Hélène Blais is Lecturer in modern history at the Université of Nanterre Paris Ouest la Défense and membre of the Institut Universitaire de France. Her research has focused on the history of geography in the colonial context. She has published Voyages au Grand Océan, Géographie et colonization (2005) and she's currently working on the mapping of French colonial Algeria. Florence Deprest is professor in Geography at the University of Bordeaux 3. Her research has focused on geography in colonial context. She has published Géographes en Algérie (1880-1950). Savoirs universitaires en situation coloniale (2009). She is currently working on the construction of geographical knowledge about the Mediterranean. Pierre Singaravélou is Lecturer in Modern History at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon – Sorbonne. He recently published several books on social sciences and cultural practices in a colonial context : L'Empire des géographes (2008), At the top of the Empire. European Elites in the Colonies (2009), L'Empire des sports. Une histoire de la mondialisation culturelle (2010). He currently works on the relationships between the colonial empires.
