the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in 1989, and was affiliated at the Centre for India and South Asia Studies (CEIAS), EHESS, Paris. I continued research programs on urban and regional development, mainly in Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. I also worked at all India level with Prof. François Durand-Dastes for the South Asia volume of the Universal Geography, edited by Prof. Roger Brunet in 1993.
In 1995, I was appointed as Professor of Urban Geography at the University Paul Valery, Montpellier. There, I conducted research at the Maison de la Géographie de Montpellier and took part at the creation of the UMR ESPACE. In 2000, I joined the Department of Geography at the University Paris Diderot, on a chair of Development studies. I was affiliated with the SEDET, recently renamed CESSMA. I extended my interest to the emerging countries of Asia and to the Gulf countries, then started a long term collaboration with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
From 2010 to 2011, I was seconded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for developing university and scientific cooperation at the French Embassy in India. In November 2011, I was appointed for two years as Professor in the Department of Geography and Planning at the Paris Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi.
In September 2013, I resumed my duties at the Paris Diderot University, where I have been Chair of Geography Department until October 2017. In January 2020, Paris Diderot University merged with Paris Descartes University to create the University of Paris.