HIST 352 - Modern France

In this survey, we study the turbulent and confounding transformation into a modern world through the lens of a nation that either experienced that transformation in an exemplary way or at least thought that they did. In the study of the country that gave us camembert cheese and the guillotine, haute couture fashion and modern political ideology, issues that interest all students of history and the liberal arts emerge: questions of identity, community, politics, revolution and violence; the categories of nationhood, class, gender and race; and the problems of justice, beauty and horror. As such, looking at the French provides us with a singularly fascinating opportunity for reflection on past, present, others, and ourselves.

Credits: 3 hours
NOTE: General Honors Course.
NOTE: History major European History course.
NOTE: This course counts toward the 63-hour Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) graduation requirement.