Engineering a new order in the 1930s: The case of Jean Coutrot

This article explores interactions between intellectuals, human scientists, and engineers in France in the 1930s, by studying the example of one engin eer, Jean Coutrot. In doing so, it argues for a rethinking of the period an d a fresh approach to the history of modernization in France. Particular at tention is paid to the Centre d'etudes des problemes humains, founded by Co utrot in 1936, and to the way in which this center fostered a series of col laborations between the engineer and experts in various branches of applied psychology.