Hist French Revolution & Napoleon (in English)

Catalog description

Lift your eyes as you walk down any street in Paris and you'll soon see a building adorned with thetricolore and the words Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité. Turn a corner and in the distance you'll see the Arc de Triomphe built to the glory of Napoleon's army or the Eiffel tower erected for the centennial of the fall of the Bastille. Even the metro stops, Concorde, Nation, République, Austerlitz, Iéna, echo with the memory of the years of the French Revolution and the First Empire. But what historic reality does all this evoke? What led some French people to overthrow their age old Monarchy, turn their backs on the Church and launch into a new era of Republican government? What caused others to resist such changes with all their might? And why did the experiment end within 10 years, giving way to military dictatorship and an Empire which spread French rule across Europe?This semester we shall explore these issues and others pertaining to the Age of the French Revolution & Napoleon through lectures, readings, discussions and site visits in and around the city of Paris.