Collective Actors (CoAc)

The “Collective Actor” historical object groups together all types of gathering or organisation of individual actors acting collectively or in a similar manner either in reality or as part of a narrative.

They may be material legal entities such as businesses, authorities, public institutions, etc., as well as other social groups that act collectively without any formal statute, such as a family, artistic movement, informal group, etc.

They are always material collective actors with a specific name and are not abstract objects. For example, the Paris Academy of Sciences rather than academy of sciences (which will be treated as an abstract object), or the "Conseil des prud'hommes de Lyon, bâtiment et industries diverses" (1867 - 1910), and not "conseil des prud'hommes" (which will be treated as an abstract object).

List of collective actors