France Since 1871
About the Course
This course covers the emergence of modern France. Topics include the social, economic, and political transformation of France; the impact of France's revolutionary heritage, of industrialization, and of the dislocation wrought by two world wars; and the political response of the Left and the Right to changing French society.
View class sessions »Course Structure
This Yale College course, taught on campus twice per week for 50 minutes, was recorded for Open Yale Courses in Fall 2007.
Course Materials
Download all course pages [zip - 10MB]
Video and audio elements from this course are also available on:
About Professor John Merriman
John Merriman is Charles Seymour Professor of History at Yale University. Specializing in French and modern European history, he received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. His publications include The Agony of the Republic: The Repression of the Left in Revolutionary France, 1848-1851, A History of Modern Europe Since the Renaissance, and Police Stories: Making the French State, 1815-1851. He is currently at work on Dynamite: Emile Henry, the Café Terminus, and the Origins of Modern Terrorism in Fin-de-Siecle Paris. In 2000, Professor Merriman was the recipient of the Yale University Byrnes-Sewall Teaching Prize.
Syllabus
Professor
John Merriman, Charles Seymour Professor of History
Description
This course covers the emergence of modern France. Topics include the social, economic, and political transformation of France; the impact of France's revolutionary heritage, of industrialization, and of the dislocation wrought by two world wars; and the political response of the Left and the Right to changing French society.
Texts
Barbusse, Henri. Under Fire. London: Penguin Books, 2004.
Bloch, Marc. Strange Defeat. New York: Norton, 1999.
Carles, Emilie. A Life of Her Own. New York: Penguin Books, 1992.
Farmer, Sarah. Martyred Village. Berkley: University of California Press, 2000.
Sowerwine, Charles. France since 1870: Culture, Politics and Society. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2001.
Zola, Emile. Germinal. London: Penguin Books, 2004.
Requirements
In addition to the lectures, there will be a weekly discussion section, time to be arranged. One of the sections will be taught in French. A short paper will be required, in consultation with the instructors. There will be a mid-term examination, and a final exam, which may be taken either as a written or oral examination, and three films will be shown.
Grading
Grades will be determined by equally weighing the midterm, final and paper grades.
Sessions
| Lecture 1 | Introduction |
| Lecture 2 | The Paris Commune and Its Legacy |
| Lecture 3 | Centralized State and Republic |
| Lecture 4 | A Nation? Peasants, Language, and French Identity |
| Lecture 5 | The Waning of Religious Authority |
| Lecture 6 | Workshop and Factory |
| Lecture 7 | Mass Politics and the Political Challenge from the Left |
| Lecture 8 | Dynamite Club: The Anarchists |
| Lecture 9 | General Boulanger and Captain Dreyfus |
| Lecture 10 | Cafés and the Culture of Drink |
| Lecture 11 | Paris and the Belle Époque |
| Lecture 12 | French Imperialism (Guest Lecture by Charles Keith) |
| Lecture 13 | The Origins of World War I |
| Lecture 14 | Trench Warfare |
| Lecture 15 | The Home Front |
| Lecture 16 | The Great War, Grief, and Memory (Guest Lecture by Bruno Cabanes) |
| Lecture 17 | The Popular Front |
| Lecture 18 | The Dark Years: Vichy France |
| Lecture 19 | Resistance |
| Lecture 20 | Battles For and Against Americanization |
| Lecture 21 | Vietnam and Algeria |
| Lecture 22 | Charles De Gaulle |
| Lecture 23 | May 1968 |
| Lecture 24 | Immigration |
Survey
Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts about this course through the survey linked below. We also invite you to provide general feedback about Open Yale Courses by visiting the Feedback area of the site.
Take the surveyJoin a Study Group
Through a pilot arrangement with Open Yale Courses, OpenStudy offers tools to participate in online study groups for a selection of Open Yale Courses, including HIST 276. If you wish to participate in one of these study groups, you will need to register for a free account with OpenStudy.
View study groupOpenStudy is not affiliated with Yale University. For more information regarding Open Yale Courses linking policy, please consult the Terms of Use.
Course Books and Other Related Titles
Yale University Press offers a 10% discount on the books used in HIST 276 that it publishes, as well as on other related titles. A portion of the proceeds from your purchases will be donated for the ongoing support and development of the Open Yale Courses program.
View the catalog for this course