Lionel Thelen

Lionel Thelen is Psycho-Anthropologist by background and has performed various fieldworks in Brazil and Europe about the understanding of human mind in his/her milieu. More precisely, his research was mainly led by the comprehension – through ethnographic methods - of the various ways by which our own habitat impacts one’ social skills and delineates one’s (Self-)Consciousness. For instance, his PhD thesis was about the progressive process of “tramp-ization” suffered by long-term homeless people, a process called “Self-Exile”. He has done research and teaching in various universities in Belgium, France and Switzerland.Since 2009, he works as Scientific Officer in the European Research Council (ERC - https://erc.europa.eu/). The ERC is – with regard to individual research teams – the most important funding body of the European Union for ALL Sciences and, concerning social sciences, one of the most generous worldwide. Lionel is especially in charge of core social sciences, id est Sociology, Social Anthropology, Social Psychology, Education studies, Media & Communication studies, STS and Criminology: on a yearly basis, he coordinates various evaluations of research proposals and scientifically monitors a portfolio of circa 50 funded projects. In addition to his central interest in social sciences, Lionel is fascinated by the promises brought by the therapeutic use(s) of psychedelics and he narrowly follows the progresses done in that fascinating and, undoubtedly, groundbreaking pluridisciplinary field of research.