Anne Fenoy

Anne Fenoy is a fourth-year doctoral candidate at the Concepts & Languages doctoral school and the Sciences, Norms, Democracy (SND) laboratory. In 2024, she was awarded the Sorbonne University 'My Thesis in 180 Seconds' jury prize. Passionate about the philosophy of medicine, she talks to us about her career and the competition.

Could you describe your academic career for us?

Anne Fenoy: After three years of literary preparatory classes, I completed a master's degree in the history of philosophy at Sorbonne University, specialising in the history of modern philosophy. I then did a master's in editorial consultancy at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, which gave me the opportunity to do a work placement at the Espace éthique Île-de-France as a communications officer.

My interest in the philosophy of medicine led me to work on Charcot's disease as part of a doctoral contract within the Biomedical Humanities Initiative. Supervised by both the head of the neuropathology department at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital and a philosopher of science, last year I was able to extend my funding to continue into my fourth year, thanks to the rare diseases: ALS and motor neurone diseases (FilSLAN) program. I was also awarded a grant to spend six months working at the Maison française in Oxford to support my research work.

Why did you decide to take part in the "My Thesis in 180 Seconds" competition?

A. F.: I already knew about the competition and regularly watched popular science videos online. Last year, after seeing a friend compete, I decided to enter because I enjoyed the exercise and the opportunity to share my thesis subject with a wider audience.

Tell us about your thesis.

A. F.: I work on Charcot's disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a serious and incurable neurological disease that affects motor neurons. These neurons, which form the link between the brain and the muscles, enable movement, breathing and speech. Sufferers gradually become paralyzed, until death, which generally occurs when the respiratory muscles stop working. The disease progresses very rapidly. This definition of ALS is a medical one.

Yet this disease can be defined in different ways. As a philosopher, I am keen to explore the different representations of this pathology, whether they emanate from medical or biological discourse, from patients' own experiences or from the media.

ALS is often described as "the worst disease of all", and sufferers sometimes compare themselves to being "buried alive", and these depictions have an impact on the way the disease is perceived. The philosophy of medicine is used here as a tool for critical and reflective analysis, providing a more nuanced perspective to these discourses.

Three minutes to summarise an entire thesis doesn't seem like much. How did you prepare your speech for the competition?

A. F.: It was certainly a challenge to popularise a complex subject in such a short time frame. First of all, I had to introduce the general public to research in the philosophy of medicine, a type of research where there are no experiments, but where reasoning and conceptualisation are the order of the day. The other difficulty was then to summarise ALS without falling into the pitfalls I am trying to analyse in my thesis. In philosophy, the conclusion is often not equal to the development of the thought.

To overcome these difficulties, I received invaluable feedback during training sessions, where we worked in groups on our respective presentations. The trainer also provided us with techniques and practical advice, which helped me a lot.

What have you gained from taking part in this competition?

A. F.: It's a very useful practical exercise for the future because we're regularly asked to make these kinds of presentation in both our personal and professional lives.

This experience was also an opportunity to meet doctoral students from a wide variety of fields. It was fascinating and gave me food for thought on many subjects. Something I like about my area of expertise is being able to apply it to other disciplines!

What would you say about the effects of this competition on the image of doctorates and research?

A.F.: I see this competition as a great opportunity to highlight the diversity and relevance of the work carried out by doctoral students. It also makes research more accessible to the general public and shows that human sciences, just like hard sciences, can be popularised in an interesting and accessible way. That's why I'm particularly proud to have received this prize as a doctoral candidate in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.