TRAMPS AND THE HOMELESS - CURRENT RELEVAN CE OF THE WORKS OF VEXLIARD,ALEXANDRE

This article proposes a new look at the works of Alexandre Vexliard (1 911-1997) centered around his contribution to the psychosociological a nalysis of tramps. In particular, it points out the high quality metho dology and interaction perspectives of his research carried our after the late 1940s. At the heart of his analysis, the prominence of the me chanisms and phases of a desocialization process provides a relevant r eading grid for the analysis of today's so-called ''exclusion'' phenom ena. The relevance is measured in relation to contemporary works on th e homeless. To finish there is an interpretation of this pioneer-type research and its academic non-acknowledgement, in the context of the e volution in social psychology in the years 1945-60.