HIS 271 History of Modern France
From absolute monarchy to the Fifth Republic, from the Enlightenment to existentialism, France has been central to European affairs in revolution, war and peace. Covering the late eighteenth century to the present, this course analyzes the political, social, and cultural history of modern France with special attention to the often violent struggles between order and tradition on the one hand and liberty and modernization on the other; the role of anti-Semitism from the Dreyfuss Affair to Vichy; and, the conquest and dissolution of France’s overseas empire.