Société d'émulation
Encyclopedia
Société d'émulation is a name given from the 18th century onwards to some learned societies
of men in France
and Wallonia wishing to study together in the arts, science and letters and often to publish the results of their reflections and their works in a bulletin, review or Acts. They were also social and creative organisations formed of a province's cultural elites. The 19th century was the golden age of Sociétés d'émulation and some of them, with their social aspects and particular costumes, have survived up to the present day.
Mainly made up of amateurs and local notables, these societies preferred the less ambitious term 'Société d'émulation' to the more scholarly and official title of 'Académie', partly since 'Société d'émulation' indicated their attachment to more limited research within the borders of their society's region. Their ambitions were not as universal as the academies, but their publications and works remain a mine of documentatary evidence and very rich accounts of subjects often neglected by the more scholarly academies.
Learned society
A learned society is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline/profession, as well a group of disciplines. Membership may be open to all, may require possession of some qualification, or may be an honor conferred by election, as is the case with the oldest learned societies,...
of men in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Wallonia wishing to study together in the arts, science and letters and often to publish the results of their reflections and their works in a bulletin, review or Acts. They were also social and creative organisations formed of a province's cultural elites. The 19th century was the golden age of Sociétés d'émulation and some of them, with their social aspects and particular costumes, have survived up to the present day.
Mainly made up of amateurs and local notables, these societies preferred the less ambitious term 'Société d'émulation' to the more scholarly and official title of 'Académie', partly since 'Société d'émulation' indicated their attachment to more limited research within the borders of their society's region. Their ambitions were not as universal as the academies, but their publications and works remain a mine of documentatary evidence and very rich accounts of subjects often neglected by the more scholarly academies.