No foreign country attracts Americans more than France, but few countries puzzle us more as well. In this course, we will study the major events that have shaped French history in the past two centuries with the aim of gaining an understanding of how France has managed to combine social stability with almost constant political turmoil; how it has remained wedded to ages-old traditions while also playing a leading part in the creation of the modern world; and what its place is in the world today. Lectures, discussions, readings and class projects will focus on such events as the revolutions of 1830, 1848 and 1871, the industrialization of France, the impact of the two World Wars, the nature of modern French society, and French reactions to American culture.

Course Requirements

(1) regular attendance and active class participation

(2) completion of assigned readings (see below)

(3) written assignments: four writing assignments of varying length (from 1 page to 4 pp), based on the assigned books. Some of these assignments will require collaboration with other students in the class.

(4) exams: two in-class mid-term exams (essay tests with some identification questions) and a final. The final will include a take-home section.

Graduate students in history will be assigned a longer paper. There will be periodic meetings for the graduate students to provide for more intensive discussion of French historiography

Grading

Class participation 10%; written assignments 40%; midterms 12.5% each; final 25%. (Graduate students: class participation 20%, essays 20%, term paper 20%, midterms 10% each, final 20%). I do assign +/- grades on assignments; the university does not allow +/- grading for the overall course grade.

Learning Goals

Students completing this class should (1) have a basic knowledge of the main trends and events in French history since 1815, as demonstrated through classroom work and success on exams; (2) have demonstrated capacity to analyze and discuss college-level material related to the course orally and in writing; (3) should be able to identify differing approaches to history and relate them to one another.

Assigned Readings (to be purchased by all students)

(1) J. Popkin, History of Modern France (Prentice Hall, 0-13-030955-9)

(2) M. Traugott, The French Worker (Univ of California Press, 0-520-07932-9)

(3) Michael Miller, The Bon Marché (Princeton UP, 0691-03494-X)

(4) P. Hyman, The Jews of Modern France (Univ of California Press, 0-520-20925-7)

(5) C. Cogan, Charles de Gaulle: Biography with Documents (Bedford/St. Martins, 0-312107900)

(6) R. Kuisel, Seducing the French (Univ of California Press, 0-520-20698-3)

(7) M. L. Roberts, Civilization without Sexes (U. of Chicago Press, 0-226-72122-1)

Schedule of Topics and Related Readings

[Dates on which written assignments are due are marked *]

9 Jan.	Introduction to the Course
11 Jan.	France: Geography, History, Culture (Popkin, 1-34)

14 Jan.	Revolutionary & Napoleonic Era (Popkin, 35-77)
16 Jan.	Era of Constitutional Monarchy (Popkin, 78-94)
18 Jan.	Social Question and 1848 Revolution (Popkin, 95-115)

21 Jan.	Martin Luther King holiday—no class
23 Jan.	Working-Class Life (Traugott, 47-115)
25 Jan.	Artisan memories (Traugott, 116-82)

28 Jan.	Martin Nadaud (Traugott, 183-249)
30 Jan.	Norbert Truquin (Traugott, 250-308)
1 Feb.	Dumay and Bouvier (Traugott, 309-end)

*4 Feb.	Second Empire (Popkin, 116-31) (Traugott article due)
6 Feb.	A minority group in France (Hyman, 1-52)
8 Feb.	Origins of 3^rd Republic (Popkin, 132-152)

*11 Feb.	1 st M/T
13 Feb.	Fin-de-siècle and Dreyfus (Popkin, 153-174)
15 Feb.	Jews in the 19^th Century (Hyman, 53-114)

18 Feb.	Toward a Consumer Society (Miller, 3-72)
20 Feb.	Managing a Department Store (Miller, 75-161)
22 Feb.	Managing Consumption (Miller, 165-240)

*25 Feb.	Heading toward War (Popkin, 175-193) (Miller essay due)
27 Feb.	War and Aftermath (Popkin, 194-218)
1 Mar.	Cultural Crisis (Roberts, 1-63)

4 Mar.	Motherhood between the Wars (Roberts, 63-147)
*6 Mar.	New Lives for Women (Roberts, 149-217) (Roberts essay due)
8 Mar.	No Class

11-15 Mar.	Spring Break—no classes

18 Mar.	Crisis of 1930s (Popkin, 219-29)
20 Mar.	Jewish community in changing times (Hyman, 115-60)
22 Mar.	2^nd M/T

25 Mar.	France in World War II (Popkin, 230-45)
27 Mar.	De Gaulle & the War (Cogan, 3-61, 169-82)
29 Mar.	Post-war reconstruction (Cogan, 68-82, 183-88; Popkin, 246-55)

1 Apr.	De Gaulle & the 5^th Republic (Cogan, 82-110, 188-198; Popkin, 256-72)
3 Apr.	The American Challenge (Kuisel, 1-69)
5 Apr.	Consumer Culture & Gaullism (Kuisel, 70-153)

8 Apr.	The Era of Globalization (Kuisel, 154-238)
*10 Apr.	Guest lecture (Kuisel essay due)
12 Apr.	No Class

15 Apr.	France and the World (Cogan, 111-65, 198-215)
17 Apr.	May 1968 (Popkin, 273-81)
19 Apr.	French Jewry, the Holocaust and After (Hyman, 161-218)

22 Apr.	France since Mitterrand (Popkin, 289-94)
24 Apr.	TBA
26 Apr.	Conclusion

29 Apr.	FINAL EXAM (in regular classroom)

Course Policies

1. Late Work and Make‑Up Exams: Late papers are not accepted and make‑up exams are not administered unless students requesting them can produce documented evidence of illness, accident or other cause beyond their control accounting for absence. Students who will miss an exam or assignment because of a scheduled university activity must make arrangements to make up the work before the scheduled due date.

2. Plagiarism: Plagiarism is defined in the UK Student Handbook. Students submitting work which is not their own will receive an 'E' for that assignment and will not be allowed to make it up. Plagiarism includes not only the copying of material from printed sources but also copying from sources on the Internet; it also applies to any work submitted under a student’s name that is not in fact his or her own writing and for which a source is not acknowledged. UK History faculty routinely use advanced Internet search engines to check dubious papers. In other words: do your own work! You’ll learn more, and you’ll avoid painful grade penalties or worse.

3. Modern Technology: Recording devices are not permitted during lectures and discussions, except for students who have a valid physical reason for needing them (e.g., inability to take written notes). Students wearing earphones during class will be invited to go be bored somewhere else. Beepers, cellular phones and other devices which may cause a distraction must be turned off during class.

4. Note on textbook: The textbook assigned for this course is one that I have written myself. I assign it because it best suits the way I teach the course. Since you are required to buy the book for this course, however, I would be guilty of a conflict of interest if I made a profit off your purchase of the book. I will therefore refund to each student remaining in the course after the final day for textbook returns and showing me that they have purchased a new copy of the book, an amount equal to my royalties (approx. $2.00). Alternatively, students may designate their royalty refund as a donation to the UK Library, to be made in the name of the class. Please understand that I do not receive any royalties from the sale of used copies of the textbook.

Course Requirements

Grading

Learning Goals

Schedule of Topics and Related Readings

Martin Luther King holiday—no class

No Class

Spring Break—no classes

No Class