This paper is co–written by three self–identified ‘scholactivists’ who work, live and are politically engaged in French academic spaces. Drawing on our auto–ethnographic experiences and previous research projects, our objective is to develop a critique of the normative character of the academy and disciplinary boundaries, and to share tactics for overcoming the modalities of control of academic topics and bodies. In the first part, we provide more insight into the mechanisms of the French academic world. In the second part, we present three cases of epistemological practices, which do not conform to the over–dominant positivist ideals clouding French academic spaces. These examples concern (1) pedagogy and teaching, (2) research and methodologies, and (3) dissemination and embodiment.