Brice Molo holds a doctorate from EHESS and the University of Yaoundé I (Cameroon). He was awarded the EHESS thesis prize (2023) for his work supervised by Francis Chateauraynaud and Jean Koufan, titled "A Sociohistory of Disasters: State, Society, and Power in Cameroon (Late 19th - Early 21st Century)." His thesis explores power struggles in Cameroon through the lens of four disasters: the gas releases from the Monoun (1984) and Nyos (1986) maars, the Nsam fire in Yaoundé (1998), and the train derailment in Eséka (2016). The thesis examines how these events influenced the formation and consolidation of the Cameroonian state, and posits the hypothesis of a "sorcerer state," where disasters are not only events to be governed but also instruments of governance. Currently, his research focuses on environmental history, the sociohistory of risks, disasters, and collective deaths in Cameroon.
Brice Molo is a member of the executive committee of the French Sociological Association, as well as part of the coordination team for the monthly seminar of the Society of Africanists at the Musée du Quai Branly.
