Isabelle Petitjean is an author, lecturer, classically-trained musician and music teacher. She holds a doctorate (PhD) in Musicology, specializing in the academic analysis of Michael Jackson and has written a thesis on "The racial dynamics in the artistic production of the “King of Pop (1979-2001) : commercial, musical and visual issues” at the University of Paris Sorbonne (First Class Honors, 2017, dir. Catherine Rudent and Olivier Julien). Her first academic publication, in 2011,

« The Voice in the Mirror: Michael Jackson: from a vocal identity to its double in sound », was awarded First Prize Young Researcher by the IASPM (International Association for the Study of Popular Music, french section).

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She is the author of three books about the artist, correlated to her research :

_ "La culture pop au panthéon des Beaux-Arts. Dangerous, de Mark Ryden à Michael Jackson", Paris, L'Harmattan, 2015, 288 pages, format 13,5 x 21,5 cm

ISBN : 978-2-343-06025-5

_ "Michael Jackson, Il était une Voix. De Motown au studio de Bruce Swedien, les contours expressifs et techniques d'une voix hors du commun et du temps", Sampzon, Delatour France, 2017, 394 p., format 14,8 x 21 cm

Code EAN : 9782752103314

_ "Michael Jackson, Black or White? Un artiste hors norme face à une industrie du disque racialisée", Sampzon, Delatour France, 2019, 342 p., format 17,5 x 25,5 cm

Code EAN : 9782752103949

The latter is a popularized version of the most important points of her colossal thesis  (1200 pages).

The first two have been published in english :

_ "Dangerous, from Mark Ryden to Michael Jackson, Pop culture in the pantheon of Fine Arts", Sampzon, Delatour France, 2016, 260 p., format 14,8 x 21 cm

Code EAN: 9782752103048

_ "Michael Jackson, Voice upon a time. From Motown to Bruce Swedien, the expressive and technical outlines of a unique and timeless voice", Sampzon, Delatour France, 2020

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Isabelle Petitjean gives lectures in France (Paris, Metz, Bordeaux) and abroad (American University of Washington DC, Gary (IN), Sorel-Tracy, Canada) and was very involved in the exhibition "Michael Jackson, On the Wall" held at the Grand Palais, in Paris (Novembre 2018 - January 2019).

She is a regular guest on TV and radio (France 2, Arte, Canal +, CNews, France 24, France 3, France Culture...).

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Along with her research activities, she teachs Music Education since 1997 in college and holds a CAPES (secondary school teaching certificate).

She also holds a National Conservatory First Prize in piano and studied in differents Academies of Music, in France (Metz, Nancy) and in Germany (Saarbrücken's Musikhochschule)