HISTORY 224
Old Regime and Revolution: France, 1750-1815
Please note: this is archived course information from 2018 for HISTORY 224.
Description
More than two centuries after the collapse and destruction of what revolutionaries called the "Old Regime", the French Revolution continues to be recognised as one of the founding events of modern history. Yet it remains a deeply enigmatic and controversial event. Revolutionaries seemingly invented (or reinvented) political liberty and civic equality, democratic suffrage and human rights; but they also invented (or reinvented) gender discrimination and political terror, ideological war and modern dictatorship. Given this rich blend of tragedy and farce, it is no surprise that the Revolution continues to feature in our discussions of politics, society and culture as well as our understanding of the "modern" world.
This course offers an introduction to the French Revolution as both European crisis and world-historical event. A background in European or French history, while helpful, is not required. The weekly lectures offer basic historical orientation, while tutorial readings, discussions and coursework go beyond the lectures to explore major problems of interpretation.
Topics for the semester include the origins of the Revolution, the collapse of the "absolute" monarchy, the radical experiment of mass democracy, the nature of revolutionary violence and war, and the legacies and disputed meanings left to us by revolutionaries and their opponents.
HISTORY 224 is taught in tandem with the Stage III version of this course (HISTORY 324), but it is different in both its reading load and its assessment schedule. HISTORY 224 students will nevertheless be introduced to some of the key historiographical challenges in the field—the "social history of ideas", public opinion, political culture, gender politics, rights theory—and will learn how different methods and approaches have influenced our understanding of the French Revolution.
Availability 2018
Semester 1
Lecturer(s)
Coordinator(s) Dr Joseph Zizek
Recommended Reading
Jeremy D. Popkin, A Short History of the French Revolution, 5th edition, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2009 [previous editions also acceptable]
Assessment
Coursework + exam
Points
HISTORY 224: 15 points
Prerequisites
15 points at Stage I in History and 30 points passed
Restrictions
HISTORY 324