In France, the study of Western societies has been traditionally left to sociologists, but this is increasingly changing, starting in the 1970s from scholars like Isac Chiva and journals like Terrain ("fieldwork"), and developing with the center founded by Marc Augé (Le Centre d'anthropologie des mondes contemporains, the Anthropological Research Center of Contemporary Societies).
ɪn fɹˈæns, ðə stˈʌdi ʌv wˈɛstɚn səsˈaɪəɾiz hˈæzbiːn tɹɐdˈɪʃənəli lˈɛft tə sˌoʊsɪˈɑːlədʒˌɪsts, bˌʌt ðɪs ɪz ɪŋkɹˈiːsɪŋli tʃˈeɪndʒɪŋ, stˈɑːɹɾɪŋ ɪnðə nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɛvənti z fɹʌm skˈɑːlɚz lˈaɪk ˈɪsæk tʃˈiːvə ænd dʒˈɜːnəlz lˈaɪk tɚɹˈeɪn"fˈiːldwɜːk", ænd dɪvˈɛləpɪŋ wɪððə sˈɛntɚ fˈaʊndᵻd baɪ mˈɑːɹk ɔːɡˈeɪ lə sˈɛntɚ dˌænθɹəpˈɑːlədʒi dˈɛs mˈɔndz kəntˈɛmpoːɹˌeɪnz, ðɪ ˌænθɹəpəlˈɑːdʒɪkəl ɹᵻsˈɜːtʃ sˈɛntɚɹ ʌv kəntˈɛmpɚɹˌɛɹi səsˈaɪəɾiz.