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The concept of mechanism has been widely used throughout the history of social sciences in general and in sociology in particular. Most classical writers of sociological tradition (for instance Tocqueville, Marx, Durkheim or Weber) can be said to have spontaneously built some mechanism-based explanations. Nevertheless, the notion of mechanism has been rarely explored as such. A critical change occurred with the 1996 Stockholm conference which focused on the concept of social mechanism itself. Since, this intellectual movement has continued to expand. A renewed attention to the concept seems to be in progress also in economics, in political science, in history or in criminology.PROGRAMFriday 17 October09:00-09:15 Pierre DEMEULENAERE, University of Paris-SorbonneIntroductionSession 1 - Chair&#160;: Peter HEDSTR&#214;M, Oxford University9:15-9:45 Raymond BOUDON, University of Paris- Sorbonne, Institut de France (ASMP)Ordinary Rationality&#160;: The Backbone of &#8216;Analytical Sociology&#8217;&#160;?9:45-10:00 DiscussionIn sociology, the concept of mechanism has been moreover linked to the notion of &#8220;analytical&#8221; sociology and, more recently, to some computational methods. These developments generate a new specific literature, but give birth to a new series of problems (as, for example, the rapport between &#8221;analytical sociology&#8221; and &#8220;analytical philosophy&#8217;, or the relation between &#8220;analytical sociology&#8221; and quantitative, mathematical or computational sociology).Ten years after the papers published in Social Mechanisms&#160;: an Analytical Approach to Social Theory it is time to have a new synthesis, and explore the difficulties that appeared through the recent developments of the approach.The conference aims to do it from four points of view&#160;: -&#160;&#160;theoretical, regarding the kind of action, reasons and interactions that the concept of mechanism supposes, and regarding its differences in relation to concepts such as &#8220;process&#8221; and &#8220;narrative&#8221;&#160;; -&#160;&#160;methodological, regarding the ways to implement the concept of mechanisms for empirical research and policy analysis,&#160;; -&#160;&#160;epistemological, considering its implications for the debate about causality and realism&#160;; -&#160;&#160;historical, regarding the use of the concept in history of sociological thought.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;10:00-10.30 Dan SPERBER, CNRS (Institut Jean Nicod), ParisArticulating Social and Cognitive Mechanisms10:30-10:45 Discussion&#160;Break11:00-11:30 Mohamed CHERKAOUI, CNRS (GEMAS), ParisSome Generative Mechanisms of the Intellectual Production&#160;: The Three Markets Theory11:30-11:45 Discussion&#160;11:45-12:15 Robert SAMPSON, Harvard UniversityNeighborhood-Effect Mechanisms, Causality, and the Social Structure of the City12:15-12:30 Discussion&#160;Session 2 - Chair&#160;: Mario DIANI, University of Trento14:30-15:00 Jon ELSTER, Coll&#232;ge de FranceEmotional Mechanisms15:00-15:15 Discussion&#160;&#160;15:15-15:30 Michel FORS&#201;, CNRS (Centre Maurice Halbwachs), ParisIs the Construction of Norms of Justice a Matter of Mechanisms&#160;?15:30-15:45 Discussion&#160;Break16:00-16:30 Filippo BARBERA &#38; Nicola NEGRI, University of TurinAnalytical Sociology and Social Structure16:30-16:45 Discussion&#160;16:45-17:15 Emmanuel LAZEGA, University of Paris-DauphineThe Social Mechanisms of Cooperation among Competitors17:15-17.30 Discussion&#160;Saturday 18 OctoberSession 3 - Chair&#160;: Gianluca MANZO, CNRS (GEMAS), Paris9:15-9:45 Peter HEDSTR&#214;M, Nuffield College, University of OxfordMiddle-range Analytics9:45-10:00 Discussion&#160;&#160;10:00-10:30 Peter ABELL, London School of EconomicsInfrequent Mechanisms and Bayesian Narratives10:30-10:45 Discussion&#160;Break11:00-11:30 Fran&#231;ois CHAZEL, University of Paris-SorbonneLes perspectives de sociologie analytique ouvertes par Talcott Parsons11.30-11:45 Discussion&#160;11:45-12:15 Philippe STEINER, University of Paris-SorbonneSocial Mechanism and Tension&#160;: a Neo-Weberian Approach12:15-12:30 Discussion&#160;Session 4 - Chair&#160;: Pierre DEMEULENAERE, University of Paris-Sorbonne14:15-14:45 Michael MACY, Cornell UniversitySocial Mechanisms and Generative Explanations&#160;: Computational Models with Double Agents14:45-15:00 Discussion&#160;&#160;15:00-15:30 Keith SAWYER, Washington UniversityConversation as Mechanism&#160;: Emergence in Creative Groups15:30-15:45 Discussion&#160;Break16:00-16:30 Petri YLIKOSKI, University of HelsinkiSocial Mechanisms and the Problem of Explanatory Relevance16:30-16:45 Discussion&#160;16:45 -17:15 Michael SCHMID, Bundeswehr Munich UniversityThe Logic of Mechanistic Explanations in Social Science17:15-17:30 Discussion&#160;17:30-17:45 Gianluca MANZO, CNRS (GEMAS), ParisConclusionConference organized with the support of&#160;:&#8226; Centre d&#8217;&#233;tudes sociologiques de la Sorbonne (CESS, Paris IV Sorbonne)&#8226; Conseil scientifique (Paris IV Sorbonne)&#8226; &#201;cole doctorale 5 - Concepts et Langages (Paris IV Sorbonne)&#8226; Institut des sciences humaines appliqu&#233;es (ISHA, Paris IV Sorbonne)&#8226; Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)&#8226; Groupe d&#8217;&#233;tude des m&#233;thodes de l&#8217;analyse sociologique (GEMAS, CNRS)Colloque organis&#233; par :-Centre d'&#201;tudes Sociologiques de la Sorbonne (CESS)-Groupe d'&#201;tude des M&#233;thodes de l'Analyse Sociologique (GEMAS)Universit&#233; Paris-SorbonneMaison de la Recherche28 rue Serpente, 75006 PARISSalle D035M&#233;tro : Od&#233;on ou Saint-Michel{{Scientific Organization}}-Pierre DEMEULENAERE, University Paris-Sorbonne-Gianluca MANZO, CNRS (GEMAS), Paris{{Contact and Information}}-Annie DEVINANT : [annie.devinant@paris-sorbonne.fr-&#62;annie.devinant@paris-sorbonne.fr]-Alexandra FR&#201;NOD : [afrenod@msh-paris.fr-&#62;mailto:afrenod@msh-paris.fr]