The “Conférence Pareto/Pareto Lecture” Lecture Series of the Faculty of Law, Criminal Sciences and Public Administration of the University of Lausanne is named after the economist and sociologist Vilfredo Pareto. Between 1893 and 1909, Vilfredo Pareto was the holder of the Chair of political and social sciences at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lausanne and one of the main protagonists of the Ecole de Lausanne, the economic science movement that spurred their mathematisation.
Each edition of the “Conférence Pareto/Pareto Lecture” welcomes a high-ranking personality to give a public lecture, in English or French, on the campus of the University of Lausanne. Reflecting on Vilfredo Pareto's life and research, the event is interdisciplinary in its perspective: Vilfredo Pareto, who was a professor at the Faculty of Law, is internationally known for his research and writings in the fields of economics and sociology. He was also behind the creation, at the University of Lausanne, of the diploma in social sciences and of the Faculty of Business and Economics (HEC Lausanne). It is therefore natural that the persons invited to give a “Conférence Pareto/Pareto Lecture” – generally a renowned professor whose research is both interdisciplinary and accessible to the general public – are in principle from faculties of law, economics or social and political science. They will of course be free to adopt a critical position towards Vilfredo Pareto and his work.
A “Conférence Pareto/Pareto Lecture”, which is intended primarily to the general public, allows the widest possible audience to acquire knowledge on a theme presented by one of its most eminent experts, free of charge. The Lecture Series therefore fulfils several missions assigned by law to the University of Lausanne, in particular those consisting in the transmission of knowledge, the promotion of the development of intellectual life and the dissemination of culture, and the stimulation of social debate.
The “Conférence Pareto/Pareto Lecture” Lecture Series, hosted by the CEDIDAC, is complementary to the events organized by the Walras-Pareto Centre for the history of economic and political thought, which is part of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, and to the Walras Pareto conference debate of the Faculty of Business and Economics (HEC Lausanne).
