2012-2013 Academic Catalog

May 03, 2024

2012-2013 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

HIST 349 - Early Modern France, 1559-1792

Type of Course: Lecture/Discussion

This course will follow the history of France from 1559 through 1792. We will ground ourselves in the basic question of how France moved from being a mass of rebelling provinces under the leadership of a child king to something approximating a modern state with an international empire. We will not, however, restrict ourselves to political explorations. Equally important will be a thorough investigation of the major economic, social, demographic and cultural shifts of the period. We will try to identify these shifts and ask ourselves what impact they may have had on political developments, how they may have been affected by political developments and how they informed one another. Themes will include the role of religion in society and politics, the centralization of the state, the creation of a public sphere, the development of “new” upper and middle classes, the role of France in international commerce and politics and the importance of these to internal developments within France.