Michel Certeau French historian, anthropologist, cultural scientist, social philosopher Date of Birth: 17.05.1925 Country: France

1. Early Life and Education
2. Jesuit Vocation and the Founding of Christus
3. Doctorate and Notable Works
4. The City as a Site of Struggle
5. Strategy and Tactics
6. History and Writing

Early Life and Education

Michel de Certeau was born in 1925 in a suburb of Chambéry, France, and received a comprehensive secondary education. He pursued degrees in classics and philosophy at the universities of Lyon, Grenoble, and Paris before studying religion at the Séminaire in Lyon, where he joined the Jesuit order (Society of Jesus) in 1950.

Jesuit Vocation and the Founding of Christus

Upon joining the Jesuit order, Certeau intended to undertake missionary work in China. In the year of his ordination (1956), he became a founding member of the journal Christus, which would remain a significant focus of his life.

Doctorate and Notable Works

In 1960, Michel de Certeau earned a doctorate in theology from the Sorbonne with a dissertation on the mystical writings of the Jesuit Jean-Joseph Surin (1600-1665). His most famous and influential work is undoubtedly "L'Invention du Quotidien" ("The Practice of Everyday Life"). In this seminal text, Certeau combined his diverse scholarly interests to develop a theory of the productive yet exhausting activities that characterize daily life.

The City as a Site of Struggle

Certeau's theory of everyday life revolves around a central opposition between the view of the city from above, from a real (skyscraper) or imagined (maps, plans) vantage point, and the way in which inhabitants experience and negotiate urban space in defiance of the visible urban order imposed by institutions.

Strategy and Tactics

One of Certeau's key contributions is his distinction between "strategy" and "tactics." Certeau associates "strategy" with institutions and structures of power, while "tactics" are utilized by individuals to create spaces of freedom within environments defined by strategies. In his influential chapter "Walking in the City," he depicts the city as a "concept" produced through the strategic manipulations of government agencies, corporations, and other social institutions that create maps describing the city as a legible grid seen from a bird's-eye view.

History and Writing

Michel de Certeau's work "Histoire comme écriture" ("History as Writing"), translated into English posthumously, examines the relationship between history and religion. Certeau draws attention to the connection between the history of writing, the legitimization of political power, and the "Western" tradition of incorporating the act of writing as a tool of colonialism.