HIS 575SEM - Problems in French History

With the French Revolution, the subsequent revolutions of 1830 and 1848, and the Commune of 1871, Paris in the nineteenth century was a hotbed of radicalism, welcoming (but then also at times expelling) nationalist rebels from other countries. This intellectual and social ferment is supplemented in the twentieth century by arrivals of colonial subjects who furthered their education in France and created their liberation movements there. Similarly African Americans came to Paris for the personal and creative freedom it offered. Paris was also an architectural marvel, completely rebuilt from 1850s-1870s under Napoleon III and Baron Haussmann, with new streets, boulevards, parks, and a model sewer system, all of which erased the inner city slums. Early modern and modern urbanism built upon the ideas of grandeur, perspectives (straight streets leading to a monument), and health considerations such as air circulation and garbage disposal. During the Second Empire, a new city arose with wide boulevards, new sewers, parks in every part of town. This transformation was admired and copied throughout the world. It also nurtured nostalgia in painters and poets for a less ¿readable¿ city. France showed off its urban, technological, and artistic prowess in a series of world fairs in 1867, 1879 (when the Eiffel Tower was erected), 1900. Paris became a magnet for French and foreign artists who came from the four corners of the world to learn but also to push the boundaries of modern art. They introduced new ways of seeing the world in their paintings, their writings and their music. Paris was a cultural hub that can be explored on so many levels. It was the capital of Bohemia, of the cancan, popular dance-halls, and modern advertisement. We will look at all three aspects: Paris as a model of urban renewal, Paris as the capital of radicalism, and Paris as a cultural center. We will read monographs and articles; watch films; look at art.

Credits: 3