This course will explore the development of modernFrance and its place in the world from the FrenchRevolution through a series of monarchical authoritarian and democratic regimes. In the process we will trace the emergence expansion and decline of a great colonial empire. We will begin by studying the way that the French Revolution and its legacy defined much of the country’s political landscape for the next century and a half. Issues of focus will then include major developments in French cultural and intellectual life; the way that empire became a way of life not only for French colonists but also for those living in mainland France; the place of religion; the importance of immigration; ongoing battles over “who is French”; and dramatic changes in French economy and society during the past two centuries.
