Sophie Wahnich holds an agrégation (1988)[1] and a doctorate in history (1994),[2] and is qualified to direct research (2007).

[4][5] Her work focuses on the relationship between the French Revolution[6] and the present time.

[7] Her thesis was on the notion of the foreigner in the discourse of the French Revolution, and her Habilitation was entitled Histoire des émotions et présents de l'histoire, une approche politique et anthropologique du sensible en politique.

[9] She also denounces a "privatization of knowledge ",[10] which led her to be the candidate of the Pirate Party in the 12th district of the Hauts-de-Seine during the 2012 legislative elections.

She co-signed tribunes in various media, including one published in 2017 in Mediapart entitled "Faire gagner la gauche passe par le vote Mélenchon" (Making the left win goes through the Mélenchon vote).